How do you increase your energy level?
- Thread starter Borisoff
- Start date
For me it boils down to three simple things: rest, diet, and attitude.
First, you will have little energy if you are tired.
Second, you are what you eat. Eat a healthy balanced diet. Drinking excessive amounts of caffine can have a negative effect on your energy level as well.
Third, is your state of mental health. Are you depressed or worrying about something. Being in a positive state of mind is critical.
First, you will have little energy if you are tired.
Second, you are what you eat. Eat a healthy balanced diet. Drinking excessive amounts of caffine can have a negative effect on your energy level as well.
Third, is your state of mental health. Are you depressed or worrying about something. Being in a positive state of mind is critical.
Exercise
Exercise helps exponentially with energy increase. I do yoga and always feel more focused and energized.
Still trying to kick the caffeine rollercoaster. I'm trying to only have coffee in the AM and after 12 stick to green tea or water. That seems to help my energy levels.
Darla
PS What a great idea for a project. Thanks for sharing!
Exercise helps exponentially with energy increase. I do yoga and always feel more focused and energized.
Still trying to kick the caffeine rollercoaster. I'm trying to only have coffee in the AM and after 12 stick to green tea or water. That seems to help my energy levels.
Darla
PS What a great idea for a project. Thanks for sharing!
B
businessnews
Guest
Hello.
I don't think that there are persons with 'low' or 'high' energy. Everything depend on things that you are making.
For example I have a high level of energy: when I'm doing only positive things, when I do sports, when I help somebody who needs me.
So try to do what you like and with pleasure, try to be an optimistic person and find solutions for every problem.
Good luck.
____________________________________________
Online Business Services - BPO offshore company, outsource Email & Chat 24 website support services, news b2b outsourcing
I don't think that there are persons with 'low' or 'high' energy. Everything depend on things that you are making.
For example I have a high level of energy: when I'm doing only positive things, when I do sports, when I help somebody who needs me.
So try to do what you like and with pleasure, try to be an optimistic person and find solutions for every problem.
Good luck.
____________________________________________
Online Business Services - BPO offshore company, outsource Email & Chat 24 website support services, news b2b outsourcing
darlakbrown said:
Yoga is a great example. I use to do yoga regularly but have fallen out of the habit recently. I think I will add that to my project list.
I quit drinking coffee and sodas a year ago. I now have only have two cups of tea a day. It's black tea. I dislike the green teas but am experimenting with other varieties. I am also not drinking tea for the caffine effect but that I find it relaxing and helps me focus.
The Corporate Athlete
I would encourage anyone to look into "The Power of Full Engagement", a book by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. The book's cover blurb reads: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. It's a very nice adjunct to GTD, and encompasses all of the good advice mentioned in the posts above.
You might also want to look at a paper they wrote for the Harvard Business Review entitled "The Corporate Athlete". I believe it can be downloaded from Amazon.
I would encourage anyone to look into "The Power of Full Engagement", a book by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. The book's cover blurb reads: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. It's a very nice adjunct to GTD, and encompasses all of the good advice mentioned in the posts above.
You might also want to look at a paper they wrote for the Harvard Business Review entitled "The Corporate Athlete". I believe it can be downloaded from Amazon.
K
kmhlamia
Guest
Borisoff said:
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so I'm unfortunately all too familiar with low energy. You might find it helpful to check out some of the concepts used in managing CFS.
I've found the concept of baselines particularly useful. Basically your baseline is the amount you can always do no matter how exhausted you're feeling. It's not your personal best, it's your personal worst, if you like. You work it out by doing as many repetitive exercises as you can do in a minute then you half it! The one we've used is sit to stand (sit in a chair, stand up, sit down again). You then very slowly build up your baselines by doing an exercise at your baseline for a week or more and then increasing it by one repetition, gradually you should be able to slowly improve. Obviously this is extreme and you're unlikely to need to go that slowly unless you have serious energy problems.
Regulating sleep and diet are also very important for energy. If you haven't already consider cutting down on caffeine and sugar, they give energy in the short term but, like spending on credit cards, you'll end up paying back with interest. If you can, short walks in fresh air can really help increase energy and 'clear out the cobwebs'.
Frequent rest periods also help, if you can take five minutes every hour and just sit and breathe with your eyes closed you'll probably find it helps a lot. You can do this lying down on the floor or a couch. Obviously this isn't always possible if you're at work but try to find a few minutes to take some kind of break, even if it's just getting up and stretching. Despite what many bosses seem to think, the human body is simply not designed to keep going for hours and hours without a change of posture and pace. In CFS we concentrate on the concept of pacing - you start by mapping your daily activities and grading them according to the level of energy they require, you then try to plan your days so that you're not doing too many high energy activities all together and you're building in sufficient hourly rest periods. Non CFS people can do this in much simpler ways because they have larger amounts of energy to work with - if you know you've got a busy day at work don't schedule a big evening out, if you've got a deadline coming up try to clear the decks at home so you're not asked to put up shelves the minute you get in the door, that sort of thing. It can be that basic.
Anyway, good luck, I hope this helps.
Kirsty
K
kmhlamia
Guest
Oh, one more thing, several people have said variants of 'exercise always helps'. If you try eating more vegetables, losing weight, increased exercise, getting enough sleep and you're still exhausted in a couple of months then please do go to the doctor. These things will help normal people, they will not help if you have CFS or something like thyroid disease or diabetes and in the case of exercise, can actually make matters worse.
Obviously if you start a new exercise regime it does take time to see an improvement and you may be more tired at first as you adjust to the increased activity but people without an underlying condition will usually start to feel a little bit fitter within about three or four weeks. If this doesn't happen for you and exercise consistently sends you into a downward spiral then that's a sign that something else is going on.
Also, I'd advise starting fairly slowly with a new exercise regime, you won't do your energy levels any good at all if you damage something in the first week and end up limping for a couple of weeks!
Oh, and keep records of what you're doing, you'll find it really helpful to see that you are making improvements and if you're really not improving you can use your records to prove that to your doctor.
Kirsty
Obviously if you start a new exercise regime it does take time to see an improvement and you may be more tired at first as you adjust to the increased activity but people without an underlying condition will usually start to feel a little bit fitter within about three or four weeks. If this doesn't happen for you and exercise consistently sends you into a downward spiral then that's a sign that something else is going on.
Also, I'd advise starting fairly slowly with a new exercise regime, you won't do your energy levels any good at all if you damage something in the first week and end up limping for a couple of weeks!
Oh, and keep records of what you're doing, you'll find it really helpful to see that you are making improvements and if you're really not improving you can use your records to prove that to your doctor.
Kirsty
Qi Gong to raise energy levels
I have been learning Qi Gong from a DVD lateley and try to do this each morning. I use Qi Gong for cleansing which is avaiable on Amazon. After following directions for a week you end up with a sequence that will take around 10 mins per day. I have found that my mood and energy levels are hugely increased from it.
I've also taken up other exercises from DVDs and feel hugely boosted. I guess there's an endorphin release and a feeling that you are doing something positive for yourself rather than your employer...
I have been learning Qi Gong from a DVD lateley and try to do this each morning. I use Qi Gong for cleansing which is avaiable on Amazon. After following directions for a week you end up with a sequence that will take around 10 mins per day. I have found that my mood and energy levels are hugely increased from it.
I've also taken up other exercises from DVDs and feel hugely boosted. I guess there's an endorphin release and a feeling that you are doing something positive for yourself rather than your employer...