Running out of energy too quickly? Try one (or all) of these tricks to boost it back up and get more out of your day, according to author and podcast host Scott Young.
Habit #1: Go to sleep early
Sleep is the foundation of your energy. If you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll start to underperform. Seven to eight hours are pretty much mandatory if you’re going to stay cognitively sharp in the long run.
Try this: Go to bed by 10 p.m. every night, including weekends, for the next 30 days.
Habit #2: Exercise every day
Exercise is a long-term investment in your energy levels. It’s easy to cut out in the short term, but if you commit, then over time you’ll reduce your overall fitness, making it harder to think straight and stay alert throughout the day.
Try this: Do at least 10 burpees every day from your home.
Habit #3: 20-minute naps
Napping may feel lazy, but there’s research showing it has a range of cognitive benefits. This is particularly true if you’re doing a lot of learning, since the short burst of sleep can help with memory.
Try this: Insert a 20-minute nap after you eat lunch to recuperate your energy for the afternoon.
Habit #4: Do your hard work in the morning
The benefits to your energy here are mostly psychological. Energy levels depend a lot on mood. If you’ve gotten some important work done, your mood is usually better and you’ll feel more productive.
Try this: Make the first four hours of your morning a quiet, deep work zone.
Habit #5: Set your intention the day before
Energy is often about momentum. Start working hard and you’ll overcome procrastination and keep going throughout the day.
Try this: Before you go to bed, write down your plan for the next day and visualize it.
Habit #6: Sell yourself on your goals
The truth is you need to become the salesperson for your own goals. Not for other people, but for yourself.
Try this: Set aside 10 minutes every day to think about what today’s actions are helping you build toward.
Habit #7: Get better friends
You may not be able to choose your parents, colleagues or your boss. But you do have some control over the friends in your life.
Try this: Set a time limit on friends who leave you feeling drained.
Habit #8: Read better books
One of the great benefits of reading books isn’t simply to give you ideas and information. Rather, it’s to reinforce a mentality that often occurs at a subconscious level. The best books aren’t those that teach you facts, but those that subtly change your entire thinking patterns.
Try this: Always have an audio book that motivates you to work on your goals.
Habit #9: Align your life
The last habit isn’t a one-time process, but an ongoing effort to bring the different elements of your life out of conflict and into alignment with one another.
Try this: Sit down for an hour and brainstorm all the things that assist your goals and all the things which hold you back. How could you resolve those tensions?