3 uncomfortable lessons from a 100-year-old book that hit harder than modern productivity advice

Arnold Bennett wrote How to Live on 24 Hours a Day over a century ago.
No smartphones. No Slack. No endless notifications.

Yet the book hits uncomfortably close to home.

Here are the three ideas that genuinely changed how I use my time.

1. Don’t Let One Third of Your Day Spill into the Other Two

Work is supposed to take one third of your day.
Not half. Not everything.

The real issue isn’t working hard — it’s letting work leak into the rest of life.

There’s a joke about German punctuality I love:

At 5:00 sharp, everyone drops what they’re doing — even mid-sentence — and leaves the office.

Funny. But also deeply wise.

Time is precious.
Spending all of it on your occupation is a poor investment.

Be extremely possessive of your non-work hours.
That’s where life, growth, and identity actually happen.

This is the time for:

• sport
• hobbies
• side hustles
• meeting friends
• dates
• building something that’s yours

These things are not meant to be squeezed into lunch breaks or half-heartedly attempted between meetings.
They deserve proper space.

From 5:01 pm onward, your time belongs to you.
Treat it like it does.

2. Practice Device Hygiene (This One Is Non-Negotiable)

This is the rule I struggle with the most — and the one that matters the most.

No devices one hour before sleep.
No devices one hour after waking up.

Non-negotiable.

The first and last hours of your day shape your mental state more than anything else.
Scrolling blurs your mind.
Notifications hijack your attention before you’ve even decided how you want to show up.

Instead:

• Let excitement for the day build naturally
• Give your brain real rest
• Start the day on your terms, not the internet’s

My personal twist:
I keep track of the days I win this battle — morning or evening.

And it feels great!

It creates a perfect opportunity to read a book — something that’s often the first casualty of fast-paced daily life.
After a few weeks, I also noticed something unexpected: less eye strain by the end of the day.

No miracle claims here — just heaps of small, tangible benefits you really have to experience yourself.

3. Don’t Break Your Free Time with Meals

This one clicked instantly.

When it comes to nutrition, timing matters more than the food itself.

The pattern Bennett describes is painfully accurate:

• We perform best right before a meal
• We perform worst right after a meal

Yet we constantly schedule demanding tasks after dinner.

I noticed this about myself:
9 out of 10 times I say, “I’ll do it later tonight after dinner,” one of two things happens:

• it gets postponed to the next day
• or I push through and ruin my sleep

Both are losses.

Reading this part of the book felt like someone naming a long-standing pain point.
The solution is simple: plan your meals deliberately.

Don’t let them cut your best focus blocks in half.
Eat around your free time activity, not inside it.

Take control of timing — and the same effort will suddenly produce better results.

Final Thought

This book isn’t about productivity tricks.
It’s about respecting your finite daily life.

You already get 24 hours a day.
The real question is whether you’re defending them — or quietly letting them slip away.

P.P.: Did you already search for Bennett’s book?

We all tell ourselves, “once I cross this threshold, I’ll be unstoppable.”
Reality check: most of us hit 80% of what we planned, if we’re lucky.

Is there a hack?
A way to weaponize human nature instead of fighting it?

I stumbled into one by accident.

I spent a long vacation in Southeast Asia. It was fantastic. Unreal food, zero regrets. I didn’t eat a single meal I didn’t love.

But I also quietly pushed my long runs aside.
I blocked two weeks in my calendar as “taking it easy” — recovery, rejuvenation, proper rest before the big push into 2026.

Back in the Netherlands, I did what we all do.

“Alright. Every day. No excuses. Time to lock in.”

Easier said than done.

After weeks of indulgence, jumping straight back into 3–3.5 hour endurance workouts felt brutal. The fatigue hit harder than expected. The comeback wasn’t smooth. Not even close.

And then I discovered something I don’t think I’ll ever stop using.

The Accountability Buddy

I needed an accountability buddy.

In my case, it was my uncle — an advanced endurance athlete himself, also rebooting after Christmas and New Year’s.

His idea was simple:
Every day, we text each other.

• Did you train?
• What did you do?
• What sucked?

Same goals. Same mindset.
We even asked ChatGPT to generate a January training plan for us. Seconds later — done.

