I read somewhere that British workers on average work more hours than any the rest of Europe. You’ve all heard the jibes in the office “half day is it part timer” “Afternoon!” is it just office banter or psychologically does this create a silly work ethic that we abide to against practical reasoning.
I recently attended a training day on how the brain works. We discussed right side, left side brain function and also how the brain processes in the subconscious, which is why you suddenly come up with the answer to something that was puzzling you or possibly where the phrase sleep on it possibly came from from. Despite knowing that we function better having had some down time, how many of us work though our lunch breaks or line up meetings back to back for 8 hours solid? Taking a half hour break would allow the brain function far more efficiently but we choose to ignore this, bragging about how much coffee we drink to stay functional. Seriously! Look how many Twitter bios say “self confessed coffee addict” oh please, sorry you’re busy! If you really are busy, people know! there’s no need to publicize how many espressos you need to get you out of bed in the morning.
Like with my fitness, I am a bit obsessive and this means reading a lot of health and nutritional advice. My daily productivity is becoming far more efficient and you will be pleased to know its not from sticking to a 9-5 routine.
Think back to when you did your gcses or A-levels. We all had a little etc time to sleep in “yeh mum, I’ve got a double free period this morning, yawn!” but you hear people say it all the time “I’ve had loads of sleep but I’m still tired” Over sleeping definitely makes me less productive and I get a real buzz on the days that Im up and about by 7am and by 10 I’ve achieved half a days chores before my piers have got out of bed. To this end I, as much as I can try to make sure I get a perfect 7hrs a night.
A body building diet for fat loss often consists of little and often eating. This is the most efficient way to consume as it keeps the metabolism active all day. So why do we stick to 3 meals a day? We all know skipping breakfast is probably the worst habit we can slip into as eating fires up the body ready for the day, however many do and many eat late at night, firing up the metabolism just before we go to bed, then complain about not being able to sleep.
I’m not going to get into details on diet but we all use our busy lifes as an excuse. I wake up have a small bowl of muesli (slow release carbs) and a protein shake. Then sit on the train for 2hrs, when I get to London I have a banana in my pocket, a little natural sugar pick me up to take away the snooziness. I eat mainly salad at lunch to avoid a high carb lunch that will give you a boost and then a dip mid afternoon. Don’t eat you pud straight away save it for mid afternoon to avoid snacking (usually a protein bar). If I really have to snack I have a bag of muesli in my draw to avoid munching on chocolate or crisps for emergencies. In the evening I eat early, between London, train and gym followed by another shake. If I’m still hungry after 9pm I’ll have a bowl of bran flakes, not sure whether this is nutritionally correct but I like it
Ok, now my society rant. Many of us are busy and cant get away with a 7hr day. The world is hypothetically shrinking so why do we feel pressured to work a regimented day? Half of my colleagues are in bed while I’m emailing them. We all have smart phones and tablets. If IT departments weren’t so fridged we could work from almost anywhere, so why do we give the people who make the best use of their time such a hard time? Because its the English way! And its societies little sheep that maintain lifes many annoyances. Lets take a current big moan. The cost of travel. Last year I spent 1/7 of my wage on travel, apart from being skint! not only am I busting my every day I’m less productive and am reinforcing high peak prices. If I work from home I effectively get another 4hrs out of my day but again I tend to work through without a break. What if I get up same time 6:30am and go for a swim, by 7:30 I couldn’t be more awake, this isnt the best state of mind to be sat on a train. Go home! Get 2 super productive hours in, work on stuff you can continue on the train (this is my German time as they are up an hour earlier). Leave the non urgent emails for the commute and get an off peak ticket, no snoozing
I have to admit, I’m not very good at the lunch away from the desk thing but I apply the same theory in the evening as well, return train being my America time. A quick gym in the evening helps me drop off to sleep these days if I have everything in my head out and on my iPad!
Long and short of this post is, break the norm! The norm is unproductive and more importantly unhealthy!















