The Mysterious Science Behind Your Best Work Days
Unraveling the Autonomic Nervous System for Peak Productivity and Well-Being
An online course changed the way I think about my work.
The course is called Nervous System Mastery, and in this post, you’ll learn about a cool way to supercharge your work performance and mood. I will expand on this idea in future posts, so if you like it, hit reply and let me know what else you’d like to know about this.
Our body’s automatic control tower
Let’s begin by introducing this mechanism our body has that takes placed in our autonomic nervous system (ANS). As you can tell from the name, this part takes care of many of the automatic functions in our body, like our heartbeat, breathing, digestion and more.
This system balances our body’s biology. It’s like our body’s automatic control tower. It helps us respond to situations by activating one of two “modes” based on what we need:
fight or flight - preparing us to deal with threats or stress
rest and digest - conserving our energy and promoting relaxation
So like animals, if we feel we’re under threat or need to do something urgently, we rise up or run. And (excluding people who push to burnout) if we feel tired, we rest.
But here’s the part that 🤯 blew my mind:
We can influence the mode we’re in
That’s right. We have the power to influence our mode by regulating some of the biological factors related to our ANS (for example).
Here are some things we can do to regulate our system, switching us between modes:
deep breathing exercises
mindfulness meditation
sleep and relaxation
cold exposure
exercise
I use this knowledge all the time!
If I have a day of writing (I wish for more days), I’m at my best after a good sleep and meditation to get the creativity flowing.
If I have a big day of meetings (many days), I lift weights and have a cold shower to get into a “fight”-like activation.
The best days are when I batch everything:
wake up early, hydrate, meditate
write/create
lift weights followed by a cold shower
afternoon meetings
It’s been a game-changer for my own productivity and mood.
We can use this to develop teams
We use this in our work with clients all the time. For teams in which conflict or friction is present, we help them actively balance their systems. We’re not taking them through guided breathwork or anything (although I know some great people who do). But we help make them aware of this science and how to use it to improve their lives in super practical ways.
The best part about this is that it’s intrinsically motivating. Once someone learns how to do this, you don’t have to force them to do anything. The results take care of themselves:
improved morale
productivity bumps
better decision making
higher quality work output
improved physical and mental wellbeing
Learning about the autonomic nervous system has been a game-changer for me and my business. It’s amazing how small changes in our habits and routines can have such a big impact on our productivity and well-being.
What questions do you have about this?
Hit reply and let me know.