Sleep Better Without Overhauling Your Routine

Sleep is one of the most powerful recovery tools we have.

Yet when people struggle with sleep, they often assume the solution requires a complicated routine or expensive tools.

In reality, a few small adjustments can dramatically improve sleep quality.

Here are several quick tweaks that often make a meaningful difference.

For most clients I work with, sleep is always one of those topics they either actively want to improve or their experiences indicate that working on sleep quality would yield significant benefits. Like I've mentioned the past couple of posts, most often this doesn't require a complete change of habits but instead a couple of small tweaks will yield big results. I typically suggest picking one thing at a time, work on that for a couple of weeks such that you can evaluate the impact that change is making. From there you can either pick another aspect to work on or look to further improve that area.

• Getting sunlight (even just 5-10 minutes) early in the day helps set your circadian rhythm such that not only will you find it easier to get moving mentally and physically in the morning, but your natural rhythm will help queue your body to sleep. Something as simple as your morning coffee, tea, or a glass of water on your porch/patio will accomplish this.

• Protecting your sleep time as much as you block out your morning routine is another one that many overlook. Most people can easily walk through their mornings, but struggle to point to their plan for arguably the most important part of your day - sleep. Start by dedicated 5-10 minutes to simply wind down before going to bed by putting away electronics, and getting ready for bed. As you get better at this you can include things like journaling, meditation, stretching, etc to further help your mind and body prepare for a more restorative rest.

• Cutting back on stimulants is another one that can help, and this would include caffeine but also for many sugars can cause challenges to sleep. Of all the suggestions, this is probably the most variable from person to person as some are not impacted at all by this (I fall into this bucket) others notice small amounts of caffeine even at lunch will cause challenges. So if you recognize these impact your sleep, work to move them earlier into the day.

• Making your room a little cooler or darker is another shift that can be accomplished relatively simply. Changing the thermostat or fans can help with temperature as well as all sorts of other bedding options. As for darkness, curtains and other options exist but I find one of the simplest options is an eye mask.

• The final one I'll mention is trying to maintain consistency with sleep time, as most people (except for the weekends) normally keep a consistent wake time. The more consistent you can keep both of these times (including the weekends) the better your sleep quality will become. Again, don't make radical shifts but try moving in 15 minute increments and this would also apply to trying to get more sleep as most can adjust the sleep time easier then their wake time.

There are lots of options out there to improve your sleep but these are some of the simplest, cheapest, and universally available ones you can try out that are proven to make a difference. Notice I didn't say these changes are easy as that's a term I try to avoid since "easy" is incredibly dependant on the person, pick whichever one you think will be easiest for you to implement and see how you feel after 2 weeks of consistency.

If improving sleep is part of your performance or health goals, start simple.

Recovery improves faster than most people expect when sleep improves first.

You Don’t Need to Start Over — You Need a Reset

January tends to start strong.

Motivation is high, schedules feel manageable, and the goals are clear.

But by late winter or early spring, something shifts.

Work gets busier. Travel creeps back in. Life happens.

And suddenly the plan that felt so solid a few weeks ago starts to slip.

Most people assume that means they need to start over.

In reality, what they usually need is something much simpler:

A reset.

We all have been down this path, and maybe some of you are there right now where your plans for the year you thought were so attainable in January are starting to slip away. One of the most common responses to this situation is to completely scarp the original plan since it didn't work and start with a whole new plan. This creates two primary issues that will set you back even further in your efforts for improvement:

1. You're ignoring the progress you have made

2. You're encouraging an all or nothing mentality

However, this is the perfect time to re-evaluate those goals, how your process has worked so far, and most importantly what shifts need to be made to put you on the best path forward.

