These days, a lot of marketers, gurus, entrepreneurs and thought leaders talk about the power of hustling, working hard and pushing yourself to the limit.
Should you pay attention to them?
Well, it depends on how much you take their advice to heart.
Now I understand that one day, it would feel great to tell people that you spent a few years HUSTLING BRUTALLY HARD to create an ultra successful business, and as a result of that, you are able to spend the rest of your life as you please.
It sure will be an inspiring story.
Who wouldn’t want that to be their story?
However, more often than not, reality doesn’t work that way.
When you stretch anything beyond a limit, you are playing a dangerous game.
Hustling is good as long as you do it in a reasonable amount.
When you start overdoing it, at some stage your body can’t take it and that’s when you start getting a whole slew of problems like anxiety, high blood pressure, burnout, depression, etc.
The negative effects of overworking yourself can set you back so far behind that you would end up regretting it for a long time.
The key to success is in PACING yourself properly.
It won’t make for an amazing before & after story but it sure produces results while helping you maintain your body and your sanity.
Here are some tips on how to manage your workload while maximizing your productivity:
Tip #1 – Sleep Properly (Get A Full Night’s Rest)
Many internet marketers are guilty of having messed up sleep patterns.
Why get a full night’s sleep when you can work late nights or pull all nighters and then later on make up for it by sleeping for a few hours during the day.
While that can help you get a LOT of work done in the short term, it can be extremely counter-productive over the long run.
Proper sleep is needed for your physical and mental well being.
A good night’s sleep helps your brain prepare and perform better the next day. When you sleep, your brain forms new pathways for you to learn and remember information.
Studies show that lack of proper sleep affects certain parts of your brain thus resulting in you having trouble making decisions, controlling your emotions, solving problems, etc.
Prolonged lack of sleep can also result in depression and suicidal thoughts.
As for effects of sleep on your physical state, your heart & blood vessels heal and repair well, your body maintains a healthy balance of hormones and your immune system remains strong.
That’s why it’s so crucial that you form a habit to have a proper sleep every night.
So figure out how much sleep you need and schedule your day in a way that you get that much rest during the night.
Do that and you will avoid a lot of physical and mental problems.
Tip #2 – Schedule recovery time
If you want to remain productive throughout the day, you need to learn when to switch ON and OFF properly.
Just like how focused work is important for getting things done, so is your recovery period.
Recovery period allows you to relax, recharge and come back to work rejuvenated and full of energy.
So take shorter breaks of 20-30 minutes in between your work and use it to listen to music or go for a walk or meditate or just simply relax.
You also need longer breaks like weekend relaxation, trips, vacations to keep yourself fresh.
So when you make your schedule, make sure you slot in recovery periods and follow it.
You will be productive without burning yourself out over the long run.
Tip #3 – Enjoy life outside business
It’s a great thing to be fully dedicated to making your business successful.
It’s great to even be obsessed about becoming successful (that’s how I ended up achieving so many things in my own business).
However what you must NEVER do is have your identity and self worth tied to the success of your business.
When you do that, it can be very stressful and unfulfilling to chase your dream.
You will always feel like a failure UNTIL you reach the level you have set for yourself.
You may even stop enjoying the journey and just be obsessed about the end results (which is not the right way to go).
The only way to avoid falling into that trap is to have a LIFE outside of your business.
So go out with friends, have hobbies and interests that excite you, take part in activities that you would look forward to, etc.
It’s all about striking a balance.
Chasing your dreams could be your number 1 priority. Just make sure you don’t get derailed by focusing on only that and nothing else.
Tip #4 – Exercise regularly
During exercise, your body releases endorphins which interact with the receptors in your brain to block out your perception of pain.
Endorphins also make you feel exhilarated and happy which is why exercise is proven to be such a stress reliever.
When you start exercising regularly, you will feel your energy levels rise and your confidence will be sky high.
You will stay in better shape and you will be able to prevent a wide range of health problems.
Tip #5 – Make use of naps intelligently
Naps are one of the greatest tools to increase productivity.
Human body doesn’t always need a full night’s rest to feel refreshed and ready for work.
Quick short naps when used intelligently can give you the much needed boost to power through your day and get things done.
There are different types of naps that you can use depending upon how much time you have at your disposal:
- The Ultra Short Nap (6-10 minutes)
If you are starting to feel a bit drowsy, you can take an ultra short nap which lasts for 6-10 minutes.
This nap helps your declarative memory which can help you remember things more easily.
This is not the best type of nap but a very useful one if you just have a few minutes to spare.
- The Power Nap (10-15 minutes)
This nap helps you feel refreshed and helps you wake up with your mind brimming with new ideas.
Basically, here’s how it works:
There are 3 stages of sleep.
The first stage is the alpha wave stage where you are sleepy but aware of your surroundings.
The second stage is theta wave stage where you have drifted to a deeper sleep with no awareness of your surroundings. This is when your subconscious gets activated and you start having all these thoughts, feelings, ideas and dreams.
The third stage is delta wave stage which is the deepest form of sleep where you have no dreams.
When you take a power nap, at around 10 minutes, you go from alpha stage to theta stage and you are present at a stage where these two overlap.
At this stage, your subconscious mind activated and you start having these thoughts, images and feelings and YET you are aware of them (since you haven’t fully left the alpha stage).
So when you wake up at around 10-15 minutes, you feel refreshed and your mind is full of creative ideas.
- Extended Power nap (20-30 minutes)
This is the most powerful quick nap out there.
With an extended power nap, you get all the benefits of a quick nap without going into the deep sleep territory.
Scientists have found that the ideal napping time is 26 minutes.
- The Long Nap (90-120 minutes)
This is basically a nap that can give you the benefits of a full night’s sleep…basically complete body rest with improved cognitive function
A full sleep cycle takes about 90-110 minutes.
So when you go into the deep sleep territory and complete a full cycle, your brain’s ability to operate increases massively.
A long nap can do wonders for your productivity.
The problem with it is that it needs a much bigger time commitment. Plus if you wake up too early or too late, you could wake up right in the middle of a deep sleep cycle which can make you feel sleepy and restless.
So you need to make sure you wake up at the right time with long naps.
In all…
Always Remember…
Life is not a sprint.
It’s a marathon.
There is no point in getting all psyched up for a week or month or half a year doing an insane amount of work only to crumble later on with fatigue, burnout and health issues.
When you manage your workload properly, take sufficient rests and enjoy your life (outside of work), you will be in the best position to be physically, mentally and emotionally stable to chase your dreams and conquer it.
Dedicated To Multiplying Your Income
– Shaqir Hussyin
“On A Mission To Create 100 Millionaires In The Next 3 Years”
Get Done For You Traffic @SoloAdsAgency.com
Get Done For You Sales Funnel @GURU Funnels.com
P.S – If you loved this post and you want to kickstart your business the right way and achieve your income goals online (be it $10K+ per month or $100K+ per month), then I invite you to sign up for a free Income Kickstarter strategy session with my 7 figure coach.
You will get a custom made blueprint on how you can grow your business and achieve your income targets within the next 60-90 days (without burning yourself out).
Sign up for the Income Kickstarter Strategy Session here.
