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Training time organization without sacrificing social relations, study and work

As we said many times (read Tips on how to stretch our training times) daily training is a fundamental component of a serious martial path but not being monks, it must be balanced with all the other activities of our life:

Social relationships (friends, family, etc.)
Duties (work, study, etc.)
Free time (hobby, relax, etc.)
Body functions (sleeping, eating, etc.)
…

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

Our daily training can (must) not sacrifice any of them but to do this, we have to organize our time.

A note by Master Kongling – Our life (as individual beings) is one and we do not know when it will end; this means that time is the most important currency of our existence: each time we spend it we will not recover it. Choosing to practice daily training (especially if in martial arts) is an excellent investment because it allows us to make much more use of the rest of the time left at our disposal (in terms of health, wellness, safety, self-esteem, etc., read There is only 1 thing more precious than time).

The training time

Do we have time and energy to train?

6 Dragons Kung Fu practitioners train a lot but are not superior and unattainable beings. In the beginning, we all thought the same things “I’d like to train seriously but”:

“I don’t physically have the time” – Read How to find time and energies to train
“I am too old / young to train like that” – Read The right age to start practice
“I have not enough talent” – Read Natural talent and martial arts
…

It is all false. The secret of success is graduality (read How to start practicing from scratch).

We all have time and the necessary energies are gradually built with it: let’s now see some useful tips on how to recover it.

Organization: how to gain time to train

How to gain useful time:

Let’s not waste time with toxic people / activities – Let’s limit as much as possible the interaction with what / who steal energy from us (everything that charges us with problems, complaints, frustration, etc.); let’s not exclude all of this (that would be an error), let’s simply limit it to the minimum reasonable; the point is that those things theft not only precious hours but above all they are able to debilitate us to the point of contaminating even our remaining time
Let’s focus on excellence – It is useless and counterproductive to start / follow 10 life activities at the same time (hobbies, courses, etc.), we will waste a lot of time without reaching any considerable result; let’s reflect and let’s choose the 1-2 things that we really love / need and let’s insist on them (read A relentless pursuit)
Let’s reduce all the superfluous – For each task that actively or passively we perform (especially the recurring ones), let’s ask ourselves if they are worthy of our time; let’s think about the importance that each of them has and let’s reason on the possibility to reduce their frequency / duration, improve their execution (eg. through automation) or to delete it at all (useless business travel, etc.)
Let’s optimize our organization – Let’s spend each morning (or evening) a few minutes to plan (in a flexible way) our day / week / month / year; let’s think of the results we want to obtain and let’s set the times for rest, of leisure and for the “unexpected”; let’s choose what can be avoided, what cannot be delayed, what can be done simultaneously, what can be delegated, what does not make sense, at what time are we most effective in achieving a specific result, etc.
Let’s sleep the right amount of time – 7 hours are more than enough (less than this is harmful); especially if we train in the right way and if we are following a correct diet (read Qi and proper nutrition), we will have access to an amount of psychophysical energy infinitely superior to the norm (eg. not only we will move faster but also we will think faster)
Let’s combine work with pleasure – Although not necessarily in each case, let’s try to involve people with whom we want to be (friends, relatives, etc.), in the activities we do and / or we cannot avoid (training, meals, etc.); sharing fatigue and constructive work is the best way to spend time with who is important for us (read 5 effective ways to find a training partner)
Let’s become smart – Let’s always study new ways to optimize time and energy; let’s learn at the same time both from the others’ errors (read Measure ourselves with errors), both from their positive attitudes (read for example 5 regeneration practices to recover after training)
…

This is more than enough to find a good training time (read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///). The rest, generally speaking, are simply excuses (read How to train with perseverance).

A note by Master Kongling – Everyone always says they have no time but only in a few cases, this is really true (in most cases, we just do not realize that we waste the bigger part of the hours available to us). Following these simple tips, we can take back the reins of our lives, allowing us to do what we like, what we need and especially with the necessary calm (without the stress and the weight of infinite commitments that overhang us).

4 practical examples of high-level daily training sessions

Now let’s move from theory to practice. Let’s see a few examples of daily training session distribution.

