Editor's note: CNN contributor Amanda Enayati ponders the theme of seeking serenity: the quest for well-being and life balance in stressful times. Last week we responded to your questions about some of life’s most stressful circumstances. Is it any surprise that the themes running through our experts’ advice read like a laundry list of wisdom from the elders? If you do not care for yourself, you will not be able to care for others. Figure out what’s truly important and do not look for perfection. Do your best to remain in the present moment, free of the shackles of the past and fear for what the future holds. All of these are far easier said (and written), of course. It is the execution that's most difficult. The first step is awareness. With that in mind – here are some more of your stress questions answered: Once again, our panel of experts included UC Davis professor Jay Belsky, a developmental psychologist and an internationally recognized expert on the role of nature and nurture in shaping children and families; Dr. Judith Orloff, professor of psychiatry at UCLA and bestselling author of “Emotional Freedom”; and Dr. Rajita Sinha, professor of psychiatry, neurobiology and child study at Yale University and director of the Yale Stress Center. Done in by single parenting My husband’s always traveling so I’m effectively a single parent. I’m overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough time. Balancing is an art form, observes Orloff. It’s important to be able to take time out to center and replenish yourself. Build energy through meditating, laughing or engaging in something other than your tasks. Get beyond the to-do list and make time for yourself. “Go hide in the bathroom, if you must!” According to Belsky, it is critical to prioritize what is more and less important. If the house is messy, that’s not the end of the world. “Sometimes people have to lower their standards and expectations,” he says. “You are better off being sane mom than super mom.” Sinha suggests that single parents strategize about organization and time management. Rethink and moderate children’s often-hectic schedules. She also stresses the importance of keeping oneself regulated: “Eat enough, and get enough sleep and exercise.” When money is tight How do I better handle financial stresses that limit how much money I have to spend on all the things we need, like childcare and home maintenance? The key, says Belsky, is to distinguish between wants and needs. We live in a day and age where the media and advertising want you to believe that your wants are your needs. They are not. Less is often more. A good first strategy is to stop looking at advertisements. Turn the sound down; skip over them in newspapers and magazines. When it comes to services, is it possible to do non-monetary exchanges with friends and family for things like childcare and home maintenance? Belsky points out that using your money thoughtfully and frugally is one of the best lessons you can teach children. Just because everyone has something doesn’t mean everyone needs it. This can serve as an opportunity to figure out what has value and what does not. Internalizing stress I’m stressed daily and I internalize it. It manifests in skin issues (I have psoriasis). I can’t meditate very well and I don’t feel like I have the time or patience to learn. What else can I do? Learn to focus on positive things in your life, says Belsky. This takes discipline and practice, because it’s often easier to focus on the stressful. You have to build up the psychological muscle to focus on the good. “Have a place you can go to in your mind: the beach, your child’s first steps. Close your eyes and go there during stressful moments. Use it as a place to move away from the wallowing and dwelling.” Orloff also recommends writing in a journal to “get out all the raw feelings, your anger and frustration, so you don’t hold them in.” If you don’t feel like writing, confiding in a trusted friend can work equally well. Evolution of stress Why is the fight or flight instinct still so strong? It’s not like we’re running into tigers in the jungle anymore; we’re sitting in traffic jams! Why can’t our bodies adapt and stop wreaking havoc when we get stressed? Evolution, says Belsky, isn’t forward-looking. It’s backward-looking. It prepares us for the things we have encountered in the past, not necessarily for what we will encounter in the future. That is, you may be dealing with modern-day problems, but your instincts are still somewhere back in the jungle. The survival instinct is very basic in all living organisms, says Sinha. And even though we are not facing tigers in the jungle, we still may have crises – natural disasters or violence – for which we need our fight or flight response. Nonetheless, our regulatory system has undergone a great deal of cognitive and emotional adaptation. Our prefrontal cortex has become more complex and sophisticated. But since those regions of the brain are more sensitive to high levels of chronic and repeated stress, it’s vulnerable to not functioning well under certain everyday types of situations, like stressful commutes. Orloff says it’s important to take control and consciously turn