Most of us experience our highest energy levels during the morning hours when we are refreshed from a good night’s sleep. Therefore, the sharpest and clearest thinking is usually in the morning. On the other hand, the afternoon is when our energy levels are apt to be lower and our thinking a bit duller, especially after a big lunch when all we want to do is take a nap and digest all that food.
Here are some suggestions for revving up your energy and remaining clear-headed, alert, and ready for anything – even in the afternoon.
Complete Things
If you have to do something, do it now. Do the worst part first and get it out of the way. Once you make that difficult phone call or begin the project you’ve been avoiding, you’ll realize it was the anticipation, rather than the doing, that was causing you to suffer.
Allow Some Time Cushions
When you schedule your time, allow time for thinking, planning, and reading. Re-negotiate deadlines if it appears you can’t make one. This buys time for you and it gives others time to prepare for the change in plans.
Decide to ‘Want to Do’ What You Have To Do
Most people have things they have to do that they don’t look forward to. In order to keep your energy level revved up, don’t think of these things as ‘duties,’ think of them as challenges and opportunities to learn something such as patience, discipline, or how to deal more effectively with different types of people.
Implement a ‘Quiet Time’
Designate a specified time in the office when no one will interrupt anyone else unless it is absolutely necessary. If your company advertises that its office hours are 9 am t 5 pm, perhaps employees should come in at 8 am and have the first hour as this ‘quiet time’ before you are officially open for business.
Avoid Negative People
Don’t listen to people who complain or whine regularly. Don’t become the office ‘Father Confessor’ or ‘Sister Care Take.’ Ask yourself if you foster dependence or independence when you help one of these people. Do you aways give the right answers, or do you show and encourage others how to find the answers for themselves. These people are energy sappers. You become tired just by being around them.
If you work with someone you don’t enjoy, you can store up a great deal of negative energy. Clear the air by communicating. Be assertive. Life is too short to waste on resenting situations and other people.
Exercise Daily
Park your car in the last parking bay so you’ll have further to walk. Climb the stairs instead of taking the lift. It may take longer, but the exercise can help keep you in shape and keep your energy levels up.
Prepare for Tomorrow
When the day is over, take a few minutes to clean up your desk and put everything in order for the next day. This will give you a sense of completion, as well as feeling that you can go home and enjoy a relaxing evening.
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