The new global workforce often must manage our time—when we work, sleep, relax—considering several different time zones. Alex actively travels across 4 time zones in the US and I often find myself working 19 hour days between my various functions across in Asia-Pac, Europe, and America.

So how do we do it? How do you manage the demands of a global market place and still stay rested, active, and motivated? Here's some tricks I've picked up...

First, and this is probably the most important, learn how to take naps.

When I get my day started at 7am China Standard Time, often go-getter clients in America are still behind their desks thinking about how to make the most out of tomorrow and I have an active queue of e-mails to work through, even though I only went to bed 5 hours earlier, when it was later in the workday in America. By the afternoon, Europe is waking up and e-mails are streaming in from India. When my official work day ends in China, it's just getting into full gear in Europe. Shortly afterward, the day is beginning again in America. What this means is I often stay up very late and get up very early.

When I first started doing this, I just wore myself out. It's hard enough dealing with the constant new sources of food poisoning living in a less-developed part of China, but add exhaustion and your immune system just quits on you, even for a strapping young man like me.

What I found as my work load only increased is that naps are a great way to survive the day and come out of it feeling energetic and optimistic. Work just isn't worth it if you don't enjoy it, and naps are a way for me to enjoy my work again.

The second point is diet. I'm a big fan of Pepsi, packaged coffee drinks, and potato chips, especially when my only food alternative late at night is cold chicken feet from the local street vendor. However, to keep my energy level up, I've found i've had to dump some of the more American-centric diet habits I've adopted. I've taken to using my rice cooker extensively... rice is packed with carbs and it's a good long haul energy source. If I want a little more diversity, sometimes I'll whip up some noodles with soy and a veggie mixed in... a really quick stir-fry.

Diet and sleep are something we hear an awful lot about, and you always hear about how hard it is to do... well, when it comes to personal health I'm probably the laziest person I know, so if I can do it, so can you.