4 self-care practices for January to boost your productivity

Self-care practices for January: Sleep Well

There is a huge correlation between productivity and sleep – that is, if you don’t get enough sleep (or well enough), your productivity will suffer. If you want to increase your productivity (and feel better), there’s no other way: you need more and better sleep.

If you’re struggling to get enough sleep and being the best and most productive person you can be (and, let’s face it, who doesn’t?), try establishing a nightly bedtime routine. A consistent bedtime routine can send a signal to your brain and body that it’s time to relax and sleep.

A few hours before bed, begin a routine that makes a smooth transition to a more relaxed (and sleepy) state. Turn off your screens. Take a bath. Put on your pyjamas. Dim the lights and read a book in bed.

The practices you incorporate into your nightly routine are your choice, but you need to do them consistently. Over time, the brain and body will begin to associate their nighttime routine with going to bed – and it will be easier to fall asleep. And so, you begin to put into practice what self-care is.

Put your phone away

You may think your cell phone is the key to becoming a powerhouse of productivity (after all, it’s basically a supercomputer in your pocket) but you know what is one of the best things you can do for your productivity (without mention your happiness)? Leaving the phone aside.

It may seem like they are helping you to do more things, but in reality, smartphones are sinking your productivity. If you are working on a project, hide your phone in another room to focus on the task at hand and not be tempted to look at your phone every 30 seconds. Doing so exponentially improves your mobile phone use at work .

Take time each week to stay away from the screens (whether for a few hours or a full day) and focus on deep work, your life, and your relationships without technology.

Turn off your phone at night time so that it does not negatively affect your sleep. Eliminate as many distractions as possible from your phone. So that when you need to use it, it won’t hold your attention so much – and hinder your progress (professional and personal) on important things.

Be and stay present

Most people spend a lot of time stressing about the past or the future – so much that it keeps them from being in the present moment.

But one of the best ways for you to practice self-care (and thereby increase productivity) is to pay attention to the present through mindfulness or mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness really is your ability to focus on the things that are happening here and now; it’s the concept of actually being present at the moment.

Taking a few minutes a day to pay attention at the moment may seem like a small act of self-care – but it can have a huge impact in your life. People who meditate regularly enjoy a range of productivity benefits – such as sharper memory, less stress and anxiety, less lack of concentration at work and increase creative thinking.

Shake your days and throw the routine out the window

It can be easy to stick to a routine. And while good habits can certainly make us more productive, doing the same thing every day can make our work (and our lives) fall into a routine, and it can block our excitement, creativity and motivation to actually do things.

If you feel you have stalled, make a conscious effort every day to get out of your routine. This is one of the best techniques for resting your mind. Working from home? Try to leave home and work in a coffee shop, for example.

If you usually exercise with a morning jog, try attending a spinning or yoga class a few times a week. If you often schedule meetings with clients in the afternoon, try to get them out of the morning – leaving the most creative work after lunch. Changing your daily routine can help you identify the most empowering hours to be more productive.

You may be surprised to find that early in the morning or late at night are the best times to get things done. Taking this flexibility for yourself will allow you to discover a new path to productivity.

Bottom line: It’s easy to get stuck in a routine that isn’t right for you (or for your level of productivity), so if you want to do more things and practice self-care at the same time, try changing things from time to time.