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5 simple daily routines that can help you become more productive

The real power in routines is the way they can help us build momentum, break bad habits, our lives and make us more efficient. That does not make you more productive, then I don’t know what will. How do you decide what routines you can and will incorporate into your life? Try out a few of these suggestions to determine which ones you will make a permanent part of your calendar.  Routine helps you in a number of such ways:

• Daily routines and habits boost creativity. Instead, the most creative ideas come from working consistently and putting in the time.
• Routines help you prioritize what’s important. When you schedule your day a certain way of work hard to build specific habits, you are essentially said "this is what’s important to me." Routines and habits force you to think hard about your priorities and make choices.
• Habits and routines drive you forward. More than anything, your habits and routines are what help you see progress and motivate you to do more.
• Habits free up energy for more important tasks. The reason 40% of our actions are driven by habit is that our minds love to conserve energy. The more you can automate the things you do each day, the more mental space and energy you have to commit to more important tasks.

1. Get Enough Sleep and Don’t Snooze

On approximate 40 percent of people in the United States get less sleep than recommended. Not only is this damaging to your health, but it also negatively impacts your productivity. Setting your alarm clock to triple or quadruple snooze confuses your body and disrupts your REM sleep, creating a draining habit. Your body needs ample time to rest so you can give 150 percent at whatever you do.

2. Include exercise on your daily schedule

Several people today understand that physical exercise is good for them. What a lot of people do not get is that in order to reap any benefits from exercise, it needs to be regular, systematic and, preferably, daily.

If you really want to improve the quality of your life you should have at least 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise for per week. It will not only make you feel better, but also increase your clarity of mind, quality of sleep and general productivity.

3. Eat a Good Breakfast

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, so do not be part of the 31 million Americans who skip it. It’ll zap your productivity and take a toll on your health. Even on the road, be sure to break the overnight fast with something nutritious.

4. Re-Energize Regularly

Taking a break once an hour gives a creative boost to those who find themselves on empty. At the end of the day, you may find you out-perform those who don’t take breaks. It’s backed by research that shows combating “vigilance decrement” requires overcoming habituation by “deactivating and reactivating goals” to maximize resources. So, take a short break, meditate and come back to your job with a sense of purpose.

5. Schedule  take more breaks

Sticking with this idea of working with your body’s natural energy curves, we can’t all be productive all the time. In fact, studies into our changing energy levels uncovered something researchers call Ultradian Rhythms. These are 90 to 120 minute sessions of alertness that our mind cycles through before needing a break.

According to sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman, our minds naturally crave breaks after every 90 minutes of intense work. Even worse, when you work when your body wants to rest, it uses our reserve stores of energy to keep up. This means releasing stress hormones to give us an extra kick of energy. A better answer is to actually take breaks when you need them. Listen to your body and schedule regular breaks away from your screen at least for every 90 minutes. If you want to make the most out of these breaks make sure you get out of your chair, take a brisk walk, and try to spend a bit of time around nature as these have all been found to quickly help us rejuvenate and recharge our energy.