Tired? Feeling stressed out?
It’s time for you to understand how taking care of yourself will boost your productivity.
A lot of us, including my past self, think that being productive means working hours after hours, taking fewer breaks, and hard working. But these things are anti-productive.
If you become smarter, you can achieve more with less time, and working long hours decreases your productivity.
Why taking care of yourself is important
If you keep cutting trees but don’t take the time to sharpen your axe, then after some time cutting the trees will get slower and you will feel more tired.
But, you could cut more trees if you take care of the axe and if you take the time off to sharpen it!
Similarly, we have to take care of ourselves to be more productive!
Productivity doesn’t mean how long you are working, it is how much you can achieve!
4 dimensions to taking care of yourself and here is how
As mentioned by Covey1 , there are 4 dimensions to take care of yourself.
1. Physical dimension:
a. Do regular exercise: Here are some examples
- Gym
- Outdoor physical games
b. If you seat for long hours, then you have a high chance to develop back pain soon.
Here are some tips:
- seat straight – Search in internet how to seat properly in front of computer, where to put your hands, how to put your feet
- Use seating ball
- Everyday, I seat at least 10 minutes on a seating ball, it really reduces my back pain
c. Take proper nutrition
- Avoid junk food
- I used to eat too many sweets, and chocolate earlier, but I have reduced it
- I have also reduced the amount of oil while cooking
d. Have enough sleep
- Not everyone is made to sleep 4 hours a day
- Enough sleep will make you fresh. What you can achieve with a fresh mind in 1 hour is not possible in 2 hours with a dull mind
Action Items
Don’t just read and pass by, make an action list; what can you do to improve your physical dimension?
- Take a pen and paper
- Read the above section and write down what you can improve for your body?
A sample list could be:
- Seat straight
- Go to the gym 3 times a day
- Buy a seating ball
- Drink tea without sugar
- Reduce eating chocolate
- Sleep at least 7 hours
- Reduce oil while cooking
Make your own list, and follow up!
2. Spiritual Dimension
As mentioned by Stephen, it is about getting in touch with yourself, your values, and the beauty in the world around you. Each day, take a few moments for quiet contemplation, prayer, or mindful meditation.
If you are a Muslim, it is much easier for you; you already have to pray 5 times a day. But maybe you are praying too fast, not connecting, and not concentrating enough!
Pray slowly, and try to understand what you are saying. Concentrate!
These will help a lot and will bring a peaceful mind.
Just an example, Muslims end the prayer by looking at their right and saying “peace be upon you”, then they look at their left and again say, “Peace be upon you”.
Meaning, those who are on my right side and left side, peace be upon you. If you really understand it, how can you misbehave with others? If everyone implements this principle of providing peace to others, this world will be a different place!
With a peaceful mind, you can achieve a lot, believe me!
Action Items
Now pause and think, what can you do to be better spiritually?
A sample list could be:
- Start praying
- Concentrate while praying
- Understand your prayer
3. Intellectual/Learning dimension
If you want to progress in life, you have to learn new stuff. Don’t waste time by watching useless Netflix stuff and browsing your Facebook.
You might say, oh, I am tired after work, I need relaxation.
I can tell you, I also thought the same. But after acquiring more knowledge, I find relaxation in my learning activities. The more I can learn and improve myself, the more happiness I get!
e.g.
- Try to build your soft skills, e.g. communication, resolving conflict,
- Learn new skills related to your job
- Learn a new language
- Read good books
- Attend good courses
- Attend a training course
Tips:
Make “learning new skills” your habit.
Action Items
Now stop, take a pen and paper. Write down the things you want to do to improve your intellectuality.
4. Social and emotional dimension
Many people think that you have to sacrifice your social life to be more productive.
But that’s not true! Socializing, and contacting loved ones, relatives, and friends will boost your mental health, will make you relaxed and you will find people to talk with when you will be in need.
Do you see a lot of depressed people? Do you see people destroying their lives? You will get more chances to come out of depression, and avoid wrong decisions if you have people to talk with.
Action Items
A sample action items
- Contact regularly with friends, and relatives via phone calls/social media messages
- Visit friends, relatives
- Buy groceries, cook food for neighbors and nearby friends
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