Are you familiar with the feeling of staring at your computer, unable to get any work done? Where you know what you should do, but just can’t focus? It doesn’t feel strictly like lethargy or procrastination, but you know there’s a lack of mental clarity that makes it difficult to get in the zone and be productive.
That feeling is widespread. And while it’s normal for everyone to have moments where they’re less inspired, frequent bouts of brain fog are an indication that something in your body needs to change.
It requires a lot of energy to be mentally productive, so sitting in one place for hours on end can be extremely draining.
Unfortunately, this creates a vicious cycle:
- We sit at our desks for hours and become tired, so we make a cup of coffee or buy a chocolate bar from the office vending machine to give us a boost.
- We then sit back down at our desk to finish the day’s work, still feeling less-than-productive while scurrying to meet deadlines.
- We get home thoroughly exhausted and opt for a quick dinner option because we’re too tired to think of anything else.
This behavior has become normalized because it’s so widespread. It also created a confirmation bias – everyone around us is feeling the same way, so we rationalize that it’s normal.
But it’s not normal, and this confirmation bias is a factor in why heart disease is such an enormous problem in the Western world.
Workplace health: the key to longevity
The typical American workplace is not designed to be a healthy environment. Sitting down under artificial lights for eight or more hours a day is not how humans are supposed to live. Deprived of the sun’s UV rays for adequate levels of vitamin D, hunched over a desk and eating various cakes and pastries all add up quickly.
Before you know it, we’ve developed poor posture and tightness throughout our body, put on weight, and become lethargic as a result of the food and inactivity.
It’s easy to feel powerless about this. After all, it’s not like you can demand a standing desk or work outside to get fresh air and sunlight. Plus, you may attract some uncomfortable questions if you start doing corrective exercises on the office floor.
But the good news is that you’re not powerless. There are a number of things that you can do to promote workplace health, including heart health training.
I strongly recommend:
Walking meetings
The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs was an advocate of walking meetings, and for good reason. Walking is a powerful form of exercise, and incorporating it throughout the day can help to prevent your body getting stiff and achy. It can also get the blood flowing and brush off any mental cobwebs picked up from sitting in the office for hours. Best of all, walking has been shown to be beneficial for creativity, making it an ideal activity for business meetings.
Meal preparation
To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail, as the saying goes. This is never truer than with what we eat. We give in to cravings when we are tired or hungry, so we can avoid most bad choices simply by being prepared.
First, try choosing high-protein foods that can keep you feeling satisfied. When the office donuts make an appearance, you’re not tempted to indulge. Likewise, if you’ve already prepared your food in advance, you’re less likely to reach for the takeout menu if you feel too tired to cook.
Workplace health can begin at home. Twice a week, set aside some time to prepare food for the next few days so you know exactly what you’re eating every single day. This is a popular activity in fitness circles with lots of resources for inspiration – the Instagram hashtag #mealprepideas has over a million posts at the time of writing.
Whole, real food is the number one factor for promoting heart health. If you want to Stay Off My Operating Table®, I recommend spending time prepping your meals in advance.
Make exercise a routine
Success comes from habits and routines rather than motivation alone. Conversely, failure often comes because we fall back onto existing habits.
Think about your existing habits and routines. Do you, for example, rely on motivation to brush your teeth each morning?
Exercise is most effective when it’s incorporated into your day. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking instead of driving, and having walking meetings instead of sitting in a conference room can integrate movement into your day without feeling like you need the motivation to exercise.
Think about your typical day and consider how you can create an exercise routine. Perhaps you can get to the gym before work, which requires a simple routine:
- Packing your gym bag the night before
- Waking up 45 minutes early
- Enjoying the rest of your day with the extra energy that comes from working out.
Perhaps you’d prefer to work out after leaving the office, which helps some people to detach from work and enjoy mental clarity for the evening ahead. In this case, you could:
- Leave your gym bag in the car or keep items stored at the gym.
- Get friends to come with you for an added element of fun.
- Prep dinner the day ahead so you can come home and eat afterward.
Ultimately, however, the timing doesn’t matter. What matters is your ability to make a routine of it, which means choosing a time of day that you can stick to consistently. Over time, this routine becomes a part of your day like brushing your teeth and going to bed, which means you don’t need to rely on motivation to get into your training clothes.
The real workplace benefits of metabolic health coaching
Taking control of your health has incredible knock-on benefits to every aspect of your life. Regular exercise and eating healthy foods lead to more energy, mental clarity, and enthusiasm, all of which can help you make improvements – within yourself, at work, and at home. It also promotes heart health, which should be high up on everyone’s list of priorities.
Getting started is simple, and you can begin making improvements in a matter of weeks. My blog has plenty of tips for what changes to make, but if you want to accelerate your progress and become as metabolically healthy as possible, I have an entire video course that can help you get started.