A better path forward starts with awareness of what you've already done, hopefully with some measure of what worked and what didn't work. If you don't have a firm grasp on this information, your best bet is to continue on your current path for a week with the sole focus being to gather data. Without this information you'll inevitably circle along a number of different paths without ever getting any closer to your actual goals. As you evaluate your progress, there are a couple of important questions to ask yourself:

1. What has worked so far?

2. What specifically was a struggle?

3. What is realistic right now, or put another way - do my goals need to shift?

From there, it isn't about massive changes, the goal is to identify the minor shifts that can be made to the things that ARE working such that you can move closer towards your goals. For example, maybe your goal was to workout three times a week, but you're only finding time for one workout. First off, celebrate the consistency of your workouts and look for what is a realistic add in your schedule to fit in something more. Maybe that is another full workout, or maybe it is a weekend walk, or you may realize you upcoming schedule is too packed and that one workout is all you can do at this time. That's fine too, look for ways to progress that workout either with additional weight, a new exercise, or perhaps adding an extra few minutes. Over time that consistency will reinforce the habit and as your priorities shift you may find new time windows open up to add an additional workout. I used the workout as an example as that's pretty straightforward, but that same idea and thought process works across the board, no matter the goal or the progress you've made.

You don’t need to wait for a perfect restart.

You don’t need a brand-new plan.

Most of the time, you simply need to adjust the system and keep moving forward.

If your routine slipped a little after a strong start to the year, that’s normal.

The key is not to scrap the progress you’ve already built.

It’s to reset the structure so it works with your life again.

If you’re looking for help building a system that stays sustainable even when life gets busy, feel free to reach out.

The Gadgets That Actually Moved the Needle

Over the years, I’ve spent money on plenty of things in the name of health.

Some were worth it.

Some weren’t.

I wanted to pick a couple to highlight some keys to look at when making decisions or looking for ways to upgrade.

I'm sure like many of you, there are loads of purchases you've made to pursue your health and I could point to many of them as significantly valuable for me.  Some of the big ticket items (I'll talk about those in a future post) have made a difference, especially when you look at the cost per use, but I wanted to walk through a couple specific gadgets that help convey some common ideals. We all love new toys to play with, but that money (and time) does add up that could be applied elsewhere.

The most recent of the three was my search for a small blender I could use that was more convenient then my Vitamix and could handle smaller portions.  I primarily wanted to use it for mixing various things into my coffee (creatine and protein powder) so I started with a frother but that lasted only a couple weeks (if that).  I then went for a rechargeable stick blender for the convenience of not having a cord, but consistent usage also wore that down.  So the third purchase was a corded stick blender, that while I initially thought was overkill turned out to be the right tool for that and other uses.  Trying to go with the cheapest solution was not only frustrating but time wasting.

One of the items I've probably had the longest (close tie with my Vitamix) is my rice cooker.  This is one of those single use tools (yes I could use it as a steamer and probably a couple other things, but I don't) that I use at least once a week, and it does that one thing very well.  I'm sure I could cook rice but the "set it and forget it" not only makes it idiot proof, but also allows me to multi-task and simplify bulk cooking.  The ability to simply cook different grains (quinoa is my current favorite) with various spices and liquids allows for variety without creating any more stress in the kitchen.  This is one of those, don't complicate the situation just find the tool that does the job.

Finally I wanted to mention a pretty niche purchase, but I think the applicability of tools like it will make it translatable for everyone.  This purchase is the Stryd Footpod, and specifically the Duo model (I'm still on the previous version, not the latest 5.0 model) that attaches to both shoes while running.  I've always been drawn to tools the provide data, and one of the key points for Stryd is its ability to monitor wind contributions (or challenges) such that there's a quantitative measure of how much the wind is impacting a run.  Not a tool I use during the run, but helps me correlate how I felt during the run to the data such that I can better tune my perception of my effort levels.  And then through my last two injuries, having a pod of each foot allows for the measuring of each individual impact such that I could better understand if I was favoring one over the other.  Again, a tool I used post run to understand how I was progressing not only physically through my rehab but also did that track how I was feeling. Do I use all the data Stryd provides every run? No, but the availability of it for those key times are invaluable, and when it comes to race day pacing, power is an awesome metric to use.