What happened at the end of the first week is what sold me for life.

I’d just finished a 12-hour restaurant shift — a casual student job during the holidays.
My legs were cooked.
Outside: –3°C, misty, snow on the ground.

And I had promised a 20 km run.

Every excuse showed up on time.
“Tomorrow is smarter.”
“Recovery matters.”
“One day won’t change anything.”

Then my phone buzzed.

“How did the workout go?”- my uncle

In my family, we don’t lie to each other. Ever.
So escaping wasn’t an option.

1 hour 43 minutes later, I was standing in the bathroom, post-run, about to step into the shower. I sent my uncle a message:

“Too easy.”
Workout stats attached.

That’s when it clicked.

The Power of a Promise

I didn’t need motivation.
I didn’t negotiate with myself.
I didn’t think.

I had promised someone else.

Miss the workout, and next family dinner, he’d bring it up — smiling, casually, in front of everyone. That scenario was unacceptable.

Decision fatigue disappeared.
The routine automated itself.

I wasn’t relying on internal motivation anymore — I was anchored to external commitment, which is often stronger, especially when ego and identity are involved.

I’ve learned this about myself:
If a habit touches my identity, it sticks.

By mid-month, the roles flipped. I started dragging him into brutal sessions. Friendly pressure. Family stubbornness. A perfect loop.

Clear win-win.

Public Promises Are Weak

That raised another question.

If promising something to one person works this well, wouldn’t promising it to many people work even better?

So I tested it.

I wanted to get better at video editing — a valuable, transferable skill. I announced it publicly. Instagram posts. Messages to 20 people. Loud commitment.

Daily editing. No excuses.

The result?

Discipline existed — but nowhere near the consistency of the running habit.

Why?

Because nobody was really watching.

There was no daily check-in. No personal stake. No relationship on the line. Just noise.

That experiment taught me a rule I now live by:

PRIVATE PROMISE > PUBLIC PROMISE

Every time.

How I Use It Now

Writing.
Coding.
Languages.
Training.

For each habit, I choose one relevant person from my inner circle.

I ask them to be my accountability buddy.
I give them permission to poke, provoke, and apply pressure.
Sometimes we compete. Sometimes we just check in.

It’s stupidly simple.

One message a day
keeps procrastination away.

As I finish writing this, I get a message from my uncle:

“You skipping the 10 km tonight?”

He must be joking.
Right?

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Accountability Buddies: The Unfair Advantage You’re Not Using was originally published in Actiive — Publication on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Malaysia has, without question, one of the best cuisines on the planet 🇲🇾🍜

Coming from Australia, I arrived ready to do what every budget traveler secretly dreams of: swallow heaps of cheap, tasty food. Eat a lot. Eat often. Move on to the next place.

And for a while, that’s exactly what I did.

But somewhere between the hawker stalls and the late-night meals, something started to feel off. Not because the food wasn’t good — it was incredible — but because the purpose of eating slowly faded away.

Food stopped being fuel for living.
It became fuel for finding the next restaurant.

Food as Fuel

Two years ago, one of my teachers said something that stuck with me.

While presenting to incoming students, he casually mentioned that in the Netherlands, food is rarely treated as something sacred or intricate. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t need layers of spices or hours of preparation.

It just needs to work.

Put something good inside your body.
Something reasonably healthy.
Something quick.

Eat it on the go if needed — on a bike, even. I’ve seen plenty of people cycling with a sandwich in one hand and full focus on where they’re going. Then you move on.

Food, in this sense, is fuel — like water during a marathon. You don’t stop to admire it. You take it in so you can keep going.

And honestly? That mindset makes a lot of sense.

Food as an Experience

Malaysia plays a very different game.

Here, food isn’t rushed. It’s prepared.

Some dishes take hours to make. Ingredients are layered. Spices are measured with care. Love is part of the recipe.

And eating? That’s not a 15-minute task squeezed between meetings.

You sit.
You talk.
You share.

There’s a main dish. Then sides. Then drinks. Then dessert. The table stays full long after the plates are empty.

Food here isn’t just energy — it’s an experience. A tradition. A connector. Something that binds people together and slows time down.

