If I had more energy today, I would ___________. How would you complete that sentence? Wish you were more productive when working from home? Then check out my three recommendations below. Note: this blog post contains extracts from my freebie guide to six ways to have more energy today when working from home. You can get it here!
The idea isn’t that you start on all the recommendations at once though, because that would lead to, at best, a scattered effort, and at worst, overwhelm and giving up. So go through the following ideas and pick the recommendation that excites you + feels like it’s something that would improve your life. Once you feel like you’ve got that “down” you can come back and pick the next thing.
Energy tip #1: Get your brain drunk
OK, maybe not literally drunk… But did you know that your brain is almost 80% water?
Dehydration doesn’t just give you dry skin and a headache, it can also impair your attention span, your short-term and long-term memory and your mathematical abilities… No good! You can learn more about water and your brain from around 48:30 in the video below.
Lots of people think they are getting enough water, but are in fact sub-optimally hydrated. Two warning signs: you feel thirsty and / or your pee is yellow or darker (check out these handy charts). At this point, you’re already dehydrated!
So instead of waiting until then, why not be proactive with your hydration? My way of doing this is by having a water bottle* that visually reminds me to drink every hour (or more regularly).
Please note: this blog post contains Amazon* and Todoist* affiliate links. That means that if you follow one of the links marked with an asterisk and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Energy tip #2: Get some fresh air
Depending on when you are reading this, giving your immune system a boost could be more or less of a priority. Even if COVID isn’t an issue in your area, you know what can seriously slow down your energy and productivity? Getting a cold!
One way of helping your immune system out and avoiding coughing / a runny nose is to head out for a 20-minute walk. You don’t need any special gear and it can easily slot into your existing routine.
The best time for you might be different from the best time for me. I live in England, but I’m a Mediterranean baby, so I like to go when the sun is high in the sky + my toddler might have a power nap in the pushchair.
As my Grandma used to say, blow the cobwebs out! A quick walk out in the fresh air will also give you a new perspective on the things you are working on.
Energy tip #3: Pick an end time
So I’ll confess: this is something I sometimes struggle to do. As I said above, I live in the United Kingdom and a lot of the webinars / calls I want to take part in are in different time zones.
However (!) there is a lot of value in giving yourself a cut-off time for work tasks. What happens when you have “all the time in the world” to work on something? You faff around, check your phone and then all of a sudden the sun’s down, your brain’s tired from all the memes and videos, and you haven’t made much progress.
So pick an end time for your workday! Put in a focused effort until then, and then put anything remaining on today’s to-do list* onto tomorrow’s and enjoy your evening. Do something relaxing and / or fun, I’m giving you permission! And you’ll feel renewed tomorrow.
Back to you
Which one of these are you going to try? If you want the full guide with three extra energy tips, then pop your details below and get instant access!
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