So why did I pick these 3 items?  I feel like in a nutshell you should look at the following when making a purchase to improve your health:

• Is it the right tool for the job?  Don't skimp out if you plan to use it frequently.

• Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one - don't overcomplicate something that doesn't need it.

• When looking at tools that provide data, make sure the data is actionable - allowing you to learn or make better decisions.

The best purchases I’ve made didn’t promise transformation — they supported repetition.

Health isn’t built on hacks. It’s built on consistency.

If you’re considering that next gadget, ask yourself: “Will this make consistency easier?”

👉 If you want help identifying high-leverage moves in your own plan, let’s talk — or subscribe to The Wellness Forge for practical guidance.

January Check-In: What’s Working, What’s Hard, and What I’m Adjusting

I mentioned earlier that I start every year (and most major milestones) with a review process, and while I might not do this every month, I thought it would be good for my personal accountability to share how January went for me and what shifts I will make in February.

Overall I feel like January went very well for me, but there are a couple items that need some continued attention.  One aspect I feel the least happy about is how I'm handling the "checking out" during the day - I still feel like this happens a bit too frequently for longer periods then I'd like.  But I feel like my approach of slowly reducing the durations will help in the long term as I know SOME of those checkout times are necessary as they provide a mental break.  The other aspect I'll put in this bucket is protecting my time, but I'm not sure I've really had enough opportunities to evaluate how successful I've been with this, so it will continue to be an area of awareness for me to monitor.

Quite a few things have gone well for me this month and I feel like there's some good momentum starting to help pull me forward.  Two that I definitely feel have positive impacts and are helping in multiple ways are a better adherence to a strength training plan and getting an additional 15 minutes of sleep on average per night.  Neither of these are monumental shifts, but helping build the foundation for a strong year as I'm noticing it in my training on my way back from injury.  Speaking of, I also had a great day at the Houston Marathon (deciding to switch to the half marathon was the right choice) and that confidence has allowed me to shift my race goals a little bit and be more aggressive targeting my ambitious performance targets.

I feel like I've built up some pretty good momentum, so for the most part I want to continue what I have been doing as we roll into February, but I do have a couple things I'm going to layer in. I want to build on my success with strength training in how I shifted that mentally and apply that same "trick" to some of the "un-fun" parts of running a business. There are a handful of items that I have been putting off for way too long, and I need to get them resolved. So I'm putting the same criteria there - I need to get them at least started before I allow myself to start any new "fun" task. I know, again that sounds a little vague but hopefully you can relate to the concept and the idea here is to keep myself accountable. The other aspect that is continuing to evolve is my actual business scope, and I've announced some of that already but that will continue to evolve over this next month. I'm very excited about the quality of service this will allow me to provide, but there's also significant work to be done to make sure I have everything in place to ensure not only the success but a smooth process for my clients.

January isn’t about proving anything — it’s about paying attention.

What’s working deserves reinforcement. What’s hard deserves adjustment, not judgment.

Progress comes from reflection followed by action — again and again.

👉 If you want more grounded, practical conversations like this, subscribe to The Wellness Forge or reach out if you’d like help designing a plan that adapts with you, not against you.

Why High Performers Burn Out Quietly

If you’re productive, motivated, and capable, people assume you’re fine.

Even when you’re running on fumes.

That’s the cost of always being “on.”

What does always being "on" look like? It doesn't necessarily mean the same for everyone, but you will notice certain of these statements ring true for you:

• consistently mentally engaged

• quick to react emotionally

• consistently physically tired

• always reachable

• trouble falling asleep as you can't turn your brain off

Now I've used some significant qualifiers there, words like "always" and "consistently" don't take those literally, but do some self reflection on how often those are the case. And maybe you're in the group that runs this way during the week, and then uses the weekend to recharge. That method can work, but typically the weekends aren't long enough, or turned down enough to truly recover from the built up stress of the week.

