5 healthy habits for Clarity, Inspiration & Maximum productivity!
When we decide to create something “Big”, like writing our own book, we tend to push ourselves to our limits, stay long hours working, squeezing our mind to find great ideas, neglect for a while our family (because we need to work hard) and the list goes on. Well, let me make it clear: this tactic doesn’t work. Period. So, if you have ever tried to multitask your entire life and business in order to create something “cool and big” but you never completed it, probably your problem was not self-discipline, but just selfchoke!
I have already written 4 books and have created hundreds of illustrations in very short time and each I needed to be “extremely” productive I followed these five guidelines that I am going to share with you right now:
1. Do not eat anything after 6:00pm. Your body needs rest.
If you can go intermittent fasting, that is even better (I am doing OMAD - One meal per day - right now and my productivity and inspiration has skyrocketed! If you eat before you go to bed, your body will spend the entire night trying to digest your food. In this way it won’t do the other refreshing tasks, it should and you will wake up the next day with zero energy, zero clarity and depressed for “no reason”. Obviously under such conditions no big or important task can be achieved.
2. Quit watching or reading “the news”, also quit any kind of disempowering chat, conversation or gossip.
You can’t imagine how much energy drying are those “occupations”. They actually make your entire mental system occupied by trash information, which leads to fear, anxiety, pessimism and guilt. And this results to have your entire body being in a state of defense, ready for a battle that will never happen. Who on earth can sit down and write a Self-Development book under such conditions?
3. Eat nutritious, organic, healthy food in small portions and drink a lot of water.
I have found myself that too much carbohydrate (especially the takeaway quality) do not help me in having a clear productive and inspired mind. My most productive times were when I had to complete sixty watercolor illustrations within less than a month. This meant that I had to create two perfect professional illustrations (which included a lot of details) within a day. And I did! And not only that, I also invested a lot of quality time with my kids in the afternoons taking them to the park, I had time to be with my hubby when he came from work, chat and watch a movie. I had some spare time to write down ideas and thoughts and within that month I also wrote a short book. I also kept the house clean, I cooked every day and I did all the other housekeeping tasks such as dish washing, laundry and ironing!!! How did I do it?
I fasted, and I tried to limit carbs as much as possible. Many people talk about keto, which can be very helpful but I have personally found that too much fat and meat do not help me to stay allert. I prefer veggies, with some fat, but not too much, a lot of water, moderate protein, and that's it. In addition, I have found that dairy bloats me (and I know it is not just me) so I try to limit it as well.
The key words here are: FASTING and LIMITING CARBS. You may want to check out how to fast by googling Dr Jason Fung. He is the expert on that. Also, look for Low Carb High Fat Diets. Those work well too. As I am not a Diet-Doctor I will not give more instructions here, but I am sure Dr Fung will help you look very deeply in this way of eating.
4. Enjoy a walk in the nature as often as possible.
If you can go for a walk in the morning at a park near your house, next to the sea or in any other kind of nature, please, make it your daily routine. You might find it strange to “spend” your time walking around nature when you are already overwhelmed with all the tasks you need to do, but believe me, this one hour of mental relaxation will give you so much power, energy and inspiration, that you will witness yourself finishing everything in just 1/3 of the average time you would usually need. If you have kids and you take them somewhere to play in the afternoons, use this time and experience to feel the nature once again. And have with you a notebook. You can’t imagine how many great ideas you will download during those walks.
5. Your family needs you, and you need your family. Treat them as your first priority.
Oh, yes. It is amazing how much better you will feel and how many ideas will come to you, if you invest just half an hour of quality time with your kids or partner. Here is why: when you neglect (even if it is for work) your beloved ones, you feel guilty. Guilt is the opposite of inspiration. You cannot get inspired and write a really inspired (in-spirit) book when you don’t like yourself (guilt makes us feel bad about ourselves). When you are not centered and positive, your writings will sound stiff, automated, insensitive and boring. You need your readers to feel nice when they read your book. You want them to feel inspired as well. So, be reasonable. What is better? To invest 30 minutes to 1 hour of uninterrupted quality time with your kids, or to spend three hours quarreling with them why they don’t let you concentrate, why they keep fighting with each other, why they don’t eat their food, why – oh why- do they desperately try to grab your precious attention so aggressively? If you make those five suggestions your daily habits, your life will completely get transformed for the better. Follow these guidelines and you will realize you have so much more potential than you could ever imagine. Your energy will increase 100% if not more, you will be constantly inspired, you will have total clarity so that you will be able to finish tasks really fast (especially if you find yourself with ADD/ADHD symptoms) and, most importantly, you and your family will feel happier than you have ever felt before! These are my five most important tips on keeping myself inspired, Joyous and productive. I am sure you too have your own tips, which I might have not discussed about. Please, take a few minutes and share yours in the comments just above.