Samantha Rea

Bad day at the office? Try these life hacks from the military

  • From Spectator Life
Recruits at grenade throwing practice at a resort in the north-west of England, during World War II, 25th July 1940 (Getty)

“Do not waste a single vertebra,” says Major General Paul Nanson CBE, in Stand Up Straight, his book of life lessons from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he serves as Commandant. With a career in the British Army spanning more than 30 years, Nanson is no patchouli-scented shaman. His Sandhurst hacks have seen him through The Troubles, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, the Iraq War, and the war in Afghanistan. So I reckon he’s reasonably well qualified to dish out advice.

“I’m a great believer in healthy body, healthy mind. If you’re physically fit, you’ll be more mentally fit,” says Nanson, who takes his morning run as an opportunity to reflect. On Nanson’s watch, a run is not just shuffling round the park resisting the urge to buy an ice-cream. It is Command Time.

“Getting off the computer and out of the office gives you the time and space to think and consider your own life, and the decisions you’re about to make,” says Nanson, who tells me he wouldn’t be without his daily physical.

I like the concept of Command Time, and the potential for using it to validate any absence from my desk. “I’m taking Command Time!” sounds so much more, well, commanding than muttering, “I’m just nipping out,” so I’m pleased to hear Nanson has more of these appellations up his well-ironed sleeve.

“I think the army’s renowned for having its own language,” says Nanson, who also advocates taking a “Condor Moment”. The term originates from ads for Condor tobacco, in which a suave pipe smoker swiftly sees off any form of nuisance. “Nothing should disturb that Condor moment,” says the voiceover, providing chaps everywhere with an excellent euphemism.

“When you’re explaining to recruits that they need to take time to consider their next action, if you’re very scientific about it, you probably won’t resonate with them.

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