Two Ways of Seeing the Same Plate

I’m not choosing sides.

I’m not saying one approach is better than the other.

The Dutch perspective treats food as a tool:
Eat well so you can perform well.

The Malaysian perspective treats food as a ritual:
Eat together so you can live well.

Both are valid. Both shape how people move through the world.

But what does matter is awareness.

The Question That Matters

At some point, I had to ask myself something uncomfortable:

Why am I eating this?

Is it to fuel the next task?
To sharpen focus?
To keep moving?

Or is it to slow down?
To connect?
To experience something fully?

Because food always gives you energy.

The real question is what you plan to do with it.

So, Let Me Ask You

What is the purpose of your next meal?

Is it fuel for action?
Or an invitation to pause?

Whatever your answer is — make it intentional.
And enjoy your meal!

I’ve visited many places and met heaps of people. Different countries, different cultures, different ways of living — but almost always the same starting point.

A conversation.

If you’ve ever been in a multicultural environment, you already know how these conversations usually begin.

How Conversations Usually Start

The script is familiar.

“Hey, how are you?”
“Good, you?”
“Where are you from?”
*country ___mentioned*

And then comes the reflex.

“Oh, I’ve heard your country is beautiful.”
“I know someone from there.”
“Great food.”
“Cold weather, right?”

Polite. Friendly. Well-intended.

But also predictable. Safe. Forgettable.

Most of the time, this kind of exchange barely scratches the surface. It keeps things pleasant, but it rarely ignites anything real.

And that made me wonder:

Isn’t there a stronger way to begin?
A more influential, more human way to tackle that very first moment?

Once in Australia…

I met a Chinese boy.

At some point during our conversation, he looked at me, smiled, and said:

“Zdravey… kak si?”

Bulgarian.

The pronunciation was far from perfect. Honestly, it was pretty funny.
But it didn’t matter — not even a little.

What mattered was the intent.

He wasn’t showing off. He wasn’t trying to impress me. He was simply trying to meet me where I come from.

Can you imagine my appreciation at that instant?

I was over the moon — happy as a clam. Somewhere on the other side of the world, someone knew about my small, tiny country and the colorful language we somehow managed to pass down to newer generations.

Just hearing my mother tongue — spoken to me by a stranger — stopped me in my tracks.

And in that moment, I knew something for sure:

This interaction would be different.

And it was — we became friends and went on an adventure together, and so on, and so forth.

But Why That One Sentence Worked

That single sentence changed the entire dynamic between us.

The bond.
The connection.
The openness.

Everything that followed felt lighter, warmer, more human.

And that’s when it clicked.

This wasn’t about language skills.
It wasn’t about perfect pronunciation.
It wasn’t about knowing more than the other person.

It was about asking the same simple question everyone asks —

“Hey, how are you?”

— but doing it in their language.

Same meaning. Same intention.
Completely different impact.

Because instead of talking about someone’s country, you step into it — even if only for a second.

From Feeling to Action

Because of that moment, I took action.

I started writing things down.

The Note on My Phone

I carry a note on my phone.

It’s probably the most precious note I own — even though you could find all of it on Google or generate it with AI in seconds.

It’s a simple list: “Hey, how are you?” written in heaps of different languages — the languages of people I’ve met.

But I don’t just Google it.

I ask the person to write it down for me.
Then I ask them to teach me how to say it properly.

Not just the words — but the sound.
The rhythm.
The way it’s meant to land.

Can you imagine how powerful it feels to know this one simple sentence in twenty-five different languages?

And Why It Works (Every Time)

Since then, the pattern has been impossible to ignore.

I greet someone in their own language.
Their face changes.
Their posture softens.
They smile — sometimes before they even understand what just happened.

Because hearing your mother tongue from the mouth of a stranger — especially one who’s clearly trying — is disarming.

It tells you, without saying it:

I see you.
I respect where you come from.
I’m willing to meet you halfway.

From there, conversations flow differently. Stories come faster. Laughter comes easier. Often, the other person shows a strong willingness to learn something in your language — a greeting or slang, and you two start teaching each other some easy vocabulary. Who knows if any of you will remember all of it, but hold on — what’s happening is unifying.

It’s Not About Learning Languages

Let’s be clear.

