Why Looking After Your Health Improves Your Productivity
n this blog, I’ll reveal how your health directly affects your time management and productivity. Plus, I’ll share five powerful tips that have personally helped me sharpen my focus, improve concentration, and boost the quality of my work.
Over the years, I’ve learned firsthand that your health and productivity are deeply connected. When I was younger, I struggled with an eating disorder, constantly swinging between extreme calorie restriction and bingeing on sugary foods. Unsurprisingly, this took a huge toll on both my energy levels and ability to focus. My body was in survival mode—drained from sugar crashes and energy dips—making it impossible to stay consistent with my work. My productivity suffered, and so did my overall well-being.
If you’ve ever felt like low energy, brain fog, or poor health are holding you back from achieving your goals, keep reading. These simple yet effective tips will help you take control of your health—and, in turn, your productivity!
Top Tips to Improve Your Health & Productivity
Get Enough Sleep Every Night
Practice the Pomodoro Technique
Keep Moving & Get Out Your Chair!
Get Enough Sleep Every Night
Practice the Pomodoro Technique
Keep Moving & Get Out Your Chair!
Reduce Your Sugar Intake
Drink More Water
What is the Link Between Health and Productivity
Have you ever noticed a dip in your energy, focus, or productivity in these situations?
- Struggling to concentrate after a big lunch?
- Feeling sluggish on a Monday after overindulging at the weekend?
- Crashing after too much caffeine or sugary snacks?
- Getting a headache because you haven’t had enough water?
- Feeling irritable or impatient when running on little sleep?
Your health directly impacts your performance. When you take care of your body, everything else improves—your focus, energy, and productivity. So, what are you fueling yourself with? How are your sleep, nutrition, fitness, and mental well-being supporting your success?
As Gary Keller explains in his book “The One Thing”, poor health habits are one of the ‘Four Thieves’ that can hold you up and rob you of your productivity. As Keller says, personal energy mismanagement is a silent thief of productivity.
Being busy is not an excuse—it’s actually the reason to prioritise your health and well-being. In my conversations with clients and fellow business owners, I’ve noticed a common pattern: many believe they can save time by cutting back on sleep, skipping meals, working without breaks, and avoiding exercise.
But the reality is clear—your health and productivity are deeply connected. When you neglect your well-being, your focus, energy, and efficiency take a hit. The more demanding your schedule, the more essential it is to take care of yourself.
“If you don’t take care of your body, where will you live?”
– Gary Keller, The One Thing
The Importance of Sleep
Is sacrificing sleep worth it? When there’s too much to do, we often work late and cut back on rest. But a healthy sleep routine is key! Self-care and sleep are essential for effective time management. Constant work without rest can harm your health and productivity. Most people need 7–8 hours of sleep each night—don’t underestimate its impact!
As Adam Uzialko writes in his article How Sleep Is Essential to Work and Productivity in the Business News Daily, sacrificing sleep also means sacrificing productivity and, in the long run, your mental and physical health.
As the National Institute of Health says in its article NIH Offers New Comprehensive Guide to Healthy Sleep, Studies have linked sleep to our ability to learn, create memories, and solve problems. Sleep has also been tied to mood. Without enough sleep, a person has trouble focusing, and responding quickly. In addition, mounting evidence links a chronic lack of sleep with an increased risk for developing obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and infections.
In his ground-breaking book, “The One Thing”, Gary Keller writes, “Protect your sleep by determining when you must go to bed each night and don’t allow yourself to be lured away from it.”
As Rachel Montañez writes in her article, 3 Essential Tactics For Conquering Sleep Deprivation And Burnout on the Forbes web site, sleep deprivation and burnout go hand-in-hand. In fact, the National sleep foundation says, “sleeping less than six hours each night is one of the best predictors of on-the-job burnout.”
I used to be someone whose motto was “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”, but after suffering burnout last year, I’m now 100% committed to putting my health first. I now appreciate how a lack of sleep can also have serious consequences and can lead to a burnout.
In my article Burnout – What it is, what the warning signs are and how to prevent it, Dr. Eleanor Akaho, shares her personal experiences of burnout, explains signs and symptoms of it and gives her tips how to recover from it.
“Time management and productivity is more than just mastering tools and systems.
It’s about managing your energy. If you’re low on energy you’re not productive.
Sleep, exercise and nutrition and taking breaks are essential to maintaining a high level of energy.”
Camilla Kragius – No More Hamster Wheel
Top Tips for Improving Your Health and Productivity
Need to improve your health and productivity? These are some of the best tips and techniques that have worked for me!
Tip 1: Get Enough Sleep Every Night
As we discussed above, sleep is an essential part of wellness, and a lack of sleep will reduce the quality of your work and your productivity.
