Fasting and Productivity; the interesting paradox.
Yes, I know, this may actually sound ridiculous and I know what must be going on in your mind, “I need food to be productive”, “food is the fuel for the body”. Right, and I am not trying to change your perspective. But there are levels to this productivity thing fam and there seems to be a link between fasting and being more productive.
My thoughts are, you need food to remain busy but you don’t necessarily need food to be productive. The truth is “Busy is the new stupid” and that’s why a lot of the time after a long and busy day, we have nothing to show for it. This is my struggle as well and this is one of the reasons why I felt I needed to share this non-technological productivity hack.
How I stumbled on this hack? A few months back, I met Blessing Abeng, long story short, she recommended Isaac Walton’s book “Steve Jobs” to me. The book is all about the late Steve Jobs and how the great company, Apple came about. After reading a few chapters in the book, one thing stood out. Steve would go days without eating or simply feed on apples alone because he was working on a big project. What was more fascinating was that he wasn’t even a believer yet he was using this tool for some reason. I had questions as to why the man felt food wasn’t that important while he was creating something revolutionary and I figured it had to do with relating with a superior level of productivity.
I honestly do not want to bore you with all the science involved. However, research has shown that when you fast, the body tends to convert the fats in the body into energy due to the absence of food. But I didn’t know this till I did my research and that is just one out of the many advantages of fasting. From my personal experience, I didn’t see my body converting the fats into energy rather I experienced a higher level of self-awareness. And that is what I strongly believe is the link between fasting and productivity, SELF-AWARENESS. This can only be attained by being purposeful about it and not merely skipping meals.
One of the things eating heavy takes away from us is the concept of “self-awareness” rather you’re more aware of whatever is going on around you. And this is where distractions get the very best of our attention. This is the truth, eat a lot and you’ll find out you have excess energy to be carried away from the project at hand, thus diminishing your level of productivity. Fast and you’ll find out you’re more consumed by the project at hand and less concerned about what is going on around you. Yes, you have a lower tendency to get distracted when you fast. No wonder many of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs engage in this act as a tool to boost their productivity.
There are days when I didn’t do it right and ended up with headaches. Most likely because I forgot to drink water. But you don’t just dive into fasting, you also have to know your body to get the best of it. There are different ways to fast and it’s important you know how to go about it. So if you want to know more about the how here is a link https://thriveglobal.com/stories/how-fasting-absolutely-skyrocketed-my-productivity/
Mindless eating is another concept fasting helps you overcome. Eating just for the sake of eating and not because you’re actually hungry. This happens to me when I am seeing a movie at home, I suddenly just feel the urge to consume something. Mindless eating has no benefit, it can only ruin us.
So the next time you have a big project to work on, engage this productivity hack for the period you’ll be working and you’ll be surprised at the results. However, it is important to note that this is not a tool you utilize every day but only when you have a project at hand.
Share your experiences and let’s know if there’s more to it than just “self-awareness”.
