The deadline was yesterday… Do it faster… Can you stay longer at work and finish your presentation? Mum, dad – will you go to the playground with me? Or maybe to the cinema? This is the daily reality for most of us. So the question arises – what can you do to be well prepared to achieve satisfactory results in your work and personal life?
Personal effectiveness can be understood differently by each of us. For some it means effective meetings that end in concrete agreements, for others it means better organisation of one’s own time and less personal costs involved. But what is at the heart of our effectiveness? What is it that makes us have the energy to do so much more each day than just work?
The answer to this question is very simple – at the core of personal efficiency is
Responsible eating
The World Health Organisation states that there is a close relationship between nutrition and productivity, with a well-balanced diet guaranteeing health and high levels of energy for performance. The Institute of Food and Nutrition has published principles for healthy eating linked to the Pyramid of Healthy Eating and Physical Activity:
- Consume meals regularly (4-5 meals every 3-4 hours).
- Eat vegetables and fruit as often and as much as possible. They should make up at least half of what you eat. Remember the right proportions: 3/4 – vegetables and 1/4 – fruit.
- Eat cereal products, especially whole grains.
- Consume at least 2 large glasses of milk every day. You can replace it with yoghurt, kefir and some cheese.
- Limit your meat intake (especially red meat and processed meat products to 0.5 kg/week). Eat fish, pulses and eggs.
- Limit your intake of animal fats. Replace them with vegetable oils.
- Avoid the consumption of sugar and sweets. Replace it with fruit and nuts.
- Do not add salt to your food and buy products with low salt content. Use herbs – they have valuable ingredients and improve the taste.
- Remember to drink water, at least 1.5 litres a day.
- Do not consume alcohol.
At the heart of the published recommendations (http://www.izz.waw.pl/pl/zasady-prawidowego-ywienia) is also physical activity, described as an essential part of maintaining health and reducing the risk of lifestyle diseases.
Knowing the guidelines to help create a balanced diet guarantees health and high levels of energy for activity – in theory. However, as research shows, knowledge does not translate into a change in eating habits. The only exception to this is athletes, for whom sport is a job in which great importance is placed on diet and exercise. In order to be successful, it is necessary to eat well-balanced meals at the right times. Only well-considered nutrition is able to ensure good performance and adequate recovery.
So what can you do to remember to eat properly, not only in times of crisis or after a period of festive feasting?
The answer this time is also simple – take action in small steps, consistently changing your habits.
Below are a few points that describe healthy eating habits and which will directly translate into an increase in your efficiency. Choose just one point and try to follow it for a fortnight. After this time, add another one, and after another two weeks, another one. This is the ideal way to make a lasting change of habit.
- Drink a minimum of 1.5 litres of water a day and neutralise any other drink with an additional glass of water. A fluid loss of 5% of your body weight reduces your efficiency to 30%.
- Eat your meals at regular intervals, this will increase your efficiency up to 20%.
- The most important meal of the day is breakfast. Eat a healthy, balanced breakfast before you leave for work, preferably no later than 1 hour after getting up. This will kick-start your metabolism and provide essential ingredients for the rest of the day.
- Eat your last meal no later than 2-3 hours before bedtime. This will allow your whole body to go into a resting state and ensure adequate recovery.
- Add vegetables to every meal. Ideally, they should take up half of the volume (50% raw vegetables – 50% cooked vegetables)
- Eat colourfully and with variety! Use all tastes (bitter, sour, pungent, astringent, sulphurous) to stimulate the brain. Try unfamiliar dishes and new combinations of products.
- Eat sea fish, eggs, tomatoes, avocados, broccoli, beetroot, berries, blackcurrants, nuts, pumpkin seeds, pulses, seed oils, green vegetables, cereals.
- Avoid toxins! Buy fresh, natural products without preservatives. Read labels. If you don’t recognise the ingredients – put it back on the shelf.
- Replace unhealthy bites with healthy substitutes: nuts, seeds, dried vegetables, fruit or dark chocolate. You will stimulate yourself and improve your mood.
- Exercise! It has been proven that people who exercise half an hour a day, three times a week, are 15 per cent more productive at work than those who are not very physically active.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you and wish you the best of luck!!!
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Author: Renata Gołębiewska
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Renata Gołębiewska
Experienced and effective business leader, recognised business partner and HR specialist. Passionate about the development of people and organisations. Graduate of Executive MBA, Social Psychology in Organisational Development Management, ICC Certified Coach, Psychodietician. She conducts Executive Coaching, mentoring as well as individual classes and consultations in the field of leadership, career and personal development, among others. A promoter of effective action and a healthy and active lifestyle. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rgolebiewska/
