As someone who loves to work, learn, read, and write, I'm always looking for ways to enhance this process. With my research on how the brain works when it comes to productivity and cognition, there are certain hacks you can do to enhance this to its full potential, making your work, hobbies, or anything of the sort far more productive.

The hacks I've learned over the last couple of years to enhance my work productivity as a health coach & researcher have been huge. I consider myself more efficient than ever; I'm amazed at how much I can get done in 2 hours now, which would have normally taken 6-8 hours. In this blog, you're going to learn about all the secrets I use and what I recommend to my clients for the ultimate enhancement of productivity and life.

Firstly, it starts with laying the foundation - sunlight, sleep, low stress, limit alcohol intake, seasonal nutrition, exercise, breathing, and hydration. These are all very important to get down pat. I won’t be going into these for this article, but just know that optimising these means you enhance how your brain and body work, functioning at the highest efficiency - this is important, and then we can add layers to this.

It starts with the perfect sleep

Sleeping well sets you up for the perfect day, blocking artificial light at night, adopting a night routine of something like reading, breathwork, or stretching, and getting to sleep early is how you get it done. Followed by some sort of morning routine involving seeing the sunrise, moving, drinking some water, and showing some gratitude to set you off on the right foot. Then your productive day can begin.

**My office will always be outside when it is possible to do so.**

Your working environment

This is huge. If you can work from home, then this is a huge advantage for you. Working outside, in sunlight or just in the shade, is going to enhance productivity by huge amounts. If you work in an office, there are some tricks you can do - open a window if next to your office and get regular sunlight breaks (like smokers get smoke breaks). Even things as small as this enhance your productivity massively.

I also like to either put my phone on airplane mode or do not disturb with important contacts added as favorites just in case. Fewer distractions = more productivity.

Pomodoro technique

This is by far one of the best productivity hacks you can use - it’s a timer of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of a break. At the end of 4 rounds, you get a 15-minute break. The 25 minutes of work are enough to get some serious work done but you don’t get drained by it. When you hear that timer, it leaves you hanging and wanting to do more, and you are also amazed at how much you got done in that 25 minutes. The 5-minute break is enough to regenerate, and you feel fresh as a daisy, ready to get some more serious work done.

Listening to music

There is no right or wrong here, but it's been proven that music can enhance focus, memory, and learning. I personally listen to whatever I feel like - usually surf rock, or electronic music, or I will listen to 40Hz sound waves or hip-hop beats.

**This combination never fails me ⎯ double shot of coffee + ~200mg of ginkgo biloba.**

Food, supplements, and nootropics

These can all enhance your productivity to great distances if you know what to eat and take. For enhancing your sleep, avoid food at least 2 hours before bed and try taking magnesium glycinate or magnolia bark. Start your day with a decent-sized breakfast, rich in protein. The psychoactive effects of coffee and yerba mate can be harnessed to your advantage, just make sure you don’t build too strong of a tolerance.

Nootropics are a form of supplement that is categorised by their positive effects on memory, focus, and productivity circuits in the brain. As someone who has a decent understanding of pharmacology from my personal studies, I know what supplements and foods work well and synergise with each other. Coffee is a great example here - by having your coffee with 120-240mg of ginkgo biloba, you are going to be able to enter some deep work and productivity. Some others to mention here are cordyceps, l-theanine, cocoa, cinnamon, lion's mane, and ginseng. There’s plenty more where that came from too - start slow and listen to your body.

Use ChatGPT

Embrace AI rather than fear it; leverage it to your advantage. Treat ChatGPT as your assistant, as it dramatically enhances productivity.

A few examples ⎯ if you are writing something, get it to help you edit it. But make sure you use the right prompts so it doesn’t remove your unique language and writing style. I also use it a lot for summarising scientific papers, or just explaining things I don’t know. Use it as a guide, then branch off from there.

Yoga Nidra to recharge

Personally, after I have done a round of Pomodoro which takes around 2 hours, I will sometimes recharge with a short yoga nidra session. This is the perfect way to nap without napping; it resets your nervous system. This one is my personal favourite.

Summary

Prioritise quality sleep and establish morning and bedtime routines.
Create a conducive work environment with ample natural light.
Utilise the Pomodoro Technique for focused work intervals.
Enhance productivity with music tailored to your preferences.
Optimise nutrition and consider supplementing with nootropics.
Don’t fear things like ChatGPT, use to your advantage.
Recharge your nervous system with yoga nidra sessions as needed.

If you’re interested in optimising your health and transforming your life, then please feel free to book a free discovery call or reach out for a chat.

How I Supercharged My Productivity