Regardless of how long your workday is, you need to have enough energy to finish all the tasks beforehand. It is up to you to maximize the workload and the time at your disposal so you are energetic most of the time. You will be productive most of the day. Productivity at your workplace means that you’ll get your work done when it’s supposed to be finished. By doing this, you won’t have to work long hours or work over the weekend.
This is easier said than done, as there are numerous factors that determine our levels of energy throughout those 8 hours at work. Increasing the individual productivity level depends on how we behave.
Coworkers and the management can only support us, not manage the time on our behalf. By balancing the energy level, we first ensure that the work gets done. After it’s done we’ll still have time (and willpower) to devote ourselves to family and friends.
Getting enough good-quality sleep
Remember when you were 20 years old and could go for nights with only a few hours of sleep? Don’t we all but times have changed. Although you might not have aged that much, your body can no longer handle the everyday stresses without enough sleep. We could hardly achieve anything without sleep, as this is the time our body regenerates.
Sleep is essential to get plenty of time to rest. This is all reason why those six to eight hours of sleep a day should be the norm. If you have to get up early for work, going to bed before midnight should be a must. Make this goal a rule that you have to adhere to, at least during the workweek.
Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk said something very accurate:
“The truth is, it’s not about how much you sleep or don’t sleep. It’s what you do while you’re awake that matters. If you work hard and smart while you’re awake and give it all you’ve got in those hours, then you’re hustling”
Furthermore, it is not only the duration of sleep that should be satisfying but its quality as well. You need to have an ergonomic pillow that is firm and yet soft enough for your head. Uncomfortable bed and pillow lead to stiffness, which causes a lack of energy the next day. The whole sleeping period should be uninterrupted.
Constantly waking up can disrupt the sleep cycle and you’ll be tired in the morning. In order to have enough energy to balance, you need to accumulate enough energy at night by sleeping correctly. This way you’ll manage your daily task in a vigorous manner.
Breaks should be quick and numerous
There is a reason why school classes are set to a certain number of minutes. The attention span of a child is easily lost if an activity lasts too long. In adults, this time increases as they can pay attention longer. However, they still need that 5-minute recess to get their thoughts in order. Breaks are needed to recuperate from intensive mental or physical efforts.
This is the main reason why short breaks that are timely set throughout the work day yield the best possible results when it comes to maintaining constant energy levels. By constantly pausing, you give your body and mind time to recuperate, which results in higher productivity once you get back to the tasks ahead.
Many workers make the mistake of toiling for several hours and then finally stopping to take a long break. Not only will they be exhausted but they will have depleted their energy level by the time they decide to continue working. If the job they perform is physical.
The body will simply cool off and they won’t be able to warm up anytime soon. This is why a proper diet is essential when it comes to maintaining the desired energy levels at work.
Correct nutrition
You are probably already aware that you are what you eat and your body requires a lot of proteins and carbohydrates to keep you going through the day. However, not all food is the same, as there are foods that directly influence your energy levels.
It is easy to google which food groups and types of dishes are these but how on Earth are you going to make them in the rudimentary kitchen at work? That is why many businesspeople resort to junk food to satisfy their daily need for energy, which is definitely not the right the way to go.
If you don’t have time to cook meals at home and bring them with you to work, then you can order in. Yes, pizza is not the only thing that there is a delivery service for, as performance meals delivered to the office doorstep are becoming increasingly popular. Well, not exactly to the very doorstep, as you’ll have to go downstairs and claim the order at the reception but this still beats waiting to be served at least half an hour in some posh restaurant.
A meal rich in proteins and carbs that are both well-balanced is not only “fuel” for the muscles, as it is considered brain food as well. Nutrients inside a cooked meal help our mind work faster, instantaneously increasing our body’s energy levels.
Prioritize, prioritize, and prioritize!
Having sleep enough and being full of carbs and proteins means that your metabolic “gun” is loaded and ready for work. However, this does not imply that you are going to shoot out all the energy “ammo” in the first couple of hours, nor that each and every task will require the same amount of effort and time to complete it. Let’s face it, the gamut of challenges you face at the office is huge, so you need to prioritize in order to complete the most important and the most urgent ones.
Think of yourself as a robot that has a certain energy level, and use your energy wisely. In this sense, even turning a doorknob takes effort. Don’t go aimlessly around the office if you are bored during the day and have nothing better to do.
Once you enter the office, create a list of the things you’ll do first and last and stick to that list all day. Change it in case you are ordered to complete some other, more urgent tasks. By prioritizing, you will not waste valuable energy on unimportant tasks. You will use your energy wisely.
Adopt an exercise routine
If your job involves a lot of sitting, you need to exercise regularly to combat this physical inactivity. This exercise could take the form of a gym or a sport. In general, it is best taken up outside work hours. In fact, if you have the possibility to do so, you should exercise before work. This will get your metabolism kick-started, so by the time you arrive at the office, you will be ready.
Furthermore, you can adopt a light workout routine at the office that should be quick like the pauses previously discussed, yet effective enough. Sitting down for hours on end can result in various spinal issues, so getting up to stretch is highly recommendable.
Finally, all the points listed here show that you must have a proactive approach to staying sharp at work. Attaining mindfulness means that you need to have enough sleep, eat the right food, and exercise enough. This will ensure you would have enough energy before each new workday.
Taking frequent breaks and staying active and focused at the office will mean that you utilize this energy to your own benefit to increase productivity.
Conclusion
There you have it!
There are many misconceptions regarding productivity and keeping energy levels up, but the fact is that both of these things are very much integrated into each other. If you don’t have energy, you won’t be able to keep your productivity up.
Follow these productivity steps and you’ll be able to keep your energy high and complete more of your tasks.
Article written by Miannak.