What this habit of living in this "on" state creates is the situation of chronic stress, and that's important to differentiate from acute stress. Acute stress is the stress we want as that's short term and recoverable stress that our body (and mind) will be able to adapt to better handle in the future. This doesn't mean they have to be the intense kinds of workouts I mentioned earlier, but any sort of event that pushes the body past its level of normalcy is a stressor. In contrast, chronic stress builds over time and indicates that the body doesn't have the capacity to recover such that the stress starts compounding. This can lead to all sorts of physical and mental challenges that take orders of magnitude longer to recover from, REDS (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports) and stress fractures being two common examples. Chronic stress with have a significant impact on your physical performance as well as mental capacity and motivation levels that far outweigh the downtime needed to prevent this buildup. High performers are especially at risk for these behaviors as they're generally more adept at tolerating stress for longer periods and will normalize any levels of fatigue as they'll "sleep when they're dead." This class of personality is also more likely to dismiss any of the warning signs and push any sort of recovery to the weekend, next week, or once this project ends.

So how does one maximize their performance without falling into a stress cycle they can't get out of? The first step, like with many other processes I've suggested, is an awareness of the patterns. If anything I've mentioned above rings a little true, it would be worthwhile to start paying more attention to your energy levels, mental acuity, sleep habits, and emotional states to understand how they fluctuate. If you notice a couple of these are trending in the directions you don't want, then you'll want to look for ways to help create more of an energy wave, and not an energy straight line. You can still have those peaks, but you need to also create some valleys. This can be done on any timeline you want, but a great place to start would be daily - aim for at least 2 peaks and valleys (to start) during the course of the day. These don't need to be long periods of time, but even carving out a block of time for a walk, phone call with a friend or loved one, or a TV show will help create those valleys. Once you get a handle on how effective this is, you can then look to see if perhaps a full recovery day might be helpful - whether that's on a weekly basis or more spread out. And for those longer more sustained periods of stress (large work project, major presentation, goal race, etc) you should plan for at least a day of recovery after the event to mentally and physically wind down. As you work to incorporate this approach, you'll notice your peaks can become longer and higher with the valleys becoming more natural.

Being “on” isn’t the same as being effective.

Performance is built on cycles — not constant pressure.

The goal isn’t to do less — it’s to recover better.

🔗 Subscribe to The Wellness Forge for strategies that help you perform without burning out.

Why Consistency Beats Intensity (Especially for High Performers)

Big goals tend to attract big plans — aggressive workouts, strict nutrition, packed schedules.

And for a few weeks, they work.

Until they don’t.

I tend to encounter this challenge more at the start of a clients' journey, but we can all fall into the trap of chasing intensity at any point of our fitness lives. It is a natural choice to make, and for many there's logic there to "make up for lost time" or "strike while the iron is hot" to take advantage of the early motivation curve. There's also the mental aspect that hard workouts feel good and there's a great sense of accomplishment from completely them, not to mention it definitely feeds into the "go hard or go home" mentality. However, the biggest challenge with this approach is that while yes it can create quick short term changes those are just an illusion of progress.  In reality, chasing intensity primarily will lead to an increased injury risk and an increase in required recovery time between workouts which will negatively impact any sort of adherence to a program. The last issue I want to mention is that this approach will collapse under any sort of increase in life stress or when schedules get busy.

The alternative to chasing intensity is to chase consistency, start small and build the consistency first then slowly increase from there. I know sometimes it is hard to think this way, but health isn't a short term goal - starting with the thought process of "what changes can I make now that I could realistically consistently do for the rest of my life" is the best approach. These small consistent changes with build results, and those results will start to compound as you continue. Another huge advantage of this approach is that it is more adaptable to life changes as you can shift your workouts more easily as a 10 minute mobility session might be the perfect workout after a tough day. This adaptability also applies to overall recovery and stress management as the consistency allows your body to more adequately recover from each workout and absorb the training load from the next workout, further increasing your overall progress.

