How to Boost Your Energy Levels
Managing our energy these days is a challenge. And what if you feel like you need more energy to deal with all that’s coming at you in your work and personal life? I get it. There are many times when I feel like my batteries are depleted, when I realize that I need more energy, and need to bring more to the situation.
Let me take you through a series of things you can do to boost your energy levels. I’ll start with micro-resilience, the teeniest, tiny, in-the-moment things, because that’s what many of us can do. I’ll then move on to meso-resilience strategies, or the biggest, most important things you can do to have energy for a lifetime.
Micro-Resilience1. Adjust Your Body LanguageLet’s start with the tiniest things. First of all, adjust your body language. It’s amazing how we forget that our bodies send our brains signals about how we’re feeling based on what’s going on physically with our bodies. For instance, if you are sitting slouched in a chair, if your body language is saying to your brain, “I’m tired,” you’re probably getting a powerful signal that you are tired. Part of that might be that you’re slouching. The first thing you can do—no, you don’t have to join a gym—is think about your posture, adjust your posture, spread things out a little bit, and send a new signal to your brain.
2. Hydrate OftenAnother short-term, super simple thing is hydrate. It’s incredible how many people need to hydrate. I’ve seen stats that around 70% of people are dehydrated at any given moment. Even little sips of water can really make a difference in your energy levels. Our bodies need so much water to function effectively, not to mention flush out the toxins that build up if we’re dehydrated. Try hydrating. And again, that’s something you can do in the middle of a meeting, “I’m just going to grab a glass of water.” Nobody will look at you sideways for grabbing a drink of water.
3. Fuel YourselfAlong with hydrate is fuel. Fuel yourself. If you’re starting to feel low energy, ask yourself, “Have I eaten? Did I skip breakfast? Am I just going on coffee so far today? What can I put in my body?” I have trail mix in my drawer that I can grab at any time. I love trail mix. I love the bits of raisins, chocolate, and nice pieces of that long-lasting protein. What is it that you can fuel yourself with? That energy dip may be something you can fix with hydrating or fueling your body.
4. Have a Motor ReleaseHaving a motor release is valuable when you are feeling low energy. And again, this is something you can do in the middle of a meeting. My favorite is silly putty. Squeezing silly putty or a stress ball is a low level of motor activity that can help you pay attention. It can help you feel more energized in a meeting when you have to do something over the long haul. I’m a doodler, and some people think doodling is a sign of distraction, but actually, doodling helps some folks focus. If you’re feeling low energy, your silly putty, your stress ball, or your doodle are things that can give you a little boost of energy in the very short term.
5. BreatheI would put everything I’ve mentioned in a micro-resilience category: things you can do to get you through a meeting. And the last micro-resilient thing you can do is breathe. It’s super-obvious that breath is our first energy source; we are creatures that need oxygen at all times. But we get into really unhealthy breathing. My Apple Watch has the Breathe app, and I can do that deep breathing for one minute, which puts me in a completely different situation. I’m capable of doing that. I can hit it on my watch without it being visible. I can do it in a meeting or Zoom call when I just need to breathe.
What’s interesting about breath is your exhales. It’s more important than your inhales. If you’re trying to bring yourself down, you want your exhales to be really long. But if you’re trying to pick yourself up a bit, take a long, big, deep inhale, but use your breath. Again, you can do this in a meeting, quietly exhale, and use your breath to get back on track.
Meso-ResilienceMicro-resilience: Don’t think that if you had a lousy sleep last night, there’s no hope for maintaining your energy levels today. It’s not true. You can absolutely use your body language, hydrate, fuel yourself appropriately, engage in physical activity, and control your breath to boost your energy for an hour or two. However, we move from micro-resilience to meso-resilience to maintain energy beyond an hour or two.
1. Practice Good Sleep HygieneIn talking about meso-resilience, we return to discussing sleep. Sleep is so important, and you may need a reset on your sleep. You may need the physical surroundings to change. I have reached that embarrassing age where pillow matters. And it’s horrible as a business traveler because I don’t sleep well the first night in any new hotel room if the pillow isn’t right.
Physical surroundings also matter. Do you have curtains so that it’s dark? Are you avoiding blue light before you go to bed? Are you using alcohol in a way to help you sleep? Because alcohol interrupts sleep. How do you get back on track if things interrupt your sleep? There are so many great resources for that.
2. MoveMoving your body creates energy. I’m not an athletic type. I hate running and all those sorts of things, but I understand that I need to move more often if I want to have energy. I do like dance. Dance is something I can do without dreading it. I like to go for walks, too. Getting movement will help energize you. And as it gets easier for your body to move through the world, you use less energy to exist. That’s really helpful.
3. PlayThe last of the meso-resilience strategies is play. We don’t play enough anymore; play is so important, whatever play is for you. One of my favorite forms of play is reading fiction. I’m into a good book right now, and playing in that world is wonderful. It’s escapist. But play could be a hobby. You may love woodworking or something else. The vital question is, when was the last time you played, lost yourself in time, or did something fun just because you enjoyed it? Play is a great energy source and is good for so many other things, too. It makes so many connections and consolidates information when we have downtime. So find that play!
Macro-ResilienceI promised I’d get to the bigger, heavier, longer-lasting, really important thing. If you want energy in your life, we know from studying people over 80 years that the best source of resilience, energy, health, and vitality is actually through connection with other human beings. It’s easy to say that different things are more important—like, do you smoke, are you obese, all of those things. But you know what? The most predictive thing in our long-term energy, health, and resilience is connection.
If you are lonely, if you are isolated, how do you find people to reach out to who notice you, who care about you unconditionally, and who you can be yourself? That is the greatest source of resilience over a lifetime.
You won’t fix that if you’re sitting in a two o’clock meeting feeling like your energy level is low. But it will drain you if you don’t fix it at some point this year or next. As humans, we are energized by connection. And if you’re feeling isolated, lonely, or disconnected, find ways to connect in your community. Who can you help? How can you get out there? How can you find ways to create connections? That’s the ultimate renewable source of energy in our lives.
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If you need a quick pick-me-up, remember it doesn’t have to be massive; micro-resilience strategies can do the trick. For the midterm, meso-resilience strategies really, really matter. And over a lifetime, it’s about creating connections that matter to people we love.
For more about managing energy and dealing with some of those negative things that come up in our lives, check out the key to managing conflict in meetings in my next post.
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