Have more energy and ease when you let go of this

As I wrote a few weeks ago, summer is the season to establish habits that build your reserves for the cooler months. Just like squirrels start hiding nuts for the winter, you can start storing energy through your habits this summer.

Let’s start with a habit you can let go of… negotiating with yourself. This habit is energy depleting. It takes your best plans and intentions and upends them so that you no longer have the time, energy, or desire to do the thing you planned to do. 

Here are a few examples of this:  

• Your alarm goes off at 5am. You repeatedly hit the snooze button for the next 30 minutes. The last time you press snooze, you fall into a deep sleep. When your alarm goes off again, you wake feeling even more tired and groggy than you did when your alarm went off at 5am. It’s hard to get out of bed. By the time you do, you have to hurry to start your day and you don’t have enough time to do the things you wanted to before you start work. 
• You have 30 minutes to do a yoga practice. You roll out your mat, sit down and start scrolling through videos or flipping through a book trying to decide which practice you want to do. 10 minutes rolls by and you start to feel the pressure because you haven’t decided on a practice and now you only have 20 minutes instead of 30 for your practice. 
• You planned to go for a walk after work, but when you get off your last call you pick up your phone and start scrolling. 30 minutes goes by and you think about that walk. Now you’re getting hungry and you’re feeling tired from your day. You want to walk, but if you don’t get dinner started soon, you won’t have time to sit down and eat before you have that appointment at 7:30. 

As you read through these examples and relate them to your own life, how do you feel when you negotiate with yourself? Frustrated, angry, disappointed? Encouraged that you can try again tomorrow? You can, but approach it differently. Commit to closing the door on negotiating with yourself. It will free up precious energy and restore your self-confidence. 

Planning is the key, and it often starts the night before. 

• Let’s start with snoozing your alarm. When you snooze, the sleep you get in between alarms is not restful or productive. It can lead you to feel more fatigued during the day, and can disrupt your sleep cycle. Changing this habit will transform how you start your day. First, change your alarm sound to an uplifting song that you love (you can do this on iphone and android). Perhaps it’s mantra music or classical music, something beautiful and gentle - it will be the first thing you hear in the morning. Before your go to bed, set your phone across the room. Somewhere where you can hear the alarm, but will have to get out of bed to turn it off. When your alarm goes off, take the few minutes that the song is playing to gently start your day by stretching your body, breathing deeply, massaging your feet, and feeling gratitude. Once the song ends, get out of bed slowly and begin your day. 
• If you enjoy practicing yoga, meditating, or exercising in the morning, set yourself up the night before. Lay out your clothes, roll out your yoga mat, set out your water, and select your practice. This will allow you to move into your day with ease. Simply dress and sit down on your mat to begin your practice. 
• Ready for that post-work walk? Put it on your calendar and set a reminder for yourself. Again, have your clothes and shoes set out where you can see them. If you like to listen to music, a book, or podcast, have that cued up and make sure your headphones are charged. Eliminate post work scrolling by leaving your phone in another room or in your bag so that you aren’t as tempted to pick it up and scroll. If you can, change into your walking clothes before your work day ends. I have found this to be super helpful, especially when I don’t need to be on video for my last meeting of the day. Then, when your walk reminder chimes, get up, change clothes (if you haven’t already) and head out the door. You will be so grateful you did!

When you plan and prepare, you set yourself up for ease and success. You take negotiation out of it. All you need to do is plug into what you already set in motion for yourself the night before, and begin. As you practice this, you’ll find that you have even more energy (and time!), to do the things you love.

With love,
Jodh

P.S. Our course, Six Weeks to Sustained Energy will guide you through the 3 daily habits to reset and reclaim your energy. The course begins this fall, join the waitlist here.

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