Posts tagged "Health"

Health Stress

Exercise Routines

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“Exercise is the chief source of improvement in our faculties.” Hugh Blair

Its been a really long week, you are sitting at your workstation with a ton of work, but you just cannot get started. The words to describe this, more often than not, is “Lethargy” and “Restlessness”. In my case this state occurs when, coupled with my eating and sleeping habits, my exercising routines also get affected by ‘busy’ periods. There is a definite and drastic drop in my energy levels, productivity and most significantly creative output. Exercise , the total routine, allows me to focus better on the bigger picture.

Breaking the exercise routine is probably one of the easiest habits to get out of, as also the most difficult to get back into, once you have left it for an extended period of time. It starts innocently enough when I miss a couple of squash games in a row. One missed day leads to another and pretty soon before I have even realized what has happened I am standing on the outside, wondering how I got there. Thats pretty much how life is, if we do not pay attention to the small changes occurring on a daily basis, very often we do not see the big hits coming. It can be difficult and confusing to undertsand how such a drastic change could come about so quickly.

To help me keep up regularly with my exercise routines I have taken some steps which have helped me stick with it during the busier times.

1. Probably one of the best things I have done is, to get a gym buddy and a regular squash partner . 

2. A commitment to myself, to keep myself in good shape, and my health, in constant check.

3. Set SMART goals, and once I achieve them, I have promised myself rewards when I hit those benchmarks. For example when I started with my squash routine I told myself if I could make it to 30 games without a break in the middle I would buy myself the really fancy racquet I wanted. The feeling of achievement after my 30th consecutive game was much more fulfilling than buying that racquet.

Apart from all the health benefits of exercise it has greatly increased my energy levels throughout the day, I feel a whole lot better about myself, it gives you a great feeling of being alive and, being fiercely competitive myself , the thrill of winning just makes my day.

Related Posts:

– SMART Goals

– The Gym

Health Stress

Sleep

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“Life is something that happens when you can’t get to sleep.” Fran Lebowitz

The world starts to blur a little, you reach a semi conscious state where you can barely see the word document open on your screen. The proposal still needs a lot of work, but you convince yourself to just close your eyes for minute, and you drift away ………for those of you who have had to pull continuous all nighters, this is a familiar state. Sleep pattern is the next point in my case which tends to go out of whack when the pressure is on. Initially it feels pretty good cutting down your usual 6 hours of sleep down to something like 4-5 hours, getting away with an extra hour or two is do-able for a short time. However extended periods of sleep deprivation can have serious side effects. 

It is a proven fact, that when the body experiences a continuous lack of sleep, the immune system starts to weaken, productivity dips and you enter a state of limbo where you just seem to be drifting along. Analyzing the situation from this angle clearly helps us realize that such a state is not desirable. Yet we continue to burn the midnight oil when the heat is on like there is no tomorrow. One of the factors it comes down to is, personality types. Some of us are pressure prompted and others just keeping plugging away day after day. If you are able to find the motivation and discipline to keep plugging away daily that is clearly the more desirable alternative.

Being a pressure prompted person myself, I have made a conscious effort to break tasks down over a longer period of time, to avoid the massive build up which occurs right before project delivery. It has helped boost my overall productivity and efficiency levels . However during extended crunch times my sleep is heavily compromised and this is another factor I am working on to bring under control. I am attempting this by putting structured routines into place and replacing some bad habits:

1. Going to sleep as soon as I cannot read a page of text without dozing off.

2. Setting my alarm clock to go off at specific time everyday. (I do no set it when I want to sleep in)

3. Taking 1 or 2 power naps of 15-20 minutes during the course of the day, depending on my level of fatigue.

4. Drastically decreasing caffeine intake during high pressure periods and switching to green tea.

Sleep is a critical component of our daily lives. I am going to make a conscious effort to stick to set routines even during turbulent periods to make sure that I am getting adequate amount of rest. This will in turn increase my overall level of productivity and efficiency while keeping my health in balance.

Related Articles:

Health Stress

Diets

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“Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of those pieces” Judith Viorst

The mood in the office is one of pandemonium. Proposals need to be sent out, a customer wants a trial of the new software tomorrow and one of the key team members has called in sick. It is one of those crazy days. During the day you get hungry at random points and reach for the quickest snack to get an energy boost. This could be chips, chocolates, burgers or pizza as opposed to other healthier alternatives. The objective at this point is to get done with the meal as quickly as possible, and get back to work. Sometimes you realize you have missed lunch and all your timings are off the chart.

If this happens once a week it is acceptable as it is part of the entrepreneurial lifestyle, where there are no fixed lunch or dinner breaks. You are so consumed with the work at hand that time no longer registers in minutes or hours, rather in the amount of work that needs to be done by a given deadline. In this frame of mind your diet is not a priority, and it starts to show. Surviving on an unhealthy diet for an extended period of time can be severely detrimental to your health. If you have not seen Super Size Me , I recommend you do so to get an idea of how bad it can be. It is not only fast food, it may even be frequent and regular meals at restaurants. Getting your diet in control before it gets out of hand is essential.