off the stress and negative emotions. “Stop and expressly remind yourself that more than likely your life is not in danger, that you are just sitting in traffic.” One simple way to take control? “Listen to mellow music during your commute,” suggests Orloff. Caretaker blues My father is suffering from dementia and I have had to drop my whole life to take care of him. I feel stuck, like there’s no way out, and then I also feel guilty for feeling that way, which makes me more stressed. The first thing you can do, says Belsky, is forgive yourself and accept those feelings of resentment, frustration and anger. “By having unreasonable standards and expectations, you risk draining the tank and beating up on yourself all at the same time.” Orloff believes that though it is a sacred duty to care for our loved ones when they are in need, you also have to take care of yourself. “There’s no reason to feel guilty about the feelings of anger and helplessness. It’s natural. There is never enough time and you can’t do enough work.” Join a support group of others who are coping with the same issue, she recommends. This will allows you to gain perspective and realize you are not alone. And if it’s at all possible, hire an occasional caregiver or helper so that you can take time off for yourself. “If you don’t practice self-care,” observes Orloff, “you will never be able to give quality time to others. You will just be run down and miserable.” According to Sinha, caretaker anxiety is another form of pernicious, uncontrollable stress, similar to financial stress. “The person feels stuck and cannot meet his or her own needs.” Sinha suggests seeking out the help of a mental health professional and agrees that it’s critical for caretakers to take time out for themselves. “Positive activities on an ongoing basis will build optimism and give caretakers strength. This should be part of their routine. Once here and there is not enough.” Information overload The news makes me panic. Even things like Facebook and Twitter and TV that are not meant to be bad make me panic. But it’s not like you can go off the grid and live your life without any technology, so what do I do? Orloff recommends taking periodic technology fasts. “Give yourself a dark period, like 3 to 6 hours where you are not focused on any type of technology.” She also cautions against watching the news before you go to bed because it may disrupt your sleep. “You will risk having insomnia, restlessness and bad dreams.” Build activities that don’t involve technology into your schedule. Take a walk mindfully. Get back to your break. Validate what’s going on inside. “Facebook will always be there,” says Sinha. “But this moment is never going to be there again. It is fleeting.” Follow @amandaenayati on Twitter or on Facebook Filed under: Living Well , Stress Tagged: Amanda Enayati — Special to CNN

Editor's note: This post is part of the Overheard on CNN.com series, a regular feature that examines interesting comments and thought-provoking conversations posted by the community. When we woke up this morning, “Time breast feeding cover” was the top trending topic on Google. Throughout the day, variations of that search have taken up four more of the top 10 spots. What is it about the photo of a 3-year-old breastfeeding on the cover of Time magazine this week that’s caused such uproar? CNN.com readers had a lot to say about the subject. Breastfeeding: Too much of a good thing? Readers debated the proper age to wean a child off breastfeeding. JungleQueen I breastfed exclusively all three of my babies for 9 months, and then they started to wean themselves. I was able to breastfeed all three for 2 years (my twins and my oldest are a year a part) before they finally weaned themselves for good. Unfortunately, too many people are worried about what everyone else is doing instead of what they should be doing. Different children have different needs P.J. What would people say to a 3, 4 or 5 year old drinking formula from a bottle? mab18 My baby was formula fed from day one – not by my choice, but because of health complications (to me) … Fast forward 2 1/2 years – my daughter is completely healthy, happy all the time, ahead in height and weight, and ahead of most of her "classmates" in daycare mentally. Yes breast is best, but that does not mean that formula fed babies are only going to "survive.” Kate Just because a toddler is breastfeeding doesn't mean it's exclusive. When my boys were toddlers, nursing was saved for before naps/bed, and a few other private times at home when they wanted the comfort. They were drinking out of sippy cups an eating table food by 6 months. It's not all or nothing, and my boys learned the boundaries of when/where it's appropriate. thisplanethasgonenuts I am of the belief that when your child is old enough to go outside and play and socialize with other children – the breastfeeding stops. I mean, no breastfeeding mother wants to deal with the question: "Can Bobby stay for dinner?" Scott I think we need to listen to nature on this one. Why would we think we are different than any other mammal that stops breastfeeding when their offspring have teeth? That's why the teeth come in, so they can eat