Transcription
Anyone can work more, but it takes real courage to rest. To have limitless energy, you need to understand that rest is just as important as work. Rest isn't wasting time or doing nothing. Rest is an active process. It's when physical and psychological growth occurs.
Your body grows while you rest and sleep. In the first hour after you've fallen asleep, your body is flooded with growth hormones. This is what helps your muscles and bones grow bigger and stronger after exercise. If you don't sleep and rest enough from hard training, your body will break down. Don't try to stay awake and sneak in a bit more training or a few more hours of work. Instead, prioritize your sleep.
The top researchers, artists, writers, and Nobel Prize winners all follow the same rhythm of stress plus rest equals growth. They call it periodization. They spend time working intensely on a project. Then they step away from the work and rest. Research done by Mihi Chicken Mihi found after 50 years that the best and brightest were either completely immersed in their craft or they were taking time away from it to rest and recover. This not only helped to prevent burnout but helped breakthrough ideas and discoveries pop up. Their aha and eureka moments often didn't happen in the work but while resting. Think about it. How many ideas do you come up with while bathing or cleaning dishes? Growth happens when you rest, not when you work.
Now that you understand this cycle, you probably have one big question. How should I rest and relax? Most people think rest is only sleeping or going on vacation. But there's different kinds of rest that you can use on a day-to-day, week to week, and month-to-month basis. Let's start with three things that you can do to rest and recover on a day-to-day basis.
First, take a walk. It doesn't have to be long. If you're an office worker, something as short as a six-minute walk outside has been shown to improve creativity 60%. Compared to your co-workers who stayed glued to their seats. If you're stuck indoors due to bad weather, a walk inside can still boost your creative output by around 40%. That's worth the lap around the cubicles.
Second, try meditation. This is the fastest way to switch from stress to rest. Sit in a comfortable place, ideally somewhere quiet. Set a timer so you don't have to worry. Start with a minute. Breathe deeply for a few breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Find a nice slow natural rhythm. If thoughts pop up, notice that they're there. Then go back to focusing on the feeling of your breath. Take 10 breaths. Then go back to work.
Third, get social. If you're stuck with a coding problem or trying to find the right word for an email, get up from your desk and go and talk with a coworker. Try to talk and joke about what happened today. Talk about your plans for the weekend or what you're doing after work. Make sure to avoid complaining, stress, and worry. You don't need to stress about the problems you walked away from. By simply connecting with others, you shift your nervous system into recovery mode. Your body produces feel-good hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These will help you work better.
Week-to-week rest is about managing how you feel. Most people come to work on Monday refreshed from the weekend. They can still work pretty well on Tuesday. But Wednesday hits and there's a serious problem. Motivation plummets. Productivity suffers. The only thing you can think of at your desk is a nap and counting down the hours to Friday afternoon. Instead of trying to work five or six days straight without a break, intentionally design a mini break in the middle of the week. Plan Wednesday to be a less intense day of work. If you can, sleep in and start your workday late. Schedule meetings, deadlines, and other commitments for Tuesday or Thursday.
Use this as a day to take care of your body on a month-to-month basis. Start thinking vacations. Does it feel like you've been working non-stop? Is it hard to stay motivated and get work done? You don't want to get out of bed in the morning. You don't want to go to work. You might not feel like doing anything at all. This is a level of tiredness that's in your bones. It's something more sleep and a long weekend won't fix. When you feel this way, you need to take a longer break. If you've worked for several months in a row without a break, try to schedule a vacation or at least a week off from work.
Now that we've covered the different ways to rest and take care of yourself, there's one type of rest that you need every day. To perform at your best, you need to take care of your sleep. One of the greatest misconceptions is that if we rest or sleep, we're wasting time. But sleep is one of the most productive things we can do. We don't grow when we're in the gym or when we're working on a project. We grow in our sleep.
Have you ever noticed interviews of professional athletes always mention how much they sleep? Time after time, you'll hear professional football or basketball players talk about sleeping 8, 9, and even 10 hours a night. You might think they are super lazy sleeping this much, but the truth is this. The best athletes in the world prioritize sleep. Not working is real work. Learning how to rest and recover is just as important as any exercise.
If you want to sleep like an elite athlete, here's how you can fall asleep faster and improve the quality of your sleep tonight. First, remember that sleep is productive. You aren't wasting time. There's nowhere else you need to be. When it's bedtime, don't try to answer one last email or scroll through your phone. If you feel drowsy, don't fight it. Whatever you are doing can wait until tomorrow morning.
Second, your bed is for sleep and sex. That's it. The only other exception is reading a paper book to help you fall asleep. Don't eat. Don't watch TV. Nothing else. You want your brain and body to know that when your head hits the pillow, it's time to sleep.
Third, before you go to bed, avoid exercise, alcohol, blue light, and caffeine. It's best not to have caffeine 6 hours before bed, and try not to do intense exercise after dinner.