Even though I have a pretty strict diet routine, it does go off track during these crazy periods. The last few such times I have attempted the following to keep my diet in check:

1. Keep a journal of my food intake when I am off my routine. Through this method I was actually able to see where I was overdoing it and I could then consciously tell myself to lay off the junk snacks.

2. Have a standard order when eating out. This one is a tough one, especially when you are at a fancy restaurant. However keeping the fried, creamy and desserts at a minimum certainly helps. This is not to say that you should avoid that stuff all together, induldge yourself once in a while, just do not make it a habit.

3. Instead of crisps stock the office up with granola bars, fruit, fat free yogurt and nuts. 

The next time I go into one of these intense periods I am going to make sure that I keep a healthy balance about what I eat and snack on. This will defintely help keep a better shape, prevent the constant after meals stupors and affect overall health positively in the long run.

Time Management

5 steps to manage your time better

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“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year – and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade.” Anthony Robbins

Time is probably the one asset that not many people think twice about spending. We need to start paying attention to where we are spending this non-renewable resource of ours. By taking control of where you want to spend it will be critical in achieving any degree of success. Below are 5 steps which provide a rough outline on how to start managing time better and achieving the results we have always wanted but never had the time for.

  1. SMART Goals: The first step will be to set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound goals for ourselves. We need these to provide the direction for where we will be allocating our time and energies. Without them life will pass us by and we will have no control over the course it will take. To read more about how to set SMART goals please click here.

  2. Prioritize: The second step will be to correctly prioritize the goals and task list which you have made for yourself. It is essential to focus attention on the activities which provide the greatest return on our investment. By following the 4D formula through which we dump, defer, delegate or do tasks, will help chart a list which will provide an efficient way of sorting tasks. To read more about how to prioritize your tasks please click here.

  3. Time Management System: The next step will involve charting the week in using preparation, best and rest days categories. This will allow you to achieve a balance as well as perform at optimal levels when you are doing the activities you excel at. To read more about how to implement this time management system please click here.

  4. Productivity Boosters: The fourth step will introduce you to productivity boosters to help manage time more effectively. It is essential that prior to buying PDA’s and tasking software you have a clear routine in place to help make it more efficient. To read more about these tools please click here.

  5. Balance: The fifth step is the most critical in managing time more efficiently. We need to bring balance to all areas of our life. We do this by setting goals in areas such as health, family, self and spiritual growth. These will help us avoid burnouts, strained relationships and other problems which occur when we live an unbalanced life. To read more about how to bring more balance to your daily routine please click here.

These initial steps will provide you with a framework to utilize your time in a more efficient and productive manner. Time management is not easy in the world we live in today due to ever increasing distractions and constant connectivity. Do not let life take over, make sure you chart a course as to where you want to go and then schedule your life around those goals. I wish you the best of luck.

Time Management

Balance

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“You must master your time rather than becoming a slave to the constant flow of events and demands on your time. And you must organize your life to achieve balance, harmony and inner peace.” Brian Tracy

I have talked solely about how to manage time to become a more effective entrepreneur. Another dimension is how to manage  time more effectively as an individual. We need to strike a balance in our daily lives and give substantial attention to other areas which will have a direct impact on its quality. Key areas where I have been focusing on to have a more balanced routine are;

  • Health & Exercise: We all have very busy schedules and often find ourselves rushing to work in the early hours of morning and returning too tired at night to even think about what this routine is doing to our health. Schedule a weekly exercise routine to get yourself physically and mentally in better shape. Avoid eating fast food and other unhealthy stuff regularly, these have a severely damaging effect on our health. Make a conscious effort to exercise and eat right.

  • Family & Friends: When life gets busy this is an area where sacrifices are made regularly. The effect of this sacrifice is not felt in the short term, as time goes by ties are strained and you could find yourself alone. Make an effort to use your rest days to spend time with family and friends. These are the memories which will be cherished further down the road.

  • Grow yourself: We should be in a constant state of learning. Pick up a new hobby and dedicate an hour or two every week to develop it. Read a variety of material to keep yourself up to date and informed. If you do not make an effort in this department you may find yourself disconnected from life. Schedule sometime every week to make sure you remain connected.

  • Spiritual: This doesn’t necessarily involve formal religious activities. It should be a dedicated time in the week to make sure that you are connected with yourself. It could be in the form of walks, reading or conversation. This area will help us remain grounded and allows us to see the bigger picture.

A healthy balance is essential for us to manage our time effectively, efficiently and wisely. By setting yourself goals in areas other than business/career, will help us grow more. It allows us to become more self aware about life and our purpose. Make a commitment today to yourself that you will do your best to bring a more balanced approach on how to lead your life.