Graham Allcott and Colette Heneghan - Work Fuel

Welcome to Work Fuel. Were so excited to be bringing you this book, which is the result of a few years of collaboration between Colette and myself. Colette has been an inspiration as well as a fountain of knowledge on the topics of nutrition and well-being, and on developing the habits and strategies for peak performance. Im honoured to be working with her to bring you the first of our series of Productivity Ninja Guides.

Since the release of How to be a Productivity Ninja, Ive spent the last few years spreading the Ninja gospel around the world. If youre here because youre already a convert to the way of the Productivity Ninja, then thank you. But if you dont know what the heck Im talking about, then allow me to briefly explain.

A Productivity Ninja is someone who takes control of their own productivity, with great systems and clear thinking that cuts through all the information overload and inefficiency that seem to plague our working lives. There are nine characteristics of the Productivity Ninja, which are:

Zen-like calm: Having a singular, in-the-present-moment focus for your work, by getting all the myriad of ideas, nags and tasks out of your head and into a second brain (a series of lists that help you manage everything youre working on).

Ruthlessness: Learning the powerful art of saying no to anything that gets in the way whether that be your own distractions or other peoples priorities.

Weapon-savvy: Using apps/tools to optimize productivity.

Stealth and camouflage: Making yourself deliberately less available, so that you can get some work done, away from the noisy world of the internet or the open-plan office.

Unorthodoxy: Questioning the rules and the status quo, and caring less about how you get there than about reaching the goal.

Agility: Being nimble and able to react to changing circumstances.

Mindfulness: Taking a mindful approach to work, whether thats recognizing the importance of meditation and other mindfulness tools, or whether its approaching your to-do list or meetings mindfully so that youre aware of your own emotions or resistance.

Preparedness: Adopting a mentality of preparing and thinking ahead, so that youre organized and ready for whatever comes your way.

Human, not superhero: Productivity Ninjas may often look like superheroes, because so much seems to go to plan. But whats worth remembering is that were all human. There are no special powers or shortcuts to success and we all get things wrong sometimes (so go easy on yourself and others!).

Ive lived and worked under the Ninja philosophy for many years now (after spending the first years of my career as a self-confessed disorganized mess), but Im still human, not superhero.

A couple of years ago, I was finding that while I was sticking to these Ninja characteristics, I was still experiencing periods of very low energy and hence poor productivity. I would often experience low moods, especially in the afternoons, and it got to the point where I realized I needed help. Id met Colette a couple of times before, so I asked her to become my nutrition coach. I didnt really know what kind of results I could expect, but I knew that food and fuel are vital for the brains performance. However, the level of additional energy I managed to find was shocking and I didnt think I was eating that badly before.

The changes for me are permanent and habitual. I probably dont spend any more time cooking or preparing food than I ever did. Many of the nutrient-rich meals Im making are simple and fast to prepare. Whats changed is I now have more of a strategy to make sure the meals Im serving myself are serving my brains functions, too. Id previously experienced a lot of very low-energy days where I didnt feel like working at all, and most days Id feel an energy dip after lunch. Now all thats gone. Ive more or less cut out caffeine and dont feel as sluggish when I wake up. When things get busy or Ive got a lot on, I feel like I can absorb stress like a sponge much like I did in the first few years of my career but this time Im helping myself rest and recover, to keep things sustainable too. And while vanity wasnt part of the motivation for working with Colette, for the first time in my life, friends who I havent seen for a while say things like Youre looking well, or Have you lost weight?, which, to be honest, still feels weird!

For a few months, we had a daily WhatsApp chat, where I would post pictures of every meal and Colette would comment: doing great, but add some more protein in there, switch this for that. Simple change, and occasionally Oh dear. [Sad face]. What this process taught me aside from a huge wealth of little snippets of useful nutritional information, was that at times we all need a push to think about what were eating. Colette would challenge my occasional Im too busy for this narrative and remind me that her own work schedule was as busy as mine (as she sent me back a picture of a salad that had been thrown together from brilliant ingredients).

You eat well when you have good ingredients in your fridge, I remember her messaging me. Ah. I get this now. Ninja preparedness! I wrote about this in How to be a Productivity Ninja. A lot of it wasnt actually about food, but about gently coaching my resistance against changes in habit.

In fact, there are so many crossovers and similarities in the way Colette thinks about food and the way I think about productivity and work, Work Fuel began to feel like an obvious joint creation for us to put our well-fuelled minds to. And here we are.