This isn’t about fluency.
It’s not about grammar, vocabulary, or writing systems.

We’re talking about one phonetic sentence.

Many countries share similar greetings.
Many people are happy to help you pronounce it.
And the effort required is laughably small compared to the return.

Just the way they say it — that’s more than enough.

The Real Takeaway

In multicultural environments, integration doesn’t happen through grand gestures or perfect language skills.

It happens in moments so small they’re easy to miss.

A pause.
A smile.
An imperfect sentence spoken with honest intent.

You don’t need to speak their language.
You don’t need to understand their culture fully.
You don’t need to get it right.

You just need to try.

Because sometimes, three badly pronounced words carry more weight than a flawless conversation.

And that, more than passports, accents, or borders, is how real connection begins.

This presumptuous saying: “You are the average of your 5 closest people.”

You’ve heard it.
Probably repeated it.
Maybe even believed it.

I never fully got it.

It’s reactive rather than proactive.
It’s passive.
It sounds like waiting for your people to change you for the better.

And if you are not where you wanna be in life?

Do we change your friends now?

That’s ridiculous.

This idea quietly shifts responsibility away from you.
As if growth is something that happens to you based on who you stand next to, rather than something you actively build.

Let me tell you something I’ve learned about human interactions:
It is not give or get.
It’s give and get.

Think about how you lead your closest people.
What do you bring them towards?

If they were stones, in which direction would you throw them?
Upward. Forward. Or nowhere in particular.

If you want the best for your people, show them the way.
Be the example, not the critic.

If they are not as sporty as you are, don’t fall to their level.
And if you’re spending a holiday together — be active.
Help them elevate to your level.

Yes, it’s easier said than done.
But help them touch base. Meet in the middle.

Show them that it can be a 15-minute daily workout.
It doesn’t have to be tiresome, two-hour non-stop torment.
Consistency is more important.

Make it your mission to show your people the way to the things you have mastered — 
and in the same way, let them lead you towards the peaks in the things they have mastered.

You don’t have to change your best-kept friends.
Change your attitude towards knowledge exchange.

Be a social creature.
Use your creativity to be helpful to your friends,
the same way you expect them to be helpful to you.

Remember this:
If they are not passionate about the same thing, that doesn’t mean they are an obstacle to you.
It doesn’t mean they are less valuable as people.
And it definitely doesn’t mean you are a high achiever while they are not.

There are multiple types of intelligence.
And you and your people are lucky enough to have covered more than just one.

I have quite high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
I love sports, and I work out daily.

My friend Ricky has musical intelligence higher than anyone I know.
He’s literally a walking Spotify win.
He knows how to line up songs in a way that makes the whole group scream together.

My other friend, Cassidy, has extremely high linguistic intelligence.
Her English is spotless, while she casually speaks three other languages as well.

So tell me this:
Does the fact that they can’t keep up with my swimming, biking, or running pace make them less valuable people?

Obvious answer.
No.

And once I realised that — even though we have different interests — 
I knew I wanted to keep Ricky and Cassidy close to me.

I promised them never to double-cross them.

Because together we exchange intelligence.
We help each other grow in fields one doesn’t even expect to be lacking badly in.

Growth isn’t about surrounding yourself with people who are “better” than you.
It’s about building an environment where everyone gets pulled upward — just in different directions.

So are you gonna keep throwing your precious friends away,
looking for the “high company” you think you need?

Or are you gonna take care of your friends,
adjust your attitude,
and make each other flourish on an entirely new level?

Because in the end,
You are not shaped by the people around you — 
You are shaped by the direction you set.

If there’s one lesson, I could pass on from Arnold Bennett’s classic How to Live on 24 Hours a Day, it’s this:

Try to be the master of your thoughts.

Let me show you exactly what I mean.

⸻

The Problem Every Endurance Athlete Knows

I’m a triathlete. My training sessions routinely stretch past two or three hours a day. I don’t complain – I love the sport, the grind, the dedication, and the reward that comes with it. I love the process.

But even then, there are days when you want to escape your own head.
You want to stop counting kilometers.
You want the session to pass faster.
And the more you focus on the distance ahead, the slower time moves.

