When it comes to athletics, testosterone tends to get most of the attention. It’s often considered the male hormone, but it is present in both men and women. Men tend to have more, which contributes to things like increased muscle mass that are obviously valuable when it comes to sports performance.

If you’re talking about sex hormones like testosterone, estrogen may also get a mention. Generally considered the female hormone, everyone has at least some. Among its many roles are helping your skin stay healthy and repairing injuries, as well as affecting your metabolism. Basically, most parts of your body are going to perform differently depending on the amounts of both testosterone and estrogen you have.

There are hormones in our digestive system that control when we get hungry and when we feel full. Ghrelin, leptin, cholecystokinin and secretin are just some of them. When it comes to things like losing and gaining weight, these hormones have a vital role to play.

Insulin is also a hormone associated with digestion. In particular, it regulates the sugar in our blood, the amount of which changes after we eat. Most people only think of insulin in the context of diabetes, but the fact that diabetes can be life-threatening shows you just how important insulin is to healthy functioning. Diabetics will tell you that they can’t perform well when their blood sugar isn’t working properly.

Then there are the hormones that affect your mood, like endorphins. It’s a lot easier to perform physically when your head is in the right place, and exercise can be a powerful way to release endorphins and give your mood a boost. Performance isn’t just about the physical; it’s about trying to get the physical, mental and emotional to work together.

From head to toe, your body is full of hormones sending messages to different organs and triggering different processes. All of them have a vital role to play, so understanding them and how they work for you is an important step in improving performance.

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It might start with making sure you eat properly through the day so you have the right balance of nutrients and sticking to your exercise regimen even when it’s hard, but there are other ways you can give yourself a boost.

One of those ways is through supplements. These can be used to increase energy, build muscle mass and generally improve your performance. Sometimes, however, snake oil salesmen offer you products that have no scientific basis and may even be harmful if you take them too often.

The first and most important thing to remember is that dietary supplements cannot be used as a substitute for a healthy and balanced diet. It’s in the name. They’re supplemental to the protein, carbs, fruit and vegetables that you need to survive. What supplements can do is give you a little something extra, especially if you have a deficiency in a particular nutrient or hormone. For example, many people use vitamin supplements to give themselves a boost.

Performance supplements are particularly popular among parts of the athletic and body-building communities, where the constant push to improve is an even more intense pressure. They’re generally available as powders that can be added to drinks as well as tablets, gels, capsules and injections.

The kind of supplement you want may vary depending on your chosen sport. Weightlifters need muscle, but long-distance runners need endurance and sprinters need energy. There may also be differences depending on age and sex. If you have injuries, disabilities or other health conditions, you may also need to be more careful about any supplements you take. Research into these kinds of supplements does tend to focus on healthy young men, who are thought to be the people who take them most.

For bodybuilders, increasing muscle is a key aspect of improving their performance. As protein is the nutrient you need to build muscle, that may form the basis of the shakes or other supplements that they take either before, during or after exercise. These are fairly easy to buy over the counter.

On the other hand, supplements that claim to burn fat and help you lose weight can be particularly risky. There’s also a danger when buying online – especially from other countries that may not have the safety regulations that we do – that suppliers may add dangerous ingredients because it’s cheaper and easier, despite the risk to humans.

In general, you should be able to get everything you need to maximize your daily performance from your diet. If you do choose to try supplements, make sure you do your research first. Always buy from a trusted seller, follow any dosage instructions, and talk to your doctor, dietician, coach or trainer if you have any doubt.

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This doesn’t mean you have to do something every day. Rest days are just as important as active days in maximizing your achievements. You need to find a pace that suits you and where you are at the moment while enabling you to pursue what you want in the future.

When you first start a new routine, it’s hard. Your body and mind protest, and you might just take any excuse to skimp on what you’re supposed to be doing. If you can make that initial push, however, you’ll quickly find it becoming a habit once you get going. Before you know it, you’ll miss it if you skip your morning run or your balanced meals.

