Style Through Intelligence.com

Self Explanatory!

Who else hates doing repetitive, ongoing tasks like grooming, exercising and shopping?

Me too…In the past, I have never enjoyed getting a haircut! Every time it was overdue I would get negative feelings that would lead into procrastination.

I wanted to spend my time and money doing something else fun and exciting rather than doing these repetitive things in life that we have to maintain. This would cause me to build up resentment towards the things that are only going to help me in the short-term AND long-run.

I have had the same experience with other grooming events.

Here’s a brief break down of what used to happen around haircut time:

My hair would start getting longer, I would say to myself I have to get a haircut soon. Only remember that when it came time to do my hair in the morning, and then forget it again until the next morning.

• I put it off and put it off. Meanwhile it would get too long and not look good, this would knock down my confidence a peg or two. Also it drained a small amount of mental energy as a result of always thinking I should “get it done soon”, a sense of worry.
• One of the reasons, also, that I didn’t want to get it done is the cost. I didn’t want to spend my money on this, I would rather, buy something fun or use it to go out and have some beers etc.
• I would continue to whinge that I have to do these type of things and use these as a (negative) conversation piece when talking to friends – which is not very cool by the way, and once I realised this made a conscious effort to change.

The one thing I was forgetting through this process:

I have to do it!

It’s inevitable (as much as I don’t like that word). Not inevitable period, but if I want to keep looking good, stay well groomed and constantly impress I would HAVE TO DO IT.

And lets be honest, the same goes with other grooming and everyday obligations that benefit us such as:

• Shaving
• Shaving/trimming/waxing other body hair
• Dressing up more than normal
• Trimming nails
• Working out
• Eating well
• Getting clothes washed, ironed or dry clean (by yourself or others)
• Folding and putting clothes away to keep them in good condition
• Purchasing new clothes
• Even small things such as cleaning teeth, showering, moisturising, putting on cologne as I know a lot of men that forgo even these obligations. And they may sound gay and feminine, but lets be honest they need to be done so we can be at our best.

So, once we accept these things that we need to do and then do them quickly without even thinking about them we can move on to do bigger and better things for our day, week or month, as our mental energy will not be taken up by things that should be a part of our (positive) habits and rituals anyway.

To demonstrate this – Think about the most stylish, powerful and successful man you know. I am sure that they will never even think about these things or bother discussing them, because they are a part of his everyday habits and routine, and they have got a lot bigger and better things to think about and discuss with their friends and colleges.

Accept it! – The all important first step.

Do It

Now that we have accepted it, in the way that someone having to go to AA would first accept that they are an alcoholic, we can moving onto doing our obligations quickly, efficiently and effortlessly.

Below are some tips that, I have used, for some of the obligations that we have as a stylish man:

• Set up an automated schedule – My haircut is simple now, Every 6 weeks A reminder pops up in my calendar, and I get it done within the next couple of days.
• Batch Similar tasks – If I am going to be brushing my teeth in the morning, then why not shave immediately following this, and then trim your eyebrows. I guess this one is pretty self explanatory, but lot of men don’t do this. Make it a routine or ritual if you will. Get all grooming out the way in one go and then your set for the rest of the day.
• Stay organised – This is very general, but the more organised you are the easier it is to do these little things. If something is hard to find then you are not going to do it, simple.
• If there is a cost involved automate the (monthly or weekly) cost into an account to be used for these and THESE ONLY. A $40 haircut once every 6 weeks equates to approx $30 per month. I have this automatically go into my “Style Budget” on pay day, and guess what I have no excuse to not want to fork out the money for my haircut. I will have a lot more on the style budget on a later post so keep tuned.
• Associate something positive with it. Now when I get my haircut I pay the extra $5 to get the hair wash and massage. Now I have the massage to look forward to, which makes me want to go even more. Which is amazing by the way and highly recommended it if you don’t get that done now. There is also nothing better than feeling good after a good grooming session. When it is time to get these things done, picture the positives and it will become a lot easier.
• Make it convenient – Similar to staying organised. Choose a Barber that you can go to whilst on your lunch break at work, or even better on a coffee break, not one that requires a drive a long way and that you can only do after work one night, as this wastes a whole night and there of course is no wonder why you want to put it off.

Take Action

If you find yourself procrastinating everyday things that the stylish, sophisticated and intelligent man should be doing in his sleep then make sure you

1. Accept it. Remember, that’s well over 50% of the battle.
2. Put into place some steps and actions based on the above tips to getting them to the point where you don’t exhaust any mental energy from you at all.
3. Use this left over energy to move onto bigger things. Whatever “bigger” means for you.

What do you think? Are there any other  “sticking points” you have when it comes grooming, general habits and obligations? How do you overcome them?