I listened to a fascinating podcast with Ken Rideout the other day.

Come again?  Ken who?

Ken Rideout is one of the world’s top over-50 marathon runners (think multiple sub 2hr 30min runs).

And in the podcast he describes his process leading up to a race:

In the case of Tokyo with a 14 hour time change, I need to get there at least 7 days early to get my body and my circadian rhythm on track. I’ve spent 12 weeks devoting so much energy to this I don't want to mess around when I get there. 

I don't make plans to go to dinner with people.  I know I'm selfish.  I'm not a pro runner but this is my version of the Olympics.  I’m not there to mess around and have fun.  I just need to be alone by myself.  What other people think doesn’t matter. 

Ken goes on to say that his “blinkers” are so far on that in the days leading up to a race – and even during the race itself – he won’t acknowledge, or even notice, the people, sights, sounds etc of whatever city he’s racing in.

Such is his dedication to getting the job done.

Lessons here for everyone about how to manage distractions in this day and age.  

Of course, distractions aren’t going anywhere.  If anything, they’re only going to get worse. 

Which means knowing how to aggressively protect your time is more important than ever before.

That’s the bad news.

But here’s the good news:

You can change the way you approach distractions. 

I’ll offer you one way right now.

And it requires a certain level of – how shall I say it - ruthlessness.

Doesn’t need to be Ken Rideout levels of ruthlessness.

But if you're always being dragged from one last-minute meeting to the next by your colleagues, you might need to twist your ruthlessness dial up a notch or two.

And if you're always glued to your phone in bed after midnight and kicking yourself the next morning for only getting 5 hours sleep, you might need to do the same.

You might need to start saying “No” more often.  To people, to work and to your phone.

Day 2 of the Time Conqueror, my time management challenge, will help you do this.

Moreover, Day 2 builds on a concept explored in Day 1 .  A concept so important I’d argue it underpins all of your time management wobbles and woes.

It’s a concept Ken Rideout personifies.  And those who read Day 1 will grasp this idea in a flash.

Interested?

I’m only making Time Conqueror available to people who are signed up to my emails.

So if you’d like to join, here’s the link.