Hello and welcome to 4-Minute Friday where I share, in four minutes or less, the latest things I’m doing to enhance my health, develop a better mindset, make day-to-day life easier, and other shenanigans.
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Mindset I’m Trying to Embrace More:
“Spend a handful of hours a day going fast. Crush a gym session. Do deep work on a project you care about. Spend the rest of the day going slow. Take walks. Read books. Get a long dinner with friends. Either way, avoid the anxious middle where you never truly relax or truly move forward.” – Charles Miller
Especially for the Type A folks out there, there’s something challenging about slowing down. It’s either go fast or hover in that anxious middle-ground in search of busyness.
Even when the “relaxing times” come around, us Type A folks constantly try to sprinkle in a little productivity whether that be reading emails while lying on the couch, choosing an educational documentary rather than a knee slapping comedy, or throwing on a podcast while on an evening stroll to squeeze in some extra learning.
But I’m starting to realize there is an art in doing nothing — completely chilling.
In the same breath, going fast and getting stuff done is of course an important aspect of being successful in any pursuit. Turning off your phone for a couple hours and completing a project, grinding out an intense workout, and doing some deep reading all serve a great purpose.
Life is full of sprints. But to recover from those sprints, we must relax and allow for growth to occur. In parallel to physical rest being necessary for muscle recovery and adaptation after exercise, mental rest is one in the same.
The single most useful change I’ve made since coming to realize this is setting a hard shutdown each night where I don’t allow myself to do anything quote-unquote productive.
After this set time, I prioritize doing activities that are rejuvenating: hanging out with friends, watching mindless TV, going out to dinner, reading a fiction novel.
When a hard stop is put in place, our minds no longer search for small acts of productivity — they learn that they’ll be picked up the following day… with even more vigor.
TLDR: learn to do nothing more often. Quite counterintuitively, productivity often increases when doing such.
The Untapped Superpower:
Sleep.
Yes, indeed I’m going to circle back on this one yet again.
And that’s because I recently watched sleep expert Dr. Matthew Walker give a Ted Talk titled Sleep is Your Superpower that came at a good time.
We all look for a leg up on our competition whether that be staying late at the office, burning the midnight oil, or simply doing more… but we often overlook one of the simpler (and more powerful) ways to do such — slumber.
Immune cell suppression.
Decreased reproductive hormone output.
Increased mental health disturbances like depression and anxiety.
Decreased memory formation.
Decreased learning capabilities.
Increased cardiovascular disease risk.
Increased cancer risk.
A short-list of the consequences that arise from not regularly getting enough sleep.
If there was ever a conversation on the most productive way to do less (see above) … it would be to sleep more.
Dr. Walker even goes on to call sleep the “Swiss Army Knife of health” and cites that we are experiencing a public health crisis surrounding a lack of sleep.
Outside of limiting alcohol and late day caffeine, he gives two big movers when it comes to improving your sleep.
First, get regular. Try to go to bed and wake up at relatively the same time each evening – yes, even on the weekends.
Second, keep your sleeping environment cool. For most, ~65 degrees Fahrenheit is going to be an optimal temperature to get the most out of those 7+ hours.
Start tonight.
Subtle Trick to Keep Things Fresh:
We’ve all heard and likely even experienced the “Groundhog Day” expression when it comes to our daily existence.
Taking the same route to work. Parking in the same spot and taking the same stairs. Drinking the same old Keurig coffee at the office. Saying hello to the chef at lunch and having the same meal. Sitting in the same cubicle next to the same people that talk about the same stuff. Driving home and hitting the same traffic before throwing on the same television show and winding down with the same nighttime routine.
And then waking up to the same alarm sound to do it all over again.
This isn’t meant to sound morbid.
While this monotony is a natural part of life and something to be embraced, it can often become a drag and lead to a “going through the motions” approach.
Which is why intervening and breaking up the monotony can be incredibly useful.
Instead of taking the fastest route to work, go two minutes out of your way and turn off on a different road for a change of scenery.
Switch up your lunch routine and sit outside or ask a co-worker out to a nearby restaurant.
Stop by a local coffeeshop once each week for an upgrade to the K-Cup and a reward for another week of hard work.
Although these subtle changes may not sound like much, I’ve realized they can be the exact trick necessary to bring you back to life when things become too routine.
What else?
Sending good thoughts to you and your NCAA March Madness brackets this weekend! Hopefully those hopes for a perfect bracket aren’t crushed already…
Doing less more tends to lead to doing more with less.
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DISCLAIMER
This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.