3 Steps for Productivity and Avoiding "The Cortisol Crash"

Productivity and how to avoid stress and "The Cortisol Crash"

Productivity is such a hot topic in this busy age of scrambling to make a living, to deal with all the responsibilities and distractions that are constantly bombarding us. We don't even realize how much cortisol we are always producing.

It's something we all need to consider if we are serious about our success.

The unfortunate thing is that most people's approach is to work harder and longer, which is contrary to what I teach my clients.

The pressure of that approach creates a chronic state of stress on the body and a continuous flood of cortisol - the stress hormone that wreaks havoc in our body.

It's just a matter of time until you are exhausted, drained, not sleeping, feeling like sh*t, and just burned out or worse - depressed, dealing with anxiety, or really sick.

As a brain coach for success acceleration, I'm all about getting the brain on board with our happiness, health, wealth, and success.  I'm all about the mind hacks that get our brain working FOR our goals and not sabotaging them.

With that in mind, I encourage my clients to embrace the way our brain works- to their advantage.

Swear off multi-tasking. Multitasking is the brain's enemy.  Every time we switch an activity, it takes the brain about 7 minutes to reboot itself into "Full steam ahead" mode where you are back in flow and full focus.

Think about the math of this.  Let's just say for simplicity-if we switch activities 10 times a day and it takes 7 minutes to re-boot with each switch, that's about 70 minutes of unproductive work a day, or 6 hours per week which is sacrificed by switching.

You will accomplish much more by doing the following practice. This little technique kills 2 birds with one stone- increasing productivity AND wiring yourself for success!

Here is a simple, game changing strategy to employ right away to start seeing a difference in your productivity that will avoid the dreaded cortisol crash.

The only materials needed are a timer, sticky note pad, a large pitcher of water and a glass.

Overview: Set the timer for 20 minute work intervals of high powered, singularly focused work on 1 task, followed by a Re-boot and Power Up break.

Step 1 - Set a timer to 20 minutes

The brain loves to work hard for about 20 minutes but then it loves a SHORT break to clear itself and ready for the next turbo- charged work session.

Step 2- To help you focus

Write your task- in this case- "Writing a blog post"- on a sticky note, put it on your computer screen and every time you think about something else, look at the sticky note, and label the thought.

Labeling your thoughts and actions is a great mind hack to keep you focused on the single task at hand. 

The three simple labels are:

1. What I'm doing now

2. What I'm NOT doing now

3. Important, but NOT what I'm doing now -

Write it on a handy "To remember" notepad on your desk. Seeing the bright color in your periphery vision and seeing the written words of the task helps your brain focus- it LOVES visuals, which is why we visualize our goals.

It's also why we love Pinterest and Instagram so much.  Visuals trigger lots of emotional charge easily, and when you work with the Law of Attraction, that emotional charge is the secret sauce to making things happen faster.

Step 3- The re-boot and power up break

When the the 20 minute timer rings, stop, set the timer for 5 minutes, take several deep breaths, stretch, affirm you are the CEO of your mind and productivity (the brain loves praise and we need to acknowledge our achievements towards our goals) and drink a large glass of water.  Visualize your life with your success achieved and feel the joy of it.

This fuels your brain and body with the magical elixir of water which most of us are deficient of.  The brain is an electrical machine and water is a great conductor of electricity, so give it what it needs to function efficiently and what it thrives on and loves.

This practice also creates a ritual for re-booting and loving your brain and body during the work day which not only creates success but also leaves us energized at the end of the day.

Dehydration is a huge contributor to why we all are so tired, so making a practice that involves water is big at avoiding fatigue which contributes to stress which contributes to the cortisol crash.

The best part of this re-boot and power up break is that you are actively re-wiring yourself. The brain loves ritual, consistency, and repetition, and the more you create routine in your work day for doing your visualizations and affirmations throughout the day- the more you support your re-wiring for success! Find out today exactly what needs rewiring to boost your success.

These simple #ProductivityHacks will certainly see you feeling happier, healthier, and more successful at the end of your day!

Watch my video "Anxiety Specialist Bambi Thompson and Re-wiring Your Brain" another great tool I use all the time to stop the release of cortisol in my system and re-frame to download success instead of sabotage. 

Grab some more groovy tips that will support your success goals by grabbing my free Anxiety Breakthrough Jumpstart kit below.

You'll learn how to master your energy and inner power to transform your stress and unleash your success! You can also get more powertips by following @ThompsonBambi on Periscope and subscribe to my Youtube Channel.

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Bambi Thompson, OTR/L is a transformational speaker, author, former radio show host, and brain coach for anxiety transformation and success acceleration. Known as “The Mind Whisperer”, she combines her Occupational Therapy training with her own unique mind mastery innovations, brain science, energy medicine, metaphysics and the Law of Attraction to get your brain working FOR you and not against you—ultimately unleashing your ability to transcend limitation, optimize performance, and unleash success.