Sometimes, people imagine that putting even a little time and effort into their work–life balance and wellbeing just cuts into work time and detracts from their productivity. Let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Each of the many strategies in this book is designed to optimize your energy and effectiveness in a way that ensures you are significantly more productive than you are right now. What you put in is likely to be returned to you many times over in terms of enhanced output and the satisfaction you derive from your job. The potential ‘return on investment’ of these strategies is enormous.
A Great Day at the Office is about how to incorporate some simple tips, tricks and tools in your life that will enable you to get more done more quickly, but with less effort – and who wouldn’t like that?
How to Use This Book
There’s a lot of information in A Great Day at the Office, and some parts will be inevitably more relevant to you than others. One way to approach this book, therefore, is to go first to the chapters that pique your interest. The short descriptions of each chapter in the next section are there to help guide you to the parts of the book that you feel you’ll get the most out of.
As you read, you’ll see that many of the areas covered interconnect. For example, what we eat can affect our sleep. Sleep can also be influenced by light exposure, and both of these can have an impact on our mood. Certain mood states can affect sleep, of course, and lack of sleep can actually drive hunger and food choices. And these are just a few examples.
I’ve added cross-references throughout the book, so starting in one place may point you to other information that perhaps had no special interest for you to begin with. However, if you have been led somewhere by the text, then the chances are you’ll find something useful for you there, so I suggest ‘going with it’.
Another approach, of course, is just to read the book from cover to cover. Even if you feel ‘sorted’ in a particular area, it would be unusual if you did not gain a tip or two in each chapter that could make all the difference.
Each chapter includes a summary in bullet-point form. These are designed to help you remember key learning points. If you like, you might return to these summaries from time to time so that they may serve as useful reminders.
Do bear in mind, though, that you do not need to do everything suggested in this book and get it all right to derive major benefits in terms of your energy and effectiveness. I recommend starting with the things that seem most relevant to you and that you feel inspired to act on. You could, if you wish, always add new strategies later.
Here’s a summary of the ten chapters that stand to transform your work and life for the better:
Chapter 1: Energy to Burn
Food provides us with fuel, and what we choose to eat can determine whether we are highly energized and raring to go, or feeling as though we’re wading through treacle. The first part of the opening chapter explores the science of the conversion of food into energy, and how to eat to ensure sustained levels of vitality throughout the day.
Most of us have an eye on the long term too, so the second section of this chapter conducts an evidence-based examination of how to eat in a way that aids our personal sustainability. Here, you will learn which foods are best for staving off health issues such as weight gain, heart disease and diabetes. The final part of the chapter provides practical guidance on how to put all this theory into practice.
If you’re imagining that this chapter is all about bran-based breakfast cereals, skinless chicken breasts and low-fat spreads, then you’re in for a treat. As the research reveals, most conventional nutritional ‘wisdom’ is fundamentally flawed. Using up-to-date science (and a healthy dose of common sense), the chapter clears up dietary confusion and puts a slew of nutritional myths to bed. Read this chapter to learn why ‘healthy eating’ may actually be holding you back, and how to release yourself to a state of optimal energy and wellbeing, with ease.
Chapter 2: Fluid Thinking
Ensuring peak performance is not just about what we eat, but also what we drink. In this chapter, we explore the critical importance of hydration, and reveal the single best guide to whether your needs are being met here or not.
This chapter examines the health aspects of not just water, but also soft drinks, fruit juice, smoothies, coconut water, coffee and tea. The chapter ends with an assessment of alcohol’s influence on wellbeing. Here, you will also discover three deceptively simple strategies that often lead to dramatic reductions in alcohol intake, but without the need for conscious restriction or feelings of deprivation.
Chapter 3: Movable Feast
As with advice regarding what to eat, recommendations regarding when and how often we should eat are prone to mixed messages. Traditionally, three square meals a day has been advocated, though in recent times there has been a vogue for ‘intermittent fasting’ – the practice of consuming very little on certain days, or going for extended periods of time without eating. In contrast, others recommend eating frequent, small meals as the best way to maintain energy and effectiveness.
This chapter examines the benefits and pitfalls of different eating patterns and provides guidance on how to ensure the optimal feeding strategy for you.
Chapter 4: Dream Ticket
For some, sleep can seem like ‘unproductive time’, and they will often relegate it in favour of work and other endeavours. Research shows, however, that not only does sleep prepare the body physiologically and psychologically for the next day, it promotes better health and even assists weight control.
This chapter explores how scrimping on sleep can cause our energy levels, performance and general health to suffer. It also offers a range of simple but highly effective strategies for ensuring the sort of deep, restful sleep that leaves us feeling properly revived and ready for action each morning.
Chapter 5: Light Relief
Most of us don’t usually think of light as a lifestyle factor but, as this chapter reveals, it can play a vitally important role in how we feel and function. The chapter starts with an exploration of light’s impact on mood and mental functioning, and the practical steps we can take to make full use of this natural commodity, particularly in the winter.
This chapter also reviews the value of sunlight regarding physical health and wellbeing, specifically through its ability to stimulate the production of vitamin D in the skin. We will see how this nutrient is linked with protection from a wide range of health issues and conditions including heart disease and several different forms of cancer. The chapter ends with advice about how to use ‘safe tanning’ and perhaps supplementation with vitamin D to optimize health and wellness in the long term.
Chapter 6: Fit for Business
We’ve all heard that exercise is good for us, but some can nonetheless struggle to find the time to ‘fit it in’. This chapter looks at how we can meet our needs for physical activity in as practical and time-efficient a way as possible.
The chapter starts by exploring the benefits to be had from incorporating walking into our lives, and provides everyday guidance here. The importance of resistance exercise is also highlighted, and the chapter outlines a brief but effective routine that requires venturing no further than your home or hotel room.
For those who are already active and looking for something more advanced, this chapter also discusses ‘high-intensity intermittent exercise’