A good day starts from the moment you get up. You might want to grab an extra hour in bed, but that extra hour is full of opportunities to do more. Make sure you have a proper breakfast; no one works at their best when they’re hungry. If you want the energy to get through the day and all the things you want to achieve, you need fuel.

It’s not just breakfast, either. Every day, you need to schedule regular meals and snacks to give you energy, build muscle and make sure you have all the nutrients you need. You don’t have to cut out chocolate or alcohol, but you do need balance and moderation to keep your body – and therefore your daily performance – in its prime.

When it comes to exercise, start small. Shorter, less intense sessions are fine if they’re all you can manage, as long as you push yourself to improve. Take it one day at a time, and soon you’ll realize that you are getting better. You’ll run for longer without getting out of breath. You’ll lift heavier weights. You’ll stretch further than you ever have before. That’s all something you can measure on a daily basis, as long as you have the routine established.

By the time you’ve been through work and school as well as your preferred exercise, you’re probably going to be pretty tired. Yet another way to maximize your daily performance is to make sure you get enough sleep. Go to bed at a reasonable time, preferably with a wind-down period beforehand when you start to relax. Put your phone and other screens down. If you want tomorrow’s performance to be better than today’s, you need to prepare in advance.

As your physical condition improves, so will your mood. You’ll feel more positive and energetic, which in turn means you’ll be empowered to continue your physical routine. Physical and mental health are closely linked, so maximizing your daily performance is a way to help both aspects.

If you have any doubts about your daily routine, especially if you have an injury or other health condition that might limit your performance, always consult your doctor or another professional. They may even be able to help you make an effective daily plan.

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Routine. It’s a hard thing to get into, but once it’s there, it can be invaluable in keeping you on track. That means making sure that every day is structured. In addition to those things you can’t avoid – work, school, family commitments – you can find time to exercise, or conversely, take a rest day between two bouts of intensive exercise.

Get your routine right and it won’t just help improve your physical performance, but it will put you in the right headspace to make the most of every workout. You’ll be less distracted and think more clearly, which in turn allows you to plan your exercise sessions more effectively.

This means that you can’t just think about daily performance, but how it will impact on your weekly and monthly results. What you do today depends on what you did yesterday and should help prepare you for tomorrow. In the week as a whole, you know you need to fit in a certain amount of cardio, a certain amount of muscle work and a certain amount of rest. That means each day should be designed to contribute to the whole.

It’s not just about the exercise itself, either. What time are you getting up and when are you going to bed? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you make sure you have a proper breakfast before you start? If you don’t, it’s going to be hard to have enough energy to make it through the day. If you want to improve your muscles, you’re going to need protein as well. Eat after you’ve exercised, too, to help replenish those nutrients you’ve just burned.

As the day goes on, you’ll want to make sure you schedule breaks and snacks to keep you bright and energetic. Otherwise, there will come a point in the afternoon when you run out of steam despite still having work to do. If you’ve got a job, try to find time to at least get up and take a bit of a walk. Light stretching is possible even when you’re stuck at your desk.

After a long day, planning another exercise session may be the last thing on your mind. You want to rest and recover. This is where having that schedule already set up comes in handy. You don’t have to think about it; you just have to stick to the routine.

When it’s time to go to bed, go to bed. Don’t lie there browsing through your phone. Give yourself time to wind down properly. Different people have different preferred sleep schedules, but once you figure out what works for you, you need to stick to it. If not, the previous day’s work may not be as effective and you won’t be properly prepared for the next day.

Always talk to your doctor or another professional when planning an exercise regimen or making major changes to your diet. That’s especially true if you have pre-existing health problems or haven’t tried this kind of daily routine before.

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Unfortunately, though, in our quest for the max performance every day, we tend to make a lot of mistakes. Even I’m guilty of some of the common missteps below!

A lack of clear vision

When you’re always trying to be more productive, it is easy to find yourself so focused on getting things done better and faster that you forget why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place. When you use time management tools to fill up your schedule and a system to tackle your daily to-do list, it’s not surprising when you get lost in the mix.

