Tag: Energy

Timing is Everything – With Better Sleeps Come Better Energy

I have gave the sleep energy tracker app, Rise, a try, and have found it insightful into my energy patterns.  The app lists my energy peaks and dips throughout the day, depending on when I go to bed and when I wake up. I can compare what these graphs show and how I feel, and I find it interesting how it shifts depending on the amount and quality of sleep I get the days before.   The app makes the argument that you can catch up on sleep (though I have read in other places this is not possible).  So it encourages me to go to bed a bit earlier for a few days here or there to catch up, or to catch a quick cat nap in my afternoon lulls.

Our cat, Oscar, sure knows how to catch a nap on a comfy, sleeping Luca.

Instead of fighting my tired times in the early afternoon (that “afternoon slump” we all are familiar with), I see them as times now to get mundane and simpler tasks done, like packing lunches, putting away laundry, and answering simple emails.  I admit now that those times are not the ideal time for a creative process or a process that takes a lot of brain power. And when I get a chance, I take the app’s suggestion and try to do a short burst of exercise like a brisk walk or (if I be so lucky that the stars align!) a short nap.

 

As I am getting older, I see the value of being more in tune with my body and its energy tank.  The energy tank is not infinite, sad but true, and getting older I think this gets more and more apparent.  I have tried often (particularly when I was in a younger, more spry state of mind) to push through my tired spells.  But in the long run, working or pushing while tired often yields less quality results for me.  And I just feel crabbier and unhappy.

 

I think the hardest thing to accept is that I do need more sleep than I grant myself.  This is something I am working on improving.  In an ideal situation, I think I would go to bed when my kids go to bed.  But there are always more tasks and chores (and good books to read) left on my to do list that I try to squeeze in.  I need to learn to accept that it is okay to leave things undone, and give in to my body’s melatonin window and let sleep overtake me.

 

I can see my “sleep debt” in the app that is the sleep I am behind on.  It is almost always (sadly) negative, except when I was on a nice, restful vacation.  (I guess there is hope someday when I retire!)   I can see how that affects my mood and my mental energies, and it gives me motivation to squeeze in my tasks and “to do” list items in the dead spaces in my schedule earlier in the day, particularly when I have my peak energy.

 

My goal in the next few weeks and months is to see my sleep debt (hopefully) stay lower, and see how my energy and productivity and efficiency increase.  In addition, I hope to see my mood in interacting with my friends and family improving.  Sleep is the wonder drug. It is free, but often overlooked.  I hope to really harness its power in the coming weeks and months in my quest to be a better steward for my time and energy each and every day.

Getting What you Want in Life: My Own Take on Time, Energy, and Money and How They Fit Together

I think of life as having some set resources (Time, Energy, Money), and with these resources, you can get products that you want (Stuff, Experiences/Memories, Emotions).

Perhaps mathematically, it could be proposed it is an equation of sorts (the exact steps in this equation, though are of course are too complicated and are beyond my grasp to eloquently express at the moment):

(Time, Energy, Money) —————————->    (Stuff, Experiences/Memories, Emotions)

I wish I had an unlimited supply of the things on the left (Time, Energy, Money), but I realize they are finite.  And I think we are often trading our time and/or energy to get money.  (Again the equation is a lot more complicated than what I am crudely trying to show here.)  But, a combination or some or all of these resources (that is, time, energy, and money) can give us the products on the right.  What is it that you want to get with your time, energy, or money?  Sometimes, it is complicated, and it is a unique combination of things. Sometimes it is stuff. Sometimes it is an experience e.g. a honeymoon or a once-in-a-lifetime trip in Europe.  Sometimes it is to gain positive emotions, e.g. contentment, tranquility, pride, joy, self-satisfaction.

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Hop aboard the “Fun Bus” of life! Full of bumps and stops, but if you use your resources (Time, Energy, Money) wisely, I think you will enjoy the ride!

I think that the journey to learning what you truly want in life is easier once you know your values.  This is not an easy thing to boil down in one sitting, and it is highly individual.  But, I think this exercise of learning what you truly value is immensely important. And once you know what you truly value, you can then budget out your finite resources of Time, Energy, and Money to then lining up your actions in life to be in tune with your values.

Personally, I value the following:

  1. Family
  2. Health
  3. Creativity
  4. Freedom
  5. Fun

These are broad categories, but I truly hope to budget my Time, Energy, and Money toward nurturing these 5 things in my life going forward.

For Family, I hope to nurture my relationships with my husband and 2 kids, and also my extended family.  For Health, I hope to continue to use my time and energy to developing my running hobby, and taking care of myself with nutrition and rest each day and week to keep my body running healthily and for (hopefully) a long time.  For creativity, I hope to nurture things such as running, reading, music, and other outlets that allow me to make something that reflects my thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and in the process, that may inspire others. For freedom, I hope to have more control over my day to day schedule.  At this point, I do not have this 100%, but I hope to in the years to come. To achieve this, I must be very diligent with my savings goals, to hopefully in time have enough to support my needs and wants in life so work can someday be optional.  And for fun, I hope to never take life too seriously.  I hope my kids, husband, extended family and friends continue to inspire me to play.  In this category, I consider experiences such as travel a prime way I hope to have fun with those I love.  Again, to achieve this, I plan to be conscientious with my savings goals (once my debt is paid off) to have funds saved to take trips with those I love, to create the memories and experiences of a lifetime.

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Drive (or in this case, drive-fly) your way through life with a roadmap in mind. Use your resources wisely on this drive to get what you truly want out of life.

As you can see, these things are all interconnected, but I think my equation helps to summarize things and put things in perspective:

(Time, Energy, Money) ——–Life Values-———>    (Stuff, Experiences/Memories, Emotions)

On the arrow above, I have added the thought that your own unique “Life Values” play a key part in determining your pathway, and they greatly influence the choices you make to getting the products you want in life.  It is crucial also to revisit these values in your life, and see if your actions in life are truly lining up with what you want.  Are you using your time wisely, focusing on the things you want to achieve?  Or are you wasting it to a degree, on things that don’t matter?  How about your energy?  Are you investing waking hours and physical and mental energy into endeavors that bring you joy and fulfillment?  And how about your money? Is it being invested, saved, and spent in a way that is in line with what you truly value?  This is not an easy exercise, and something that I think we all struggle with as we go through life.  But I think this is a good thing to revisit regularly, e.g. every month, to ensure you are truly getting what you want in life.