food! Some readers said the problem wasn’t breastfeeding but the photo itself. Ohioan Let's all just cut to the chase. I'm all for breastfeeding. But the TIME cover was totally inappropriate. If the mother wanted to get her point across there are other ways. The child is the victim here. maeflowersdoulaservices I am 100% for extended breastfeeding if that's what you choose for your family. But I have to say that this photo does not portray what real extended breastfeeding is. The sweetness of breast feeding is not in the photo. If anything I think that with a cover photo like this it will make people want to not breastfeed at all. Breastfeeding is about the snuggles and love between a mother and her child and that doesn't happen with a child standing on a chair. Others disagreed. Watch: 'Attachment parenting' doc speaks out Molly I cannot believe that so many people are so uncomfortable with the idea of a woman providing the most natural, nutritional and perfectly balanced food for the child… Please stop alienating women for doing the most natural thing since the dawn of man. For some, it was an example of America’s unique culture. Tom Globally the average age of weaning is 4 to 5, meaning that some stop older, some younger. So 3 isn't too old to be breastfeeding. Seems we are the backwards culture. Theresa What most of the people commentating fail to recognize is that what we call "extended" breastfeeding was (and STILL is throughout most of the world) "civilized" and traditional, [and] is actually the norm and what is best for children's immune systems, bonding maturation, self esteem… Americans are prudes who only see the breast as a sex object. Pathetic. Others took issue with the debate as a whole. CMax37 So breastfeeding is the only way to become close to your child? By this equation, fathers are nothing more than sperm donors because we clearly can't have a strong bond with our children. @casdesummer At a time when children are becoming obese, in a country with rampant child sex abuse, this is an issue? Jenny EXCUSE ME! I am an adopted child, my mother could not breastfeed me. I turned out just fine, thank you very much. I have two boys neither of whom were breastfed. They are both in college and doing great. Breast feeding does not make you a mother. Love, nurturing, compassion are what makes a good mother. What's your opinion of the cover? Share your opinion in the comments area below, or sound off on video via CNN iReport. Filed under: Breastfeeding , Living Well , Parenting Tagged: Jacque Wilson — CNN.com writer/producer

Adrienne LaGier is one of seven CNN viewers training to race the Nautica Malibu Triathlon with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. This weekend, the team and Dr. Gupta will head to Hawaii for a training trip. LaGier set a personal goal to focus on her diet in the month leading up to the flight. Four weeks ago, my friend Susan posted in her Facebook group, "The Truth About Exercise," that she had lost 25 pounds since the New Year. While working out had been one of her main focuses, she recently adopted a vegan diet that catapulted her weight loss. Up until then, I had not been focusing on my diet in this triathlon journey. I would justify going out to eat and eating what I'd like after finishing 2 to 3 hour workouts. After reading Susan's post, and realizing I had four short weeks until leaving for Kona, I decided to give no meat and no dairy a try. And while I was at it, no caffeine either. A co-worker recommended the book " Skinny Bitch," and after reading it, I was convinced. Since veggies and fruits have been disproportionately absent from my diet in recent years, I thought over-exaggerating them for at least four weeks wouldn't hurt. The first week, I got headaches because I had stopped drinking tea with milk & sugar in the morning. I wanted to prove that I didn't need to depend on anything to wake up – that I am in control of my body. We've built an amazing vegetable garden in our backyard that my girls enjoy working in every day. My fiance Chris built a cedar 6 foot fence to border it and we've already harvested lettuce and fresh broccoli. My yearbook students have taken notice of my new dietary regime as well. They threw a surprise vegan luncheon for me, each attempting to bring in appropriate food (the gal who brought in the Oreos must not have gotten the memo). Here's what I've been eating: Breakfast : Nature's Path Organic Oatmeal; Ezekiel English Muffin with Hazelnut Almond Butter Snack: Banana Lunch: Black bean soup with tortilla chips; Salad with slivered almonds & sliced avocado; lentils; leftovers from last night's dinner Snack: Trail mix; apples with peanut butter; carrots with hummus; guacamole with tortilla chips Dinner: Veggie burgers; Salads; Pasta; Eggplant Parm with out the Parm; Quinoa Cowboy Chili; Lettuce wraps with tofu, water chesnuts, corn, peas & Ramen noodles with a splash of orange juice and Teriyaki sauce; tofu tacos with sauteed bell peppers and guacamole. No caffeine. No added sugar. No meat. No dairy. Results? Down a total of 23 pounds from when I went to the doctor's office on December 28. And I feel great! I notice my skin has cleared up, and I feel energized to work out each day. This initially was an experiment to prove to myself that I could do it. But I don't see myself stopping now. Now, I need to expand my vegan recipe repertoire and find more kid-friendly recipes so I'm not always cooking two meals during dinner. Suggestions? You can follow the CNN Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge on Facebook and Twitter . Filed under: 2012 Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge , Adrienne LaGier Tagged: Adrienne LaGier – Tri Challenge participant

