Pleasure for Productivity
We’ve been talking a lot about pleasure (one of my very favorite topics:), and you may be thinking - this all sounds great, but if I’m focusing on adding more pleasure to my day-to-day, how am I supposed to get anything done?
I’m already so pressed for time as it is - I never seem to be able to check off all the boxes on my never-ending to-do list - and you’re asking me to add more to my plate?
Not only that, but I don’t see how this is REALLY going to make a difference for me…
A nice idea, but not realistic.
Sound familiar?
This is something I hear often from women, and the arguments are understandable.
In fact, not adding more to an already overbooked day is something I support women to embrace and practice.
Makes sense, right?
Too much to do = more stress = feeling overwhelmed = the opposite of the Hot, Happy, Healthy Lifestyle.
We’ve all been there.
But what if I told you that pleasure and productivity can go hand-in-hand?
And that MORE pleasure can lead to being MORE productive??
Intrigued?
Curious??
This sounds great - but HOW??
First and foremost, it’s really helpful to broaden your definition of pleasure. In my 5-Day Pleasure Challenge, I invite women to create their very own Pleasure Playbook - a quick and dirty go-to list of things they can do quickly and easily that they are pretty much guaranteed to enjoy.
So pleasure doesn’t have to mean you take off time from work each week to go to the spa, indulge in an expensive beauty treatment, or pretend you love washing the dishes when you really just don’t.
You certainly CAN enjoy some spa time or other pampering, and I have no doubt that you could re-frame the dish washing to make it more pleasant.
But there is a much easier, more convenient way to accomplish this that my guess is you’ll enjoy much more.
Pleasure can be as simple as taking 5 minutes to sit outside and enjoy some sunshine on your face, lighting a gorgeous scented candle while working at your desk, or turning your morning shower into a spa-like experience by adding Mozart and a beautifully scented sugar scrub.
The possibilities truly are endless.
Once we have our minds set to focus on pleasure, we can begin to see and experience it all around us.
So what does this have to do with productivity?
Productivity has a great deal to do with energy and focus.
When you are inspired, energized, and feeling more alive, you are in a heightened and harmonized state where you are able to be more efficient and more effective.
You flow better.
Your day flows better.
One productivity tip gleaned from neuroscience research, which tells us that our brains function better when we focus on a particular task for 60-90 minutes max, is to incorporate “brain breaks” throughout your day.
This means that every 60-90 minutes, you take a break and do something (or nothing) that helps relax and rejuvenate your brain.
What a perfect opportunity to bring in pleasure!!
A brain break can be anywhere from 10-30 minutes - this is the perfect amount of time to bring in activities from your Pleasure Playbook - anything from a guided meditation you find relaxing and rejuvenating, to a walk around the office where you focus on your breath and how good it feels to be moving your body, to savoring your favorite cup of herbal tea.
By adding pleasure to your brain breaks, you are further boosting your productivity - not only do you have the break for your brain, but focusing on pleasure allows you to feel recharged and more alive in ways that just taking a boring old break doesn’t.
The key is that during your brain breaks you focus on pleasure.
So this week I invite you to turn your brain breaks into Pleasure Playdates and notice the impact on your level of productivity.
You may also find your energy levels are better, your mood is lifted, and you are looking forward more and more to your day-to-day.
Want to learn more about other ways adding more pleasure to your day-to-day can benefit you and have you feeling more Hot, Happy, and Healthy?
Click here to schedule a free Discovery Session where you can learn more about my Hot, Happy, Healthy Kick-Start Program and how it can support you in feeling amazing again.
To Your Best Health,
Dr. Kendall Ritz
