Sometimes it's obvious that we need a break, but most of the time we don't realize it until it's too late. If you work more than 40 hours a week without a rest day, Sunday is no longer a rest day. Even so, you'll eventually hit a wall, and it may take days or even weeks to regain the energy, motivation, and creativity you once had.

Fortunately, some of the same strategies that endurance athletes use to determine when more rest is needed can also be used to determine when professional batteries need to be recharged. Overtraining in elite athletes can have the opposite effect, reducing endurance, strength, and speed; in rare cases, the harder the athlete trains, the slower they are.

Similar things happen when we overload. We are trying to make up for the lack of progress we have made. So how do you know the difference between feeling overworked and overworked yourself?

Here are some tips to keep your professional performance at its peak:

Look at your resting heart rate. Take your pulse every morning before you wake up. Fortunately, there are many free apps that can help you do the job. Some even track their progress in the form of a log. ) Your heart rate usually stays at a few beats per minute most of the time. Stress and exhaustion can cause your heart rate to increase in order to supply your body with the amount of oxygen it needs. When you overtrain, it's hard for your body to recover. If your heart rate increases when you wake up the next day, you should try to get more sleep or rest.

Pay attention to how you feel. Having a tough day irritable or in a bad mood? You may not know why, but chronic stress and exhaustion may cause a physiological response that causes your brain to receive more cortisol and less dopamine. Willpower alone is not enough to counteract the effects of chemistry, and in the most extreme cases, rest may be the only solution.

Is your weight right? You lose or gain more than 1% of your body weight in one day. There is a problem here. You may not realize that you didn't eat or drink enough yesterday, or that you don't know how much you ate or drank. When we're overworked and stressed, we tend to pull ourselves into easy, repetitive tasks because we don't have the energy or resources to do more challenging things. We all know that overeating is bad for our health.

Take a look at your output. The color of urine can indicate dehydration. The lighter the color, the more moisture. Drinking more water is a smart move. Maintaining proper hydration aids food intake and energy production. For those who notice their urine is darker than usual, the remedy is easy. Hydrate.

Over time, you'll learn what you have in common by focusing on each of these metrics. Weekends and holidays are the best times to look for signs that work procedures need tweaking.

Don't think it's just an issue for elite athletes. Regardless of our profession, we strive to be our best, but when we hit our workload limit, we're nowhere near our best selves!

Take a little break or sleep a little longer and don't pretend you don't have time. You have to do something for yourself.

At some point, your mind and body will reach a tipping point that forces you to take action. So why not take care of yourself and improve your schedule?