If you want to reach your peak performance at work, read this.
To become a successful data scientist, you need more than intelligence and hard work.
To be successful at what you do, you need to be in top form.
To be in top form, you have to invest in yourself, and this time I’m not talking about the type of investment that will make you rich or smart but healthy.
You’ve probably been told many times about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, but you also need to know why you should avoid an unhealthy lifestyle at any cost.
I used to sleep 5 hours, sit in front of the computer for a long time, skip meals, and do little (to no) physical activity during the day. I proudly called myself a “hard worker”, until one day I got really sick and had to spend almost all my salary on medicines, tests, and doctors.
What’s the point of having a good salary when everything is going to be wasted on medicines?
A healthy lifestyle will not only help your physical and mental well-being but will make sure you’re at your peak performance when working on what you love.
Here are some habits that are helping me reach my peak performance.
Get enough sleep
Most people are proud of the few hours they sleep (I used to be one of those), but, truth is, you always end up recovering those sleeping hours!
No matter how much you resist, your body will get those hours back. It can be on the same day, the next day, or even after a couple of days.
This is the reason why trying to buy time by sleeping fewer hours is a bad idea. We’ll still lose those hours during the week! What makes things worse is that when you’re sleepy, you can’t perform as well as when you’re well-rested.
As a rule of thumb, keep a consistent sleep schedule and get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
That said, you could sleep the recommended number of hours, but you might still feel tired the next day if you have poor sleep quality. This is how well you’re sleeping. If it takes you longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep, you wake up during the night more than once or takes you more than 20 minutes to drift back asleep after waking up, you have poor sleep quality.
Tracking your sleep might seem overwhelming, but it’s simple when you use an app. I use AutoSleep to keep track of all of this while I’m sleeping. The app creates a report that you can use to stick to good sleeping habits.
Eat well and stay active
I’ve been all my life a skinny guy … until the pandemic hit.
I used to believe that my genes and metabolism will always save me from gaining some pounds. How wrong I was!
Believe me, if you work all day with your computer, eat junk food, and don’t do physical activity, you’ll gain weight (no matter how skinny you’re now!)
How to deal with it? Two things: good eating habits, and physical activity.
Good eating habits
Good eating habits not only help you have a healthy life but actually let you be at your peak performance when working.
I’m not telling you to give up junk food forever, but to eat what your body needs.
On the internet, you’ll find basic diets that will tell you things like “drink 8 glasses of water per day” or “eat fruits and vegetables.” That’s OK, but you should create your own diet plan.
A quick visit to the nutritionist can help you build a plan that tells what food your body needs and when you need to eat them.
Physical Activity
Every second we spend in front of the computer is a second of physical inactivity.
Long hours of inactivity can damage our health, so we should stay active no matter how inactive our work is.
There are simple ways you can do every day to stay active:
Use the stairs (instead of taking the elevator)
Ride a bike (instead of driving)
Take a walk (instead of using those ugly e-scooters that are everywhere!)
If you spend most of your time at home (like me), there’s still a lot you can do.
A few months ago, I subscribed to Apple Fitness+. I think the plan is great for those who want to stay active at home.
There you’ll find easy-to-follow workouts with great music and trainers that keep you motivated to close your rings and stay active! (I know it sounds like an ad)
What I like the most is that you can see some numbers and keep track of your progress. It’s definitely a good start for those who never do exercise.
Listen to your body
Our everyday work doesn’t let us see what’s going on with our bodies.
Although pushing ourselves at work helps us accomplish big goals, it can also have a significant impact on our health. Working too many hours in front of a computer can affect your eyes, posture, and even your mental health if you don’t pay attention to how your body feels.
If you listen to your body, you can take action and make sure you stay in top form for a long time.
Let me tell you how this helped me.
After working, I used to have sensitivity to bright light and glare, especially when walking outside. I felt this was a problem “I could live with“, but one day I listened to my body and decided to go to the doctor to see what was going on.
After having my eyes checked, the doctor told me I have keratoconus (an eye disease that affects the structure of the cornea, resulting in loss of vision).
Thanks to the prompt diagnosis, I could treat the disease by having minor surgery. After a 1-week rest, things went back to normal and I could continue with my everyday life.
Now you shouldn’t worry about keratoconus since mostly genetic factors are thought to be involved in its development. What I want you to take from this is to listen to your body and help it be at its best.
Say you have tired/irritated eyes, blurry vision, or headaches after working with your computer. You don’t have to rush up to the doctor, but at least check what to do to deal with this issue.
If you google such symptoms, you’ll find this has to do with eyestrain and could follow the advice below to lessen the impact of screen time on your eyes.
Blink more often
Follow the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds
Reduce glare
Increase text size
That’s it! Have a healthy lifestyle to be at your peak performance and become successful at what you do.