UCSF Susan Desmond-Hellmann In the long struggle to figure out how to get new therapies quickly from the lab to the clinic, Susan Desmond-Hellmann has seen almost every side. She’s the chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, so she knows about the challenges faced by academic researchers and scientists who are often frustrated in the effort to get grant money to support cutting-edge projects. Before that, she was president of product development at the pharmaceutical company Genentech , which during her time there got cutting-edge targeted therapies to treat cancer, such as Avastin, Herceptin and Tarceva through the arduous, expensive FDA-approval process. A board-certified physician in internal medicine and oncology, she also used to treat people with cancer. In an editorial published last week in Science Translational Medicine, she discusses a new data network described in a National Research Council report that could more quickly get the benefits of new discoveries to patients. (She was a co-chair of the committee that authored the report.) Low-cost, whole-genome sequencing and other advances are revealing much about the biology of disease, but she says for that knowledge to make a difference for patients, a new social contract is needed. Below, she tells Health Blog more about how this might look. The comments have been edited. The Wall Street Journal: What does the current social contract in medicine look like? The current contract is people sign up for a clinical trial or a study, without expectation that they may benefit. The real question is, does the…whole basic- and clinical-research enterprise, does it help me? If we could change the system to make it more dynamic, then maybe it could actually help you. Why is a new social contract needed? One of the things low-cost, high-throughput sequencing and the focus on biomarkers has done for us — particularly in cancer but increasingly across medicine — is it enables us to do something we were rarely able to do before: have the backbone of research be human biology. How easy or difficult is it to access the research enterprise to the benefit of that patient? If there is an ongoing research project, what are the barriers between that directly connecting to clinical care? As research becomes about human biology, we are increasingly going to have those sorts of questions. The National Research Council report describes the creation of a knowledge network. What would it look like and how would it benefit patients? We talk about this Knowledge Network database having two different levels. One is a research-level database…. The database would also have a second level, which is validated evidence that the FDA or other regulators or the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society has blessed this biomarker for this tumor or this drug-safety marker. The two levels are a research level where it is pretty messy and hypothesis-generating and then a clinical, ready-for-prime-time level. Clinicians could look at the latest information then bring it to bear on patients with a simple, straightforward discussion: Is this proven or is this a theory? How would this benefit patients? When we were writing the report, we got into this discussion about Google Maps. What was interesting about Google Maps is how dynamic it is. If you go someplace and they put a new street…it is updated for the new road. You can get into it and search it and find something in real time. What if medicine worked that way and instead of a new street, it’s a new biomarker, and I have access to that pace of knowledge that could benefit the patients I am caring for? What is the patient’s responsibility to drive change? Some patients will get on Facebook and start a movement…. But there are other patients — other cultures, other individuals — who say: ‘Make sure I don’t suffer…. I want to have a life with my family.’ It’s all good. Nobody needs to change their personal culture of what is comfortable. What makes me uncomfortable is the government or the medical enterprise saying to the patient, ‘we are going to protect you from x, y, and z,’ without spelling out the implications. Every time you treat a patient or conduct research, there is risk and it needs to be balanced by a benefit. And what should the new social contract be? As a patient, I would want the contract to be: I donate my sequencing and clinical information to a data base…. I am happy to participate in it and my expectation is not only is there opportunity for me to personally benefit from it as new therapies and new markers are created, but also that future patients and my family would benefit from it. The contract is: I give and I get.

