Future Work/Life is my newsletter in which I explore ideas focused on the future of work and how to design legendary careers. If you find it interesting, please share it!
The best way to make positive changes in your work and life is to experiment and track the results.
In January 2021, I wanted to explore the connection between my physical condition and work performance. So I ordered a WHOOP fitness band that promises to help you achieve your goals by measuring your ‘strain’, ‘recovery’ and sleep data.
The results were fascinating and now shape how I design my work/life.
Sleep
Anyone who’s read my book or had a conversation with me in the past decade will know I’m a little too obsessed with sleep. For good reason, of course. Rest impacts your...
Creativity
Problem-solving skills
Patience and levels of empathy
None if which is great news when you’ve got three young kids.
WHOOP confirmed my fears. Although I was in bed for seven hours a night, this often yielded less than five hours of actual sleep.
With the data in hand, what could I do about it?
The easiest first thing was reframing the idea of a daytime nap. No longer was this a luxury reserved for lazy students and elderly folks. Knowing that it only takes twenty minutes to replenish energy and refocus, a nap became a priority. Sure enough, whenever I could squeeze it in, my afternoon performance improved, and I extended my productive workday.
What else did I learn?
Recovery: As expected, a terrible night’s sleep will always diminish performance (to a degree).
Strain: Also, unsurprisingly, improving my fitness positively affected my stamina - while exercising and working.
Energy: But beyond the 'strain' and 'recovery data WHOOP spits out, there’s another factor which has an even greater impact on my energy levels: my sense of purpose.
At the moment, for example, while my cumulative sleep hasn’t varied, I feel fresher than I haven’t done in years, despite getting up before 5am every morning.
Why?
Because I’m working on projects I’m excited about, I feel a huge sense of purpose.
Tracking progress
Therefore, the obvious next step is to consider how to track the things that give me energy and use that to design my work/life.
By creating what I call my Work/Life Portfolio.
Here’s how you can do this too:
Stop for five minutes at the end of the day.
Reflect on what you've done and note down at least three highlights.
Force yourself, even if this seems tricky. Trust me. Before long, you regret missing a day!
By micro-journaling, I’ve captured memories and created a portfolio of the best bits from my work and personal life. The results are clear:
I've become more aware of the activities and relationships that give me the most energy.
I remember much more!
This raises a couple more questions, which I’ll be exploring more over the coming weeks and months:
How can capturing daily work/life insights contribute towards you fulfilling your potential? By which I mean feeling fulfilled and achieving your ambitions.
Can technology help you achieve this behaviour change? If so, what's the easiest way to integrate it into your work/life?
If you’re interested in exploring this question, I’d love to chat, so please get in touch!
And have a listen to this week's podcast with investor Virginie Raphael. She recently pondered a similar question in her newsletter, so naturally I was keen to hear her thoughts.
Have a lovely weekend,
Ollie