Do you usually feel exhausted and burnt out by the end of the day, or maybe even right from the beginning of your day? Don’t worry because as alarming as it feels like it is, it’s perfectly normal. Especially with the way things are now, you’re working ten times harder to achieve the things you want in life.
However, to increase your productivity, you must keep your body in tip-top shape. Not to mention, your mental health shouldn’t be left behind either. Being perpetually tired is not part of the equation that can assist you in achieving this. To be highly efficient, you’ll need to maximize your energy levels. With just a couple of tips, exhaustion will be a thing of the past.
Goodbye Exhaustion, Hello Productivity! Here are 10 ways you can maximize your energy levels right now.
Eating a Balanced Diet
Your body requires a well-balanced diet daily. A well-balanced diet will not only provide you with enough energy to get through the day, but it will also protect you from diseases. You’ll be healthier overall and more energetic, so there really is no downside.
Besides that, you’ve also got to maintain a schedule for your meals. Skipping meals means that you’re skipping on food that your body could be used for energy. It’s been found that consistently eating at around the same time every day helps your body establish a routine for digesting your food. That means you’ll always have energy until your next meal.
Avoid Stress
Easier said than done, but nevertheless essential to try. Too much stress causes burnout and general unhappiness. But not only this, on a more anatomical level, Cortisol, which is a hormone generated by stress, also negatively affects not just you but your hormones responsible for your energy.
When it comes to overcoming stress, it’s always best to take time off to allow yourself to regenerate. Taking a couple of hours off a week to meditate is an excellent way to start. In other cases, a therapist would also be a good option. A professional would definitely help you overcome some things since that’s what they’re trained for. But therapy can be expensive. Something as simple as a really good supportive friend group can be enough.
Don’t skip out on sleep
Always aim to get the appropriate amount of sleep. Sleep is your body’s downtime, which allows you to regenerate and recover from all the work you’ve done throughout the day.
But not just any sleep. You need quality sleep. This means sleeping the whole 8 hours, establishing a bedtime, and adequately preparing for bed. Getting quality sleep usually ensures that you’ll wake up feeling re-energized, refreshed, and ready to take on the day.
Don’t forget to exercise
You’ve definitely heard of this one before. Maybe you’ve even had this as a New Year’s resolution that didn’t make it past January. But whatever it is, it’s still important to highlight how helpful this is in maintaining your energy levels. It does seem counterproductive because exercise is supposed to tire you out. Still, it actually supplies a significant energy boost, and if you pair that with a nice post-workout shower, you’ll come out feeling like a new person after your workout.
You don’t have to engage in super heavy workouts for this to work. Simple things like going out for a jog, walking your dog, or riding a bike are sufficient. Not only will this provide you with an energy boost, but you’ll also get into shape, and who wouldn’t want that?
Limit Alcohol
In the best-case scenario, it would be best to eliminate alcohol from your life completely. Still, I know that sometimes we can’t help but have a couple of celebratory drinks from time to time. Alcohol enables you to relax and makes you sleepy, the opposite of what you want when working. Especially if you take more than just a glass or two of alcohol a day.
It’s recommended that men consume up to two glasses of wine a day, while women drink only a glass a day. If you really can’t cut the alcohol out of your life, it may also be best to reserve the alcohol after work hours.
Stay Hydrated
Your body needs water to function. After all, the human body is about 60% water, so naturally, your body would need more water to keep it running. Think of it like oil in a machine. It’s recommended to drink about 8 glasses or 2 liters of water a day. Especially if you plan to do exercise, you’ll need to replenish the water your body sweats out.
Water won’t only help keep your energy up, but it’ll also make you healthier in the long run because water helps detox all the waste in your body.
Limit Caffeine
Maybe even harder to limit than alcohol, it’s no secret that caffeine has become an essential part of everyone’s lives, whether it comes in the form of coffee, tea, or energy drinks. However, as fast as it supplies you with energy, it will also deplete just as fast.
Caffeine is a great short-term solution for lack of energy, but if you’d like to see long-term changes, you’ll have to turn to other things. It’s also important to be mindful of the time when you consume caffeine. Drinking caffeine too late in the evening could disrupt your sleep.
Avoid Consuming Artificial Sugars
Similar to caffeine, this is a great short-term solution, but in a couple of hours, you’ll feel even more exhausted and burnt out than when you started. Not only that, but it’s also not the best for your health.
Insulin is the hormone that regulates your blood sugar levels. Too much sugar causes your insulin production to shoot up to counterbalance the amounts of sugar that you’re taking. More sugar means more insulin, which also means that the insulin will lower your sugar levels, resulting in fatigue.
Stop smoking
Smoking is extremely hazardous for the body and, most especially, your lungs. We’ve all been shown before and after pictures of what happens to a pair of lungs after smoking. Smoking will reduce your lung efficiency because of all the damage that it does. This will end up messing with the way your lungs exchange gas as you breathe and ultimately make you feel exhausted quicker.
Divide your workload evenly
As much as possible, it would be best to work less overall, but this isn’t a viable option for everyone. The next best thing is to divide your tasks into smaller bite-sized pieces, so they’re more manageable and less daunting to complete.
A great way to implement this is by having a To-Do list listed by importance and urgency. At the end of the day, you’re the ultimate judge of how much work you can handle in a day or week, but just be sure not to overestimate yourself too much and to ask for help when you need it.
Lastly, take breaks! Taking time off to rest is just as important as working. Being able to rest and focus on something else for a while will help you recharge and keep the stress at bay.
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