It’s unlikely you may have come across the term ‘mental workout’. Although it sounds fancy, let me inform you that it’s not a structured list of mental exercises but a small stack of things to do consistently for a BETTER YOU. As every individual operates differently, the below can apply to all regardless of age, lifestyle, gender, occupation and region.
Covid-19 changed the way work is done and quest for answers to some questions increased.
How can we signal our brain for productivity?
How can we distil satisfaction and flow in our life?
How can we build and leverage social power?
The formula to that is to establish sharp edges in your life. Let’s begin!
Make sure you start and end the day on a positive note
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Reach your phone to see notifications probably?
It is best to slowly stimulate our brain for the day that’s ahead of us and not instantly start replying to texts or viewing content. One may ask what’s the harm in that? Here’s why:
Seeing a bombarded list of messages/emails/To-do lists can create anxiety or stress early on in the day which ruins the rest of the day’s productivity.
It hacks your time and attention – you let other people opinions and interests cloud your thinking.
The blue light from the phone is harmful especially if taken early during the morning.
What you can do? – Keep your phone on airplane mode or turn your cellular data/Wi-Fi off.
Slowly signalling our brain for work provides us with adequate time to strategically plan our day. Thus, you become proactive to your goals and not reactive to the outside world’s demand.
Additionally, if possible, try to not keep meetings early on in the day. Meetings cause a lot of impact on your entire day in the following ways:
Meetings put a strain on your hearing more than face-to-face meetings as you are hearing from earphones or computer sound rather than direct noise.
How the meeting goes can impact your mood throughout the day if the meeting is off high essence
As mentioned earlier, it is best to slowly stimulate our brain. Meetings are a social situation alongside work agenda.
Thus, meetings could take away your productivity and keep them only if external circumstances don’t allow flexibility and/or you feel they align with the work at hand and your work philosophy.
Some morning habits which work wonders are shown below
If you interested more about morning habits, I've attached a pdf file of the morning routines of the most successful people.
Now let’s move onto the night routine. Just like the start is crucial so is the end. You must end on a good note to ensure quality sleep, provide satisfaction and boost tomorrow’s overall mood and efficiency.
Similar to mornings, the phone is a big no-no! It is best to eliminate the use of phones 30 minutes – 1 hour before sleep. We say goodnight to the outside world and engage in habits that bring us tranquillity.
Some night habits which work wonders are shown below
If one starts and ends their day on a good note, they can be more or less assured to feel satisfied with their day. Self-care is critical for ensuring our neurons don’t age and our creative spark stays fit.
Consistently following an established day and night routine will sharpen our performance, increase mindfulness and stay healthy both physically and mentally.
Who are you surrounded with?
Human beings are emotional beings which emphasises the importance of who we spend our time with.
Spend with the wrong people, you are doomed! Spend with the right people, you blossom like a flower in your career.
As you build meaningful relationships, positivity is radiated towards you through positive conversations, gratitude and helping each other succeed. Toxic traits are avoided allowing you to focus your mental energy on your needs.
Being around the right people is creating your luck!
The right people will encourage you, join with you and motivate you to do things that are beneficial for your growth. These people have a sense of focus in their life and seeing them will inspire you to fire up your game.
For example:
You avoid going drinking frequently and replace with long walks.
You avoid going shopping for hours and hours and replace with spending time buying the right assets.
You avoid having Netflix parties and replace it with spending time with family and friends.
You avoid going to house parties and visit seminars
The point about being proactive rather than reactive surfaces again. Surrounding yourself with individuals who are good for your growth helps you make decisions that are rational and good for you in the long term. You tune your social setting to allow you to make the most out of it.
Now let’s talk about how to be surrounded by the right people?
Create a list of people you interact with on a daily/weekly basis (virtually and face-to-face interactions)
Identify positives/negatives and proposed solutions for negatives
Communicate your concerns for negative traits
Have a weekly/monthly social media filtering – eliminate the bad, add the best!
Seek variety in the people you surround with for perspective, creativity and opportunities for growth
Once you believe your circle sparks the right energy, don’t stop there. Try to develop a ‘snowball technique’. Identify friend’s friends who are worthy in your life and add value. Find ways to build a relationship. This would compound and continue the process of adding people.
Thank you for taking time to read :)
For reading part 2: How to Conduct a Mental Workout - Part 2