Later in this book, we're going to look in depth as to how you can go about changing your body to give yourself more energy. That will mean boosting your energy levels through the roof by changing what you eat, changing how you train and changing how you sleep.
But before we get to that, let's focus on something much quicker and much more immediate: let's focus on using that energy you already have in a much more productive way. This is energy management and if only more people focused on this rather than time management, we'd actually have a hugely more energetic and youthful society.
The Energy Cycle
The first thing you need to understand about managing your energy levels, is that energy begets energy. That is to say, that if you're smart with your energy management, it will ultimately yield even more energy for you.
On the other hand though, if you go about energy management in the wrong way or you don't think about it properly, then you will have low energy that gets worse.
Let's look at it this way. Say you wake up in the morning with zero energy. As a result, you're likely to wake up late, rush out the door stressed, get to work, work slowly, finish late, come home late and stressed, throw on a microwave meal, sit in squalor and then go to bed late. And guess what? After that hectic day, you're actually going to have even less energy tomorrow.
On the other hand, imagine that you wake up with lots of energy. As a result, you get to work on time after a slower morning, you finish your work on time and you leave in time to eat well and do a workout. As a result you give yourself much more energy and you sleep a lot better. This leaves more energy for tomorrow.
So the point to bear in mind is that your energy levels are deeply ingrained into your routine and they have likely become self-sustaining. If you're not happy with where they are at this point, then that means you need to look for ways to break the cycle with a positive change.
The best way to do that right away is by taking a day off, or having a weekend where nothing is planned. Better yet, tell your boss you need some help on your current project. The point is, you need to give yourself a break and this will ultimately give you a chance to catch up and to manage your time better next time.
Energy: A Finite Quantity
At the same time, it's simply important to start looking at energy as a finite quantity. Stop asking yourself whether you have time to fit something in and instead ask yourself whether you're going to have the energy to fit that same thing in.
This means right away that sometimes you're going to have to turn down invitations to go out. If you always say yes to friends when they invite you to go for drinks etc., then eventually you'll run yourself into the ground and you'll have no free evenings to allow yourself to catch up.
Likewise, if you currently are a member of five after work activities, it might be time to cut one of them back.
Similarly, remember that you can't just work late and expect there to be no consequences. You will pay for it later so if you work harder now, you need to have a slower morning tomorrow. If you can't do that, then you've taken on too much work and you need to scale back.
Finding the Energy Drains in Your Routine
And with this in mind, it of course makes sense to ensure that you aren't wasting energy at any point in your routine. If you are losing energy at any point on a daily basis doing things that aren't necessary – or that could be made easier – then this is a great place to start getting energy back.
Here are some examples of common 'energy drains' in our routines that could be replaced…
The Commute
As we will see later, stress is one of the biggest drains on our energy that there is. And there are few things more stressful than a commute into work. In fact, psychologists believe that 'having people walk at you' is the only universal fear across all cultures. When you walk to work, you have countless people walk at you!
Add to this the fact that you're often running late, the fact that you're crammed onto a bus or tube/stuck in traffic… and you have a recipe for stress.
The solution is to change this routine. You can do this by changing the way you get into work (consider driving if you currently train it in, or cycling which can become your exercise as well).
Alternatively, you can do it by leaving earlier or later to avoid rush hour. It might feel worse but in the long run you will save a lot of energy.
Household Chores
How long are you spending every week washing up and ironing? How much energy do you think that's draining?
There is a solution: and that's to simply automate or outsource your household chores. If you can afford a cleaner, then you'll probably find they are worth every single penny – especially because we feel less stressed in clean environments and thus save a lot of energy that way.
Just as effective in many ways though is to get a washing machine to wash your clothes, a steamer to remove wrinkles from your shirts, a robotic vacuum cleaner to clean your house etc.
Decisions
Did you know that making decisions taxes your energy? Some serious productivity gurus actually avoid making decisions whenever possible because they believe that they use up their ability to make good ones. Steve Jobs was the classic example of this: he would wear the same black top and jeans every single day to remove the stress of choosing what to wear in the morning!
You don't have to go that far but if you set yourself an eating plan and set yourself out clothes for the week, then both these things can help you to save a lot of time.
