After a long and tiring day, your energy level is completely exhausted. But you still have some pending items on your to-do list to finish. Time management seems more like a torture at this point, isn’t it?
Does any of these sound familiar to you?
1) There are so many things I’d like to do and so much stuff I’d like to learn, but for some reason I never manage to actually do something about it.
2) I want to read all those books on my list, but after work I am left with no energy to do anything at all.
3) After a long and tiresome day, I feel like doing nothing, I simply sit in front of the internet and surf mindlessly, reading and watching all kinds of stuff without any intention.
4) I want to do something for my well-being, I want to explore my passion, I want to do activities that I like. But by the end of the day, I have no stamina left to do anything.
If you also feel that you have a limited time and a lack of energy to finish everything that you want, then you’re not alone. I feel you.
Why Is Time Management Important?
Why We Feel Depletion in Energy Level and How to Overcome It?
Our energy level drops significantly by the end of the day. We lose that initial spark of interest when things become really hard, and especially if they require daily practice.
We all receive 24 hours to spend every single day, but we all have a different energy level. We sure want to tick off all the items on our to-do list, but, it largely depends upon our energy level than time. And still we are always focused on managing our time, and not the energy.
We believe exploring more effective time management techniques will help us. And we almost never pay attention to our energy cycle. This is a bitter fact.
Remember, time is finite, no matter how hard you try to manage it, you still have only 24 hours to play with. We can’t add an extra hour in a day. But we certainly can renew, expand our energy and use it more efficiently to get more work done by the end of the day. More energy means more work done.
Accept the Fall in Energy Level – It’s Normal.
Energy functions in a cycle of expenditure and renewal.
The study of anatomy and physiology shows that each organ in our body spends and renews energy constantly. For example, our heart beat, respiration, blood pressure, brain waves, muscle contraction and relaxation – they all follow this rhythmic cycle of spending and renewing energy.
Whenever there is any disturbance in this cycle, we experience pain. We need to understand the root cause so that we treat the problem not the symptomatic pain.
Please understand that the rise and fall in energy level is quite normal. Renewal of the energy is the core thing and as important as expending the energy. Absence of energy renewal affects our productivity, creativity, thoughtfulness, innovation, reflections and empathy.
Let’s acknowledge this fact that the energy level doesn’t remain constant. And we must focus on renewing our energy level.
So the question is:
How to Renew our Energy?
Tony Schwartz of energy project, says:
“We’re not meant to run at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time. Science tells us we’re at our best when we move rhythmically between spending and renewing energy — a reality that companies must embrace to fuel sustainable engagement and high performance.”
It’s always a great idea to take the rest before you burn out to last longer.
We human beings have four levels of energy: Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual. Let’s understand how we can boost our energy at all four levels to manage its rhythm in a perfect harmony.
Physical Energy
Physical energy is the foundation of all other energies. It is comprised of sleep, fitness, nutrition etc. Your body is tired after long hours of working at your job. Food and proper rest are two main energy resources for the body.
Energy Boosters:
- Blood Work: Lack of Hemoglobin or iron is a major and genuine cause of your weakness. You feel tired early. It’s advisable to do the blood work to rule out this possibility. Why to suffer when you can fix the problem?
- Diet: You are what you eat. The feeling of heaviness after a sumptuous meal is not unknown. Food also affects our productivity. Always, eat fresh and healthy. Remove junk from home (things you don’t see, you don’t eat. Simple.) Keep the stock of fruits, dry fruits or various seeds handy. Chia seed helps with the secretion of Serotonin – a happy hormone.
- Exercise: Yes, exercise does energize you. Not only athletes, but all high achievers include exercise in their daily routine. High intensive cardio, yoga, stretches, or even a brisk walk, help you to re-energize after sitting for long hours at one place. If you’re not doing physical exercise daily, start including it in your daily routine, you will notice your energy level will instantly go up.
- Use Pomodoro Technique: Work in small sprints of 25 minutes and take a 5 minute break. Work in four 25 minutes sprints and take a long break of 30 minutes. During break time simply stand up and go away from your computer screen, drink water, go for a walk or talk to people around you. Smile, laugh or stretch. There are many free Pomodoro apps for android and iOS that you can use. Taking small breaks improve your concentration; however, taking a deep break will even help you more.
Emotional Energy
Your feeling influences your performance. Emotional energy is about cultivating the specific emotions that help with high performance.
