5 Ways To Become a More Productive, Healthy, and Happy Person
by Ron Pereira on February 2nd, 2010.
No matter what you do for a living one thing is certain – personal productivity matters. A lot.
My wife stays home raising our 4 kids. She does her very best to be productive.
I run a company, among other things. I do my very best to be productive.
You _________. You likely do your very best to be productive.
So what to do? How can we all be more productive citizens of this great world of ours?
Allow me to share my thoughts on the matter. And, as always, I’m anxious to hear what you think as well.
1. Get Adequate Sleep
No one really understands why this is… but we humans need to sleep. Our bodies must recover while our souls rest.
To be sure, everyone is different, but if you don’t get adequate sleep on a regular basis I feel confident in guaranteeing you’re not as productive as you could be.
Don’t believe me? Prove me wrong and get at least 8 hours of sleep for 14 nights straight and see what happens.
2. Exercise
This is one thing I’ve put off to the side for far too long.
As a countermeasure, I’ve recently started the P90X program and it’s kicking my butt. But I am waking up at 5:15 in the morning and cranking it out in my dimly lit living room.
Recently, I almost puked at the end of a workout (legs and back) but after slugging back my recovery drink and taking a shower I felt like a million bucks – full of energy and ready to take on the day.
Like insufficient sleep, if you don’t exercise you’ll likely feel sluggish throughout the day and, I hate to break it to you, your risk of sickness is much higher than those who do exercise.
3. Eat Well
Next, eating well is extremely important. Like exercise, I was not doing well in this area for a long time. I ate bad foods more than good food and drinking several sugar filled sodas throughout the day was the norm.
Now I’m doing my very best to eat more salads, drink water instead of soda, and since my wife is an organic food fanatic evening meals are always healthy.
4. Read
As important as exercise and diet are to the body I feel reading is equally important for the health and vitality of your mind.
Since you’re reading this sentence chances are you’re doing well in this area. But this doesn’t mean you can’t do better. If you read for 15 minutes before bed crank it up to 20.
5. Pray
Finally, I’m a man of faith and find spending time in quiet prayer extremely valuable.
It helps me keep perspective while also seeking guidance as I navigate through this thing called life.
If you’re not a person of faith I’d still encourage you to take some time throughout the day to quiet your mind and reflect on the blessings and challenges of your life.
What about you?
So those are 5, albeit not simple, things any person can do to improve their personal productivity.
What do you think of the list? Do you agree with it? Do you do anything I’ve not mentioned in order to increase your personal productivity?
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- 4 Easy Ways to Learn New Things
- Management Improvement Carnival #46
#5 is top on my list.
I have found that savouring the small joys of life greatly enhance my happiness(morning coffee, a game with the kids, Bob and Sherry in the morning,etc). Also, planning small things to look forward too. Sometimes the joy of anticipation surpasses the actual enjoyment of the event. The small pleasures that we experience is the stuff of life. Enjoying you, who you are and how God made you increases the positive vibes that others around you draw from. Make somebody else happy, that’s always a great one! Just putting on a smile can relieve stress and spread good morale.
Jeremy, who is Bob and Sherry? Radio?
The prayer thing is a bit preachy. I apprciate that you are a person of faith and that you threw a bone to the less religious among us in the last sentence. As in Lean, use no more and no less than is needed. Why take a chance on offending a customer base when a more ecompasing thought would have served e.g. Reflection: “Take some time throughout the day to quiet your mind and reflect on the blessings and challenges of your life.” and leave it at that.
Always good to reaffirm these principles – gotta work on the sleep bit though!
Ron,
Keep the Faith (in season and out of season)! And P90X works, despite the fact that Tony Horton gets to be a bit obnoxious after a while.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10-12 KJV)
I am in agreement with Tom. I have beliefs of my own and I am sure so do many others however I think in all of them the key word is reflection. The key thing that I often reflect about is appreciating all that I have and how lucky I am and not on what I do not have. Often we get caught looking forward and being envious when we can take time to look back and be thankfull.
I also fully agree with the other 4 items as they make the foundations for a successful life.
[...] 5 Ways To Become a More Productive, Healthy, and Happy Person … [...]
A very nice article to read.
Keep it up.
So simple, yet powerful steps towards life improvement.
[...] 5 Ways To Become a More Productive, Healthy, and Happy Person … [...]
Ron,
A nice post, like always.
I would maybe add one more way to be productive – think positively and keep smiling.
But I am sure many things could be added to your list
Great share,
I agree with your thoughts, and that’’s the natural way, all humans are supposed to live like.
Stay Beautiful
Great post. The P90X will crush you especially the plyometrics. One thing I have added this year which is yielding great results is simplifying my goals. I only have five work goals and five personal goals and it is clearing my mind to do more. Instead of always feeling like I am behind or missing something, I now feel in control.
Ron;
Well stated. In 2007, I had a DVT (blood clot) and it really helped put things in perspective. I’m 50 lbs lighter, eating healthy, and having exercise as a daily part of my life. Beyond the personal reflection and prayer, I’ve also purposed to be a giver in touching others. Amazing the energy that comes when we make good things happen for other people. Great post as always! Keep the faith!