How can I be more productive and have more energy to act during the day? This question keeps many people awake at night. You can find a dozen tips on the Internet. I’ve tried almost all of them, but only one method has worked. I discovered it at the end of 2020, and it has been working great so far. What is going on?
In this article, you’ll read about
I don’t eat breakfast!
How is that? Without breakfast? After all, this is the most important meal of the day!
I thought so, too, but then I tried it without breakfast, and it turns out it works. Since I started practicing this way of eating, I don’t need coffee in the morning to keep my brain working. I also don’t have a drop in energy between breakfast and lunch, and I am able to concentrate better on the tasks performed.
Where did the idea to stop breakfast come from?
In the book The Way of the Iceman, I read that Wim Hof intuitively uses this eating method. The co-author of the book said this is in line with scientific research that suggests eating only in short time windows is great for raising energy during the day. Importantly, the eating window should be located in the afternoon.
How is it possible that this method works?
Every time we eat something, the body has to digest it. It takes some effort from the body and makes you less productive. Among other things, it is necessary to improve the blood supply to the digestive organs, and thus there is less blood supply to other organs. Have you ever noticed that you feel tired after eating a meal? This is the effect that the body puts more pressure on the digestive processes.
Is eating in small time windows bothersome?
In the beginning, yes. It’s hard to switch, from eating every few hours to food compressed in time up to 5 hours. It is surprising how much the mind can panic when the time to eat is finished. In the morning, too, you may be a bit embarrassed when it’s time for breakfast, but you don’t sit down with it. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth a try. Your productivity will rise high.
Interestingly, if you plan to eat somewhere between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., you will get a few additional bonuses. First of all, having a last meal around 7:00 p.m. will make it easy for you to get through the evening because you won’t get hungry before bed unless you go to bed very late.
However, if your bedtime is around 23:00, it should be OK. By the way, your stomach will manage to digest some of the food, and this should positively affect your sleep. On the other hand, in the morning, if you get to work efficiently, using high concentration you may not even notice when the watch shows 2:00 PM and you can eat something. I keep surprising myself with how productive I can be until lunchtime.
How to be productive even more?
In this way of eating, it is worth adding a daily program that allows you to effectively use the available energy. Assuming you work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., you will have about an hour and a half after lunch. This is a good time to go through your inbox, answer customer questions, and plan the next day. Why so?
As I mentioned earlier, after eating, your body needs to concentrate on the digestive process. So you may feel less energy to act and slightly worse concentration for some time. This is a really good time for less demanding work.
Browsing e-mails or organizing the next day fit perfectly into this time. Especially the organization of the next day is crucial because you want to focus on tasks from the early morning. It is a good idea to set one main quest for the next day and two or three side quests the day before.
Will it always work?
Each of us has a different metabolism and different predispositions. The method I wrote about here works for me, but also for other people, as the author mentions in the cited book.
Will it work for You? I don’t know. You have to check for yourself. However, before you decide to take this step, make sure that you have no contraindications.
Happy New Year.
If you want to improve retro meetings, I invite you to this article: Effective Communication of Project Issues: A Practical Guide