A primary goal behind the Collaborative Chronic Care Network, as WSJ reports today , is to make patients and doctors partners in the effort to find treatments for chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. But how do you do that when your prospective partners are adolescents and teenagers? The patients’ youth and the fact so much of the care for chronic conditions such as IBD takes place at home means parents often end up speaking for their children to doctors. Yet one of the goals behind the network’s first project, the ImproveCareNow Network focusing on IBD, is to get patients to speak for — and learn how to take care of — themselves, say developers Drs. Peter A. Margolis and Michael Seid of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center . One of the network’s innovations is a Patient Advisory Council. Members meet online in a private Facebook group to discuss projects, brainstorm, and share personal news. Individual patients can draw on experiences with the disease that, taken together, can be used to improve the treatment of all pediatric patients. The patients also get a chance to exchange ideas with clinicians and researchers through regular video conferences and phone calls and sometimes in person at semi-annual learning sessions. Jill Plevinsky, 23 years old, is chairwoman of the Patient Advisory Council. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 7, and says she draws on her own experiences in her work with the group. As a teenager her disease often flared before she appeared in a school play, she says. The stress, long rehearsals late at night, lack of sleep and bad eating often played havoc with her body. But once the play was over, she got back to her usual routine. Plevinsky says treatment strategies need to be based on an understanding what is “normal for that individual patient” and the patient’s daily activities. The notion that patients can offer advice to the medical establishment is increasingly accepted. Academic centers hoping to improve care often seek input and advice from patients and their families across a range of diseases, including cancer and several chronic conditions. But the network’s patient-advisory council is also designed to work as a research group, with members serving as co-developers of ideas and projects that can ultimately be rolled out and tested throughout the network. Tyler Moon, a Westerville, Ohio, 15-year-old who was diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 9 and serves on the advisory council, says it’s hard for even well-intentioned doctors to understand the ambiguity of living with a chronic disease. He says he can’t always define a day as either “good” or “bad.” “Sometimes you might be on the fence about how you feel,” he says. Sometimes doctors don’t realize they are directing their conversation toward the parent, rather than the patient, he says. The Patient Advisory Council is patients-only. The parents have their own, separate working group that advises the network. And Tyler’s mom, Tania Moon, is the co-chair of that group.

How Facebook may be contributing to eating disorders – Newser Partner up! Challenging exercises to do with a buddy – Real Simple Still exhausted from your jam-packed weekend? Energizing moves to get you going – Self Have firmer skin always and forever? It might indeed be possible – Health St. Patrick’s Day may be over, but you can still go green with these superfoods – Fitness Get an inside peek at the wonderful world of AcroYogis – Yoga Journal Charlize Theron goes on a yoga date . . . with her mom! – Fit Celeb Spring has sprung! Learn what to plant in your edible garden – Vegetarian Times

Whether you’re heading someplace tropical, taking a weekend road trip to visit family, or heading out of town on business, being away from home can throw you for a loop when it comes to sticking to your healthy ways. If you’re on the quest to lose weight, it can still happen while traveling, if you keep these tips in mind. View Slideshow ›

FitSugar reader (and certified trainer) JessicaSmithTV posted these tips for choosing the right fitness DVD in our 10 Pounds Down! community group . Workout DVDs can be a wonderful way to stay in shape – they are convenient, ready when you are, and can introduce you to new exercises, techniques and instructors you may otherwise never meet. And while the benefits of workout DVDs are many, so are the options to choose from! It can be overwhelming to try to find one that you really enjoy and want to do over and over. Here are three tips to help you find your perfect match: 1. Borrow, swap and ask for suggestions Not sure where to start? Ask friends for suggestions, and better yet, borrow a few from their libraries to test drive first. Post an inquiry on Facebook asking for your friend’s favorite titles to get ideas on what to start looking for, and where the best deals are (did you know that Costco sells fitness DVDs?) 2. Don’t limit your workout preferences Many online dating sites use algorithms that specifically match you up with people who have traits that you specifically said you didn’t want, and yet you may end up dating that person - why? There is usually a big gap between what we say we want, and what we end up really liking. For example, if you love light-weight, high-repetition barre workouts, don’t limit your options by only searching for “barre-style workouts.” Who knows? You may end up falling in love with kickboxing! 3. Check out Collage Video What if you could preview workouts, check out a full breakdown and review from certified instructors who have done the workout, and read comments from people who have already bought and tried the DVD? You can with the website Collage Video ! Search by DVD title, instructor, equipment used, and fitness goals to find your ideal workout. And, if you buy it and don’t like it, they’ll take it back, no questions asked - even opened DVDs - within 30 days of purchase. Have your own fitness tips to share? Post it in our FitSugar Community – it might even be featured on the homepage!

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Imagine a world without Facebook, Twitter, or text messages. If it’s a nightmarish thought, you’re like most people aged 18-25 who are hopelessly addicted to something worse than alcohol or tobacco. According to a new study from the University of Chicago, text messaging and checking Facebook and Twitter are just behind sex and sleep on the list of urges that are basically impossible to resist. In the study, researchers gave BlackBerrys to more than 200 people and then sent the people back out into their normal daily lives. The researchers would message them seven times over 14 hours asking if they wanted to look at Facebook, Twitter, etc. The researchers said out of 10,558 messages, 7,827 reported urges to check social media. Researchers later discovered through interviews that many of the subjects were willing to forgo most other cravings except sex and sleep to check social media. A separate study, according to pcmag.com, reported that people with low self-esteem could be at more risk if they use Facebook. The self-esteem study found that people with low self-esteem posted negative items and that made them appear less likable to their friends. Connect with CBS Miami on our Facebook , Twitter , and Tout pages.