Now that you understand how to rest, how can you get your body and mind ready to perform? Lesson two, peak performances start with a routine. Peak performances aren't accidents. They happen by design. To perform at your best, you need to be intentional. Develop a warm-up, create a place of your own, and condition yourself to perform.
If you're an office worker, think to yourself, "How can I set up my day so I have unlimited energy and focus? What can you do to be ready and be at your best from the second you walk in the door?" Start by creating your own personalized routine. Think of yourself as a mental athlete. Let's design a quick pre-work routine that you can try. Get up from your chair and reach for the sky with a big stretch. Loosen up any stiff muscles you have in your neck and shoulders. Then take a few breaths and calm or center yourself. Focus on what tasks need to get done today. Write down three tasks so that you have a clear intention of what is most important. Now that your body is in a good spot, you can look through your calendar or email for any meetings or deadlines. That way, there's no surprises. Right before you get to work is a good time to stop at the bathroom or grab a glass of water so there won't be any last-minute distractions. While this is a sample routine, you should tweak and design it so it works for you. The most important part of a routine is that it's practiced until it's automatic for you. You don't have to think twice. This is just what you do before you go to work. By being consistent with your routine, it'll help you perform at your best.
Next, create a place of your own. This is your spot to get things done. If you're trying to concentrate and focus, you do it here. This might be a specific table in your local coffee shop, a conference room on the second floor of your office, or a quiet thinking chair in a library. No matter where it is, your environment sets the stage for how you perform. Just like your bedroom is for sleep, this place is where you go to work. Picture students sitting in a classroom. There's research that proves test scores improve when you sit in the same chair every day. When researchers had the students switch chairs, their scores decreased. They weren't as comfortable. The change in environment was an added stress. You don't want to add more stress. Try to make it cozy and just for you, while also eliminating distractions. When you're distracted, it wastes time, energy, and effort. Your best work probably isn't done at the kitchen table next to your electric bill, dinner, and your son's homework. By creating a place of your own, you are teaching your brain and body this is where it's time to go to work.
The final step in priming yourself for peak performance is conditioning. Author Stephen King has a specific routine and environment to write his books. He knows that inspiration doesn't just strike mysteriously. Instead, he knows every day he's going to write a thousand words. He's going to write in the same place, in the same chair, at the same desk, and for the same amount of time. Without fail, when he hears the rock music of AC/DC or Metallica start to play, Steven knows it's time to start writing. When he's in this chair with this music at this time, he writes.
To recap, if you want to work at your best, you need to build a routine with a specific environment and condition yourself to this habit. You can even go as far as to design your day around your working routine. Here's how you do that.
First, design your day. Think of all the decisions you make in a day. I bet you make at least five decisions before you leave for work in the morning. One, you wake up and have to choose what clothes to wear. Two, what to eat for breakfast. Three, what are your plans for lunch? Four, what time are you eating? Five, and how are you getting to work today? The truth is, some of these decisions aren't important. They don't matter too much in the moment, but if you have to decide what to do every day, these small choices add up. You end up using energy, willpower, and focus before you even walk in the office door. Instead of letting small decisions steal your limited energy, some people, like Michael Joiner, an award-winning doctor at Mayo Clinic, choose to eliminate the small choices. He focuses on what matters to him and plans his day around his research and his family. That means he has a pre-packed lunch and wears similar clothes day after day. He doesn't have to choose when he eats lunch. His calendar is blocked off for the same time every day. He's automated his morning so he doesn't waste time and energy on the small things. By planning your day on purpose, you save brain power because you've taken care of these small choices that can drain your energy.
Second, match activities with energy levels. Are you a morning person or a night person? Your body has a natural pattern of high and low energy called a chronotype. If you want to perform at your best, you need to do your most demanding work when your energy is at its highest. Then, when you need to do administrative or creative work, plan for those tasks during the off times. Larks are morning birds. They are alert and energized as soon as the sun rises. If you love mornings, you should do your most productive work right away. On the other hand, don't schedule meetings after 4 p.m. There's not enough coffee in the world that can bring you back to the alert and lively state you felt at 9:00 a.m. When you start to get fatigued in the afternoon, work on administrative tasks that are a bit boring and not mentally taxing. That way, you can be your best in the morning and still get some work done to end the day. Owls are most energized at night. If you are a night owl, you shouldn't plan a ton of morning meetings. You'll look and feel sluggish, lazy, and lethargic. Your brain just won't work right until 11:00 a.m. or later. Push your creative focused work to the evenings and have a long slow warm-up with the administrative tasks in the morning. By paying attention to what your chronotype is, you can get the best performance out of your day when you feel the best. When you are starting to fatigue and tire out, you can switch to tasks that don't need your best. Get simple things done like paperwork and responding to emails.