I've mentioned that this "intensity" trap usually happens when starting off, but there are also ways this mentality can creep in even after working out for a period of time. There are a few ways this can happen:

• An "all or nothing" approach to a workouts - if I can't get the exact workout in, don't ever try

• Always striving for the perfect nutrition each day - this is impossible to maintain and leads to binges

• Allowing your recovery to become optional - recovery doesn't need to happen every day, but it should be a consistent part of your training, no matter your goals.

• Make up sessions - attempting the hero weekend, where you fit in all the sessions you missed during the week.

All of these have some logic that sounds good, but consistently falling into any of the above traps will derail your progress at best, and at worst lead to burnout or injury.

For optimal results, especially if you're chasing performance, the best approach is going to be a careful mixture of both consistency AND intensity. However, the intensity is going to be sporadic and targeted to match your goals. For example, in the endurance sports world, there's a common training approach that's an 80/20 model meaning that 80% of training is done at low intensities and 20% is done at higher levels. That same kind of idea can be applied anywhere, and of course the appropriate numbers may vary, but the idea of the majority of your work being focused on consistency as the main course with intensity being the spices added to the meal. Then when you start to vary the training loads, you'll also want to make sure you're matching that appropriately with your nutrition, sleep, and recovery such that you can maximize your progress and efficiency.

Intensity gets attention. Consistency builds outcomes.

If your plan only works when life is calm, it isn’t a good plan.

Sustainable progress comes from doing what you can — repeatedly.

🔗 Subscribe to The Wellness Forge for practical strategies that help you build strength, resilience, and results that last.

Micro-Recovery: Small Actions That Drive Big Performance Gains

Most people think recovery requires time they don’t have.

In reality, recovery works best when it happens in small doses, often.

These micro-recovery habits can change how you feel, train, and perform — without adding anything to your calendar.

While looking at some of the big movers for recovery, things like nutrition and sleep, there's also lots to be gained from thinking small when it comes to recovery.  And by small, I mean short periods of dedicated time that can have outsized benefits in both physical and mental recovery.  As with other topics, I wouldn't suggest trying to implement ALL of these, but pick one or two and see if they help.  Don't panic if something doesn't work for you, pick something else and keep trying.  Once you find something that works, keep it consistent and try to make it part of your normal routines.

Let's start with some that are more physical in nature, with probably the simplest and lowest barrier to entry being a short walk - even just a couple of minutes provides not only muscular benefits, improves digestion, but it can be a nice mental break as well. Also in this bucket would be some sort of mobility work focusing on whatever joints or muscles that may be nagging you, either while sitting by moving through the joints' full range of motion, or coupled with a walk and making it a bit more of a dynamic stretch. Maybe even incorporate some sort of recovery tool in this process, foam rollers may be tougher in the office, but massage guns or a lacrosse ball work wonders and can travel pretty easily. The last one I'll touch on in this article would be to have some sort of a snack, sometimes the best way to break up your day is the injection of a little energy. This snack doesn't have to be large but something that can not only distract you physically (and mentally) but also provide a nice energy boost.

The other aspect of these little recovery breaks are ones that I'll put into more of a mental space or requiring little physical movement. A couple of examples of these kinds of breaks would be:

• Breathing resets - think deep breaths, either structured or just a pause

• Giving your eyes a rest - look away from screens, or close your eyes for a period (don't try this while driving!)

Another idea to consider in this area would be ways to shift your environment to reduce or shift the stressors in some way:

• Wearing Blue light blocking glasses

• Noise generator - white noise works for many, but there are different options that work better for some

• Background music

If you're looking for a plan to implement a break or two into your day, pay attention to your energy levels during the day and see if you notice a period (or two) where you struggle. That's the time you'll want to apply one of these techniques, and try the same one for a couple days to see if you notice a benefit. This is also a case where having some sort of logging or journal routine will come in handy to not only find those lulls, but see what works and what doesn't. I personally use the journal function in the Whoop app to help with these kinds of trials and shoot for a handful of days with the routine and without to have a somewhat decent comparison. The actual tool used doesn't really matter, it is the process of adding that recovery tactic and monitoring how (if) it impacts your body and mentality.

Recovery doesn’t need to be dramatic to be effective.

