Our current environment is highly taxing on our nervous system and we might feel easily overwhelmed both at work and at home. HIME (standing for High Impact Minimal Effort) is therefore a key concept to produce more with less energy. Learn more in this post.
A few years back, I was working in a big Pharma company, commuting more than 2 hours a day, revamping my house, training at least 4 times a week and… I felt more and more exhausted over time. I then started to learn how to improve my health and energy and eventually became a coach in personalized fitness. Later on, I discovered Biohacking which is a great combination of my scientific background and my fitness practice.
In brief, Biohacking is for me a non-dogmatic personalized approach to live healthier, fitter, happier at home and at work. This includes therefore being more productive.
High Impact Minimal Effort (HIME)
Here comes the HIME concept as we want to get High Impact (i.e. maximal results) with Minimal Efforts. In other words, whatever you do (work, learn, train, etc.), do it smarter, not harder. Key message as well to our kids by the way.
Here are 5 main rules that can help you become a better “HIMEr”.
1. SCHEDULE
This one is obvious. Great productivity comes with great planning. A point to consider here is to plan at several timeframes, i.e. what you will do daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. This should contain a balanced mixed of active work/training, etc. and recovery. If you miss the latter, you will only teach and train your body to be exhausted, which is definitely the best way not to HIME.
2. GAZE OUT THE WINDOW
In his famous article “The advantage of being a little underemployed“, Morgan HOUSEL tells us that the biggest employment change of the last century was the number of careers that shifted from physically exhausting to mentally exhausting (from doing stuff with our arms to doing stuff with our head). The constraints of physically exhausting jobs are visible (which led to the Adamson Act) but the limits of mentally exhausting jobs are nuanced and less visible. Hence we can get trapped in a spot where most of us work a schedule that doesn’t maximize our productivity.
The traditional eight-hour work schedule is great if your job is repetitive, customer-facing, or physically constraining. But for the large and growing number of “knowledge jobs,” it might not be.
The irony is that people can get some of their most important work done outside of work, when they’re free to think and ponder (have you ever come back from vacation saying “Now that I had some time to think, I’ve realized …” ?).
So take time to sit back and relax, especially before planning. It will help you identify the most important/urgent pieces.
By the way, gazing out the window will give a rest to your nervous system which is more solicited when fixing a screen (peripheral vs central vision). If you are as lucky as I am to have a view on a garden, you will as well benefit from the relaxing effect of the green color. Another key concept of Biohacking is to combine stuffs that lead to the same goal/result (here to relax in a few minutes).
3. PERSONALIZE ACCORDING TO YOUR CHRONOTYPE
Our biology and physiology are deeply influenced by the rhythms of Nature, notably the circadian one (day-night). It influences our energy level through the day with peaks linked to hormonal production. This can be negatively influenced by blue light that e.g. can impair our sleep.
In his book “The power of when“, Dr Michael Breus, also known as the sleep doctor, describes 4 chronotypes. In brief, the way we are influenced by circadian rhythm depends on a gene. There are 4 forms on this gene within the population, varying by their length.
About half of the population (called the bears) live according to the 9-5 schedule. Around 10-20% (the lions) are the early birds, as their rhythm is shifted a few hours earlier. About 15-25% (the wolves) have their rhythm shifted a few hours later. The 10% rest of us are called the dolphins and are globally the insomniacs.
By knowing more about your chronotype, you will understand what are the most productive periods of your day and be able to plan accordingly. Keep in mind that your partner, your children and your colleagues might have different chronotypes, so take it into consideration when planning activities with them (key meeting, physical activity, etc.).
4. HACK YOUR PHYSIOLOGY
Now, it is time to perform. The goal here is to do as much as possible in a minimum amount of time. You need therefore to be energized. Put yourself in this state by listening to your favorite music, doing power breaths (to increase your oxygen intake) and moving. Dancing and brain gym are great also to activate both your right and left cerebral hemispheres.
Also think speed. You are much more focus when you drive faster. So learn to write, read, etc. faster. This is also beneficial if you suffer from dyslexia by the way.
5. THINK SYSTEMIC
Another key rule is always to think systemic. Your lifestyle as a whole is affecting your productivity. So watch out your nutrition, your supplementation (vitamins, etc.), your sleep schedule, your time outside, your work environment, etc. Small increments in those areas will most probably have a compound effect.
Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.
Post any question or comment below. I will be happy to answer.
Book a call with me should you want to learn more about my personalized Biohacking program and how it can drastically improve your life.