How can you create more energy and pace yourself to get more out of your energy levels? I want to firstly introduce the concept of an energy jar; it’s not a literal jar in the body obviously, but the idea that we have one receptacle, one place where our energy is stored. What I mean by that is we tend to think we’ve got energy for home, energy for work, energy for the gym and I know a lot of people will go and have a difficult week at work, get into the gym and put themselves through a hard workout, and find they don’t have the energy to do it.

That’s because their energy has already been depleted. We need to pace ourselves like an athlete would. They’ll look at their energy reserves, they’ll look at the demands being put on them and their schedule and they’ll ebb and flow, they’ll adapt. We as corporate or business athletes, if you like, tend to see ourselves as having to operate at a high level all the time. This is simply not going to happen, that’s how you burn out. If you do find that you’re lacking in energy, here are a few things that you can use, and they’re entirely free of charge.

Light is the first thing. I’ve got big windows here flooding the office with light. I use light in the mornings as soon as I wake up to give me a little shot of energy. That also helps to kick start my circadian rhythm. Light is something that you can use, natural light but also blocking out blue light later on in the day that can suppress melatonin and therefore impact our sleep.

Movement is another thing that’s very energising. Have a standing desk, stand up when you’re taking phone calls at your desk perhaps. You can just put some books underneath your laptop to make a standing desk, but get moving. A constant level of daily movement is very energising. It’s when we sit still and static that that problems arise and we tend to feel under-energised.

Cold water is another one that you can use. I’m a big fan of a cold shower in the morning. It took me awhile to get there. To start with I would splash cold water onto my face, then I would crank the tap onto cold for the last few seconds of a shower and now I can pretty much do two minutes. It’s shivery, it’s gaspy, it’s unpleasant, but it sets you up pretty well for the day because if you can start your day like that, almost anything seems easier the rest of the day.

Heartfulness is another thing that I find very energising and empowering. This is contribution, it’s doing something for other people or something that’s not related to you. Volunteering would be one example. It’s about giving back in some way. The feeling that creates is very energising, but it’s also about doing something for you. Many people I talk to have just forgotten about their hobbies, they don’t have time to do anything for themselves any more. It’s either work or it’s family and there’s not much in between. Just reconnect with a hobby or something you used to enjoy, even if it’s just ten minutes a day.

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Leanne Spencer is an entrepreneur, coach, TEDx Speaker, author of Remove the Guesswork, and founder of Bodyshot Performance Limited. Bodyshot is a health and fitness consultancy that helps busy professionals get more energy by removing the guesswork around their health, fitness and nutrition. Visit www.bodyshotperformance.com or email [email protected] to register your interest in our services and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Author(s)

  • Leanne is an award-winning entrepreneur and the founder of Bodyshot Performance Limited. She delivered a TEDx talk on 'Why fitness is more important than weight', is the author of bestselling books 'Remove the Guesswork' and 'Rise and Shine', and hosts a podcast called ’Remove the Guesswork‘. Leanne is the founder of Bodyshot Performance, an award-winning health and wellbeing company. Bodyshot Performance work with businesses of up to 500 people who want to create a culture of energy, vitality and performance through the business and position wellbeing as a competitive advantage. Bodyshot intersect the latest science and technology to provide unique solutions to the challenge of wellbeing in the workplace that have a direct impact on the bottom line. Our clients have won awards for wellbeing and recognise it directly improves employee engagement and retention and attracts talent into the business.  We also work with chronically stressed or burned out professionals to get you back in control of your health and able to do the things you want to do in life. My expertise is around health, fitness and wellbeing, specifically focusing on sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion and fitness. I host a popular podcast on iTunes called ’Remove the Guesswork ‘, and in November 2016 I delivered a TEDx talk on 'Why fitness is more important than weight'. I’m the author of the bestselling books 'Remove the Guesswork' and 'Rise and Shine' and I regularly speak to corporates on health and wellbeing. My personal values are to live truthfully, considerately and to "suck all the marrow out of life" as Thoreau said. I support the charity Diversity Role Models which works to combat homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. I recently completed the world’s toughest ski race to raise £10,125 for Alzheimer's Research as my father-in-law was profoundly ill with Alzheimers, and I am on a constant mission to find ways to live in a way that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. I love sport, fitness, reading, gardening, business, podcasting, and being with my cat and our scampish little rescue dog, Kami from Romania.