You are already aware of the importance of exercise to health. Exercising regularly can make you feel and look better. In fact, you may already know the benefits of exercise to the brain. However, did you know that the timing and kind of exercise you perform can help in boosting your productivity?
A lot of people try to squeeze in their exercise usually at the end of the day after work or on weekends. Often, exercising is about burning calories, building muscles, or maintaining an ideal heart rate so people tend to push as hard as they can. But, in order to benefit from regular exercise in terms of boosting your productivity, keep the following in mind:
You Don’t Have to Push Yourself
If you exercise to achieve your ideal shape, you may want to do more than just less-than-an-hour of exercises. However, if you are looking to exercise to improve your productivity, taking a brisk walk for forty-minutes or jogging on the treadmill for thirty minutes can already do the trick.
Focus on Maximizing your Near-Term Benefits
When you perform weight training, you will want to let your muscles rest and repair for a few days after an intense workout. However, in terms of exercising for productivity, it’s about focusing on same-day benefits.
When you work out right, you will feel emotionally well, stay energized feel good that same day. Performing aerobic exercises can minimize anxiety after you work out, making a difference in terms of staying focused, paying attention to even small details, and completing your tasks at hand on days you have lots of workloads to deal with. Moreover, exercise gives same-day impacts on cognition by making it easier for you to engage in decision-making, self-control, and dealing with conflicting needs.
Stick to Shorter Exercise
When you exercise for boosting your productivity, just keep your activity short in the morning, at lunch or during a break. Focus on performing just enough to refresh your brain and heart. Moderate exercises tend to be easier to squeeze into your day as needed, either before you start your task, when you have to recharge, or when you are starting to feel overwhelmed by your work. Think about dashing out for fifteen minutes on the treadmill before you go to work in the morning or during your lunch.
Understand the Benefits you can Expect from your Endeavor
By understanding the positive effects of moderate exercise on your productivity, you will feel that your effort is worth it. This begins with understanding both the emotional and cognitive benefits to expect from your exercise. As you experience the boost in productivity almost immediately, you can easily grasp the cause and effect. This should motivate you to continue to do what you are doing. By exercising mainly to boost your productivity, you are likely to find yourself exercising more often. If you are used to working out hard, there is no problem. You just have to think more deliberately about when you should go more moderate and when to go all out.