Small, consistent recovery habits protect your energy, sharpen focus, and keep performance sustainable — especially on busy days.

Start small. Repeat often. Let recovery work with you.

🔗 Subscribe to The Wellness Forge for practical strategies that help you train, work, and live stronger — without burnout.

Stretching Isn’t the Fix: Strength & Movement Are

If you feel stiff, sore, or restricted, your first instinct is probably to stretch more.

But for most people, tightness isn’t a flexibility problem — it’s a capacity problem.

Strength and movement solve far more issues than endless stretching ever will.

I've had many clients initially tell me they wanted to be more flexible and I appreciate that we all have goals however I believe there are better goals to strive for than flexibility out of the gate.  One quick test is a standing squat, notice the depth you can achieve and then perform that same squat using a door frame, bar, squat rack, anything for support and notice the depth again.  For most people, there is a significant difference which shows the issue isn't flexibility (at least in legs) but in strength for your body to get into and out of that position.  Now if you're one of the few that those 2 exercises have similar depths, than yes perhaps mobility is an issue.  However, the second question I then ask is what everyday activities are restricted by this "lack of mobility" and usually there aren't any.  Again, if something comes up that should be addressed but for most they would be better served to chase strength, especially at the edges of their range of motion than spending time on stretching.

The first thing to look at when working on mobility and flexibility, and that is to maximize the range of motion with your exercises. This may require using less weight than normal, but that additional range of motion will provide a large stimulus that will dramatically increase overall strength. Another good option is to hold at that full range of motion to provide a specific stimulus at your weakest portion of the movement. Not only will this combination increase your overall mobility but that increased mobility will greatly decrease your likelihood of injury.

The next best way to increase mobility is through frequent movement of those joints with minimal stress but full range of motion. Think of things like walking, easy bike rides, or perhaps even swimming as activities that fall into this bucket. The main benefits of this kind of movement is that it:

• lubricates joints

• increases blood-flow throughout the body which brings nutrients and removes waste

• and it reinforces natural movement patterns

This movement doesn't need to be a long duration, even short durations can be beneficial - try to at least get to the point where you feel your body loosen up.

All this isn't to say that stretching doesn't have a place in a healthy lifestyle - it certainly can, but many either implement it incorrectly or at the wrong times. There are typically two kinds of stretching:

• Dynamic, or moving stretches - these typically incorporate slow movements through an entire range of motion. Think leg swings, arm swings, body leans, etc.

• Static stretching - holding the same stretched position for anywhere from 10 seconds through multiple minutes.

Dynamic stretching is best used before exercise as a warm-up to prime the muscles for whatever exercise you're about to start. Static stretching is best used either as a cool-down after exercise or as part of a night-time routine to calm the muscles and nervous system before sleep. Stretching then becomes the enhancement tool for your exercise and not the main event.

Most people don’t need more mobility drills — they need more movement and more strength.

Build capacity. Move often. Use stretching as a tool, not a crutch.

When strength and movement lead the way, mobility follows naturally.

🔗 Subscribe to The Wellness Forge for practical, sustainable strategies that build resilient bodies — not fragile routines.

Ergonomics for Recovery: Setting Up a Standing Desk to Reduce Pain and Prevent Flare-Ups

As I discussed last week, there are lots of benefits to a standing desk but I wanted to get a little more personal on how it has helped me during this past year.  As a Health Coach, I spend most of my time working with my clients to help them realize how some of their habits and environments are not set up for their success, but I will admit it isn't always easy for me to do that same thing for myself. Over this past year, I've suffered two significant injuries that have not only derailed my training but have also had a massive impact on my quality of life.  Based on these two injuries, I have looked into things I could put into practice during my daily life to not only help heal those injuries but better recover from my training and life activities.  I do find myself sitting for a good portion of the day, not only at my desk, but also in my car as I drive quite a bit for clients. I have made some changes in the car, but those are more complicated and not quite as significant, and with both of these being hip injuries (both sides) I wanted to make changes not only in my posture but my overall workspace.