Energy Boosters:
- Become Aware of Energy Drain: As the day progresses, we feel our energy level going down gradually. When this happens, we feel tired and negative emotions such as irritation, anger, negativity start building-up in our attitude and sometimes even we feel drowsy. Simply be aware, acknowledge and accept these emotions that alone will save you from unnecessary struggle with your emotions.
- Deep Breathing: Deep abdominal breathing helps to elevate your energy level instantly. Learn Ujjai Breath or Anulom-Vilom (Alternate breathing) it will help you to alleviate your energy level. Deep inhalation helps each body cell to energize with oxygen and long exhalation helps throw out tiredness and other negative emotions. You can also do rapid and short breathing for one minute and then follow by deep breathing. It will instantly help you feel better. Try it.
- Appreciate People Around You: When we give our genuine appreciation to someone, it also helps the giver as much as the receiver. Appreciating what you have and appreciating people around you helps you feel positive.
- Improve the Tone of Self-Talk: Ever noticed the tone of your self-talk? If not, start listening to it. What story you’re telling yourself about you? Make sure to keep the tone positive and encouraging. If it’s negative, discouraging or disheartening you’ll lose interest from everything very soon. Think better, say better and do better.
Mental Energy
Mental energy is about learning to focus deeply and switching intentionally between short and long term goal thinking.
Energy Boosters:
- Avoid Multitasking: We often feel proud in saying “I’m a multitasker”; however, we human beings are meant to focus on one thing at a time. Focusing on one thing improves our involvement and chances of getting the task done soon and successfully. Although, feel free to watch TV while you’re running on a treadmill, but don’t read a book while you’re cooking.
- Clarity of Intention: Your peace of mind comes through the clarity of thoughts. Always have clarity regarding why you are doing what you are doing. Remembering your why will always keep your mind clutter-free and focused.
- Visualization: Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Visualize how would you feel if you achieve your set goal? Happy? Proud? Pumped-up? A thought of success, achievement, progress or prosperity will inject new enthusiasm in you.
Spiritual Energy
Spiritual energy is your higher purpose of serving to a cause which is larger than life.
Energy Boosters:
- Doing what you can do the best to enjoy it the best: Give one hundred percent to the task at hand. Also, do what you can do best, it’ll help you enjoy the task and also remain focused for a longer time. If you do not like what you’re doing, you’ll soon lose your interest and energy both from it. Find something that you can resonate with or explore your passion and see if you can build a career out of it.
- Conscious time & energy allocation to important areas of life: There are three main areas of life: Health, Wealth, and Relationship. To strike the balance among them, you need to spare time and give due attention to each of them. There is no point of putting your health at risk to earn a large sum of money only to spend it entirely to gain the lost health back. Always live meaningful and balanced life day in and day out.
- Living core values in daily behavior: Do you know what you stand for? Is it honesty, trust, truth, endurance or something else? Reflect these values into your daily behavior. Let your core values be the harmonious song of your life which can be experienced by anyone who comes into the contact of your thoughts, words or actions. You’ll be an inspirational source for many. You’ll love yourself and you will feel always elevated
Want more? Here you go:
Reframe your free time: What do you do when you are free that decides your long term future and well-being.
Many people fill-up their free time with junk: They pour junk food into body and junk thoughts in mind by reading or watching useless things on TV or the internet. Junk has no nutritional values. More of your time and energy are wasted in such activities.
Reframe your free time and fill it up with the activities that you want to do. Make a goal and give all of your free time to achieve that goal. Soon your actions will bring desired results for you.
Self-discipline Vs Re-evaluating Goals:
Self-discipline and perseverance are two important elements to achieve any goal. However, if you feel that you’re not able to sustain your interest in it or give more energy to it; feel free to re-evaluate your goal.
Blind motivation doesn’t work here. You need to re-evaluate your decision to see if you’re still finding the same worth pursuing it. If not, feel free to change your decision.
Successful people make a decision faster and change them slowly (only if required), and unsuccessful people make a decision slowly and change it quite frequently…most of the time for comfort reasons. This should not be the case, you should work hard to overcome your challenges, but at the same time, feel free to re-evaluate your goals.
Call to Action:
Remember, you need to work on the roots – the invisible, to change the fruits – the visible.
Don’t waste more time trying to manage your time, it will only result in self-torturing pain. Instead, focus on renewing your energy. Work on the right things to get things right.
