Earlier this week we posted an update describing a simple strategy to help you Take Charge of Your Sleep, Rest, and Recovery for Optimal Performance.
Leveraging the same strategy is an easy way to ensure you can follow through with consistent healthy habits throughout every day.
The secret is to set up every element of your environment to encourage peak performance.
To create multiple external prompts and nudges that will take the thinking out of making all the right choices. A little forward planning to set yourself up for success.
Here are a few examples of how to do this.
Your workspace
Is it tidy? What's on your desk? What's under the desk? What's in the drawers? What's on the walls? How about any shelves, cupboards or storage furniture? Do these reflect how you like to work? Does your workspace help you cultivate a clear head and laser like focus?
Manage your energy. Are you sitting or standing to work? You might not think that a standing desk is for you but the majority of people that we've known who gave one a go never looked back. They report fewer physical aches and pains and less mental fatigue. They also clock up a considerable number of daily steps while shuffling around at the desk. Steps they would miss out on if they were sitting down all day.
While we're on the subject, whether you choose to sit or stand to work, check your physical position regularly to make sure you're observing good posture. I've lost count of the number of times during Zoom calls or Teams meetings when people tell me they suffer from regular tightness in the neck, shoulders or upper back - or even horrendous headaches - while they sit hunched over, leaning into their laptop.
Top tip
You may not be a big fan of seeing yourself during your Zoom or Teams meetings but switching your self-view on periodically is a great way to check if you're broadcasting the physical presence and energy that you'd like others to see.
You can read more about the importance of good posture here: Sit, stand and move well all day: 7 reasons you need to pay attention to your posture
Do you have easy access to water? You will never achieve your best performance state if you're dehydrated. Either buy a large water bottle that you can fill up a couple of times a day, or a smaller bottle that you need to move to fill up more regularly. Either way, if you have water close by at all times you're much more likely to sip it throughout the day - both as a conscious choice and, in time, an unconscious habit.
Top tip
Use the same strategy as we suggested for reviewing your sleep environment. Step outside of your workspace - in the office, at home or both - and return to the door with fresh eyes to conduct a visual review, judging whether or not the space is set up to help you produce your best work.
If it isn't, get to work rearranging it so that it works for you!
Exercise
Put your workouts into your calendar. This instantly elevates them to an equal priority footing with the rest of your commitments. If they remain in your head they are likely to become an afterthought. Work priorities first, you second. If they're in your calendar they become an essential part of your professional success.
Organise your fitness clothing. Create a dedicated space at home. Keep things together, keep them clean. Pull out what you need for each workout in advance. It sounds basic but the time and energy required to find the right things to wear while working out can be the barrier to getting the workout done. Gathering together what you need ahead of time takes moments but can change the way your entire day turns out. Without the workout you risk feeling sluggish and frustrated. Get the workout done and you'll feel positive and energised.
Always have a back up plan for every workout. So that if you can’t make it to the gym, skip in the garden or in the local park. If the weather is terrible for running, do a quick circuit workout at home. If you miss your evening class, slot in a short session the following morning. If all else fails go for a walk around the block or the office. You'll be glad you did something, even if it wasn't what you had in mind for that day. This will also improve your chances of keeping your activity more regular across the week.
Taking breaks
Schedule breaks into your calendar. At a minimum this should be time for lunch and a short break mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Plan activities for each of your breaks. If you don't plan a good use of the time, you'll simply carry on working. Your plan can include breaks for doing nothing other than letting your busy day wash through your mind by way of a quick recharge and refocus moment but even these moments need to be planned in advance.
Make sure you have a variety of locations for different types of breaks. Somewhere to eat other than your desk. A quiet space for some mindful moments. A familiar outdoor space where you can get some fresh air and energise your mind and body. In time each space will be the trigger to mindset you're aiming to achieve, for example, when you get to your quiet space you instantly feel calm. You only need to move to your outside space to feel invigorated.
Maximising focus and effectiveness
Be as efficient with turning things off as you are with switching them on. Like it or not you can only focus fully on one thing at a time. If there are 20 other screens, comms channels, Apps, and a whole host of notifications fighting for your attention, it’s hard to do your best work. Every distraction you can remove or reduce will increase your focus and effectiveness.
Create dedicated locations for various types of work. Standing at your desk for research, walking somewhere outdoors for inspiration and creativity, sitting in a quiet office for pulling key ideas together.
Plan and protect the time slots when you do your best deep work. Not only will you feel great about the quality of your most important contributions to the organisation, you’ll have more time, energy and attention for other tasks and people throughout the day.
Next steps
You get the idea.
It's a mindset thing. A simple shift for most people.
A reset from a reactive approach where 'life' often gets in the way of your best intentions, to a proactive approach where your best intentions for your healthy habits and optimum performance are a fundamental part of your everyday life.
By continually monitoring your thoughts, systems, environment and surroundings, you can eliminate old behaviours and replace them with new routines that serve you better.
And the best part of all of this?
Once you're in the routine of setting your environment up for success, it requires no more time or effort than any of the previous systems that you had in place, but you will achieve far more positive results.
Well worth it we feel!
Practice this approach and it will quickly become your default way of thinking.
Which will enable you to establish and embed the everyday wellness and performance habits that work best for you.