Just this Monday, I posted on why we all need to rest. Now my tips for staying at peak performance include:
Have a rest day. Whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Moslem, Buddhist, Baha’i, Agnostic, or an Atheist, set a rest day where you can recharge and renew your energies. On that day, turn off your computer. Set aside everything that resembles your paperwork, even post-its. Grab a non-business or work-related book, a feel-good book, a feel-good DVD that doesn’t require you to think, and just relax.
Take note of your days. What hours do you best work? I usually cannot bear to work at the start of the day. I usually start working when I am about to sleep. Strange, right? Maybe I should adapt an exercise regimen to get the blood pumping before I start my day, then.
Take breaks throughout the day. While you may think that going straight will let you get more things done, on the contrary, doing too much will only serve to burn you out. As Solomon and the rest of them say, too much wouldn’t be good for you.
Cut out smoking. While the smokers may argue that it helps keep the tension away, I would beg to disagree. Smoking actually saps out the energy. I used to be a smoker myself, and though it is really a daily battle to say “no,” I actually need to remind myself of how lousy I felt when I smoked. Fact is, the carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke takes out the ready oxygen in your body, which would then give you less fuel to think, move, and generally manage your day. Remember that the backbone of respiration rests on oxygen, so have less of that, and the rest of the processes in your body would slow down. I remembered back when I used to smoke that my back would ache, my chest would ache, my mouth and throat would feel sore, and my head would feel woozy. So to those who are trying to quit, assess what a stick of cancer does to you, how it makes you feel. Take note of that, quit for two weeks, see where you feel better: with the sticks or without, then decide which path to go.
Drink lots of water. I noticed I can concentrate better when I constantly drink water. It’s just that I’m too lazy to get up to refill my glass, and my table is too small to accommodate the pitcher. Okay, okay, I’m making excuses! I think getting up to get to my water container would be great exercise.
When you take care of yourself by getting adequate breaks, rest, and taking measures to preserve your health, there would be little reason for you to be burned out. Make sure you take vacations, too. And nothing too elaborate, lest you strain yourself all the more. :p
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Wishlist Item for today: iRatchet license. iRatchet is my invoice manager, and it’s just so nifty I wish I had the license for this. It’s somewhat too steep for me right now, but as my favorite Internet star says, “I can dream, can’t I?”