If you’re like me, it can feel like we’ve got 25 hours worth of things to do every day. To help solve this, many people think that skipping lunch is an excellent time management strategy. “Look!” they say proudly to themselves. “I’ve added an extra hour to my day!” Unfortunately, by denying yourself a structured pit-stop that allows you to refresh yourself physically and mentally, you keep running the day’s race on an empty tank.
Consider this: when we’re tired, we slow down, taking us longer to accomplish a task. It’s obvious to us that when we take a break and recharge, we come back to our work energized and able to accomplish more with less time. If you can increase your energy, you’ll be able to live 30 hours in the space of 24, and everyone around you will wonder how you accomplish so much in the same amount of time.
When you examine the work schedule of high-performing athletes, you’ll realize that they perform at a high level for a focused period of several months, and then they take a massive break between seasons. Focused effort, focused renewal. Most of us working a 9-5 schedule take 10 days of vacation, do chores at home over the weekend, and rarely take a focused break to renew ourselves. No wonder we feel tired!
So, what can we do to renew ourselves? The usual suspects are taking care of our body through proper rest, nutrition, and exercise. The internet is a treasure-trove of good information on exercise, sleep, and nutrition tips. So I will share with you the FINAL tip for increasing your physical energy that almost NEVER gets mentioned.
If you want to experience an abundance of physical energy, get mentally excited about your life.
If you doubt this, simply watch a young child on Christmas morning. At 4:30 a.m., their eyes snap open and they leap out of bed excitedly to discover what presents await under the tree. They’ve probably only slept for 90 minutes, but that doesn’t matter, because they are EXCITED! The same thing happens for adults as they get ready to head off to a luxury vacation. The last few days of work are so productive because we’re so energized by our excitement!
My challenge to you is this: Seek out, identify, and pursue something in your life that you’re truly excited about. Maybe it’s an entrepreneurial venture. Maybe it’s going on an adventure of a lifetime. Maybe it’s volunteering for a charity like Habitat for Humanity, or even starting your own. Maybe it’s beginning a big project like writing a book. Whatever it is, if you can get excited about your life, you’ll have all the physical energy you need.
CJ Calvert | Contributing Writer
CJ Calvert is a motivational speaker and author of Living an Exceptional LIFE. Visit him at cjcalvert.com
