Can exercise improve productivity?
I’ve always heard that exercise can increase productivity, but I never believed it until I experienced it for myself.
I set myself a goal of going to the gym five times a week for at least a one-hour session. I had been going for six weeks when unfortunately, the lockdown cut this short.
However, during these six weeks I noticed a considerable increase in productivity, brain function and motivation that I hadn’t experienced before going to the gym. These are all the ways that exercising has helped to improve my productivity.
Routine
Going to the gym five times a week forced me to get into a routine that I’d never had to have before. An hour session at the gym might not seem like a big chuck of time out of your day, but if you add on the time it takes to drive to and from the gym and the time it takes to get ready beforehand and shower afterwards, going to the gym actually takes about two hours out of your day. Especially on workdays, it felt very hard to find time to fit in a gym session while still eating and going to bed at a reasonable hour.
Therefore, a routine needed to be established. And while a routine helped me to fit in my gym session, it also helped in other aspects of life. This helped with productivity as I built into my routine time to work on my different projects and hobbies. Before I had an established routine, I would always only work on things when I got around to it. When there was no set routine or time to do something, I only did things when I felt like it, which wasn’t very productive.
Now that I have built into my routine time to work on projects and hobbies, I actually work on them more, even though I have less time in my day due to the gym session I now have to fit in.
Its not about how much time you have, its about how you use the time that you’ve got.
Motivation and Momentum
For me at least, there is always a sense of achievement after exercising. Knowing that that’s done for the day, and I can tick it off the list.
This sense of achievement I felt after exercising gave me motivation to continue to tick things off my list, to get them done and out of the way as well. Even if it was just putting the laundry on or replying to that email I’d neglected.
It built up momentum for wanting to get things done. Before exercising I found just starting on tasks daunting and intimidating, so I’d never start, and then never finish. But exercising became the starting point, and once that was done, it built up a momentum that made starting other tasks much easier. My mindset was in a better place for starting a task than it was before.
Mood
I’m sure we are all aware of how exercise can improve our mood through the release of endorphins during exercise. Well, this also helped when it came to productivity.
After exercise I found I felt happier, more relaxed and was generally a more optimistic person. All of this helped when it then came to sitting down at my desk to get some work done. I was happier to be there, I found I didn’t procrastinate as often and if problems came up or something was harder than anticipated I stayed calm, and it didn’t get me down or as stressed as what it otherwise would have in the past.
I found that being in a better mood helped me to achieve more, handle difficult situations better, and had a better time while doing it.
Clarity and Focus
After exercise I always found that I could think more clearly, like my brain had been cleared of all the random and useless thoughts I had collected throughout the day. I felt that I could think more clearly and rationally than I could before a workout.
This clarity helped me to focus better throughout the rest of the day. Not only this but I felt less stressed and overwhelmed, suddenly issues didn’t fell as big and felt like I had a new perspective on them.
I was able to work and function better once exercised has cleared my mind. It set me up for the rest of the day, and the extra focus helped me be more productive.
Conclusion
Overall, I found that exercising at the gym five times a week improved my productivity by:
Helping to establish a routine
Providing motivation and momentum to complete tasks
Improving overall mood and mentality
Providing mind clarity and improving focus.
While going to the gym was my form of exercise there are many other forms you could take up if you also wanted to see if exercising could improve your productivity as well. These could be:
Running
Yoga/Pilates
Cycling
Team Sports
Swimming
Dancing
Finding something that you enjoy and can maintain will be the key to consistency. Consistency beats effort any day!
So, for me, absolutely exercising helped me to improve my productivity and I’m definitely going to continue to exercise for both enjoyment and for improving my overall lifestyle.
Emma