More Sustainability in 202X - Check My 7 Goals & Pick Your Favorite!

A new decade just started and I have very ambitious goals in private and business for 2020 and the upcoming years – aka 202X (one of them is to make our leadership and business culture more sustainable).

If I want to achieve my goals I need to perform at my highest level for an extended period of time.

In my 20ies and early 30ies I thought that I’m indestructible. But I’m not. Nobody is.

I had to learn the hard way how following your passion can burn you out.

Today I know better.

And I will not make the same mistake again.

Let me be honest with you… I haven’t become any calmer or less ambitious.

In fact, I’m more passionate (if not obsessed) about achieving my goals than ever.

But I learned how to tame the fire. How to sustain my energy levels, my performance, my health and my happiness on a high level. Even higher than ever before. 

Here are my Top7 personal sustainability goals for the 202X decade:

#7 Eat 24.9kg of Proteins 

Our metabolism is highly individual, especially when it comes to carbs vs. fats. But what is quite universal is our need for proteins. Proteins are the building blocks of our life. Our muscle tissue, blood cells, bones, hormones, immune cells and so much more consists of protein. But most of us don’t get enough of it.

Rule of thumb: we need 1g of protein per kg bodyweight per day (in challenging times 1.5 - 2.0g). Make sure you get mostly plant-based proteins so you don’t elevate your mTor (mechanistic target of rapamycin) levels which is known for elevating your risk of various forms of cancer.

Following this rule was a complete game changer for me with regard to my energy levels as well as cognitive and physical performance. I will continue to prioritize this sustainability goal in 2020.

Goal calculation: 366 days x 68g*/per day = 24,888g or 24.8kg

*My bodyweight is 68kg

 #6 Integrate 2,800 Micro Breaks

Research shows that we perform at our highest level when we take a short break every 50-90 minutes (the more cognitive work involved, the shorter). This is called the Ultradian Rhythm.

For me disengaging from deep work every 50 minutes works best. It keeps my stress-rest elasticity (ability to switch between stress and rest mode) in great shape and allows me to keep a high energy level throughout the day. My micro breaks typically range from as little as 48 seconds up to 10 minutes.

Goal calculation: 280 working days x 10 micro breaks/day = 2,800 Micro Breaks.

#5 Perform 61 Hours of Micro Moves

I typically start my day with 1 hour of running or yoga. But for the rest of my day (23 hours) I don’t exercise. That’s why I need a solution to fight the damage of being sedentary. Remember… Sitting is the new smoking!

"Sitting is the new smoking"

If I really want to sustain my physiology over the long term I need to move more often. That’s why I started to move my body every hour. Not very long or intense, but very frequently. These little micro moves are simple exercises that I can perform anytime, anywhere, even when wearing a suit. I do micro moves every hour between 9 AM and 7 PM no matter where I am or what I do.

Again, this was a complete game changer for my physical and mental well-being. No stiffness, no back pain, upright posture, great energy.

Goal calculation: 366 days x 10 micro move/day x 1 min per micro move session = 3,660 min or 61 hours

#4 Spend 73 Days OFF

Integrating micro breaks into my daily life is great. Adding one complete day OFF per week (mostly Sundays) kicks my recovery into the next gear. On these days I don’t work and don’t engage in any other kind of obligations that might suck my energy. This day is fully dedicated to getting back to 100%.

On top of these weekly OFF days my goal for 2020 is to get three seven-consecutive-days-OFF as vacations. Traditionally, taking sufficient vacation time was not my biggest strength so I need to place special attention on this goal in 2020.

Goal calculation: 52 Sundays + 3 seven-day breaks (21 days) = 73 days

#3 ‘No Phone’ on 62 Days

I love my phone. In fact I’m highly vulnerable to using it too much and becoming addicted to these little dopamine kicks from LinkedIN & Co. That’s why I prescribe myself a weekly ‘No-Phone’ Day (mostly on Sundays) where I lock my phone in the basement so I don’t see it. This weekly mobile fast multiplies the recovery effect of my days OFF “exponentially”.

In addition to these weekly mobile fasts I take a 5-days-in-a-row mobile fast twice per year (one of them being from 26.12. – 30.12. and the other during summer vacation) to really detox from my urge to check it in between.

Goal calculation: 52 Sundays + 2x 5-day mobile fasts (10 days) = 62 days

#2 Meditate 122 Hours

Meditating is hard. It takes time. It can be frustrating at times. That’s why most people quit after a few weeks (especially those who would benefit most from it). It took me years to establish the habit of meditating on a daily basis. But I’m over the hump. I’ve found my approach, my rhythm, my timing and now I really enjoy it.

And equally important, it REALLY helps me stay focused, be creative and even sleep better (which leads me to my most important sustainability goal for 2020…)

Goal calculation: (15 min every morning + 5 min before bed) x 366 days = 7,320 min or 122 hours

#1 Get 488 Hours of Deep Sleep

People care way too much about how long they sleep (‘Do I need 6 or 7 hours?’) and way too little about how much deep sleep they get. Deep sleep is the most rejuvenating stage during sleep where the real magic happens:

• our Glymphatic system cleans our brain from toxic proteins (that cause Alzheimer’s disease)
• we release human growth hormone (HGH) that keeps us energized, strong and young
• our immune kicks into high gear to fight off all infections including the precursors for cancer cells
• our brain turns things we learn into long-term memories

We need ~90 minutes of deep sleep per night to perform these recovery processes. Unfortunately, those people who work in high-stress environments often don’t even get a fraction of it. (In fact many of my clients get 10 minutes or less! Yeah, that’s why they wake up tired every morning, even after sleeping 7+ hours…).

If I had to choose between enough deep sleep, great food and moving enough (thank God I don’t have to!) I’d always go for sufficient deep sleep. It’s the foundation for everything. If I’d recommend just 1 thing for 2020 it’s this:

"Become OBSESSED about getting sufficient deep sleep."

Goal calculation: 80 minutes per night: 80 minutes x 366 days = 29,280 min or 488 hours.

"How Do You Find The Time For All This, Chris?!?!"

This is a question I get asked a lot. It's a combination of these three facts:

1. Some of my sustainability habits don't take more time (like getting sufficient proteins or more deep sleep): It's just doing some things differently.
2. Ruthless focus: over the years I've become better at saying NO and putting my attention exclusively on those few tasks that really move the needle forward. Before that I engaged in way too many taks that made me FEEL productive while in fact I wasn't.
3. By implementing these habits I've become faster in doing what I do. Less brain fog, less mind wandering, more super productive deep work sessions. This does not happen over the night but it feels like this effect grows exponentially. Today I get more relevant stuff done in 4 hours than I used to in one week.

Bringing it All Together

If you’re new to this whole ‘personal sustainability thing’, my goals might sound a little overwhelming. And they are. But remember – Rome wasn’t built in one day. It took me years to get there and today I’m happy to say that I truly enjoy each one of them.

So start small.

Pick one – JUST ONE – goal that feels most relevant for you and make it a sustainable habit: implement a trigger so you never forget. Create a routine. Enjoy the reward. Create momentum.

If your first goal runs on autopilot, pick the next and make this a sustainable habit. And then the next, and the next, and the next…

Is it hard? Yes, especially in the beginning.

Is it worth it? Oh yeah!!!

Nothing less than your energy level, your cognitive and physical performance, your health and your happiness is at stake.

Isn’t that enough to START NOW?

Thanks for reading.

What are YOUR personal sustainability goals for 2020? Please let me know in the comments.

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