Four Scientifically Proven Ways To Boost Your Productivity

As a High Performance Coach I help my clients ‘get more done in less time’.

I’m often asked what methods I use. I use the High Performance process and today I want to share a couple of things you can focus on to quickly boost your productivity.

To improve your daily productivity, I suggest focusing on sleep, eating habits, an exercise routine and working with a professional coach. Together these four different elements work together and have the power to transform your productivity levels and your quality of life.

1.Optimise Your Sleep

A study showed that workers with insomnia or not enough sleep experienced the steepest productivity losses, spending three times more on time management.

They are also far more likely to suffer from a lack of motivation and have difficulty focusing. This is as well as having issues remembering things and making good decisions. A general guideline says that adults need between 7 and 9 hours per night for peak productivity. It suggests sleeping less than 6 hours per night increases a person’s mortality risk by 10%. Interesting isn’t it?

It’s good to develop your own sleep routine before bed, but here are some tips:

Make the room dark. This can be done using a sleep mask or dark curtains.
Have a routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This will be easier to do if you set an alarm for mornings and follow the same routine in the evenings as you get ready for bed.
No screens. For 3 to 4 hours before you go to sleep blue light screens should be avoided. For example, computer, Ipad, phone. Also, all lights in your home could be fitted with warm white light bulbs.
Keep your bedroom cool. Our body temperature naturally drops as we fall asleep. You can jumpstart the process by cooling your room to around 16 – 18 degrees Celsius.

2. Eat to Perform

Your diet is directly linked to your circadian rhythm. This determines when you feel tired and when you feel alert. It’s important because it’s almost impossible to be productive when your energy levels are low.

Food has can affect your mood and mental health as well. Here are 3 things you can do to improve your productivity through your diet.

Stop having sugar and saturated fats. This includes sweets, bread, pastries and deep-fried food. Saturated fats and refined sugar have long-term health implications which also affect your productivity. This can be, increased risk of heart disease , strokes and type 2 diabetes. Short term, refined carbs and sugar lead to insulin spikes. It has the effect of flooding your brain with serotonin and tryptophan. This is what makes you feel sleepy after a heavy lunch.
Eat smart foods. You need to be eating foods that are rich in folic acid (found in meats, beans and greens.) Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, seeds and nuts). Vitamin C (found in berries citrus fruits and peppers) and vitamin E (found in nuts).
Start your day right. Your breakfast should be a protein-packed, carbohydrate meal. This can include fruit, oatmeal, eggs and whole-wheat toast, or even a protein smoothie. A proper breakfast will help you feel more awake and will keep you full until lunchtime. This is so that you can concentrate on your work. Neglecting to have a good breakfast (or skipping a meal) may put your brain into ‘starvation mode’ causing you to feel easily overwhelmed, sluggish and foggy.
3. Exercise Right

Your brain and body are connected. Therefore, your mental productivity is linked to how you take care of your body. Research shows that both high- and low-intensity exercise is important for brain function:

High-intensity (aerobic) exercise. It is possible to boost your mental health through exercise such as swimming, hiking, tennis or dancing. High-intensity exercise has been linked to improved memory, concentration, creativity and tolerance for stress. A good minimum to aim for is 150 minutes a week (around 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week).
Low-intensity exercise, walking is one of the most effective ways to get a quick productivity boost, a recent Stanford study showed that a quick walk increases our creativity by an average of 60%.
4. Work with a High-Performance Coach

One of the key areas focussed on as a high-performance coach is helping clients solve problems that are linked to less productivity.

Coaching is different to teaching. It is a collaborative process that involves learning, application, refining and reflection. This is more effective as your ability to remember and put something in to practice is much higher than with teaching.

Through my practical, interactive process of boosting productivity we identify weak areas, design and develop habits to boost productivity,. Then we build on this foundation by staying accountable and making changes where necessary. By following these steps I find that people are able to make big improvements and quick progress in boosting their productivity levels across all areas of their lives including work, exercise and family life.

By focusing on your sleep routine, developing a balanced healthy diet and including regular exercise in your weekly routine you can quickly boost your productivity. Working with a high-performance coach will take your productivity to the next level through personalised focus and attention on different areas of your life.

If you need help unlocking your potential and boosting productivity, please get in touch.

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