You have to ask yourself if you want to be just efficient or both efficient and effective? If you want the latter, you need to make sure what you are doing is worthwhile.

Too much multitasking

Multitasking used to be the big thing. Remember how much you admired someone who could watch the news, text and fold laundry all at the same time?

Well, as it turns out, multitasking isn’t all we thought it was. As noted by McGraw Hill, people who multitask tend to lose their focus more often and tend to be less productive over time (https://www.mheducation.com/highered/insights-ideas/multitasking-helpful-or-harmful.html). You may have noticed that when you try to do several things at once, you make more mistakes and have to keep reviewing what you are doing as you switch back and forth, which eats up more time.

If you’re already in the habit of multitasking, now is the time to make some changes. Keep in mind that although you may feel you are getting less done at first, you will see results over time.

A ton of projects

The more efficient you become, the more things you’re going to want to get done. This happens to everyone, but it’s a trap. If you start too many things at once, you will find yourself struggling, and this can even lead to burnout.

Instead of starting a million projects at once, make a project list and go one by one. You’ll be able to avoid overworking yourself and the guilt that comes from having too many unfinished irons in the fire at one time.

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We all have the same 10,000 or so minutes each week, my friends. But some people can change the world in that time while others just manage to change their socks. Being able to use your time as efficiently and effectively as you possibly can is what will drive your success. If you are ready to boost your daily performance and see a real spike in your productivity, try the simple changes in your life below.

Become a creature of habit

Set up a daily routine–almost like a ritual of sorts–that empowers you and helps you make the most out of your day. Get out of bed, leave for work, eat, work out and hit the hay at the same times each day. Having a set routine will keep you energized, and if yours allows for enough sleep and a good diet, you’ll also be able to reduce your stress levels. When you’re less stressed, you’ll be able to get more things done, and you’ll feel a lot better, too!

Take better care of yourself

Take care of yourself first before you take care of others. While this may sound selfish, you really can’t do the maximum possible for others if you’re not taking good care of yourself. Some people read in the morning, while others work out or meditate; you may need to experiment to determine what works best for you. Your routine should help get you into a stress-free mindset before you take on your day. As a bonus, you’ll find that you will be able to better manage tasks and prioritize later in the day.

Eat a diet for energy

Aim for a diet chock-full of steamed or raw veggies and lean proteins. For cooking, use healthy fats such as coconut or olive oil, and aim to drink at least eight glasses of water each day. Make sure your diet is full of the foods needed to keep you healthy and strong, and be wary when it comes to everything else.

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Don’t settle for anything less than the best from yourself. Try the five ways to boost your performance each day below.

Become a creature of habit

A daily routine can be empowering. Wake up, go to your job, eat, exercise and go to sleep around the same time each day. When you have a routine in place that allows for a healthy diet and the right amount of sleep, you’ll decrease your stress and improve your well-being.

Take care of yourself

Your daily routine may place everyone else above yourself, but that’s not the way to go if you want to achieve your best. When you take care of yourself first, you ensure you have your best to give to others. Work out in the morning, read or meditate; do whatever you prefer to do for self-care. This will let you begin your day with less stress so you can manage and prioritize better throughout the day.

Eat an energy-focused diet

Steamed veggies, raw veggies and lean protein are the hallmarks of a healthy diet for energy. Healthy fats, such as coconut and olive oils, should become your cooking go-tos. Drink at least eight glasses of water each day. Focus on foods that will keep your body healthy and strong, and be cautious when it comes to everything else.

Work out regularly

There really is no downside to good daily exercise. It will help you release stress, boost your mood, increase your energy and improve your stamina. If you don’t have a regular workout routine, now is the time to create one and stick to it!

Schedule daily downtime

No matter how ambitious you are, you will burn out if you go too hard for too long. Set aside some free time–completely free of work or business activities–each day. Humans simply were not built to be “on” all the time, and if you try to cram work in constantly, you will find your focus and attention drifting, with less-than-desirable results. You may need to trim something else from your schedule to make this happen, but the results will be worth it.

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