One of the most important requirements for you to be happy and productive is for you to guard and nurture your energy levels at all times.
Avoid Being Constantly Tired. The fact is, your productivity begins to decline after eight or nine hours of work. For this reason, working long hours into the night, although it is sometimes necessary, means that you’re usually producing less and less in more and more time. The more sleep deprived you become, the worse the quality of your work will be and the more mistakes you will make. At a certain point, you can reach “the wall” and simply be unable to continue, like a battery that is run down. I have reached the wall and it is not where you want to be.
Work at Your Own Pace. There are specific times during the day when you are at your best. You can learn how to stop procrastinating by identifying these times and discipline yourself to use them on your most important and challenging tasks. Most people are at their best in the morning, after a good night’s sleep. Some people are better in the afternoon. A few people are most creative and productive in the evening or late at night. Whenever you feel sleep deprived and overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time, stop yourself and just say, “All I can do is all I can do.” Sometimes the very best use of your time is to go home early and go to bed and sleep for ten hours straight. This can completely recharge you and enable you to get two or three times as much done the following day, and of a far higher quality, than if you had continued working long into the night.
Go to sleep. One of the smartest things you can do is to turn off the television and go to sleep by ten o’clock each night during the week. Sometimes, one extra hour of sleep per night can change your entire life. Here is a rule for you. Take at least one full day off every week. During this day, either Saturday or Sunday, you must absolutely refuse to read, clear correspondence, catch up on things from the office or do anything else that taxes your brain. Instead, you go to a movie, exercise, spend time with your family, go for a walk or any activity that allows your brain to completely recharge itself. It is true that “a change is as good as a rest.” Take regular vacations each year, both long weekends and one and two-week breaks to rest and rejuvenate. You are always the most productive after a restful weekend or a vacation. When you go to sleep early five nights a week, sleep in on the weekends and taking one full day off each week you will have far more energy. This added energy will help you learn how to stop procrastinating and get started on your major tasks faster and with greater resolve than you ever could if you were tired out.
Be Happy By Guarding Your Physical Health. In addition to lots of rest, and to keep your energy levels at their highest, be careful about what you eat. Start the day with a high protein, fat and low carbohydrate breakfast. Eat salads with fish or chicken at lunch. Avoid sugar, white flour products or deserts. Avoid soft drinks and candy bars or pastries. Feed yourself as you would feed a world-class athlete before a competition because in many respects, that’s what you are before starting work each day. Aim to exercise about 200 minutes each week, the agreed-upon standard for excellent levels of fitness. This is equal to 30 minutes per day and can be achieved by going for a walk before or after work, or walking short stretches during the day. You can swim, use exercise equipment or play different sports, but build exercise into your daily routine, just as if it was a business appointment. By eating healthy, exercising regularly and getting lots of rest, you’ll get more and better work done, easier and with greater satisfaction than ever before.
The better and less sleep deprived you feel when you start work, the less you procrastinate and the more eager you are to get the job done and get on with other tasks. High energy levels are indispensable to higher levels of productivity, more happiness and greater success in everything you do.
Love Vanessa 💖
being Vanessa 