TO A NEW WAY OF IMPROVING YOUR PERFORMANCE

The wasted time I spent that evening reminded me of a valuable lesson. Energy is a vital element in any successful working day. If you are full of life, wide awake and ready for a challenge, you are far more likely to be increasingly productive and creative. Conversely, if you do not have enough energy your work will suffer. I was tired when I was trying to write, and because of this I struggled to perform at my best. With this in mind, it is vital to look at the way we use our time in terms of quality rather than quantity. You can pour all your efforts into writing a report, finding the right hire or, in my case, editing a magazine. Yet, ultimately, it is not the effort or amount of time that you put in that counts, it is the results you produce.

Unfortunately, in workplaces across China, energy levels are often lower than they should be. Think about your office. Is everyone brimming with energy? Are they going about their tasks with vigour and gusto? There are hundreds of tools and techniques that you can use to manage your time. These range from things as simple as a calendar or a watch, through to far more high-tech devices such as PDAs or specifically designed computer programs. However, these are all rendered irrelevant if you and your staff do not have enough energy to use the time you can save effectively. So, how can you ensure you achieve your desired results?

Rise and Shine

One of the best ways to ensure you are brimming with energy is to see to it that you get a good night's sleep. Experts recommend a minimum of seven and an optimum of eight hours per night. Failure to get this requisite amount can have dramatic effects. Sleep deprivation affects the brain's frontal cortex, which controls such functions as memory, concentration, problem solving and decision making - all vital in making you effective in your role.

Despite the effects that a lack of sleep can have on the human body, it is an issue that is overlooked continuously across China. Recent reports in China Daily suggest that a staggering 400 million people are not getting their 7 or 8 hours. This problem is very much an urban one. A 2003 survey by the Chinese Medical Association revealed that 38% of city dwellers suffer from sleep disorders such as insomnia, abruptly waking up and night sweats. A recent survey of Beijingers also revealed that 60% of the city's residents suffered sleep disorders in the past 12 months. Nocturnal disruptions are not confined to the nation's capital though. A survey of 20,000 workers undertaken by the Shanghai Workers Health Club in 2004 showed that 70% of office workers in the city had trouble falling asleep and nearly a quarter of those were dependent on sleeping pills.

Sleepless in the City

Of the urbanites struggling with sleep problems, the majority are white collar workers. The intense brainwork required in fields such as HR, media and management means that many employees in these fields often have trouble switching off at the end of a long day. Lu Gan from the Chinese Sleep Research Society gave these reasons as major factors contributing to urban sleep deprivation: "The rapid pace of life, irregular lifestyles, huge competition in the job market, and modern distractions such as late-night TV programs are reasons for some people struggling to drop off at night." A.C. Nielsen's recent report ‘Consumers in Asia - Our Sleeping Partners' revealed that approximately 65% of Chinese go to bed after 11PM and 60% get up before 7AM. The majority of these are concentrated amongst China's urban young people. The consequence of keeping such extreme hours is that, according to the survey, is that almost 45% of Chinese do not get that optimum eight hours.

Sleep problems are widespread in urban areas. However, there is a gender-bias within some of the statistics; white-collar women are over-represented when it comes to nocturnal disruptions. For instance, doctors from the Psychology Department at Guangzhou's No. 1 hospital reported that 60% of the patients they treat for sleep problems are women. Professor Li Shunwei from Peking Medical College argued that this trend is becoming prevalent because women often fall victim to stress and anxiety more easily, which is often exacerbated by having to juggle work and family commitments.

There have been two major surveys undertaken in major Chinese cities since the turn of the century. The first took place in 2002 and canvassed people from Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Hangzhou. It found that 45% of respondents complained of some form of sleep disorder. Four years later, when the second survey took place in the same cities that number was up to 57%.