We live in a world of do, do, do and go, go, go. Our bodies and minds are asked to be focused on our phones, computers, and televisions. Activities that keep our calendar booked day in and day out. It can leave you exhausted, overwhelmed and numb.
Now is the time to make changes in your day-to-day habits to increase your energy. Here are 5 strategies to support you in increasing your emotional, spiritual, and physical energy.
1. Identify the “Energy Robbers”. Energy robbers are external situations that drain your energy. Let’s use the example of water in a glass. If that glass has cracks, then the water starts to drain out and you need to pour more water into the glass in order to keep it full. As the glass cracks more, it becomes difficult to keep the glass full. “Energy robbers” would be like the cracks in the glass not allowing you to be full of energy. The goal is to plug the cracks in the glass by eliminating “energy robbers” in your life. This will help you rebuild your reserves.
EXERCISE: Take a piece of paper and list everyone and everything in your life that makes you feel drained. It can include:
- People who, when around them, you walk away feeling more drained.
- Work: Parts of the job such as answering phones, doing reports, energy in the office
- Home life: Duties, tasks, environmental factors
- Environment: lighting, cooling, heating, air quality, fabrics, fragrances
- Food: Notice when you are tired after eating, or after eating a meal, you feel bloated
The next step is to ask how you want to shift the “energy robbers” into “energy givers”. Look at your list on the piece of paper and ask yourself the following questions for each one:
- Can you change the situation?
- Can you change yourself to adapt to the situation?
- Can you leave the situation?
For example, let’s say every time you have a cup of coffee in the morning, you are starving an hour after drinking the cup of coffee. You can choose to change the situation by not having the cup of coffee and instead drink a cup of herbal tea noticing if you are still starving an hour after that cup of tea.
2. Elevate Your Food Choices.
Stabilizing your blood sugar, can increase your energy because your blood sugar doesn’t crash. Constantly crashing your blood sugar can leave you depleted and can create a stress response in the body. The other end of this spectrum is elevating your blood sugar, which leaves you feeling tired and sluggish after a meal. By including a protein, fat and fiber with each meal, you can start to balance your blood sugar, which leaves you more energized.
3. Move Your Body.
Moving your body daily increases your energy by releasing endorphins, which are hormones that increase the feeling of well-being. Daily movement can help build muscle, keep you flexible, and reduce stress. Here are some easy movement suggestions to get you started:
- Get out in nature and take a walk.
- Work with a trainer and start lifting weights.
- Play your favorite music and dance.
- Go for a jog.
- Do body weight exercises such as pushups and sit ups.
4. Watch the Sunrise and Sunset
Watching the sunrise and/or the sunset helps your circadian rhythms. The circadian rhythms are the body’s natural clocks which regulate, sleep, hunger, hormones and other essential processes. When we are in tuned with our circadian rhythms, it can help maintain a balanced sleep and wake cycle leading to more energy throughout your day.
5. Schedule Unstructured Time for Yourself
Unstructured time is a period of a few hours or more where you do not have any planned activities or goals to accomplish. This is time where you can do anything you want such as puttering on a fun project, taking a walk, or reading. The key is to spend this time doing whatever you feel like without worrying about feeling guilty, what other people think, or accomplishing anything.
6. Tap into the Power of Mindfulness.
When we implement time to quiet the mind, it helps the brain get out of the constant thinking mode, which can drain your energy, and move you into a state of calm. In this calm, you are able to reduce the stress signals in your body. Doing it consistently, creates more energy and focus in your day-to-day life. Below are four suggestions to calm the brain and mind:
- Meditation: Allows the mind to relax and release the looping thoughts. It puts the body into a state of calm. Start with 15 minutes per day increasing over time to 45 minutes to 1 hour daily.
- Breathwork: The lungs are detoxifying organs and when you breathe deeply you are also calming the nervous system. Start with taking three deep breaths each time you touch a doorknob in your house.
- Yoga/Tai Chi/Qi Gong: Each of these are great moving meditation exercises to relax the body.
- Daily stretching routine: It increases your flexibility and puts you in touch with how your body feels.
Start with one of the suggestions and implement for a couple of weeks. See how you feel and when you are ready, take on another piece. It is not another “to do” on your list, it is a way to increase your energy and focus. Start enjoying the moments in your life with gusto!
