Coffee can be one of the best things about your morning routine, but if you’re counting on coffee to keep you going throughout the day, it can be a problem. Every so often, we get reports on coffee for health and how it affects us. Some say that you shouldn’t have more than two cups of coffee while others say not to have more than four. How much coffee you have depends a lot on how it affects you individually.
What it all comes down to is that you don’t want to drink so much coffee that you are shaking, irritable, dehydrated or experiencing sleeping problems at night. Drinking a safe amount of coffee for health can do wonders in regards to Alzheimer’s, liver disease, type two diabetes, depression and other health benefits. If you want more oomph without your cup of liquid motivation, consider the tips below.
10 Ways To Be More Productive (Without Coffee)
1. Decide on a Plan of Action
It’s not enough to say, “I’m going organize this room.” You need to think about how you’re going to do it. You need to break down your tasks into steps. This will help you to think more clearly about what you’ll be doing, and it will speed up the process because you won’t have to wonder what’s coming up as you go along. Making a plan also increases the likelihood of completing your tasks as it gives you increased confidence in your ability to carry it out.
2. Think on Success
You have to believe that you’ll accomplish what you need to do in order to get it done. Assume that you have what it takes to do whatever it is that you need to do, regardless if you have done it or not. A part of your brain might tell you, “I can’t do this.” Tell yourself, “I choose to believe I can do this. If I don’t know how to do a part of it, I will decide to learn how to do it.” If you believe you can’t do something, your brain will find all kinds of ways to make your task difficult to impossible to complete. Telling yourself that you decide to believe something enables you to get around this roadblock. Saying “I decide” is empowering, which also helps you to accomplish your tasks with ease.
3. Get Rid of Negative Thoughts
You might think if you think on success that you won’t have any negative thoughts. This isn’t necessarily the case. You can choose to believe that you will get the dishes done in 20 minutes or believe that you’ll tackle that report, but chances are that you’ll come across negative thoughts that try to get in the way. Every time you come across a negative thought, decide to tell yourself the truth. We often tell ourselves negative things that don’t have a lot of truth behind them. These negative thoughts are shaped by past negative experiences that haven’t been resolved. When you have time, it’s a good idea to sit down and journal. You need to resolve past issues so that they won’t repeatedly cause delays in your life. Along with negative thoughts, you need to be aware of any self-sabotaging behaviors. It’s important to work through these as well.
4. Reduce Distractions
Distractions abound whenever you’re trying to get things done. To combat this, you have to have a clear list of what you need to be done, when you need to have it done by and a peaceful place to carry out your task without any interruptions. This means you need to have clear boundaries with your family members, friends and neighbors. If you work from home, you know distractions are something you can’t afford to have. Guard your time, and politely tell others that you need this time to do what you need to. Reduce outside noise with white noise from within the room. You can also play soft music or anything that will help you focus better. At times, sounds of water, windchimes and other pleasing sounds can help you to focus.
5. Make a “To Do” List
Making a “to do” list sounds easy enough, but you have to keep some things in mind to ensure success. First, don’t be so eager to put a ton of things on your list. You should know what you need done during the year, the seasons, the current month and what needs to happen during the current week in order to decide what you’re doing on any given day. If you put too much on your list, you will stress yourself out and not get a lot done in the process. This also gets in the way of boosting your confidence. The more you are able to get done the more confidence you will have in the future for completing other tasks. You also need to decide what’s most important to do when you write out your “to do” list. Tackling harder tasks in the morning will help you to get other things done in the day that require less effort, time and energy. Celebrate your success at the end of the day with something fun or relaxing. Make sure that you really reward yourself.
6. Enter Your Flow State
Entering your flow state is fun. If you’ve ever accomplished something phenomenally easy and were happy and relaxed while doing it, you were probably in your flow state. To get into your flow state, you need to know what produces this effect. It could be certain type of music or scent. For many people, it’s a combination of several things: wearing pajamas, plush socks, post punk music, the color blue, the smell of cinnamon and apples in the air, the sound of rain and a clean home. What makes you enter your flow state depends on you. To determine what these things are, write down a list of the things you love. Think about colors, scents and other things that make you feel happy. Ideally, you want to surround yourself with the things that produce positive effects on you all the time. You especially need those things to enter your flow state. It’s worth noting that you need to feel good too to get there, which means you shouldn’t be sick, have rested enough, drink enough water, eat well and get enough exercise. Entering your flow state is incredibly difficult when your body isn’t feeling well.
7. Get Enough Rest
Your body affects your mind in a number of ways. One of the things you need to take care of to be productive is to get enough rest. Many people fall into the trap of thinking that they can get more done if they sleep less. Nothing can be further from the truth. Doing this will make you do less and be tired. Focus on full sleep cycles, which last for approximately 90 minutes at a time. You need four or five sleep cycles a night. You can catch a nap in the middle of the day, which will help you to feel recharged. Other than the morning, this is an excellent time to have some coffee for health and energy benefits. Coffee can provide a good boost of mental focus after a nap. Have one cup, and don’t overdo it.
8. Eat a Healthy Diet
Your diet has a huge impact on how you think and feel throughout the day. If you feel sluggish and tired, you might not be eating the right amount and quality of food. You want to avoid foods that you are allergic or sensitive to. Some people have issues with gluten while others have a hard time digesting milk. Other than allergies and any type of intolerance towards certain foods, you will want to eat a balanced diet of protein, fruit, vegetables and other foods. It’s beneficial to have a serving of nuts per day. Many nuts are considered brain food and help with focus and productivity.
9. Drink Water
A lack of water in your body causes dehydration. You may not know that organs, like your heart, are considered more vital than other less important organs, like your brain. We wouldn’t necessarily think of it this way, but that’s how your body utilizes the little bit of water you have in your body. This causes your brain to shrink any time you are dehydrated. If you don’t drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day, you’re most likely dehydrated. You might experience constant brain fog. Coffee isn’t always the answer for increasing sharper thinking. At times, you just need a glass of water. Drinking water has been shown to improve test results too.
10. Exercise
Exercising is important for the body and mind. Exercise increases your energy and stamina. It provides nourishment for the brain, which helps it to stay focused and think more clearly. It’s important to get 30 minutes of exercise each day. Even if you take a walk, it will help to circulate your blood throughout your body more rapidly. Yoga, weight-lifting, swimming and playing sports are all excellent ways to increase your productivity because all of these activities will help your body and mind to perform better.
Life can be wonderful, but you need to be thoughtful towards your thoughts, feelings and actions. Drink coffee for health and alertness in moderation. Live each day to the fullest, enjoying both your work and downtime because relaxation is just as important as work. You’ll feel better when you live a balanced life.
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