When you're at work, your e-mail is probably a big source of stress and energy consumption – especially if you find yourself checking it every five minutes. One solution is to make a rule that you only check e-mail twice during the day. Another is to consider getting a smartwatch which will show you your notifications without you having to bring up your Gmail account/Outlook.
There are many more little changes you can make like this and they can all help you reduce stress and energy usage throughout your day. So try running through your normal routine in your head and during this process, identify all the points that you find stressful and tiring. Now just eliminate those!
Kaizen
At the same time, there are plenty of little things you can do to give yourself more energy which will give you cumulative improvements throughout the day. When you're stuck in a rut with bad habits for your energy, sometimes the little changes are the easiest to make.
For instance, if you aren't getting enough sleep, try going to bed literally just 10 minutes earlier. If you find yourself tired from the commute, try getting a slightly lighter bag to take with you. If you hate ironing, try wearing
more 'easy iron shirts'. Instead of having that coffee in the morning, swap it for a smoothie – it costs the same and as we'll see later, it's packed with goodness and energy.
These are tiny changes but they all add up! Making small changes like this is what is known as 'kaizen' and it makes a huge difference.
Open Loops
As we've mentioned already, stress is highly responsible for our low energy and this uses up a lot of mental and physical bandwidth that we could otherwise channel elsewhere.
And what makes matters worse, is that when we have low energy and when we are stressed, we tend to avoid the things that are making us stressed rather than getting them out of the way.
Consider what are known as 'open loops'. These are all the little jobs that you need to do but keep putting off – things like calling your grandma to thank her for the money, or sending an awkward e-mail at work that you might get shouted at for.
But the thing is, the longer you leave those loops open, the more they're going to play on your mind and drain your energy throughout the day. So instead of putting them off, you need to get them out of the way as soon as possible – this way, the only things taking up your mental bandwidth, will be the 'big jobs'. Make a commitment to dealing with annoying niggles right away!
Ebbs and Flows
Another thing to consider when managing your energy is that you will always have natural ebbs and flows.
This is partly due to our body's natural rhythms. In the morning, you will wake up with a high amount of cortisol and norepinephrine. Throughout the day, you will accumulate adenosine which will make you tired and slow you down. As it gets darker, your brain will produce more GABA and melatonin and eventually you will fall asleep. Interestingly, you also have a 'lull' at about 4pm and all of us will have more lulls that will be caused by our routines and activities.
The point is, that even if you have high energy, there are still going to be points where it will feel lower. Likewise, those who have low energy will have points where it is relatively high. The trick is to learn your own ebbs and flows and then rather than fighting them, to embrace them and utilize them to your advantage.
A lot of people will find that when they come home from work, the first thing they do is to sit down on the couch and turn on the TV. If you eat in front of the TV, then you'll find that this is a particularly dangerous point when it comes to energy levels. At this point, you are telling your body and brain that you're finished for the day and you can unwind. Then, when you've eaten, your body will be using its energy to digest. It's probably dark in the room and you probably will find that you struggle to do anything useful from this point on.
So what's the solution?
One solution might be to do away with that point entirely, by sitting on stools around a table to eat – or even eating outside while it's light. Then get up right away and clear up. This way you can stall that point where your energy levels suddenly trough.
Another option is to simply acknowledge the fact that you won't get anything done after this point. The answer is to eat a little later (maybe have a snack to see you through) and to do any household chores before you sit down to feast.
You should also try and coincide your resting periods with these natural lulls in your energy. At first you can do this simply by listening to your body. When you're tired let your body rest.
There is a saying that goes:
Walk or sit; don't wobble!
What does this mean? Simply that it there's no point being 'half productive' and that you should either be 'on' or 'off'.
Let's say that you have a big project – perhaps you're planning a wedding. Now the temptation would be to spend every last minute planning that wedding, to the point where your evenings would be spent absent mindedly browsing through venues or flowers.
Actually though, you'd be far better off giving yourself some time off from time to time. Why? Because that way you would be able to regain your energy lost during the working periods. By having an evening or two off a week when your energy is low, you'll actually be more productive on the other days.
Not finished yet... Some more coming... wait for it