I've had my current workspace for over 6 years now, and while it mostly worked I noticed it was starting to lead to more aches and pains if I sat for too long. It also didn't have much flexibility in movement as managing all of the cables became unwieldy. I had tried a couple of half measures to piece together a standing option but with the system being manual, it was clunky and often created more problems than it solved. I then looked into the UPLIFT Desk and realized this could solve multiple problems and provide a badly needed refresh of my workspace.

When configuring my new UPLIFT v3 Standing Desk workspace, the primary requirement for me was the simple process of converting from sitting to standing, with the capabilities to provide the peace of mind with the UPLIFT Desk FlexMount Cable Manager system so that I wouldn't have to worry about any of my cords or cables or make a series of adjustments once that transition is made. Over the years, I've realized if there's any hesitation that I'll cut a cord, or yank something off the table, I won't bother with standing at all. The UPLIFT Desk provides numerous different ways to bundle, hide, and route all of the cables (and yes I have LOTS of them) to the places they need to go, maintain their functionality, and most importantly work exactly the same sitting and standing.

Another key component with my success with this new workstation has been the comfort while standing, having multiple options has been key. There are days when I want that cushy pad underneath my feet to provide that extra level of comfort. Then there are days where I want a little challenge, that's where the Motion X-Board comes in as it provides just enough instability to keep me mentally alert but also enough movement to help my ankles, knees, and most importantly (for me) my hips. Not only have these options allowed me to extend the time I spend standing, but also provide movement when I need it. This movement and changing of positions increases the amount of blood flowing through the legs and in general keeps the body in a more neutral position which promotes recovery.

The other key component for me of a successful workstation, is the aesthetics of it - or the looks. This isn't just the design of the desk and the material options, but the ability to keep it clean, organized, functional, and still a little fun! Being able to lift my monitors and computers off the desk clears up the entire workspace for not only utility, but allows me to display some of the other fun items in my collection. And since the entire workspace moves, I don't have to do any re-organizing when I stand or sit. Speaking of fun, another option that I initially thought was silly was the concept of having a hammock as part of my desk. But now that I have it, I love it - and not necessarily for the reasons you might think. Sure it is comfortable and fun, but it actually does help me stay more productive, let me explain. As someone who works from home (and have for the better part of 20 years) I can always find distractions if I want to (and yes, distractions are also in the office too) but on the days when I want to stretch out a little bit the hammock provides a great option that still keeps me physically in the office. I can use that time to quickly recharge and not end up on the couch where I might end up accidentally watching an entire season of Stranger Things!

All of these features and options, especially the UPLIFT Desk’s ergonomic benefits, have enabled me to successfully rehab from my injuries and build healthier more sustainable habits that should help to keep me more injury free going forward.

If you’re dealing with nagging pain or coming back from injury, think of your desk as part of your rehab plan. The goal isn’t to stand all day—it’s to create more movement opportunities and reduce time spent in the positions that provoke symptoms. Start with 10–20 minute standing blocks a couple times a day, keep your posture relaxed, and use the desk transition as a cue to reset: a few breaths, a quick walk, a gentle stretch. Want the easiest way to build that routine into your day? Explore UPLIFT Desk and set up a sit-stand station that makes consistency automatic.

If you choose to purchase through this link, I will earn an affiliate commission on that purchase - feel free to use that link or share it with others as a way to support what I do

From Reflection to Direction: My New Year Process

A strong year isn’t forged by one bold resolution — it’s shaped by consistent intention.

Before setting goals, I step back, assess the last year, and choose how I want to show up in the next one.

One of the most common traditions this time of year is some sort of resolution, change, plan, or something to do differently to start off year.  Over the past few years, I have switched up towards more of a process that I also implement around any other significant event such as a race or work event. I use this as a time for reflection, looking at the things I did well in the previous year, some areas that didn't go so well and lessons learned from them, and finally a look forward to next year with a combination of incremental process goals, things I want to improve on, and then a "big scary goal" or two. I'm sharing this here for two reasons, one to walk through what I believe is a more successful concept, and two to provide myself with a level of accountability.

