The Exhaustion CureThe Exhaustion Cure

Presented by Laura Stackwww.TheProductivityPro.com

Energy is notEnergy is not

• Time

• Health

• Emotion

• Motivation

• Productivity

Energy is CAPACITYEnergy is CAPACITY

• Energy gives you the ability to work. Your energy level measures your capacity to put forth productive effort. As your energy levels increase, so does the potential of accomplishing your short- and long-term goals and activities.

The 3 P’s of EnergyThe 3 P’s of Energy

I take a broad approach to energy and focus on the source of low energy in three main sections (7 days each):

• Physiology—How your body affects your energy—the impact of your health, nutrition, and self-care on how well you feel.

• Practices—How your behavior affects your energy—your daily habits surrounding your schedule, choices, and actions.

• Periphery—How your background affects your energy—the impact of your environment and external factors, both in and out of your control.

1. Sleep1. Sleep

• You might be surprised to learn that there's a simple treatment that boosts energy levels, improves memory, increases your ability to concentrate, strengthens your immune system, and decreases your risk of death and injury in accidents. Amazingly, it costs absolutely nothing, and is available to anyone. It's called "sleep." Ever heard of it?

• Quality, restful, undisturbed sleep is one of the keys to maximizing your daytime energy level, but it may take a little tinkering to find what's right for you. Here are a few tips that can help.

2. Diet2. Diet

• If you keep telling yourself you don't have the time to eat properly, you're shooting yourself in the foot, energy-wise. Balanced meals and nutritious foods are absolutely necessary for maintaining high energy. Your diet needs to include whole grains, colorful fruits and vegetables, proteins, and heart-healthy fats in order to give your body the protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals it needs to keep going. That said, a big part of eating right is knowing what to eat, and knowing when to stop.

3. Nutrition3. Nutrition

• Poor nutrition can be as draining as the wrong diet, and the consequences can sneak up on you. If you're constantly dragging, and you suffer headaches or an inability to get enough sleep despite following proper sleep habits, you may be suffering from a nutritional deficiency.

• Sometimes, all you have to do to power up your energy is to recognize the symptoms of nutritional imbalances, and then to take steps to address them. These tips can help you with that.

4. Exercise4. Exercise

• It'll infuse your energy and boost your mood. It'll help you lose weight and decrease your risk of disease. It's a miracle! But 80% of Americans don't take it, even at its lowest dosage. Why? Because it's exercise.

• Exercising will give you the energy you need, because it speeds up blood flow and your breathing rate, which brings more oxygen to your heart, lungs, brain, and muscles -- and when it comes to high energy, oxygen is your friend.

5. Metabolism5. Metabolism

• If you want to be like the Energizer Bunny and keep going and going and going all day long, you need to supercharge your metabolism -- the cellular process by which your body converts food calories into energy. This isn't necessarily easy, and it requires an understanding of your own biochemical makeup and metabolism. Here are a few ways you can get started.

6. Pacing 6. Pacing

• Even if you start out the day with plenty of fuel, you may eventually feel that energy slipping away. You can be zipping along just fine, then -- Boom! -- you hit what sports enthusiasts call "the wall." How well you handle your energy budget will determine whether you break through the wall and move on to the rest of your day, or just bounce off and slog through the mental mud. Try these tips to stay on the straight and narrow.

7. Health7. Health

• When you don't feel well, you have lower energy, and it's hard to be productive. Therefore, it's important to take good care of your health, to get regular check-ups, and to investigate chronic conditions you've resigned yourself to. Given how quickly medical science advances, it's a good idea to check into the possibility of new treatments on a regular basis.

8. Quick Fixes8. Quick Fixes

• You eat well, you get enough sleep, you exercise every day, but your energy's at rock-bottom. Maybe it's toward the end of the work day. Maybe it's the end of the week. Maybe it's the first day of your menstrual cycle. Maybe your biorhythms are at a natural ebb. Or maybe it's the dead of winter, and any sane mammal would be hibernating instead of driving to work while it's still dark out. Whatever the problem, here are a few quick fixes that can help you get back on track.

