Work hard, play harder: Techniques to be productive

Productivity is not magic. Successful people have no secrets other than having an effective routine. In fact, there is science to success and brain performance. With modern neuroscience and industry knowledge, we can learn how to be more productive, dream about reaching our goals, and plan accordingly.

Lifestyle modifications need to be practiced daily and with consistency. A common question people ask me - "Where do I find the motivation to get started ?" Well, the answer is simple and straightforward, motivation is not the first step. Most of the time, you have to take a step forward in the right direction even when you have not found the drive to do so.

This is the exact instance where discipline and courage needs to be pulled out of your system. These first few steps forward will set up small results you can see daily. The small results stack up and lead you to the bigger milestones.

With that being said, here are two simple yet scientific protocols you can practice in your daily life, starting from today.

Learning to toggle between focus and rest

Most people are familiar with working hard and then taking some time to rest each night, on the weekend, or on vacation. However, our ability to work hard, focus, and be effective at anything is proportional to how deeply rested and clear headed we arrive at work.

Learning to cycle back-and-forth between states of alertness, focus, and deep relaxation creates an outsized positive effect on productivity. It also greatly supports mental and physical health; has a known neural circuit and neurochemical basis.

You can practice this over the weekend and apply this skill to your work next week. Be that as it may, it includes coming to your workout with a fresh and clear mind.

Leveraging friction

Certain habits have an outsized effect on all others because of the way they shift our entire physiology. For instance, the strain of waking early involves overriding fatigue mechanisms in the body and that process relies on top down control of adrenaline release in the HPA (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal) axis.

The adrenaline produced by the strain of effort to get up early and exercise or work can itself act on the circadian clock (your biological clock). This is very different from waking up early to scroll social media or to read in bed which leads to lower adrenaline production.

If you start viewing effort and strain as a mechanism to shift your physiology, embrace it from a different perspective, your probability of sticking to the new habit will increase.

You can even push to stay up late by using the same mechanism. Many people suffer from lack of sleep and think they have insomnia. But, as it happens, they have trained themselves with bad sleep habits.

This skill can be applied to your supplement and food routine as well. Waking up early and working out is a high adrenaline activity. If you want to change your morning routine, this is how you should get started.

More productivity hacks

Our mindstate is the first thing holding us back from getting the results we want.

A common assumption today is that any problem can be solved by working harder. Instead of asking "How can I work harder?", ask "How can I do this effortlessly?". A limiting idea is that important, essential work has to be drudgery and separate from play.

What if the essential things can be the fun things? We can create rituals to make something essential also enjoyable

A complaining state limits creativity and makes things harder to do.

There is nothing so hard that complaining will not make it harder. Why do we complain so much?

Complaining is the easiest thing to do. The more you complain, the more you find things to complain about. Gratitude is the way to accelerate success in any area of your life and it is instantly effective. In a grateful state, you can see opportunities unnoticed before. You are better able to deal with challenges.

Now that you have equipped yourself with understanding better neural pathways, the only thing missing is applying it into your daily actions. Take one small step at a time.

Do whatever it takes to boost your own brain performance. There is no limit to your personal success. You just have to be ready to be transformed rather than being comfortable in staying as you are.

Marina Farook is a fitness and health coach. To know more about personal productivity and physical fitness, you may visit https://marinafarook.com/