Ask any endurance athlete – they’ll back me up on this.

Most of us try to solve it the same way: music, podcasts, white noise, anything to distract ourselves. It works… temporarily.

But eventually, you get tired of the same playlists, the same repetitive songs, the same podcast voices talking about the same topics. At some point you put the headphones on and your brain goes, “Nope. Not this again.”

So now what?

⸻

The Real Habit That Saves You

It’s not another device.
It’s not another playlist.
It’s not another productivity hack.

It’s the power of your own thoughts.

This is the lesson Bennett hinted at over a century ago:

If you’re not training your ability to use your mind, you’re missing out on the most powerful tool you have.

⸻

The Method: Choose a Single Thought

Here’s what transformed my long sessions:

Pick one thing in your life that truly matters – something that bothers you, excites you, or needs your attention – and dedicate the entire training session to thinking about it.

No music.
No podcasts.
No chit-chat.
Just deliberate, intentional thinking.

Use the session to explore that one thought:
• What can you do with it?
• How can you change it?
• What does it reveal?
• What are the consequences if you act – or don’t act?

It doesn’t have to be trendy, popular, or something everyone else talks about.
It just needs to be yours.
Your “ticket” – the thing you want to unfold, digest, improve.

And it only works if you focus on it!

⸻

What You’ll Gain

You gain two things:

1. Your training session suddenly becomes much faster.

It doesn’t matter if you’re chasing PRs or doing an easy long run – time moves differently when your mind is engaged with something meaningful.

2. You build a sharper, more intentional inner world.

You become more mindful of your thoughts and the chain of ideas attached to them.
Instead of drifting mentally, you take possession of your attention.
And that carries over far beyond your workouts.

⸻

Next Step

If you’d like to try this practice the way Bennett intended it, grab his book How to Live on 24 Hours a Day and follow the spirit of his advice:

“Choose a single thought and dedicate your focus to it for a fixed period.”

My take?

Do it during your training session.
Let the miles help you think – not escape.

⸻

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Music Doesn’t Solve Boredom While Training. This Does. was originally published in Actiive — Publication on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

If there is one step in your sports journey that beats all the others, it’s setting a clear and achievable goal. Not tomorrow, not next week – now.

You might wonder why this step is so crucial. The answer is simple: once a goal exists somewhere in the future, your entire life slowly starts to shape itself around it.

Why a Goal Changes Everything

A goal is not just a sentence on paper. It becomes the invisible line that you follow with your schedule, your meals, your commitments, your thoughts, and even the content you consume. It becomes the point on the horizon that keeps pulling you forward.

When you commit to a goal:

• You align your daily routine with something meaningful.

• You adjust your meals, your sleep, and your training to support it.

• You program your mind to value the journey.

• And without noticing, you take in all the “magic” the goal offers – the power-up, the boost, the sense of purpose.

Little by little, you start becoming the person who can achieve the thing your old self could only dream about.

My Personal Touch: How It Happened for Me

My story is not complicated. I set a goal to run a half marathon. When I achieved it, I set a bigger one. Then another. And eventually I aimed for a half Ironman.

Every time I decided on a new challenge, I trained with a level of consistency that surprised even myself. Slowly, steadily, sometimes painfully, I moved towards those goals.

And as always, once you reach a goal, you face a choice. I have lived both outcomes:

Path 1: Set the next goal immediately

This keeps you grinding.
You readjust your schedule.
You keep the momentum alive.

Path 2: Take a “quick break”

This one has betrayed me more than once.
You think you will rest for a little while, and suddenly the momentum disappears. No routine, no push, no accountability.
A whole period of time gets swallowed by nothingness.

I learned that momentum is fragile. It must be protected.

The Dangerous Gap: No Accountability

The biggest danger is not stopping.

It’s stopping without anyone – including yourself – expecting you to continue.

Without accountability, everything becomes blurry.
Are you going from point A → B?
Or drifting A → B → C → D → E… without direction?

Only you decide.

For me, I prefer to treat myself like a cat chasing a laser dot. The moment I see something to chase, I run after it with all I have.

What the Journey Actually Gave Me

I give myself missions, and I work towards them.

Over time, I discovered something important: the journey gives far more value than the race day or the medal or the finish line.

