Exercising for Business Motivation

I turned 55 today and my brain is foggy and no it’s not from too much drinking and guitar last night. Well ok, maybe a bit. I’m trying to get the cobwebs out of my brain today and know I have not been getting nearly enough exercise this winter. It’s been a long cold winter and I have been stuck inside way too long which causes the brain to fill up with cobwebs making it harder to work efficiently.

To make things worse, today we have about an inch of ice over everything causing a lot of damage and power outages. We didn’t lose our power over night but everything looks like a ice sculpture. Beautiful but deadly if you go out into unprepared. No walking out there today.

Exercise is good for us in many ways.

• It helps us maintain a healthy weight.
• It allows our bodies to run more efficiently.
• It reduces our risk for a number of health problems.
• And it’s good for business.

How can exercise be good for business, you ask? For starters, it helps us to be healthier overall, resulting in fewer sick days. It also makes us feel better about ourselves. And it improves our motivation. I am always more motivated after a good one hour walk. It gets the blood flowing through your body giving you and your brain more oxygen.

How Can Exercise Affect Motivation?

Starting a regular exercise routine takes discipline. Sometimes it’s hard to get started, but once we’ve made ourselves do it a few times, we begin to look forward to it. Working out produces its own motivation. This motivation tends to carry over into other areas of life as well, including our work.

Exercise also works wonders for mental clarity. It makes our bodies healthier, which in turn allows our minds to function better. It doesn’t take long at all to see the effects.

Even short walks can do amazing things for our minds. When we get frustrated or burned out at work, taking a brisk walk can help us blow off steam and take our minds off of the situation long enough to help us regain our focus. And the exercise itself gets our blood circulating, resulting in more oxygen and glucose to the brain.

By the time I get out for a walk to blow off some of that steam I am going to look like a locomotive train going down the street.

How Can I Find Time to Exercise?

Busy business people often have a hard time fitting exercise into their schedules. I am as guilty as the next person. But the benefits of working out regularly can increase our efficiency, giving us more time for other things. The hardest part is getting started.

Working out early in the morning provides a great start to your day. It increases alertness and improves our mood. Exercising early also lets us get it over with so that we don’t have to worry about fitting in a workout later. Plus I love to walk just around day break as it’s like the world is coming to life and has a very calming effect on my while still giving me that workout time.

After the work day is over is a common time for people to exercise. Working out in the evenings is good for you, but it’s important not to do it too late. Exercising less than two or three hours before bedtime can affect your sleep, and sleep deprivation is detrimental to motivation.

If you can’t seem to fit exercise in before or after work, you could start small with mini-workouts during lunch or break time. This will allow you to begin feeling the benefits of exercise, and it can increase your energy levels and efficiency. You may find that the added motivation and energy allows you to get more work done in less time, and then you can start working out before or after work.

Exercise can do wonderful things for mental clarity, motivation, and attitude. All of these benefits can positively affect your business. So why not give working out a try?