As the Sleep Foundation explains in their recent blog on sleep hygiene, paying attention to sleep hygiene is one of the easiest ways that you can set yourself up for better sleep.
Good sleep hygiene means creating a bedroom environment and daily habits that support deep, uninterrupted sleep. Sticking to a consistent schedule, making your space comfortable, following a relaxing bedtime routine, and maintaining healthy daytime habits all help improve sleep quality and boost productivity.
Tip 2: Practice the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by the entrepreneur and author Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.
When you use the Pomodoro Technique, you will always work in short sprints, which will make sure that you’re consistently productive. I always advocate in my coaching and training on goal setting & time management, that it is best to work in short, sharp bursts. Taking regular breaks will also keep you creative, focused and also free from burning out.
As Dr. Michael Mosley explained in his recent newspaper article, sitting continually is extremely bad for your health and your immune system. Dr. Mosley recommends standing up and walking around every 30-minutes.
Read my blog Why Pomodoro Technique Increases Your Productivity, to find out how it will transform your time management and help you be more productive, especially if you are working from home.
Tip 3: Keep Moving & Get Out Your Chair!
When you take your Pomodoro breaks, don’t forget to get out of your chair and go for short walks, especially if you do a lot of sitting or computer work.
As the Weight Loss and Healthy Lifestyle Coach Anne Larchy explains in my latest book, How To Work From Home : Whilst Staying Productive, Healthy and Sane:
“Working from home we’re much more seated, and often seated on regular chairs and not proper desk chairs, our hip flexors, lower back and shoulders really need attention. Make sure you don’t skip the stretches, otherwise the aches and pains will kick in sooner rather than from old age.”
Tip 4 : Reduce Your Sugar Intake
You may be surprised to learn that your health and productivity can be improved by reducing your sugar intake. We all realise that when we eat well, we feel better. However, did you know that we also think and perform better?
According to a recent UCLA study, “sugar forms free radicals in the brain’s membrane, compromising our nerve cells’ ability to communicate”. This causes a “foggy” or “out of it” feeling. The study drew strong connections between sugar intake and a reduction in how well we remember instructions and process ideas.
Eat more high protein and high fibre foods, like almonds and lentils, to help you focus and help curb your sugar cravings.
Tip 5 : Drink More Water
I start every day with a cup of hot water and lemon as part of my Magic Morning Routine. I find it really cleanses and hydrates me. After a long time without hydration whilst we are asleep, it is important to make sure we rehydrate our bodies first thing in the morning.
As the Habit Growth article The Unexpected Benefits Of Hydration On Productivity explains, there are countless physical and mental health benefits of staying hydrated. The human body is made up of approximately 70% water, with certain organs containing much higher ratios than this, so a hydrated body is a healthy body. Dehydration can lead to lack of energy, difficulty in concentrating, and mental alertness, which will effect focus & time management. Dehydration also can lead to headache & dizziness, negative mood and interfere with a person’s ability to think rationally. A 2013 study by the University of East London showed, that drinking water resulted in a 14% increase in productivity.
Most experts agree that drinking at least 2 litres of water a day will prevent dehydration, although I always drink more. Of course, other beverages (except alcohol) help you to hydrate too, but they often contain loads of sugar, and those sugar dips do NOT do you any good! Although research has proven that low to moderate caffeine intake does not have a negative impact on hydration, you should not drink more than 4 cups of coffee a day.
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Further Reading
Have you heard of the Pomodoro Technique of time management? Read my blog Why the Pomodoro Technique Increases Your Productivity, to find out how it will transform your time management and help you be more productive, especially if you are working from home.
Are you suffering from burnout? Are you exhausted and irritable? Are you showing the early signs of burnout? In the article, Burnout – What it is what the warning signs are and how to prevent it, Dr. Eleanor Akaho shares her personal experiences of burnout, explains signs and symptoms of it, and gives her tips how to recover from it.
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This article is written by Alice Dartnell, life and success coach of Alice Dartnell Limited. Alice empowers busy professionals to be successful, transform their lives and achieve more by improving their confidence, mindset and time management.
For more information please see www.alicedartnell.com
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Disclaimer
This blog is published by Alice Dartnell Limited solely for educational and entertainment purposes. The author and publisher are not offering it as legal, accounting, health care or other professional services advice. While best efforts have been used in preparing this blog, the author and publisher make no representations or warranties of any kind and assume no liabilities of any kind with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or incidental or consequential damages caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained herein. Every person and company are different, and the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. Alice Dartnell or Alice Dartnell Limited is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised in this blog. You should seek the services of a competent professional as appropriate. You are responsible for your own choices, actions, and results. Always consult your own General Practitioner if you’re in any way concerned about your health.
