Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
Oprah Winfrey
Ask anyone these days on how their day was, and you are certain to get this response:
“Very Busy”
At this point it has become such a cliche to me that if someone says there were busy, I would assume that they are inefficient at managing their time or are out right lazy. Every person on this earth has 24 hours. Not a minute less. And if you still complain there is no enough time, I am really surprised.
One of my friends who works in a bank in Dubai used to say very often that he was busy. And when I asked him to list where he spent his time that day, he had weird responses. Actually, we are not busy. We have forgotten the art of prioritising.
On that note, I would not deny that some of us are busy. A friend runs a popular restaurant and I can visibly see he has been busy throughout the day tending to business needs as well as personal needs.
In all the ‘busyness’ though, you forget about your body and our mind. You push to such an extent that after sometime, both your body and mind give up. It has become too much to handle.
Once upon a time, I used to be the ‘stress’ guy, at work and at home. I am not sure, I used to be stressed about silly things. This unwanted stress caught up to me with severe ill health and I had to seek professional help.
And what I learned through that experience has changed the way I operate my life these days. I am happy to share them with you. Although this may seem simple, it is life-changing.
These simple steps have:
- helped me boost my productivity more than 2 times,
- helped build good relationships,
- helped me be a better person.
#1. Get at least 7 to 8 Hours of Sleep
Let’s start by taking a smallish nap or two …
Winnie the Pooh
I can not stress the need for this. There have been numerous researches to prove the utter importance of sleep.
Harvard Medical School mentions that sleep plays critical roles in:
- Immune function
- Metabolism
- Memory
- Learning
Other benefits of sleep include:
- Reduction in stress
- Improvement in your overall mood
- Repair of your body cells
- Increase in concentration
- Control of blood pressure
It is also good to mention that a mid day relaxation for 20 minutes also plays a huge role in increase in productivity.
After learning the positive effects of sleep, I have made sure that I get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. This helps me be active and productive during the day.
#2. Get Sufficient Nutrition
To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.
Francois de la Rochefoucauld
To remain active throughout the day in your body and brain, you need to fuel your body with the right nutrition. My mom usually gives examples of my grandparents on how healthy they were well into their old age. One of the reasons for this was the right nutrition.
Where I come from, natural foods are favored over the food processed. That means, anything that comes packaged is not preferred.
Our body and brain require right amount of nutrition to function at great efficiency. Taking the right nutrition at right quantities helps our body and brain function at optimum levels.
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Eating nutritious food also means giving up urge to consume processed food (anything that comes prepackaged). I know, it is quite hard to avoid eating processed food these days. But, making a little trip to vegetable market or fish market is worth a call to avoid consuming processed food.
If you would like to give up on processed food, build the habit slowly over a period of time.
#3. Do Physical Exercise Daily
You have to exercise, or at some point you’ll just break down.
Barack Obama
My LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides reading was off the charts.
Everyone in my family was worried. I was too.
Doctor prescribed statins which I was not too keen on consuming! Upon learning and reading about the ill effects of these health issues, I took a conscious decision to take things into my own hands.
- I avoided fatty food
- I avoided fast food
- I avoided anything with excess sugar
- I avoided aerated drinks (Coke, Pepse etc)
And most importantly, I started an exercise routine, 6 days of the week. This included:
- 200 Jumping Jacks a day
- 100 Push-ups
- Walk 2 KMs daily
- Plank for 5 minutes per day
- 2 Yoga postures, 5 minutes each daily
- 2 Hours badminton per week
I am so happy with the results. Besides being healthy, I feel energetic, I feel fresh every day.
Even if you are not facing any health issues, exercise provides you with great benefits.
#4. Have ‘Quiet Time’ Every Day
The greatest ideas are best conceived when we take time to relax.
Lailah Gifty Akita
This is by far the best thing that happened to me.
I used to be a Cynic when it came to meditation and relaxation. I thought I did not require these. I was of the opinion that I needed to be busy throughout the day and that sleep at night was enough.
How wrong was I!!
Ultimately I realised that the NOISE around is the one which disturbs us the most at our subconscious level. There is clutter within our minds that needs decluttering. And although regular exercise may help, I have found a better way:
Meditation
This one medium has helped me become calm and cool. My level of anger and frustration has reduced significantly. In a word, it has worked Wonders on my quality of life and productivity.
Other ways to Quiet Time:
- A walk in the park
- Reading your favorite book
- Relaxing with music you love
Keeping your mind and body in good shape should be your priority. This will have positive effects on your overall quality of life. These 4 Self Care Tips are easy for anyone to follow without the need for any huge investments. The only requirement is that you be persistent and consistent on this.
Rest will follow. Be more productive. Be more active.
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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