Did you know that your dietary choices have a huge impact on your productivity?

Well, I used to think being lively at the work place only needed self-motivation and the right attitude. But how come there are days when you enjoy working and you just keep going, while sometimes you feel morale is below zero? Could it be a shift in mentality or fatigue kicks in other times? While these might be factors affecting individuals’ productivity curves, your diet does have a significant influence on your modus operandi.

You’ve probably heard the cliché “you are what you eat”? Think about the last time you ate junk food. How did you feel? The truth is, junk food makes you tired, slows you down, and makes your brain foggy. Call me a glutton but a bag of French fries makes me feel hungrier! It’s just something I can’t eat for lunch and continue working through the afternoon. In fact, I decided the only time I can eat any sort of junk is if I’m going home to eat straightway – that’s when my wife just called to say food will be ready then.

Surprisingly, I’ve seen many people grab a quick one for lunch. I thought that was before meal prep was discovered but it still happens. People end up eating what’s closest and most convenient around rather than what’s good for their well-being. But, eating right needs planning – not as complicated as planning a wedding – but simply this is what I’m going to eat and on this day. That’s what meal prep is about and it can increase your productivity at work in ways you could not imagine.

Let’s explore how:

Have you heard a colleague ask this question in the mid-morning, “Hey, what are we going to have for lunch?” That’s because they have no idea. And they are going to spend a considerable amount of time thinking about it. Perhaps discuss the options with another colleague. Maybe talk about what they ate the other day and blah blah blah!

This is the time you should be making a customer call, drafting a report or figuring out why the sales aren’t coming as expected.

Not just thoughts, waiting at the vending machine takes some chunks of your time, which quickly turn into several unaccounted hours in a month. These are the hours you could use to complete a task or even sniff closer to your accomplishments.

When you plan your meals, however, you can always rest easy knowing there’s food waiting for you each day. You get to totally focus on more important tasks without worrying about food. In any case, if you feel hungry, you can always pop into the break room and grab your prepped snack and get back to work ASAP.

Your brain needs the right fuel to stay fit and think clearly. This is only possible with proper nutrition. You are only going to excel in doing a task with the right concentration, so you need to ensure you’re feeding your brain well to deliver impressive results. Meal prep certainly enables you to have the right amount of carbs, proteins, fats, and veggies and fruits. Understanding food portioning in itself means you know which foods are essential for your body and mind.

You have heard that the foods you eat directly affect how your body feels and functions. Now, you can’t be a stringent dinosaur refusing to bite a birthday cake brought by a friend to the office. The temptation to snack from the vending machine, stocked with processed sugary foods, is hard to avoid entirely too. You simply can’t evade from eating unhealthy foods every day of your life.

Nonetheless, when you pack the foods you want to eat, you will get the nutrition you need from your snacks and meals. Of course, these are foods you carefully picked, meaning you made healthy future decisions beforehand. Eating what you prepared instead of fetching from the vending machine is more likely to make you lively, refreshed and self-motivated to meet your goals.

Have you ever been doubtful of restaurant food? I’m one person who’s usually troubled about it. Well, that’s because I’m not sure how it’s cooked or what ingredients are used. Having such weird feelings can make you feel down and that means you can’t work effectively.

There’s just the satisfaction that comes with your own prepared foods. You make it the way you like or your personal chef custom prepares food for you. The result is a positive vibe throughout the day even when facing the toughest tasks. On the other hand, you can’t get much done if you have bad moods.

To sum up, meal prepping is a fun thing to do and it can save you hours every week. Translating those hours you could’ve spent in the kitchen into other useful activities is a great move to productivity in itself. You have career goals to achieve, don’t waste time thinking about food or eating unhealthy foods that don’t lead towards achieving your life goals.

You may also be interested in; 10 foods to help you power through your day. Plan your meals for you to stay focused and motivated at work.

Area of reference: https://news.byu.edu/news/poor-employee-health-means-slacking-job-business-losses