Arnaldo is a member of AE’s productivity community, the Dojo. His job requires him to wear many hats, so he turns to the community and mini Dojo courses to help him become more productive in his role.
Since becoming a member of the Dojo, Arnaldo has learned may tips, tricks, and techniques to help him excel in his productivity journey.
Lately, Arnaldo’s energy levels are not quite where he would like them to be. He’s taken a different approach to address this challenge and he’s now feeling better than ever.
Read on and find out Arnaldo’s approach to increasing his energy and why he’s this month’s productivity champ.
Introducing Arnaldo Piccinelli
Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you’re up to.
My name is Arnaldo Piccinelli, and I wear many hats. As a result, I need to be productive with my time. I got into productivity a while back, but more recently, I’ve hit a few walls. More specifically, I’ve had some challenges in the areas of energy and motivation.
What is the backstory that ignited you to get started on becoming more productive?
In order to figure out the best way to raise my energy and motivation levels, I started investigating different avenues available to me. I started with diet, exercise, and nootropics, and I’m now attempting to pull it all together.
What was the epiphany you experienced and discovered?
I just finished reading Head Strong, by Dave Asprey. This book explained to me that no matter how “motivated” I might be, there are other factors at play. The food I eat, the exercise I do (or not), the toxins I allow into my system, such as junk light or junk food, all play a role.
What was the transformation that you experienced?
So I have taken a few steps back to raise my ‘E’ levels (from the Asian Efficiency T.E.A. acronym – Time, Energy and Attention) where it needs to be. I’m just starting to address these topics, but I can already feel the difference. Eating better has given me more energy, as has proper sleep (not just duration, but also quality). In addition, I have been practicing the techniques of the Wim Hof Method (breathing, cold exposure, and meditation), which have helped me be more present, and have slowly been raising my obstacle tolerance.
If you have one piece of productivity advice for someone who is struggling to make progress towards their goals, what would it be?
For someone starting out on the path to higher productivity, I would suggest a big-picture analysis. Usually, people are driven towards productivity because they have a lot to do and not enough time. However, there might be issues that need to be resolved before moving forward.
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Are the activities that are taking up your time leading you in the direction you want to go?
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Where do you actually want to go?
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If you already know where you want to go, do you have a solid plan to get there?
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A relevant side question is: Do you have too much to do or are you just lacking the energy to do it?
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If it’s a lack of energy, is it because you are filling your high-performance machine (your body and brain) with cheap “gas” instead of performance fuel? Or because you are not getting the rest necessary?
Taking stock of where you are and where you want to go will allow you to make progress in the right direction. And finally, it is important to measure how far you have progressed from your starting point than to focus on how far you are from your goals!
Thank you, Arnaldo, for sharing!
Arnaldo is a great example of what we refer to in our community as a “productivity champ” — someone who continuously looks for ways to become better or someone who has a growth mindset. Other examples of people who have succeeded are Lisa and Scott who we have written case studies about.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or distracted, you can overcome that and become a productivity champ too:
- Review our TEA Framework, and become familiar with the 3 Pillars of Productivity.
- Take our super-quick Productivity Quiz, which will give you actionable insight into where you should get started.
- Pick one (only one!) action step and schedule it on your calendar to implement it.
If you think we should feature you as a productivity champ, get in touch and let us know!