When I trained consistently – sometimes 10 times per week – something unexpected happened. Not only was I improving physically, but all my other commitments in life also started moving forward faster.

And no, I don’t think it was a coincidence.

So Here Is My Message to You

If you are reading this and you feel stuck, or unmotivated, or unsure what the next step is… set a goal now.

A small one.
A big one.
A crazy one.

Doesn’t matter.

Put a point on your horizon and let your life slowly adjust itself around it.
You will be surprised how far it takes you.

Follow Actiive.
It’s a space dedicated to honest, everyday health and wellness — the kind you can actually live by.

Set a Goal Now – Your Journey Depends on It was originally published in Actiive — Publication on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Turns out the solution wasn’t food… it was timing.

For a while, things were rough.

I kept losing weight.
I was hungry all the time — even after eating.
Thirty minutes after a “full meal”?
Hollow again.

So I started experimenting.

Different foods.
Different timings.
Different combinations of carbs, fats, protein, and fibre.

And here’s the part most people skip:
I paid attention.

What actually made me feel good?
What made my stomach hate me?
What helped me train, think, and actually live like a human?

Because let me tell you — I’ve made some terrible choices.

Like loading up on protein and fibre before a morning training session.
Sounds disciplined.
Feels like carrying a brick in your gut.

My body felt heavy.
My training felt sluggish.
My stomach felt… betrayed.

So I flipped the script.

Now my protein lives in the evening.
My meals follow a rhythm — not a rigid plan.

My routine these days is simple — and very human:

I always train first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach.
That’s when I feel sharpest, lightest, most awake.

Breakfast happens after.
And yes — it’s big. Proper big.

Eggs.
Toast.
Ham.
Milk.
Some fibre.
And always something sweet at the end — a biscuit, a square of chocolate, whatever fits with my coffee.
(It’s my tiny ritual. Keeps me grounded.)

And here’s a rule that changed everything for me:

Never eat something sweet first when you’re hungry.
If you do, you trigger cravings earlier and harder.
But if you save the sweet for the end of the meal?
You enjoy it and you stay in control.
Simple trick. Massive difference.

Lunch? Light and very bread-based.
Sandwiches, wraps, something quick and easy that doesn’t knock me out in the middle of the day.

Around that lunch window, I slide in two healthy snacks — 
fruit, yoghurt, nuts, a protein shake, or Weet-Bix (my weirdly perfect “how is this so good?” snack).

Dinner is the heavyweight round.
That’s where the protein lives:

Minced meat.
Meatballs.
Chicken.
Fillets.
Steaks.
Sausages.

All paired with carbs — potatoes or rice — because after a long day of training, thinking, moving, and doing life, the body needs fuel, not minimalism.

Yes, I usually end with something small and sweet.
We’re active, not insane.

And here’s the truth after all this testing:

I feel more energised than ever.
My hunger is stable.
My stomach isn’t in a constant mood swing.
And I can train hard without feeling like a hulking mess.

So what’s the takeaway?

Don’t copy someone else’s “perfect diet”. Build your own timing.

Figure out when you need carbs.
When you handle fats best.
When your body wants protein.
And how much fibre you can actually tolerate without regretting everything 30 minutes later.

Test.
Adjust.
Listen.
Repeat.

Your body leaves clues everywhere — hunger, energy, focus, performance.
Follow them.

And if you want more real-life health advice that doesn’t pretend you’re a machine…

Follow Actiive.
It’s a space dedicated to honest, everyday health and wellness — the kind you can actually live by.

How I Stopped Feeling Heavy, Hungry, and Drained — Without a New Diet was originally published in Actiive — Publication on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Travelers need to know this

I wanted to be a triathlete — that was my precious goal, which I absolutely wanted to take proper care of. I found a great coach and built up a fabulous plan for action. I had a precisely crafted schedule with different kinds of training sessions spread throughout the week, keeping me active every day. Some days were more about endurance, others about pace; it could be an interval training session or a strength workout. Everything had a well-determined purpose. And the mundane weeks were pretty favorable to keep up with my drive to achieve the goal. However, I noticed specific times when things were about to fall into flames and flush my consistency down the toilet.

