I have learned a lot of interesting things about nutrition in my cricket career but the biggest lesson of all is to ensure your healthy eating habits are sustainable. The best way to eat healthily is to think of nutrition as a lifestyle, not as a diet.
Jos Buttler
I was worrying about how Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson or Josh Hazlewood would get me out and how I would counter it, but in doing that forgot how I was going to score runs and put pressure on them, which is what I'm good at. I have to be more focussed on myself.
I sometimes like to do plyometric work which hits my core and the rest of my body at the same time: things like jumping to catch balls, box jumps, hurdling over cricket stumps, bounds, hops, or combined exercises like three jumps in a row followed by a sprint.
It can feel like such a hectic lifestyle. We are always busy and always under pressure. So giving myself that 10 minutes of meditation each day has really helped me to relax, restore some perspective, and gain that meditative state.
It's an amazing opportunity to be around at the right time and play in a home World Cup.
Running is a good example of the link between fitness and psychology. I have found an easy way to enjoy running by focusing on 5k runs - they are long enough to get your heart going but not so long that you get bored.
I have learned not to bother with no-carbohydrate diets or extreme nutritional strategies. It is much better to go for a balanced approach which you can make your long-term routine.
All I ever try and do in any game is play to how I see the situation.
I do a lot of gym circuits; a bit like CrossFit or HIIT sessions, so just 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Circuits are a good fat-burner but they also work your heart and lungs.
At Somerset I played with Marcus Trescothick who has spoken very openly about his battle with depression and anxiety. I had a few conversations with him about his problems but I also read his book which provided me with a great insight into what he went though.
We all make worse decisions when we are tired but being fit keeps your mind sharp and gives you the confidence to handle anything the world throws at you.
Having played before and been dropped I think people will always remember that, so if I am ever going to play Tests again I will need to show improvements in red-ball cricket.
We want to inspire cricket fans and enhance their love for the game as well as bring new people and children into the fold and encourage them to pick up a bat.
As a player, it's important to focus on the here and now.
But one of the best things away from playing was a visit to a Mumbai slum. You see people in their conditions, getting stuck into their way of life and not moaning, and realise how lucky you are to be doing what you are doing. It put things into perspective.
I think I have an innate inner confidence, one that I don't feel I need to prove all the time. There will be times throughout your career when it does dip a little bit. Whether it's from within, or something you guys have written.
I sometimes get someone to bowl at me from closer than the usual 22 yards so when I then go and play on a normal-sized pitch, everything feels easier.
I've always been a bit shy, especially in new situations. But I have that other side in me too. Cricket demands that you grow up fast. Playing in domestic tournaments as an overseas player, you're expected to score runs and bring a lot to the group. And I expect that of myself.
Although I train hard with England and Rajasthan Royals, when I am at home in London I always like to join some group fitness classes and experiment with new workout ideas.
I love Japanese food - it's a really healthy way of cooking and it is very easy: I often just steam the vegetables and fish together, make a space for the noodles, and I have a great healthy meal in 15 minutes.
Your core holds you upright; it helps you bend and twist and jump; it helps you transfer power through your body; and it strengthens your posture, whether you are batting, sitting at a desk or running around a park.
I'm sure Jofra Archer will be loving heading into his first World Cup. He is in the dressing room as he comes across on the field - laidback and very confident in his ability.
Franchise T20 competitions are great and the skill level is very high, but playing for your country is a huge honour and T20 is so popular that it should be recognised as an international game.
In the middle order the game is a little more laid out for you, whether you are batting first or chasing down a score, so you are a bit more reactive to the situation in front of you. Opening up, it is pretty much a blank canvas and dependent on how you play.
The first time I played Test cricket, I did OK because I had no real expectations, I was just going to enjoy it. Then I lost that.
The psychology of sport is so important. When you are standing at the crease, in front of a stadium full of people, it's a pretty intense experience. So you need to have the psychological tools to control your mind and deliver your best performance.
Going into a new environment with new coaches posed the question as to how well I actually know my own game. To have these big names asking what I want from them, and what makes me tick, showed me how selfish you have to be with your practice.
Cricket has a stigma of old men in white clothes playing cricket but readdressing that image to people who aren't necessarily cricket lovers may go some way to making it cooler.
One of the things that I like to pride myself on is being the guy who sees the game through till the end.
I was constantly searching for something and you kid yourself that someone out there has got that secret to batting that they can give you one piece of advice that will enable you to go and score a hundred every time. It is silly. By trying to learn I confused myself.
I enjoy fitness. I've always enjoyed trying to stay healthy. I've enjoyed all my gym work; obviously there's a cross-over with that going into cricket. But you also talk of finding an escape and I think in the last year or so, running has provided me with that.
I'm quite content with who I am and what I do. You might get someone in your local Tesco who might know who you are. But not really. To think you couldn't do those simple things, I'd say I'd probably crave them quite a lot.
Keeping wicket is the worst place to be when out of form. You can't hide at fine leg where you might touch the ball once every 10 overs. Behind the wicket you are involved every ball.
I've been lucky, my wife's been amazing. Any time we've had cricket matches she sends me to the spare room to get some sleep. She takes care of everything.
A really important technique for me is visualisation. Before a match I will sit down and think about all the different situations which might happen on the field - if the openers start well, if you end up going out earlier than expected, what the conditions might be like.
The fact that people want to learn from you gives you confidence as well, especially if someone in an IPL dressing room that you respect comes up to you and asks how you do something. Your self-worth starts to improve.
T20 in international cricket can almost be paid lip-service at times, with one game tagged on to the end of an ODI series or a long tour - sometimes it can feel like there is no point in playing it.
If you are going to introduce cricket to other countries then I think T20 is the format with which to do it - it's a great entry level into the sport and easy to pick up.
High-intensity training works well for cricket because we spend long periods waiting around and then have to perform sudden sprints or dives.
I'd say the biggest difference is knowing you can do something. You can sit here and say, 'I believe I can get a hundred tomorrow'. But it's a different statement to say, 'I know I can get a hundred tomorrow'. That's something I try to think about.
Cricket isn't the be all and end all. That doesn't mean you put in less effort or don't try as hard. You put everything into it, but at the end of the day there are bigger and better things.
It's really important to have your escape away from cricket, whatever that is for the individual. I enjoy my time away from the game, that really refreshes me and lets me get excited for when I do go back in and play.
I enjoy the football, I really love our kickarounds. I would say Chris Woakes is the best - a real Rolls-Royce midfielder. He gets himself around and he's got a silky touch. He's the main man.
When Mahela Jayawardene was with us before the Test series against Pakistan he said it should all be about enjoying your talent and skill. He took his bat out there to score runs and enjoy playing the game.
It was a relief to get dropped which is sad in a way because you never want to miss a game. But I was not performing and mentally I got to a stage where I was not concentrating and did not want to be there. I was not enjoying walking out there and feeling like I didn't know where the next run was coming from.
What was scaring me was if we lost, I didn't know how I'd play cricket again. This was such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a World Cup final at Lord's.
India is such an attack on your senses and is unrivalled for the passion surrounding cricket.
We're very lucky in England: everything's very structured. But in India you have to deal with chaos, and I think that helps dealing with expectation.
Cricket takes so long. There's a lot of airtime to fill. Guys have to talk about someone's technique for half an hour.
I feel maybe at times I've just been a bit too desperate to do well, almost tried too hard. But even though I haven't contributed as I would have liked, I've still enjoyed the cricket just as much.
