I learned about the Brat and the Chicken at a conference last week. Laurie Gerber of the Handel Group gave a lively talk on time management at one of the sessions. We all know about the little voices that sit on our shoulders, whisper in our ears, and generally prevent us from doing what we need to do. What I liked about Laurie is that she reduced the voices to the two most prevalent.

The Chicken is the fearful voice, scared and afraid of failing.

The Brat is the little whining kid with constant complaints and masterful arguments as to why you shouldn’t do what needs to be done at any particular moment.

Neither the Brat, nor the Chicken, have any business controlling your life!

What shocked me was how readily I could come up with examples from my Brat, especially when it came to exercise!

• I don’t feel like it today.
• The weather is bad.
• I don’t want to stop what I’m doing. I’m on a roll.
• Awww, come on, just 10 more minutes!
• I need a cup of coffee first.
• I need to finish this, and that, first.
• I can’t decide whether to pole walk, lift weights, ride my unicycle,  do yoga, read on the treadmill, ….

Time to squash the Brat!

Today’s plan included exercise before lunch. Sure enough, when 11:30 rolled around, the Brat appeared. I was busy writing and didn’t want to stop. “I can always exercise later, before heading out to my appointment.”

But I was ready. I recognized the Brat Attack immediately, stopped what I was doing, and exercised.

What a great feeling! Not just the exercise. Knowing that I need not go down that road where “later” turns into tomorrow, or even the day after. Important rules are not meant to be broken!

Beat the Brat with awareness and these simple steps:

• Decide what is most important and when it will be done.
• Establish rules to cut down on decisions. (“I’ll exercise before I eat lunch unless I am with clients.”)
• Be on the look out for the Brat.
• Squash the Brat!

Try it! You’ll like it!