Do you find yourself going through your day feeling sluggish? Are you often unmotivated and have low energy? I most certainly have had my share of feeling sluggish and unmotivated. Sometimes, I still encounter these feelings. However, when I step back to examine where this is coming from, I quickly determine that it has to do with two factors, one of which being my nutrition, and the second one being my mindset. I do find that my mindset is often the result of poor nutrition.

When I eat poorly, I do not feel good about myself or the tasks that I have to attend to for the day. Everything appears daunting and difficult to maneuver. This often results in making more poor nutrition choices due to frustrations and anxiety associated with incomplete tasks. Then, the next day I start right back with feeling overwhelmed leading me to making more poor nutrition based decisions. If you let it go on for too long, it can go as far as becoming a bad habit that is difficult to kick. Therefore, it is important to face these feelings and find a way to overcome poor decisions about your nutrition. Why? Because you will feel much better and be so much more productive.

Poor Nutrition

You are wondering by now what I view as poor nutrition. Well, I would say that anytime you opt out for the microwave or the drive-thru, your nutrition is poor. Sure, this way of thinking may appear strict at first, but let us go over that microwavable meal and the drive-thru option.

When you select a meal to microwave, it is filled with sodium and preservatives, which are not good for your body. Furthermore, when you select the drive-thru meal, it is filled with excessive amounts of oil, sodium and who know what else. Those types of meals do not encourage productivity. Instead, meals from the drive-thru or from the microwave encourage a sluggish mindset. We no longer utilize the drive-thru, but on super busy days my husband and I do fall victim to microwavable foods, and when we do, we are not productive.

Improving Productivity

We have actually done several experiments with nutrition and have discovered that when we select healthy options such as home cooked meals, that we are more productive. Furthermore, eating home cooked meals also improves our mindset. We find ourselves more mindful, more motivated, and just happier overall. I know what you are thinking “I don’t have time to cook.” I fully understand. We are always short on time too and with a baby we find ourselves tempted to take short cuts frequently. However, making some drastic changes has helped us maintain better nutritional habits that have increased our productivity levels.

I will share the habits that have transformed our lives with you. These habits have worked wonders for our household and in developing good nutritional habits. I hope that by incorporating some or all of these habits, that you will feel happier and be more energized to embark on your day. I do want to ask you to please be sure not to give yourself a hard time on days where you make poor decisions about your food. You do not have to let one decision affect the rest of your day. Just do a little better with your next meal.

6 Nutritional Habits That Improve Productivity

1. Pay attention to your nutrients

What nutrients do you need to be productive? I suggest you learn about the different nutrients and the effects that they have on your body. From there you ensure that when you are planning a meal, that you are incorporating the nutrients that your body needs to function at a higher level.

2. Do not skip breakfast

When they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they are not lying. Think about it. You wake up, have your coffee or not, and go on with your workday. What fuel is your body utilizing to complete your tasks at work? Are you relaying on yesterday’s dinner? Not a good idea. Your body is like a car, it needs fuel to operate. Sure, the coffee may get you through the morning but by lunch time you will be so depleted that you most likely will select a poor lunch option. When I skip breakfast, I usually go for a desert with my lunch. Consequently, this desert tends to put me in a lethargic state for the rest of the afternoon. So, do not skip breakfast.

3. Consume nuts, fruit, vegetables and fish

Eating nuts, fruit and vegetables provides your body with a lot of nutrients, which will fuel your body and make you feel good. Studies have linked improved cognitive function as a result of omega-3 fatty acids. Some foods that contain omega-3 include fish such as salmon, trout, and tuna. Walnuts are also known to contain omega-3 fatty acids.

4. Do not eat late at night

Eating late is not good for various reasons. For instance, let us say that you eat at 9pm and at 10pm you go to bed. Well, now your body will have to digest food in the first few hours of your sleep, which will deprive you of good sleep. As a result, you will wake up feeling exhausted and sluggish. Therefore, make it a rule to stop eating after 7pm. This way you have a couple hours to digest the food that you have eaten. There are also some foods to avoid eating for dinner. You can view my article that covers the foods that you should refrain from eating at night.

5. Cook meals at home

Cooking can seem like a big chore sometimes. However, it does not have to be if you are efficient and strategic about it. My husband and I have tried cooking daily and we have tried pre-cooking for the week. Sadly, we have found out that both of those strategies are not efficient for our household. So, we have come up with a method of cooking twice a week. For instance, we would cook on a Sunday, and we would make enough food to last us until Wednesday. Then, on Wednesday we would cook another batch that would last us until Sunday. Thus far this has done wonders for our productivity. Not only are we eating nutritious foods, but we are also saving on time.

6. Be efficient

When I say be efficient, I am not only speaking about the frequency of food preparation. I am also speaking about your choices. First and foremost, make sure that the recipes are healthy and nutritious. Next, select foods that can be easily refrigerated and that will not lose their texture. For instance, we tend to cook soups for our dinners and heavier meals for lunches. By heavier meals I am referring to meals with meat, pasta, rice and so on. For lunch, we prepare dishes such as grilled chicken with stir-fried vegetables and rice, or baked chicken with potatoes and vegetables. We also continuously play around with our own recipes and come up with new ideas that make cooking more fun.

Conclusion

There you have it, some tips that should help increase your productivity levels. I recommend implementing as many of these habits as possible to help you optimize your productivity. You will see that when you improve some of your habits that you will see a difference in your productivity.

Copyright (2024) ImprovingMindfully All Rights Reserved