8 Ways To Protect Your Energy
It’s a holiday week, yay!!! And sometimes that means we have to cram a whole lot of work and errands into four days instead of five. With all of the busyness coming at me this summer, I have had to be very intentional with what I give my energy to. Energy leaks are everywhere - a cluttered kitchen, loads of laundry, unanswered emails, etc.. - and leaks can also be a result of our reactive behaviors, thinking we have to own every problem, and giving some people’s chaos more attention than it deserves.
Here are a few things I am practicing this week to keep my peace and protect my energy so that I have enough to do the things I love ie. being present at home, writing and keeping this house in check!
Start your day before life takes over. This can be as simple as taking a couple of breaths before you get out of bed, setting an intention for the day, or not touching your phone for a few minutes after your wake. Whichever your choose, try to be consistent!
Start your day before life takes over. This can be as simple as taking a couple of breaths before you get out of bed, setting an intention for the day, or not touching your phone for a few minutes after your wake. Whichever your choose, try to be consistent!
Be selective about what deserves your attention. Not every email or call needs an immediate answer. I don’t need to own every problem or emergency at work.
I am also not a “clean all day” kind of person. I compartmentalize - clean the kitchen after meals, do laundry at a certain time, etc… If I don’t do that, than it all seems like a “now” problem rather than something that can wait a little bit.
Choose one thing to simplify or automate. I’ve heard that certain high-functioning people (like presidents, speakers and even Oprah) simplify their life by taking unnecessary decisions out of the equation. This frees up brain power and makes their life easy in some areas. They do this by sticking to a certain outfit formula every day, eating the same thing for lunch every day, getting up at the same time every day, etc….
Some examples of how to do this in the day to day is have the same dinner for the family every Tuesday (tacos!) and Friday (pizza!). Set aside a designated time to answer emails at work. You can even do this in your expectations by deciding that a twenty minute walk counts for your exercise for the day.
Learn to identify what is in your control and what is not. Focus on changing what you can and let the other stuff go. The weather that rains out the game? We can’t control that. How we react to the delay? We can.
Pay attention to who and what leaves you depleted. We can’t cut everyone out of our lives or get rid of all of our tasks (laundry lol!), but we can have awareness to these things and edit where we can. There is a certain person at work that just drains me. I do need to interact in a professional manner on certain projects, but I keep it at that. I don’t engage or further the conversation when there are unnecessary complaints, grievances, etc…
Remember the energy we put out is the energy we receive. Referencing the previous point, if we engage with every negative person or ruminate on everyone who has done us wrong, or every annoying person at work - we are putting negative energy out there and that will spiral back to us.
Take the time to prioritize movement every day. This can be as simple as taking a short walk or doing an evening stretch. If you don’t have the time to spend hours at the gym, build in a routine that works for you. Physical activity has been proven over and over again to sustain energy levels in the long run.
Sleep!!! This is one of my favorite self-care things to do so I rarely have trouble prioritizing this - but I know many my high-functioning Type A, B, C and D people see this differently and often sleep is the last priority after everything in the day has been finished. If you are tired and depleted, everything snowballs. You are too tired to exercise and make good decisions, you tend to be more reactive, etc… so if this is something you need to address, make it a focus.
Here is a bonus that goes along with the point before this. I, especially in this perimenopause (ughhh!) stage, find myself laying in bed, unable to go to sleep. Or, waking up at 2 or 3am and not able to go back to sleep! This doesn’t always help, but setting the stage sets you up for success, not failure:
Offload before you go to bed. This can be a list of things to do the next day that you put in your notes app. This can be a journal dump of everything you need to get out of your head. Read. Read a story to your child. Or this can even me a minute or two in a yoga pose. Anything that gets your mind to transition from the day to bedtime will help!
Lots of love,
Joanna