So I have embarked on what is supposed to be a life-transforming health journey. Namely, a program at a gym where everyone is already totally fit and hot (that always kind of irks me) that requires I work out from 6-7 am SIX DAYS A WEEK! In addition, we get nutrition counseling and sign up to follow a relatively strict regimen of food. All of this for eight weeks.

Photo Credit D Sharon Pruitt

If you know me, you're saying that I don't need to diet. And you're pretty much right. But I do need to change my eating habits. Ever met the kid that grew up on sugary cereal and no veggies? That's me. And now I'm just the adult version of that kid. So I'm looking for ways to learn about what I eat, plan better and make better decisions so that I'm healthier and hopefully a bit happier. Not that cutting out chocolate for eight weeks is making me particularly happy right now.

It's funny, though. While the food restrictions are just that - restrictive - I haven't found it to be that difficult if I just plan. I can only eat "x" number of calories per day, I have to eat it in six meals and each meal needs to be x% carbs, x% protein and x% fat. So I have a fancy excel sheet and literally plan my meals as if they were a complex crossword puzzle. And when I spend the time doing it I'm eating significantly less per day than normal, eating ridiculously healthier than I ever have, and not really missing other food that much. And I'm not hungry.

So this program, now explained in too much detail, has got me thinking about work. At Volunteer Vancouver we often hear about how difficult it is to plan and to operate a nonprofit proactively rather than reactively. And that's incredibly true - who of us ever has enough money, resources or time? And yet some organizations do manage to spend their time a bit more wisely. I am a fan of Stephen Covey's "Urgent versus Important" Matrix. By looking at this, I think most of us would have to admit that we spend too much time in the quadrants of "waste" and "deception". Now do you really want to be in the quadrant of deception?!? I think not.

So let's take a page from my ridiculous diet and think differently about our work. It's not easy, but if we take the time to plan, we will work like I eat - healthier and with fewer calories. And let me be clear: when I say "take" the time to plan, I mean MAKE the time to plan. And now you'll tell me that you can't because of all the [reactive] ways you HAVE to spend your time. And my answer to that? Seems to me that's a choice you've made without even trying the alternative.

Dieting is hard. Exercising is hard. At least for me. But when you do those things that are most difficult, the payoffs are always exponentially greater. Better planning means better organizations doing better work in the community. I've got six and a half weeks left of my program. Will you join me and start your diet at work?