A lot of getting productive has nothing at all to do with your work. Think about it. We're not machines. If we don't take care of ourselves in general, we are going to be a lot less effective at anything we do.
This simple fact was brought home to me last night. I am in a Thursday night pool league, and have been doing very well. But yesterday, I suffered a mild case of food poisoning after eating lunch at a local restaurant.
By evening I was feeling okay, so figured I had better go play. It was too late to get a substitute and I didn't want to let my teammates down.
It didn't go too well.
I could not get it together. The focus wasn't there. I couldn't string together two good shots in a row. It was not an impressive showing. Not being 100% healthy in my guts affected my ability to shoot a pool ball.
Sometimes you just can't focus.
We are complex systems and everything affects everything else. That's why we sometimes need to stop working to become more productive.
The idea here is that we need to attend to various non-work factors if we want to be productive in our work. There are three factors in particular that you need to get right if you want to be productive.
You need to:
We should talk about these three factors in some detail here. You'll soon see why they are so important. You'll also see why stopping work to address them will make you more productive, not less so.
I am sure you realize that food is vitally important. And that "eating right" can help you be more productive. But knowing what is right to eat can be hard. There is so much conflicting advice to sort through.
And man is it hard to eat right when you are scrambling to get stuff done. I'm sure I am not the only person to work through their lunch to meet a deadline. And I'm sure I'm not the only person to grab a snack from the vending machine instead of eating a regular meal. After all, I was really busy.
You've got to resist these urges. Working through lunch might get that report turned in on time. However, you are likely to be less than 100% for the rest of the day. Your blood sugar levels will drop and you will be craving food.
This will lead you to the vending machine, where you will find only unhealthy junk. The junk food will drive your blood sugar up, then bring it crashing down. It will be hard to focus, possibly even to stay awake. And that will drive you back to the vending machine to repeat the cycle.
Now I am not a nutritionist or any kind of medical expert. Still my research and my personal experience tells me a few things. Foremost is that for most people, eating right means less carbs and more protein.
The US government recommends a diet made up of lots of carbohydrates and a small amount of protein. If you look around the USA, you can see the results. They aren't pretty. Eating the recommended diet results in serious weight gain. It also tends to leave you far from your most productive.
Screen capture from USDA Food Guide Pyramid pamphlet.
One simple step you can take to be more productive all day is to eat a high-protein breakfast. Many high-performance people extol the virtues of a high-protein, low-carb breakfast. One such person is Charles Poliquin, who trains many Olympic and professional athletes. He says that this kind of breakfast leaves you feeling fuller. At the same time, you consume fewer calories.
Why? This kind of breakfast results in a slower, more prolonged rise in your blood sugar than a carb-heavy meal. This keeps you awake and alert, allowing you to concentrate better for longer. At the same time, with stable blood sugar, you are less likely to have cravings for junk food.
Combine all these effects and it is easy to see how this kind of breakfast can set you up to be more productive.
Try eating a high-protein breakfast for a few days and see if you notice a difference. I know that I am definitely more productive when I have the discipline to start my days off this way.
We evolved in the wild, hunting, and fighting, and running for our lives. So it is only logical that our bodies are adapted to a life of action. Sitting in front of a computer for hours a day (as I am doing right now) is not natural for us.
Our world doesn't force us to be active to survive the way our ancestors were. Several years ago, I visited a recreation of a Colonial New England town. I was told that people back then worked so hard that they burned over 6,000 calories a day!
Few of us would want to go back to that, but we do pay a price for our easier lives. Our bodies are not adapted to the sedentary modern world. We don't perform as well if we never get any exercise.
Adding some exercise to your life will improve the functioning of your body. That can make you more productive in whatever you do. Happily, we don't have to live the strenuous lives of our ancestors to benefit.
At almost any level, some exercise is better than none. And a little more exercise gives you a little more benefit. If you are not already doing so, it makes sense to start exercising. And if you are already exercising, try doing a little more.
I am not going to try to tell you what exercise program is right for you. That is way beyond my field of expertise. And I am not going to share my workout program with you. I am a 58-year old guy who was out of action for a long time after contracting the Chikungunya virus. My needs and circumstances are pretty atypical.
I can make a couple of suggestions though.
Number 1 is, start slow, and don't worry about impressing anyone. The goal should be to do a little more than you are doing now, without injuring yourself. Impressing people with your pullup prowess doesn't matter if you injure yourself.
Number 2 is, if you are far out of shape, talk to your doctor before starting. Exercise is good. Giving yourself a heart attack or a stroke is bad.
We tend to forget this, but thinking requires physical energy. Our brains burn something like 20% of all the calories used by our bodies. It is unclear whether thinking harder actually burns more calories. Whether it does or not, we do know that concentrating on something drains us over time.
We can only concentrate on one thing for a limited amount of time. The amount of time varies from person to person, but we aren't machines. We simply can't stay completely focused on one task all day.
So what do you do when you need to be productive all day?
You can try to power through the mental exhaustion. But don't expect to get good results. You can't do your best work in this state.
I frequently take siestas during the day. The difference in productivity between right before and after the siesta, is amazing. I sometimes find myself thinking, "Wow! I was really stupid earlier today."
Why such a huge difference? Right before the siesta, I will have worked hard for hours, and I am tired. Those two things, sustained focus and tiredness, really make it hard to be productive.
But then comes the siesta. Sometimes I sleep. Other times I read or simply rest with me eyes closed. Frequently I will be back at my desk, focused and working productively, in 20 minutes. It's surprising how much of a difference such a short break can make.
This works because I am resting my mind. During a siesta, I am not concentrating hard on anything, even if I am reading. I am getting physical rest as well as relaxing my mind.
Whatever "energy" it is that allows me to stay focused runs out after a while. I need to step away from the work every so often to recharge that energy and be productive again. Whether you realize it or not, you do too.
If you work in an office, you probably can't take a siesta in the middle of the day. But you can do something to rest your mind every so often. Even something as simple as walking to the restroom, or chatting with someone at the water cooler for a moment can do it. I am sure you will be more productive when you return to your work.
Non-work factors definitely play a part in becoming more productive. Eating right, exercising your body, and resting your mind are all things that take minutes away from working. But all of them make you much more productive, despite the lost minutes. Try it yourself and see.
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