The Productivity Pro® Blog by Laura Stack - Time Management, Getting Things Done, How to Be More Productive

When you don’t feel well, you have lower energy, and it’s hard to be productive. Therefore, it’s important to take good care of your health, to get regular check-ups, and to investigate chronic conditions you’ve resigned yourself to.  Given how quickly medical science advances, it’s a good idea to check into the possibility of new treatments on a regular basis.

Follow these tips, and you may end up feeling better than you have in years.

1. Practice good self care. Line up your routine checkups, screenings, and exams, especially if you’re over 40 or suffer from a chronic condition. When did you last have a physical? Schedule future reminders in your calendar and stick to them.

2. Take care of your teeth. Good dental hygiene can add years to your life. Periodontal bacterial by-products resulting from poor dental care can enter the bloodstream and travel to major organs, setting off other problems.

3. Treat your cold. Instead of toughing it out and showing up for work anyway when you’re sick with a cold, stay home and treat your symptoms; otherwise, you’re likely to infect other people. Ask your doctor for a prescription for Zicam, which is effective against cold symptoms.

4. Disinfect your environment. A weakened immune system due to an infection can leave you listless and susceptible to opportunistic illnesses. Decrease your likelihood of illness by keeping your work area clean. Wipe it down with disinfectants on a regular basis, and don’t eat at your desk.

5. Have more sex. Spending quality time between the sheets can lower your stress and improve your immune system. Orgasms may also relieve headaches and menstrual symptoms, and people with a good sex life also seem better able to ward off colds and depression.

6. Laugh! Laughter really can be the best medicine. Laughing can build levels of the antibody IgA, the body’s first line of defense against germs. If you get sick a lot, maybe you’re just not laughing enough.

7. Don’t give up on fighting chronic pain. Consistent physical pain can really sap your energy. Instead of just putting up with it, check with your doctor to see what your options are. Don’t take “you’ll have to live with it” as an answer.

8. Clean the air. If you don’t have allergies, but you’re sneezing a lot, your nose is running, and your eyes are watering, call an air duct cleaning company and have them do a thorough cleaning to remove any contaminants in your HVAC system.

Learn to take personal responsibility for taking care of any health problems you suffer. Don’t wait for something to feel “wrong” before you get it checked out. Identify the wellness issues that are affecting your energy and causing you to feel poorly, and address those issues aggressively.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

PACING:  Plug Me In

Even if you start out the day with plenty of fuel, you may eventually feel that energy slipping away. You can be zipping along just fine, then — Boom! — you hit what sports enthusiasts call “the wall.” How well you handle your energy budget will determine whether you break through the wall and move on to the rest of your day, or just bounce off and slog through the mental mud. Try these tips to stay on the straight and narrow.

1. Stand instead of sit. You’re not designed to sit for hours on end. Work regular physical movement into your work day, especially if most of your work is conducted at a desk. At the very least, stand up and stretch occasionally.

2. Give yourself a break. Failing to take breaks can affect your short-term energy and long-term health. Take a few minutes off from the grind occasionally so your body can restore your strength and energy.

3. Walk around on your breaks. Instead of drinking coffee and reading the paper while on break, walk around a bit. This lets your body process glucose better, giving you a burst of energy that’ll kick in about the time you get back to work.

4. Try creative desk energy renewal strategies. Jobs requiring an intense focus can be intensely draining. Take an occasional break and renew yourself through meditation, deep breathing, prayer, stretching — whatever works for you.

5. Find an encouragement partner.  If you’re stuck with a boring task, find someone you can call up when you’re temporarily burnt out. You can perform the same function for your partner; encouraging them can keep you on track, too.

6. Watch your posture. Don’t slouch. Doing so uses up more energy than sitting up straight, and can also stress your musculature and skeleton. Getting a good, ergonomic chair can go a long way towards maintaining your proper energy level.

7. Pace yourself. Remember, you’re not a machine; don’t squander your energy early in the day, or you’ll fade by mid-afternoon. Rest is as important as hard work for achieving anything of consequence in a decent amount of time.

8. Respect your biological cycles. No matter what you do, you’ll go through energy cycles during the day. Circadian rhythms, sleep cycles, hormone cycles, and similar biological clocks can all conspire to rob you of energy. Instead of trying to work through the low cycles, take a few minutes off to revamp your energy level.

No matter how often you might wish otherwise, you’re not a robot and can’t go non-stop, especially if you’re desk-bound for most of the day. Occasional breaks are necessary for mental and physical health. You need to get up and stretch your legs, to get your heart pumping and your blood circulating — or you just may start feeling rusty!
© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations.  Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces.  She is the bestselling author of three works published by Broadway Books: The Exhaustion Cure (2008), Find More Time (2006) and Leave the Office Earlier (2004).  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and 3M.  To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401.  Visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.