Sometimes when a message gets repeated so often it loses its importance.

Over our lifetimes we are told how important a good night’s sleep is that we can easily disregard it, as it is so bleedingly obvious.

With two young children in the house, it is only now I truly recognize the importance of a good night’s sleep.

lack of sleep will make you lazy

Lack of sleep will always catch up on you. It’s so easy to get caught in a trap thinking you have so much to do, that you will carry on. But the reality is, with a good night’s sleep, the work you do is so much more productive. It is a case of quality of work being better than hours worked.

A well-rested individual on a good diet can get so much done in an hour than someone who is not.

When faced with the decision to carry on working or exercise, I often choose work. I fall into the trap of more hours spent working equals more output. I forget though, that there comes a point where I stop being so productive with my time. In an eight hour work day for example, a lot of people probably only spend a couple of hours in really deep, quality work. The rest of the time is spent fluffing around the edges. Jumping on social media, talking to colleagues about nothing much, going on ciggie breaks, or aimlessly browsing. Either because we lose focus, are tired, or are eating poorly.

That is why taking time out to exercise and sleep and look after ourselves is pivotal. We can come back re energized, and produce more output than if we continued to work. Ironically a break in work often produces more work.

If you are struggling to stay focused during the day, or are not producing good quality of work in less hours, then it might be worthwhile analysing your sleep, diet or exercise (or lack thereof) patterns. Productivity is probably the most important factor to maximinsing your income.

Just don’t let your boss catch you counting sheep.

The information contained on this site is the opinion of the individual author(s) based on their personal opinions, observation, research, and years of experience. The information offered by this website is general education only and is not meant to be taken as individualised financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other kind of advice. You can read more of my disclaimer here.