6 Ways to Manage your Mental and Emotional Energies

Last week, I shared 5 ways to manage our physical energy. Those were:

1. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep
2. Eating foods that are good for your body and your brain
3. Finding a workout that works for you and moving your butt!
4. Drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day
5. Having a solid morning routine

It is just as important to learn to manage our mental and emotional energies as effectively. This week I want to share 3 strategies each to be productive and feel great. It can seem difficult, but once you have the right strategies in place, it gets easier. 

Sometimes we get our energy from the outside world. Things are going great, we meet up with friends, we win a big contract at work, we make progress in our business and those things infuse us with the energy to keep going. But in order to be sustained, we also must generate our own internal energy and when life goes sideways, it can be a challenge. Fear not! There are some things we can do to keep our energy flowing.

Let's talk about mental energy first.  What exactly is mental energy?  It is the cognitive power needed to perform tasks and make decisions. This includes your concentration, attention span, and ability to think quickly or solve problems. Fatigue occurs when we use our mental energy too much without giving it enough recovery time.

Practice Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation are two ways to increase your mental energy. Mindfulness is being aware in the present moment without judgment. It's about being in the moment, while meditation is a more formal practice of mindfulness which can include sitting still, observing one's thoughts, or chanting mantras.

These practices allow us to get out of our own way so that we have more clarity about what needs attention now and how best to approach it. It also helps us to manage our stress and anxiety more effectively, because as studies show, it reduces stress hormones like cortisol. If you're feeling overworked or overwhelmed with tasks, a short meditation will do wonders for restoring mental focus!

Strategy No. 1: Add a 10-15 minute meditation to your day

Adding a 10-15 minute meditation component to your morning routine can make a world of difference in keeping mental focus throughout the day. When we approach our tasks or life with a calm mind, we’re more productive and less stressed.

Taking that same time for yourself before going to sleep can help to transition you into a good headspace and calm you down so you'll fall asleep more easily and stay asleep.

In addition to meditation, you can engage in some visualization exercises. Imagine how you want your day to unfold, what your dream life looks like or how you can tackle that difficult conversation you know you need to have.

My go to meditations are the Calm App, a 10 minutes chakra balancing meditation and the 6-phase meditation from Vishen Lakhiani. 

If you are just starting out, 10 minutes can feel overwhelming, so start small. I started with 3 minutes and when I felt my mind was no longer a jackrabbit, I move to 5, and now 10. It's called a practice for a reason. Learning to sit still and observe our thoughts without engaging them takes some getting used to. But with perseverance, you will begin to see the benefits.

Have FUN!

When was the last time you took some time to have fun? With COVID, we've had to redefine what fun means to us when we're cooped up at home with nowhere to go! For some, that is heaven, while for others, it's the ultimate source of torture. And I also do not mean having fun at work. That is clearly a MUST. Even if you love what you do and you have fun doing it, you are still operating in the same environment.

I’m talking about fun outside of work. You have to make sure you're living an exciting life outside because if you don’t, you may be left feeling like a zombie. The whole point of having fun is to get out of your environment and experience something new. It's meant to give your brain the opportunity to relax. If you've been focusing on a problem, or when you have your nose to the grind all the time, it can be difficult to be creative or find creative solutions to problems. FUN allows you to do just that. It gives your brain a break so it can be inspired by new things. Having fun expands your horizons.

Strategy No. 2: Schedule your fun!

How many times have I heard people say, "I don't have time” to have fun, "I'm too busy" or "there's too much going on". I was guilty of that. I didn't make enough time for fun and I ended up burning out. Since then, I've resolved to use my agenda to my advantage. I schedule everything, including my fun!  Whether you want to incorporate some fun into your life every day or every week, your calendar is your most effective weapon in making that happen.

What do you like to do for fun? Do you like to lose yourself in a good book for a couple of hours? Do you like to go to shows? Do you like to be one with nature. Whatever it is, please honor yourself, your body and your brain and go get your shot of fun!

Don't forget to recharge

Would you let your phone go down to 1% battery? Chances are you wouldn't. So why do you do this to yourself on a daily basis?  By taking some time to recharge during the day, you will find that you are no longer feeling drained and exhausted at the end of the day.

