Living an awesome life, we all would like to be there. There’s at times so much to juggle we just don’t find a way to get there. Most of the time I’ve found myself stuck in the trap of doing so much for others that I can’t even get myself and the work I want to do for me started. That’s not being selfish to think just about what I need, that’s just being human. Our prioritizing of our energy and how we optimize the “stuff” we want to get done are the two main things that cause us to land in the trap.
Let’s starting at the beginning by a simple idea that you should start every morning with. I’ve read so many articles and even a book on how to start the day. You’d be surprised at just about what every one of them had to say:
Drink a cup of water!
I know, right? Head scratcher. Did you know (this is going to be gross, but hang out with me on this one) you typically lose around a pound of water through sweat while you sleep at night? I always wondered why I weigh myself at night and compare it to a weigh in the next morning only to find I’ve actually lost a pound to a pound in a half. WHAT? I usually drink coffee too which I learned puts caffeine in your blood wicked fast triggering you in to a flight or fight type of behavior. Not a great way to start the day.
Tracking your eating habits during the day whether at work or play is a solid habit to do too. You may be putting to many carbs into your body which impact your blood sugar levels making you less energetic in focus to get things done. Simple carbs like cereal, toast (white), and juices tells our body to release insulin to control those sugars. When insulin mixes with our blood it makes us lethargic and cranky.
Take a nap. Can’t do it in the office, then go out to your car and power nap it up with just a 20-30 minute bask in the sun. You know when you’re about in that afternoon zone of 1-2 pm in the day and you have this decrease in overall energy? We typically ignore the feeling and just power through it. Or, we go grab a snack or some coffee. Which puts us right back into the insulin trap of being lethargic and cranky again.
Taking a nap may seem to you like a terrible thing to do with free time, but actually taking a nap improves our cognitive motor performance. Which means, we’re going to be much more productive. That little 30 minute down time you were worried about wasting productive time in taking doesn’t really stand. Your reaction times, logical reasoning for problem solving, and you’re overall immune systems all improve by just taking a 30 minute power nap. Which all said, makes you much more productive.
Some really simple things you can do to own your own productivity that you can start today:
- Drink one cup of water first thing in the morning when you get up to boost your system; for an added spin put some lemon in it
- Stay away from those simple carbs like cereal, bagels, toast, and juices first thing in the morning; try some veggies for breakfast
- Get a nap at least once a day for 20 minutes or more; grab some noise canceling headphones and something to cover your eyes if light/sound bothers you – Oh, turn off notifications on your devices as they may temp you
Targeting our overall health by making better choices to care for it will be a win in productivity almost every single time.
Hope you’re week is rocking!
✌🏻 Shawn
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