9. Relaxation9. Relaxation

• It may seem a tad paradoxical, but you can't be productive if you don't know how to relax. Leisure activities and relaxation like reading, talking, playing games, and other non-gadget pastimes can reduce your stress levels and increase your energy.

10. Attitude10. Attitude

• Attitude, whether positive or negative, is contagious; so what type are you spreading? Being negative takes extra energy you could otherwise be channeling into your favorite pursuits. Instead of sowing discord wherever you go, learn how to cultivate tolerance instead of impatience; optimism rather than pessimism; and gratitude versus an ungrateful spirit.

11. Resolution11. Resolution

• Isn't it amazing how much energy you can spend stewing about things? If you get too agitated, you might be completely unable to focus on other tasks. If that's the case, you're no good for anything until you can calmly address the issue. You need to learn to create closure on the things that bother you, so you can get on with life. Here's how.

12. Responsibilities12. Responsibilities

• Unfortunately, not all of our tasks excite us, so spending energy on them feels wasteful. If an activity's not challenging or offers no reward, motivation is difficult. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could complete your tasks more efficiently, so you'd have energy to spare?

13. Time Management13. Time Management

• Time is your most valuable possession. What tasks do you devote the most energy to every day? You may be working hard to climb the big ladder of success, but you'll waste a lot of energy (and time) if you discover it's leaning on the wrong wall. An intense, personal commitment to achieving your goals gives you the vigor you need to move forward every day.

14. Learning14. Learning

• Take a look at yourself. Is your life the same every single day? If you feel like you're wasting your energy because you're unchallenged and uninspired, you're probably right. There's a good reason the saying "Grow or die" is a something of a cliché, because it verbalizes a deep-rooted truth about human nature: you need to keep to growing intellectually all the days of your life.

15. Environment15. Environment

• Studies have proven that lighting, décor, smell, noise level, temperature, ergonomics, and color can all affect how you feel. If your environment's draining you dry, try these tips for a little refreshment.

16. Relationships16. Relationships

• Even if you're in a rewarding relationship and have plenty of acquaintances, you can still feel lonely. Research shows that physical exercise, relaxation, and physical health are positively associated with feelings of well-being, but the variable with the strongest association of all is social support. So if you want to boost feelings of psychological well-being and happiness, have lots of friends -- and take these tips to heart.

17. Stress17. Stress

• People with high stress levels are more likely to have heart attacks and strokes, respond poorly to flu vaccines, and catch colds more easily than those with low levels of work or interpersonal stress. To sideline stress, you need to learn to shift your perception and the impact of stressful situations. Here are some hints on how to do that.

18. Technology18. Technology

• These days, most of us use handheld technology in all aspects of our daily lives, blurring the boundaries between work and home. Has this made you feel more overworked and less energized? If so, you need to learn how to break free from technology, turn it off regularly, stop letting it control you, and unplug in ways that boost your energy. Let's chat about your electronic habits, and about how to regain control.

19. Purpose19. Purpose

• Are you following your mission in life, or do you feel disconnected from what you want to do, believe in, and value? Are other people defining who you are? The more your time is organized around your values, the more energy you gain from your activities. Here are a few ideas that can help you stay "on flow."

20. Workplace20. Workplace

• The workplace is full of energy drains, even for people who work at home. You get caught up in the routine, and lo and behold, hours have passed -- and you've expended precious energy without much return. If this sounds like your work life, maybe you ought to try a few of these prescriptions.

21. Clutter21. Clutter

• Look around you, at work and home. Do you feel overjoyed or annoyed? Your environment affects your moods, attitudes, emotions, and energy level. What things sap your energy? You need to figure out ways to reduce, eliminate, or change your environment, so that it lifts you up rather than brings you down. These tidbits might help.