I travel a lot. And that is a fantastic investment of time and money in my twenties, I have concluded. Without questioning that further, I would like to admit the biggest issue with my travels — they used to get me off track every time. When you travel for work, education, a long weekend, or a holiday, your schedule always changes from what it was during the humdrum times — the times of repetitive and well-planned days. But no matter how hard you try to stick to your schedule during your trip, it just does not go a long way. Maybe the first day may look similar, but the different people, food, bed even the different air all clear the way out for your training routine to be demolished (at least until the end of the trip and sometimes even a bit more after it). We even have a joke with my friends that we say after a vacation — ” I need a holiday to recover from my holiday” — it is always great fun, especially when you turn on Do Not Disturb mode on your phone for a whole week and the time just flies by in laughter.

But I need to hit my volume of training sessions, or otherwise I will fall behind — something that will result negatively on the day of the big race. How to keep up with my training sessions?

It is a small mindset shift that my younger brother and I did during our Scandinavia circle, starting from the Netherlands and going through the three Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and flying back to the Netherlands. It wasn’t rocket science, nor something crazily innovative. We just decided to explore each and every city of our trip, not by car or public transport, but just… by running. Super simple, isn’t it?

Why did that make a huge difference?

We were able to see a lot! We were not the typical tourists — walking slowly and taking 10353135 pictures that are never going to be opened again of stone statues and museum exhibitions. We actually made a list with every single landmark in the center of each of the cities, and we ran past them. When we wanted to take a picture, I stopped for a second. When we wanted to take a cooler picture, we did it while running. Some of the astonishing monuments made us slow down for a moment to be able to grasp all of it or to make a circle around it, enjoying it from every side. And it was amazing how massive a surface we were able to explore literally inside out, getting to know how the infrastructure works, how hilly the place is, how runner-friendly it is, and how much people actually care about the sport-accessibility as a factor of a city's rating. Frankly, some of my greatest pictures from the trip were made while running across the main street of foggy Oslo city. It wasn’t just a photo but a blueprint of a 10-kilometer workout with my little brother — magical moments that got kept forever.

And there were more benefits…

Along the way, we met a ton of people. The idea of running in the city center near the tourist attractions is nothing new to the locals, who do it on a daily basis. We were literally on their grounds and could take examples from them, which route to take, and what would be our next stop. Every traffic light was allowing us to have a small talk with a new runner — new to the habit or very seasoned in it — didn’t matter to us. We expanded our connections in the city so much just by having our workout combined with our touristy explorations.

And we were sweaty!

Why am I so happy to confess this even? We made ourselves unable to fall into the so-called “tourist traps” of the cities. You know how, in the center of every popular destination, there are always some garbage “businesses” trying to use the popularity of the place to earn money from you. It can be people throwing souvenirs towards you or “traditional food” spots which the most untraditional taste, which try to charge you double the price of a special Swedish meatball. We were immune! We were sporty and sweaty and with an increased heart rate, and none of the potential scammers or meatball makers dared to enclose us(or cared about us either). We seemed a bit more like locals — training casually after office hours instead of tourists with cameras and selfie sticks.

I got addicted to it!

Since this trip of my younger brother and me, we liked it so much that we started doing it on every single trip of ours. And I literally mean every! That is always my first thing to do in a new city where I am staying, no matter how long I am staying — exploration via a run is always necessary. Last week, I went to Sydney, Australia, for a few days, and an hour after my departure, I jumped straight onto the sidewalks of Sydney for an astonishing 18 kilometers no-rush workout.

I challenge you!

Give this way of getting to know the city a chance. You might like it. You might find it the perfect combination of learning how the place is structured and designed, learning about how active the people there are, and you are going to capture so much more than what the tourists with the selfie sticks will be able to. You have the incomparable advantage on your side if you decide to simply stick to your active sporty routine. It is healthy, it is free, it is beautiful, and it is an absolutely worthwhile experience that will empower you to maybe spread the idea to other people as well.

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Traveling Doesn’t Need to Destroy Your Routine — Here’s the Fix was originally published in Actiive — Publication on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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How to Contribute to ACTIIVE and Inspire Others was originally published in Actiive — Publication on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.