A note by Master Kongling – A few small premises: the examples we are going to list come from real 6 Dragons Kung Fu advanced / expert practitioners. We are not saying that from tomorrow you have to train like them (this would be the fastest way to abandon the practice within 1 week), we are sharing these schedules just to demonstrate that it is possible to prepare professionally even doing many other things. The real interesting thing is that each of these people started just with a few minutes per day (5-15): all the rest come automatically, naturally with time and graduality (read Motivation: from passion to self-discipline).

1) 4 hours of training, 8 hours of work, 3 meals (eg. employee):

7.00 – Get up and wash
7.15 – Training (30 min)
7.45 – Breakfast
8.00 – Departure for work
8.30 – Work
12.30 – Training (1 hour)
13.30 – Lunch
14.00 – Rest
14.30 – Work
18.30 – Return home
19.00 – Dinner (with friends, family, etc.)
20.00 – Leisure
21.00 – Training (2.30 hours)
23.30 – Leisure
24.00 – Sleep

2) 5 hours of training, 7 hours of study, 3 meals (eg. student):

6.30 – Get up and wash
6.45 – Training (30 min)
7.15 – Breakfast
7.30 – Departure for school
8.00 – School
13.00 – Departure for home
13.30 – Lunch
14.00 – Rest
14.30 – Study
16.30 – Snack
17.00 – Leisure
18.00 – Training (4 hours)
22.30 – Leisure
23.30 – Sleep

3) 6 hours of training, 8 hours of work, 2 meals (eg. work from home):

8.00 – Get up and wash
8.15 – Breakfast
8.30 – Work
12.30 – Training (2 hours)
14.30 – Lunch
15.00 – Rest
15.30 – Work
19.30 – Training (4 hours)
23.30 – Leisure
1.00 – Sleep

4) 5 hours of training, 8 hours of work, 3 meals (eg. freelance):

9.30 – Get up and wash
10.00 – Breakfast
10.30 – Work
12.30 – Training (1 hour)
13.30 – Lunch
14.30 – Rest
15.00 – Work
21.00 – Lunch
21.30 – Leisure
22.30 – Training (4 hours)
2.30 – Sleep

It is clear that everyone has slightly different needs, times, spaces and to cover but these can be a good starting base.

A note by Master Kongling – In our Core Course (read How to follow our KUNG FU HOME STUDY Course), our students can ask a qualified personal instructor how to organize a functional martial training path. Our Kung Fu is within everyone’s reach, it’s just a matter of not giving in to the first difficulties, for all the remaining aspects, we are here to help.

Final notes

A few conclusive thoughts, tips and ideas:

As we said, the examples we have proposed must be taken with due caution, they must be seen as a reference point to be adapted to the specific needs of each one (eg. family members’ necessities, working overtime, transshipments, etc.)
Those who work in a physically intensive way, generally need more technical than physical preparation; this means that, for example, a part of the training could be (with the necessary adaptations) overlapped or substituted by the job they do; the ancient Shaolin monks (read Ancient Shaolin monks vs modern ones) were used to convert every kind of activity into martial training, to chew food, to cultivate the land, to clean the floor, to cook and so on
When we can not change the extension of the time of our martial practice, it is always possible (for example), to alter its intensity (read Intensity of training: depends on what?) and the simultaneity of the exercises (read Optimizing the available time)
Training can be part of every small action that we perform during the day (read The constant training in everyday life), it is just a matter of mental disposition
…

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu exercises – The exercises to build the necessary stamina and combat skills
Mind self-control hacks – A path to mental performance improvement (in order to reach our goals)
Martial arts weight loss: how to – A guided path for a safe and long-lasting weight loss
How to build strong self-discipline – A journey toward the skill that allows to gain all the others
Worst combat errors to avoid – The small mistakes that make us weaker than we could be almost without effort

In-depth articles

Resume training after a period of inactivity – How to recover a daily martial practice after a pause
How to train professionally in martial arts – How to reach the peak of our martial growth

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

How are you planning your training times?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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