Now that you have a routine, you've designed your day and matched your activities with your chronotype. There's only one thing left to do. You need to show up. Before I read this book, I thought top performers just got more done than everyone else. But what's really happening is that they have a clear plan and take action. Peak performance isn't an accident. Top performers design their days strategically. They have a routine. They eliminate distractions and automate the easy things like what to wear and when to eat. They work when they are the most energized. Most importantly, they show up and do the work. As James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, says, "The single greatest skill in any endeavor is doing the work. Not doing the work that is easy for you. Not doing the work that makes you look good. Not doing the work when you feel inspired. Just doing the work." The best performers are consistent. They show up every day and do the work again and again.
If you want to learn how to be this consistent, there's one thing you'll need that will push you to show up, be your best, and work with limitless energy. Lesson three. To show up day in and day out, you need to find your purpose.
If you want to perform at your best, you need to understand something. Your brain's number one job is not peak performance. It's survival and to prevent embarrassment. This is called the central governor of fatigue. Think of the brain saying, "No, stop." And blowing a whistle. It's careful and doesn't want you to get hurt. The research behind this starts with a scientist named Tim Noakes at the University of Cape Town. He had weightlifters lift weights with their legs until they couldn't lift anymore. When their muscles wouldn't budge, he ran electrical current through them. To everyone's surprise, their muscles moved. The weightlifters' brains said no more, but their bodies could keep going. Their brains were protecting their body instead of pushing it to true failure. Their brain was saying no more, but the body could keep going.
How to hijack your brain to keep going with motivation and grit. Now that you know there's an artificial limit, you can hack your body to keep going in situations that feel scary and overwhelming. When your brain tries to protect you from failure, you need to tap into something greater. When your mind is telling you to quit, you can keep going if you find a higher purpose. An example is hospital janitors. It's not a glamorous job to clean bathrooms or mop hallway floors, but hospital janitors who did the best saw their job as a key part of keeping sick patients healthy. Many hospitals hold the cleaning staff in high regard as part of the health and safety team because their work saves lives by being reminded how important their job is. These hospital workers worked for a higher purpose than just cleaning trash. Purpose can motivate you and push you to do a better job when you otherwise might be tempted to slack off.
A key characteristic of high achievers is grit. Grit simply means how the power of passion keeps you working at long-term goals even when things get hard. Angela Duckworth, a researcher and psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, found that there's a science behind accomplishing hard things. That there are gritty people who keep going when others quit. They drew up on a greater purpose for inspiration and motivation during challenging times. Your greater purpose might be to provide a good life for your family, to support them, help them, and care for them. It could be making beautiful art that makes people smile, cry, laugh, and feel more connected to one another. The author's purpose of the book, Peak Performance, is to help people discover how they can get the most out of themselves in a healthy and sustainable way and prevent the next case of burnout, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness. They literally wrote the book for you to have a better life.
If you want to find and develop your own purpose, follow these steps.
Step one, select your core values. Core values are your fundamental beliefs and guiding principles. It's your top priority. It's the one thing that matters most to you. This is what decides your behavior and actions. It could be that family comes first, hard work leads to success, or it's your moral obligation to help and take care of your elders.
Step two, write your purpose statement. Make it personal to you. This is how you want to live your life. This is what will give you energy and motivation to keep going when times get tough. It could be that you want to make your parents or your family proud. You'd never do anything to dishonor the family name. So, you always make sure to have a strong work ethic and put care into the quality of your work. Because they provided for you as a child, you want to thank them and show gratitude for their hard work and efforts in raising you. Family is a strong motivator. This is just one example of how it could be your purpose statement.
Step three, put it into action. Now that you've gone through this exercise, you can apply the power of purpose. You should feel like your purpose statement reflects who you are, what you believe in, and feels comfortable to you. Write it down. Put it in places where you'll need a boost, like next to your computer monitor or as the background of your phone. You can narrow it down to a single word reminder, like a mantra. Then at night, make sure to reflect on your purpose before you go to bed. Ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being completely and one not at all, did I live up to my purpose today? If you did, how'd you get there? If you didn't, what are you going to do differently tomorrow? By creating your own purpose statement, reflecting on it nightly, and using it as a driving tool for your performance, you'll build a life in order. When you are living out your purpose, it's the best feeling in the world.
To recap the video, you've learned the science behind peak performance is stress plus rest equals growth. You're aware of how to design your day intentionally with a warm-up, a routine, and being careful of doing your best work at the same time and in the same place. Most importantly, you know how to develop your own purpose statement and live a life full of alignment and purpose. For me personally, the biggest takeaway from the book was about rest. I realized that not working is the real work and I need to take it more seriously. Before I read the book, I always tried to squeeze in one more task instead of resting. Or I would decide to rest on Sunday, but wouldn't plan anything fun, and as a result, around midday, I would get bored and find myself behind the computer working again. I stopped doing such things after this book.
This is it for this video. I hope you learned a few things you can take away today to perform a little bit better. Thank you for watching and if you want to see more book summaries like this one, then check out the playlist you see.