You’ve heard the story before — the one about the entrepreneur who stays up all night, sleeps less than four hours, then gets up at the crack of dawn to crush another 80-hour workweek.
We respect this entrepreneur and love the grit. We admire the determination, work ethic and no quit attitude. This entrepreneur is a warrior, unfazed by time or physical and mental needs. At times, we wish we could be more like this entrepreneur — but deep inside, we know we can’t be that way, and we shouldn’t. The good news is that this legendary entrepreneur is more myth than reality.
It’s time that we put an end to the idealized notion that successful entrepreneurs are super humans who don’t need to eat, sleep, relax or have a little fun once in awhile. In order to take care of business, we first have to take care of ourselves. What follows is a set of tips I use to hack my productivity by putting a focus on the management and enhancement of my energy and mood so I can maximize my effectiveness and productivity, both in business and personally.
1. Sleep as late as you need to (when you can!).
Sleep is the most important factor that influences your effectiveness during the day, including your body’s ability to fight sickness. A sleep deficit, especially a chronic one, will ruin your decision-making ability, short-term memory and ability to focus. If you’re an entrepreneur like me, you may have the ability to control your own schedule to some degree. This is a luxury you wouldn’t have in a traditional career path as an employee — so take advantage of it. Get enough sleep every single day. If that means sleeping until 10:30 a.m. during the workweek because you stayed up to finish a project the night before, do it. The goal is wake up each day without an alarm clock and feel ready to rock and roll in business and life all the time. Who likes the sound of their alarm clock anyway?
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