Looking back at last year, I didn't have any of those stand-out wins or massive highs but it definitely was a year of consistency. I feel like this consistency applies to the business side most with regards to my clients, my level of service to them, and also with my consistently looking to learn and continue to improve. I also feel like I managed to gradually work on my sleep, the most challenging part getting to bed earlier. There's still lots of room to improve but the increased awareness and small shift should help lead into this year for even more improvement. My training didn't go quite as planned as I started the year recovering from a torn labrum, and then later in the year picked up another hip injury. But I do feel like both of these injuries brought me greater awareness of my body, especially while running as I needed to make various tweaks based on my physical therapy. This awareness also helped me more smartly adhere to my training plan and also know when I needed to make shifts in the plan. The last area I wanted to call out was not only a better handle on my schedule, but also doing a better job of protecting the parts of my schedule that I needed (or wanted) to hold. While this may sound trivial, I have a habit of rearranging my schedule to fit others and while that has certain obvious advantages it does create other challenges for me and my mental outlook. Shifting just a little bit along that scale towards protecting my schedule helps me strike a better balance in my life.

As for areas that didn't go as well, I don't go into this process trying to find every issue or mistake but instead look at one or two significant aspects that were the most impactful on the year. Probably the most obvious one that jumps out to me was my consistency with strength training, which I realize might sound odd coming from someone who knows how important it is. I will firmly admit that I am one of my toughest clients, and spoiler this will be an item coming up that I plan to work on. I also recognize that I probably got a little too comfortable with my client base and didn't push as hard I as I could to grow that, or improve what I'm doing for my existing clients. This is also one of those areas where I am my worst critic as well, but I do feel like there's room for improvement there. Finally the other aspect I recognize got a bit out of control was my ability to check out for longer than I probably should. Yes there are times when I need to zone out to relax and recharge, but far too often a 30 minute mental break turned into multiple hours. This one will probably be tough to break, but I feel like one of the tweaks I made towards the end of the year will help with this and more awareness will also help reign this habit in a bit.

So what does my plan for 2026 look like? As part of this process, I look to identify a couple of processes that I want to improve, a couple of specific targets (usually with a couple levels to them), and then a "scary" goal or two. I mentioned it above, but top of the list that I need to work on is my strength training consistency and I've already addressed many of the logistical challenges with a routine - I simply need to do it. My plan to improve my consistency starts with actually scheduling the slot on my calendar, as only having it on my training plan doesn't seem to work. I will also make the mental shift that these workouts are my most important ones of the week, and need to happen before I "reward" myself with my long run. I also want to work on keeping my schedule more in control, satisfying my clients but also leaving room for myself. I've made strides this year, but feel like there's a gap between the day to day scheduling and longer term stuff. I'm recently starting using a tool called Notion (just the free version at this time) to help better organize and visualize my longer term projects and that coupled with my existing calendar should help improve this situation. I do have some specific business goals with regards to numbers I want to hit and the success of a new program I will be launching (👀SOON! 👀) but the scheduling improvement I mentioned will also have a significant positive impact on my business. I'm taking a break this year from setting a specific financial target but I will gauge this success based on my comfort level with additional expenditures, primarily vacation and travel. I know that may sound vague but it has a very specific and real meaning to me, which is the important part. As for my "scary" goals, technically I have two of them but they're related and based on how the year starts off with my injury may collapse to one. But I have some relatively lofty goals that I want to hit with regards to my marathon time, and full distance Ironman Triathlon. But before I can really narrow in on these, I need to see how the next couple weeks of training goes as that will drive whether I can tackle both of them, or if I need to focus on just one.

The New Year isn’t about doing everything — it’s about doing the right things with intention.

When your personal health, training, and business goals align, progress becomes sustainable and meaningful.

This year, to summarize my outlook, I’m focused on clarity, consistency, and energy — and helping others do the same.

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