Editor's Note: Jeff Dauler is one of 7 people selected to train for and compete in the Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge .  Each participant gets all of the training and gear necessary to compete in the race, and they'll finish their journey in September at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon .  A very busy guy, Jeff is the co-host and executive producer of The Bert Show , a nationally-syndicated radio program. He has realized that time management is going to be his biggest hurdle. Here was my Facebook status update: "Know what the hardest part of the triathlon training has been so far? Time management." Here's an email from Matt, one of the Fit Nation producers, that I received exactly 8 minutes later: "I just saw your post on Facebook about time management. Not to add to your list, but think you could write a blog for us about that by next Monday? 300-500 words?" And that's how it happens. Plans destroyed by something I wasn't planning on. A blog request from my Fit Nation producers. A lunch invite with a business associate. Drinks with a friend. Traffic. Weather. In my head, I have time for it all, and more. But I'm always short on time and abundant with to-do list items. And I only have one job and no kids. How do people working multiple jobs, or juggling work and school do it? How about parents? How about single parents? How about single parents with multiple jobs? They are working with the same 24 hours I am … and they're getting it all in. I want to know the secret. And, thanks to my awesome Facebook family, and Dr. Gupta, I got some great ideas. 1. Schedule EVERYTHING. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. If you are anything like me, you've got a couple of lists here and there, plus one in your head. You know what you have to do, and when it's due. But because of your system (or non-system) of managing your to-dos, you aren't prioritizing and you aren't being realistic with your time. Along those lines, start thinking of everything as an appointment, with a realistic length of time for that appointment. Need to call your chatty parents? That might be a one-hour appointment. Need to run five "quick" errands? That might be 90 minutes with traffic and the pharmacist who remembers you calling it in but just can't find the order. Once you start scheduling everything, it'll be easy to implement number two … 2. Look at the big picture. Not just what you have to do today, but look at the week/month/next six months. If you see the next two weeks are filled with "appointments" then you can start planning accordingly. If you see this week is pretty light but the rest of the month is packed, you can use the free time to hit the mall, movies, or manicurist. Looking at the big picture allows you to realistically assess the time in your life, which you need to do in order to make number three easy … 3. Say "no." Don't be afraid of that word. Using it doesn't make you unkind, ungrateful or rude. It actually makes you polite, because when you implement the "no" you are prioritizing the valuable things in your world and moving the fluff stuff to the side. You have a lunch invite from a co-worker whose sister is in town and they want to go to the great Mexican place you like? That's great… unless you look at your big picture calendar and see that your week is slammed and you need the lunch hour to run those errands (including the visit to the pharmacist who always loses your stuff.) Can you move those errands? Then enjoy your cheese dip. No? Enjoy your protein bar in the car as you handle your priorities. Besides, you don't even really know that co-worker or care about her sister. 4. Commit 110%. Dr. Gupta said something during one of his appearances on my radio show. We asked him how he handles being a Dad, a husband, a TV personality, a neurosurgeon, author, speaker, and have a social life. (Believe it or not, I have seen him at concerts, fundraisers, and dinners around town.) His answer: When he's in something, he's in it 110%. He commits himself to maximizing that time, whether it's personal or professional, and not multitasking. That's easy for him, because he knows his schedule allows for time to address everything … and he also knows that once something is on his schedule, it's a priority. It deserves his complete and undivided attention. Even us non-globetrotting neurosurgeons can follow this rule; we SHOULD follow this rule. I'm getting a system in place, and so far, it's working great. I've only been in it a couple of weeks, but I see results. When I'm one-on-one with someone, I'm more focused on that experience. When I get an invite or offer, I'm able to quickly see if my involvement is realistic or will totally throw me off. I've eliminated emergency errands because I'm looking ahead and consolidating tasks. If I can stick with this … and I think I can … it'll only be a matter of time before I, too, am a book-writing brain surgeon who is on TV. Stand aside, Gupta. Learn how Jeff has scheduled everything by visiting his blog . You can follow The Fit Nation Challenge on Facebook and Twitter , or right here on The Chart . Filed under: 2012 Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge , Jeff Dauler Tagged: Jeff Dauler – Tri Challenge participant