Tiredness and Productivity

Tiredness = no productivity

One of the best ways to increase your potential and value to yourself, family and the marketplace is through increased productivity.

Whether you are a student needing to be more productive in your study regime, a parent wanting to achieve more with your family, an employee wanting to increase your earning potential and/or status, or an entrepreneur looking to get the edge over your competition, we could all benefit from an increase of productivity.

Unfortunately, many people equate more productivity with more hours spent doing a perceived task that on the face of it looks productive, but is in fact draining their energy and making them feel tired and fatigued. 

This is especially so if the extra hours they gain to spend on tasks are taken from their sleep. It may seem to work at first, but eventually it catches up with you and can lead to serious health issues in the long term.

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Photo by Carl Heyerdahl @carlheyerdahl on Unsplash My current desk setup as of 2016. I am a wedding and portrait photographer and have always believed the space you do work in has a big impact on the quality and kind of work you complete. I have been refining my workspace since I was in high school and I am really happy where it is now!

Too Tired to be Productive

These days many people equate having less sleep to being a productive go getter, a hard worker or dedicated employee.

Iconic political and industrial elites are lauded for their ability to run countries and business on the least amount of sleep possible. For example:

  • Donald Trump – 3 to 4 hours
  • Margret Thatcher – 4 hours
  • Jack Dorsey – 4 to 6 hours
  • Indra Nooyi – 4 hours
  • Sergio Marchionne – 4 hours
  • Martha Stewart – 4 hours
  • Thomas Edison – 4 hours
  • Benjamin Franklin – 5 hours

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat, fueled his productivity on four hours a night sleep and drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. And Thomas Edison is quoted as saying that sleep is “a heritage from our cave days”.

Whilst it is possible to work fatigued, is it the most optimal and efficient way of working whilst safeguarding your health?

Diminishing Returns

Lack of sleep has been linked to:

  • Cancer
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Diabetes
  • Weight gain
  • Depression
  • Alzheimer’s

Also, as you become more tired you’ll find that your productivity starts to decline. It becomes increasingly difficult to pay attention, process information and even remember your tasks.

Worryingly, according to a study by Angus and Heslegrave, just one night of reduced sleep lead up to a 30% decrease in performance efficiency in test subjects.
Angus RG, Heslegrave RJ. (1985). Effects of sleep loss on sustained cognitive performance during a command and control simulation. Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput. 17:55-67

Paying Down Your Sleep Debt

So how do you get more sleep when you have a heavy workload? By organizing your time better.

Sleep should be a priority for your health as well as your productivity. Making getting enough sleep a priority in your life will help you to be more productive and less stressed which in turn allows you to be more productive during your waking hours.

Ultimately this is going to be a lifestyle change and a choice that only you can make. The following tips are guides to help you adjust your priorities and help make the shift as comfortable as possible.

  • Get to bed between 9pm and 10pm.
    Your body starts to release melatonin around 9pm. If you get to bed around this time then the deepest part of your sleep will be around 2am.
  • Exercise regularly to help your body to sleep deeper.
    Exercise is also a very good stress reliever which will lift your mood and strengthen your body.
  • Whilst working, when you feel tired take regular breaks.
    As we’ve discussed earlier, tiredness diminishes our productivity. Using an app like V-CAF will alert you to when you are too tired to focus efficiently so that you can take a natural break, before getting back to work.
  • Eat and drink healthily.
    I wouldn’t recommend Sergio Marchionne’s cigarette and coffee routine, but rather eating whole unprocessed foods and drinking plenty of water. The results will speak for themselves.

Review

Like anything of value in life, there are no shortcuts to increased productivity if you value your health and quality of living.

Working longer hours doesn’t necessarily equate to higher productivity, especially if we sacrifice sleep to achieve that end.

Prioritize your sleep and it will pay you back handsomely. 

To summarize:

  • Go to bed between 9pm and 10pm.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Take regular breaks when focusing on your tasks. Use V-CAF to monitor your tiredness so that you can act accordingly.
  • Eat and drink healthily.

Conclusion

Your most valuable productive asset is you. If you value your productivity look after yourself by sleeping better and getting more rest.

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