Increase energy levels: Work, rest and play

When it comes to increasing our energy levels, it is a good idea to ensure our life is in balance. Too much time spent at work, usually means other areas of our lives are being neglected. Too much "play" time and we are less likely to get much work done. As for the "resting" component, few people if they are honest, get enough sleep and / or rest each day.

Today I need you to do some homework.

Every day for the next couple of days I would like you to write down (i use a spreadsheet):

• What activity you were performing
• How long that activity took and
• What food / beverage you were consuming (if anything) at the time.

Completed correctly, you can immediately see where your life is in balance, and as importantly out of balance. You can also begin to tell if you are eating to avoid doing some task or other, or if you are eating out of habit as opposed to hunger.

How does this increase our energy levels? Well the activity itself does nothing more than tell us what we are doing. However, once you see everything written down you will be able to make changes. These changes in and of themselves may only be small, say for instance, getting up half an hour earlier to go for a walk, or swapping a cup of tea and biscuits for a glass of water and a piece of fruit. But each minor change can have a massive impact on our energy levels - when we know what we are doing. 

As a way to increase energy levels it's quite an interesting exercise and a great starting point to make some changes to our work, rest and play (otherwise known as work / life balance), try it and let me know how you go.