Take care of your physical and mental health while improving your productivity and enriching your off-time!
Avoiding burn-out and unnecessary stress is the best way to stay consistent, and if we've learned anything from our 39 years of close relationships with all sorts of businesses, it is that consistency is the key to success.
Ignore the buzz of hustle culture and focus on these key tips on more efficient relaxation and planning, without compromising on your results.
1. The Early Bird Gets a Good Night's Rest.
Sleep is a necessary human function, helping us recharge our brains and bodies to be ready for the next day. It's a well-known fact that 6-8 hours a day is the ideal sleep routine, however, it's not as simple as maximizing the time you spend with your eyes closed.
Stop setting alarms 8 hours from when you lay down your head and start planning and sticking to a consistent sleep routine. It also won't help you if you try to catch up when you missed a few hours the previous night. You would probably have better luck gluing your beard back on after shaving.
The next step would be to stick to the routine that works for you. Waking up earlier than you are used to is the perfects start to changing your routine. It might be difficult at first, but after perfecting your night time routine, you'll easily find waking up without that caffeine boost MUCH easier. The extra time in the morning could also prove to be your best time to plan your day. With decent sleep and a fresh perspective on the day, go over your plans to see where you can save some extra time or get more done.
While you might feel yourself getting slightly more tired by the end of the work day, rest assured, this is temporary. To make the morning rise easier, reduce your exposure to light sources about two hours before your scheduled bed time.
If you have a night time exercise routine, consider scheduling it a few hours earlier as it is most beneficial for a healthy night's rest if you limit any intense exercise to at least 4 hours prior to your scheduled bed time. The same goes for meals, snacks and sugary drinks; if you want to get the most quality sleep you possibly can, stick to water at the end of the day. Consider intermittent fasting for the best possible health benefits including limiting the risk for pre-diabetes, promoting healthier hormone & metabolic function along with all the benefits for your sleep!
2. Weekends Are for Weekending
If it's not a fun work function or team building event, there really isn't too much reason to push your limits if it's not relieving a substantial amount of pressure from you or your team. Your employer would be much happier if you use the time to properly unwind and boost your team morale with a well rested smile on your face!
But making the most of your weekend isn't all about doing as little as possible, it's about the experiences you have. Visit an old friend or family member, travel to a new place, stare at beautiful horizons or participate in a philanthropic project to uplift your local community. The important part is not to waste the opportunities your free time provides you. Procrastination over the weekend can have a negative effect on your productivity during the week. You might just be distracting yourself to avoid the stress of the upcoming week or tasks you left unfinished. Most of us have at least a full 48 hours with no interruptions from our professional lives, so you could take the opportunity to break down your priority tasks in a list to prepare for the upcoming work week. While this isn't really what you might call relaxing, planning is proven to relieve stress, allowing you to de-compress as much as possible before you execute on your plan when the work week resumes.
Every day is valuable, and while your work week is there to provide you opportunities to achieve your professional goals, the weekends should help you accomplish them by relieving some stress.
3. Comfort = Profit.
Now that the weekend is over, you have a healthy new sleeping & exercise routine and you are ready to conquer the work week, it's time to get to that desk and get to work! Only problem is, you're struggling to stay in that zone where you are at your most productive. Your setup where you plan and work to achieve your professional goals need to, not only be generally comfortable, but also keep you from doing any long term damage to your physical health.
Repetitive stress injuries are more common than ever, luckily there are thousands of ergonomic products out there to help you stay pain free and productive!
This is rarely the one and only solution, so physical activity that promotes mobility is always a good place to start before upgrading to that fancy new office chair and standing desk. Start by setting a reminder on your watch or phone to get up and walk around once every hour. This also has the benefit of improving time management by incorporating these reminders with task milestones.
If you don't yet have a regular exercise routine, start with light core exercises early in the morning.
If you are prone to feeling the effects of your sedentary work life more often during the day you should do these stretching exercises frequently during the day.
If, however, you are one of the many with more pressing concerns about the long term viability of your current work environment, we have all the right knowledge, equipment and products you could need to feel like your working on cloud 9! Feel free to reach out or visit our store to learn more!
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