How to Improve Health and Energy
Top Ten Laws of Productivity #7

Do you know what the most important asset is in your life? A large part of being highly effective and productive is learning how to improve health and energy to sustain focused periods of efficient work without burning out. In order to do this, you must have a certain level of mental, emotional, and physical health. Here are some insights to get you started.

Early and Regular Physical Exercise

Let’s start first with the physical side of things. Being in a state of optimal physical health will be one of the biggest key factors in determining your energy and work stamina throughout the day. The easiest way to gain a huge boost in your energy, mood, and effectiveness is to do exercise first thing in the morning. This will get you off on a good note for the day, and it is proven to make you feel much more alive.

This is contradictory to what many people think I understand. I was talking to somebody just the other day about how I worked out in the morning and it helped me to get so much more done in the morning. They were very surprised and said, “Doesn’t working out make you tired?” NO! Wow, I was actually shocked that people think this way. If you don’t believe me, try and do a vigorous 30-60 minutes of exercise an hour or so before bed. I can bet you that you will have trouble getting to sleep!

Oh and on that subject. Working out early will not only improve your energy for the entire day, but it will improve the QUALITY of your sleep at night! Do it.

Obey your body’s natural cycles

Have you heard of the circadian rhythm? It is the cycle that your body follows of waking and sleeping. For instance, when your body senses that it is time to rest it begins to produce melatonin which makes you drowsy and ready to sleep. Well, did you also know that your body follows MANY other natural cycles as well? ( Women for example, can tell you about another one they experience each month. )

The rhythm that I am talking about is what I like to think of as our natural “work” cycle. For the most part, we tend to start the day off productively, and after an hour or less begin to lose focus and clarity. This is the point where we run out and begin consuming large amounts of coffee, energy drinks, and other sugars. *ugh*

What you may not realize is that you are really damaging your bodie’s natural way of recovering for another round of hard work! The end result is that you end up sucking at getting anything done. What a shame. Don’t feel bad though, if you are just now hearing about this! Do yourself a favor, and drop the coffee or energy drinks. You can thank me later.

So, next time you feel a bit restless and start to lose your focus, it is probably time for a quick 10 minute break. The best thing that I have discovered is something which I learned from Eban Pagan. It is working in 60/60/30 cycles. You work focused on one task for 50 minutes, take a 10 minute break, work another 50, 10 minute break again, and then 30 minutes to eat and rest. I have been putting this into practice religiously recently, and although I am still improving on it, I have noticed a huge increase in what I am able to get done!

Destress Your Life

Another thing that can kill your productivity in the realm of health is having too much negative stress. This is more on the mental health side of things. Harboring negative emotions, not getting adequate rest, and allowing your mind to take you hostage are all contributors to stress and rob you of valuable happiness, productivity, and overall health.

Get your mind right, rest enough to be rejuvenated, and surround yourself with positivity. There is an immense amount that I can tell you about adjusting these areas of your life, however it is way beyond the scope of this particular article. If these are areas that are troubling you in your life, I highly recommend that you seek additional answers.

People do not focus enough of their attention on health when it comes to learning how to get more done, manage their time, and be more productive. Hopefully I have planted a seed in your mind to give you an idea of how important it is. By improving your health, you will not only be more effective at what you do, but you will be happier, live a longer life, and most likely inspire other people as well!

Questions to ask yourself: How satisfied am I with my current physical and mental health? What areas do I need to improve on? Should I learn more? If so, take action immediately. Do not waste time. Leave a comment and share your thoughts and questions. I look forward to your long and lasting health!

Tagged as: Energy, Health, Productivity, Time Management