When people endeavors to climb Mount Everest, they don't do it all in one shot. There are predetermined rest points throughout the climb because climbers need some time to recharge in order to keep moving forward. If there were to try to tackle Everest in one shot, they could never do it! Same goes for your day! When you look at it as your private Mount Everest, you can see the value of walking away from time to time to reset.

Strategy No 3: Recharge your batteries

There are a couple of ways you can do this:

1. Chunk your time. Work in a predetermined block time, whether it is 25, 50 or 75 minutes. Figure out what your sweet spot is and build that into your schedule wherever possible, though I realize back-to-back meetings sometimes make that difficult. But maybe this is the right time to retake control of your agenda?
2. In between those time chunks, hydration is a MUST, and by that I mean good old H20. In addition, you could go for a short walk, do some stretching, take some deep breaths to re-oxygenate your brain, do a short meditation, listen to your favorite song, play with your pet. It only takes a short 5-10 minutes to get you refocused. The options are endless. You just need to find what works for you

Now, I 'd like to switch gears and talk about emotional energy. What is emotional energy? Emotional energy is the feeling behind how we think and act. If you're tired, all your emotional energy will go into trying to get some sleep - nothing else matters. On the other hand, if you have a lot of emotional reserves left over after getting enough sleep then you'll be able to help others more easily. It's all about balance!

Friends are a great source of emotional energy

Are you surrounded by the right people? Do your friends support you or keep you small?  Are you in a toxic relationship. Do your coworkers often bring you down?

You've undoubtedly heard this before; "you are the sum of the 5 people you spend time with". Who's in your most intimate circle? Are they energy givers or energy vampires? If they suck the life out of you, as harsh as it may sound, you may need to re-evaluate your circle and make some changes.

Strategy No. 1: Reconnect with friends

When we get together with friends, we get a big boost in emotional energy. They fill us up with laughter, experiences and connection. You can almost feel your battery meter going up when you spend time with them.

I particularly love spending time with friends over a good meal. Few things recharge me the same way. I get to combine two loves; the love I have for my friends and the laughter we share and my love of food. What makes you feel recharged? Who can you share it with?

Write it out

When I was a kid, I used to have a pink diary with a little heart lock on it. In it, I kept my innermost thoughts and secrets. Over time, I fell out of habit, but in the last year I've restarted the practice. There are many benefits to journaling. Writing is a form of self care that has been shown to improve moods and decrease stress levels. It's your space to process thoughts, feelings and emotions. It can also be used to exploring new ideas.

Strategy No. 2: Make journaling a habit

I recommend journaling twice a day because each has a very specific objective and the outcomes are different.

In the morning, journaling helps you...

1. Keep your eye on your goals. When you write your goals every day, it keeps them top of mind and you motivated to achieve them
2. Ground yourself and set your intention for how you want to show up during the day
3. Prioritize your day. What are you must-dos and your nice to dos?

Having that clarity means you are less likely to get derailed if your day goes sideways. There are many other things you can include in your morning journal, but these are some of the ones that I found keep me most on track.

In the evening, you can...

1. Take stock of how well you did against the intentions you set in the morning. For example, were you as focused as you intended? Why or why not? How can you be more focused next time
2. Examine whether there are any areas that need your attention, think “the things that didn't go so well”, kinda like getting the "garbage" out of your head. Once you write those down, you can also write how you will handle a similar situation in the future
3. Capture what went well and celebrate your wins
4. Reflect on what you were grateful for during the day

All of these will help you get a better night's sleep.

Stop doing things you don't want to do

How good are you at safeguarding your emotions? Do you feel you need to say yes to everything and everyone? Do you say yes, even when all you want to do is say no? Maybe you're saying yes too much, or taking on more than is necessary for your happiness and well-being. As a recovering people pleaser, I get it!

Strategy No. 3: Heck yeah!

A recent strategy which has worked very well and am learning to do more and more has been to think about an ask and make a critical distinction. It could be a dinner invitation or a request for help and if my response is not a "Heck Yeah!", then it's a hard NO. It's done wonders to prevent me from committing to obligations which I knew would ultimately leave me feeling drained.

Final words

There are many ways to maintain your mental and emotional energy throughout the day. What's important is knowing what works for you, so keep experimenting until you find what suits you best. Share with us how you manage to stay energized all day long in the comments below!