To steal Nike’s Line ” Just Do it !”
Tony Schwartz is the president and CEO of The Energy Project and the author of Be Excellent at Anything.
He’s penned down six ways to re-energise your day as excerpted below.
1. Make sufficient sleep your highest priority.
…even very small amounts of sleep deprivation significantly undermine capacity for focus, analytic thinking and creativity.
The research is clear: more than 95 per cent of us
require seven to eight hours of sleep in order to be fully rested, and for our brains to optimally embed new learning. Great performers, ranging from musicians to athletes, often get even more than 8 hours.
2. Take a renewal break at least every ninety minutes.
It’s now how long you work that determines the value you produce, but rather the energy you bring to whatever hours you work. Likewise, it’s not how long you take off that matters most, it’s how skillfully you renew.
……intermittently quiet your physiology.
With your eyes closed, try breathing in through your nose to a count of three, and out through your mouth slowly to a count of six. In this way, you’re extending you’re recovery. As your body quiets down, your thinking mind will also get quieter and you’ll feel more relaxed.
3. Keep a running list of everything — literally everything — that you want or need to do.
The more fully and frequently you download what’s on your mind, the less energy you’ll squander in fruitless thinking about undone tasks, and the more energy you’ll have to be fully present in whatever you’re doing.
4. Run up your heart rate or take a nap in the early afternoon.
If your excuse for not exercising regularly is “I don’t have time,” consider working out during your lunch hour (and yes, you’re entitled to one).
There may be no better way to clear the mind, lower anxiety and jump start your energy than by intentionally raising your heart rate into the aerobic or anaerobic zones.
…. take a 20 to 30 minute nap between 1 and 4 p.m, when most of us feel a wave of fatigue. Researcher Sara Mednick has found that a short nap is not just powerfully restorative, but also prompts significantly higher performance on cognitive tasks in the subsequent several hours, compared to non-nappers.
5. Practice appreciation — and savoring.
One of the least recognized ways we squander energy is in negative emotions. We’re far quicker to notice what’s wrong in our lives than what’s right.
Look for opportunities to appreciate someone in your life, and share what you’re feeling — directly, or in a note. You’ll be giving the other person a shot of positive energy, but sharing positive energy will also make you feel better.
Look too for opportunities to appreciate yourself. Take time to savor small victories, give yourself credit where you deserve it, and forgive yourself when you fall short.
6. Develop a transition ritual between work and home.
When we leave the office, many of us carry work with us. The result is that even when we get home, we’re still not truly present. Consider establishing a very specific way to disengage from work so you can leave it behind.
The most powerful ritual we’ve seen clients build is to stop somewhere along the route home, such as a public park, and take a few minutes to let the day go, and to focus on the evening ahead. Turn home back into a place where you’re truly getting renewal.