3 down-to-earth issues you have to pay attention to if you want to succeed

Whenever I thought of undertaking a new venture I set my mind off to look for the next thing I had to learn, for the strategy I should design, for the people I had to meet ….. a big rush of energy put into it….But I never thought on how to keep that energy flowing continuously to be able to keep up the pace.

Don’t understand me wrong, strategy, networking, new learnings … they are all necessary… but often times I exhausted myself pursuing my goals.

Now I am aware that to achieve my goals without dying in the attempt I have to keep my energy levels flowing at a steady pace.

Most of the jobs today take place sitting on a chair, in front of a computer.There are three things that I find very useful to pay attention to while I am working hard at my desk:

1- Movement

If we do not move with a certain frequency our bodies will suffer: the muscles will become lazy and stiff, our blood circulation will slow down … but there are certain tricks that I find useful:

• I divide my work in batches of 15 minutes, so every 2 batches (30 minutes) I get up and stroll around. I generally use this time to go to pick up things from the printer, go to the toilet or just open the window. Every excuse is good to stand up and move.
• Move around on foot or by bike as much as you can. If you cannot, use the stairs (or use them anyway)
• I set out a time everyday to exercise. I do not do it to keep my body healthy, well it is not my main goal, I do it to keep my mind healthy.My best time is in the morning, I do not know about you. Some people say that it is not necessary to exercise everyday. I do not exhaust myself exercising, I am quite lazy, but I have found out that if I run everyday my body finds less excuses to go running than if I exercise one day out of two. But everybody is different …. Walking at a good speed is also exercise, I am sure you can set out at least 10 minutes everyday.

Small amounts of movement along the day are better to keep us healthy than a concentrated one. So, just to give you an example, 10 minutes of moderate movement everyday will do you more good than 70 minutes of intensive exercising on Sunday.

This is one of the views that I get when running  in the morning.

2- The eyes

My kid’s pediatrician was telling me today that due to the high use of electronic screens (computer, tablets, phones, videogames …) more and more kids are suffering from dry eyes.

Kids and adults, we are all becoming more and more shortsighted. Our eyes are designed to look at the horizon, to work in open spaces … this is not the case any more.

The health of my eyes is very dear to me. I am 44 and have never used glasses in my life. Looking at the statistics I will probably do one day but the later … the better.

There are some things I do to keep my eyes in shape:

• I roll my eyes around and look to the sides. I told you before that I got up every so often to move a little. I also use this time to move my eyes, after all, it is muscles that move them and even if they are tiny, they need to be exercised. I try not to do this in front of people though … just in case they start thinking that I am crazy.
• I look out of the window every so often. It gives me time to think, but it also lets my eyes rest. And yes, I have a window (big) in my office. After trying I have realized that the lack of natural light is unbearable to me and I do not work in spaces without windows 🙂
• I do not work on my computer (phone or tablet) at least 1 hour before going to bed. I have realized that the light of the computer makes me nervous and it is harder for me to catch my sleep.
• My son is very reactive to the blue light that comes for electronic screens (video games in particular) and he now uses some special glasses that filter the blue light that comes from them. I had never heard of that before, but they work.

Brooke Lark

3- Food

Food is a primary source of energy and the best energy you get, the best results you get … If we do not pay attention to what we put in our mouths we will not get high quality energy. j ..Rubbish in … Rubbish out.

There are some things regarding food that I pay a lot of attention to when I am working harder than usual:

1. I cook my own food, or if I can´t, I buy it from a place which cooking standards are high, not only taste wise, but also regarding the quality of the raw ingredients.
2. I buy real food, no ready-made food. It is impossible to control the amount of sugar and saturated fat they have.
3. I have some healthy snacks at my desk: mind you, I do not like apples or bananas, if you do, they are a good idea, but as I generally crave for something that gives me quick energy I have some energy bars or dark chocolate at my desk. Whenever I eat them I stop to savor them consciously, because otherwise, I could just gulp them down my throat without realizing and they would be just wasted calories.
4. I never skip a meal.
5. I do not eat in front of the computer, because it gives the impression that I have not eaten. Eating is not a waste of time, but a time to free my mind from the pressure of work. Even if it is difficult sometimes to stop and eat. I am more productive if I entirely stop for 30 minutes and enjoy my lunch, than if I eat on the go.  I set an alarm to go off after 30 minutes and let me know that lunch is over.
6. I chew my food fully. If I do not have time, I just eat less and if I am hungry after some time I eat one of the snacks I told you about.

I know that all this takes a certain amount of discipline, but if I do not take care of myself, who will? I only have a body and a life to live … and I am not ready to waste them. My advice to you is that you practice one of the hints that calls you most. Just one step at a time, and keep on stepping.