23 ways to put pep in your step…

Energy leaks are unique to us, but some common culprits we can look out for are stress, work, family, financial pressures, dehydration, over-exercising, eating too little, sitting all day, excessive social media usage, a lack of sunlight, overworking or isolation.

2. Keep your blood-sugar levels balanced
Heightened blood-sugar levels often induce a rapid energy surge, succeeded by an energy crash, creating a ‘blood-sugar rollercoaster’ familiar to many individuals who experience tiredness. To balance your blood sugar, avoid free sugars and refined carbohydrates, found in sweets, chocolate, cakes, white bread or pasta, and instead opt for slower-releasing (or complex) carbohydrates.

3. Avoid overstimulation
When our senses are heightened and stimulated, we can experience ‘sensory overload’. Our brain has to compete with lots of different sensory information gleaned from the external environment and it cannot process it all at once or know which to prioritise. So take regular breaks from tech, avoid too much blue light, and don’t always have sound in your ears. Go for walks without a podcast or listening to music, switch off the TV, and learn to be comfortable with silence.

4. Identify what energises you and do more of it
Identify the specific things that energise you most, e.g brisk walks, intellectual conversations, visiting museums, reading about new inventions, building Lego with your kids. Then commit to doing it more often, even if that means treating it with the same level of commitment you would work, study or appointments.

5. Achieve a mini goal
Progress is often the best motivator; A useful trick to jump-start any endeavour is setting a mini goal-something small yet significant that you can accomplish immediately.

6. Be mindful of your ‘five’
Research has shown that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, so make sure your five are energy-giving and not energy-hoovering. This doesn’t mean you suddenly start ignoring people in your life who are energy ‘vampires’, but it does mean you should probably find ways to spend less time with them.

7. Eat at regular times
Research has shown that eating at irregular times, as well as skipping breakfast, is associated with increased fatigue. Having consistent mealtimes can ensure a steady balance of energy, improve our mood, and even train our hunger.

8. Become a waterholic 
With 60 per cent of your body consisting of water, drinking enough of the stuff is essential to feeling energised and mentally sharp.

9. Work out your ‘Personal Energy Map’
Your PEM is about the patterns that emerge when you answer questions such as: when in the day / week / year do you feel most creative, analytical, social, or strategic? Or, are there monthly or seasonal variations in your energy levels? If you feel most sociable early in the month, do your most important team meetings or conversations with partners during those times.

10. Snack on copper-rich foods
Copper is a nutrient that plays an essential role in supporting energy production. Easy copper-rich snacks include cashew nuts, dark chocolate, dried fruit, prawns, green leafy vegetables and sesame seeds.

11. Move little and often
Boosting your energy, counterintuitively, can come from expending your energy. It doesn’t have to be two-hour sweat fests in the gym, either. You can walk around the room while texting, do a few leg stretches while waiting for the kettle to boil, etc.

12. Find ways to work without motivation – Charlotte’s Top Tip
Relying on motivation as a source of energy is a recipe for procrastination and long-term stress. Instead, try to establish a way to work without motivation. Build good habits like making your first task a really easy one and reward yourself when you get something done, no matter how small.

13. Reduce mental chatter
We have on average around 6.200 thoughts a day, as many as 80 per cent of these are negative, and up to 95 per cent are repeated from the day before. Try clearing your mind by writing three pages of notes every morning about anything that springs to mind – it can be big, small or trivial. This means you can start the day afresh without worry, stress or any other emotion that might be hijacking your day and your energy!

14. Think inside the (bento) box
A bento box typically consists of food such as rice (40 per cent). fish or meat (30 per cent), vegetables and pickles (30 per cent). The lesson that we can apply from thinking inside the bento box is to build our meals around the ideas of moderation, variety and balance, with a bias towards foods that provide our bodies with a natural source of energy.

15. Get smart about your social calendar
In 2024, say “no” to social events you don’t want to do. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, social events will always demand your energy. In situations where you feel as though you have to express certain emotions or hide your true feelings, you will quickly find yourself drained and exhausted. If you do have to attend an emotionally exhausting event, prioritise getting rest through a calming, low-emotion activity afterward.

16. Dial down ultra-processed foods
High-fat, high-carb meals have been shown to contribute to fatigue as well as increased inflammatory markers in the blood after eating. Eating a plant-rich diet may be key, as the anti-inflammatory plant polyphenols can support having more energy.

17. Use an ancient Stoic technique – Damien’s Top Tip
Determine what is and what is not in your control. Then try to direct your energy towards what you can control. Often, we spend a large proportion of our mental energy on worrying about scenarios that are entirely beyond our sphere of influence. If we focus our attention and actions on what we can actually change in our lives. we can become more effective in the areas that truly matter.

18. Follow the 3-2-1 rule
Three hours before bed… log off from all work-related activities and use this time to review your day and to plan the next day’s priorities.

Two hours before bed… say no to any more eating and use this time to wind down and get yourself in the right frame of mind for bed.
One hour before bed… escort any digital devices out of the bedroom and use this time for relaxing activities such as reading, journalling, taking a warm bath, visualisation or meditation.

19. Eat more green leafy veg
Try to include at least one cup of green leafy vegetables in your diet each day, such as spinach, rocket, watercress, pak choi and kale. They are nutritional powerhouses filled with fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (plant chemicals). When it comes to energy, these leafy veg also deliver a bonanza of fatigue-fighting nutrients such as folate, magnesium and iron.

20. Rethink caffeine
Caffeine might make us feel we have more energy, but there is evidence that suggests people who drink caffeine are not any more effective or productive than those who don’t. And, because caffeine withdrawal can lead to a crash in energy later on, you might find your overall feelings of fatigue are actually worse day to day. It’s worth experimenting with your intake if you do regularly consume it to see if your afternoon energy levels are boosted by skipping a morning cup.

21. Top up your magnesium
Magnesium has recently gained a lot more attention and is a co-enzyme to more than 600 processes within the body, including energy metabolism.Sources of magnesium include nuts, seeds, bananas, fish and cocoa.
Additionally, enjoying an Epsom salt bath in the evenings is another great way to ensure you are getting enough magnesium, as the magnesium in the salts is absorbed straight through the skin and into the blood stream.

22. Get your bloods checked
It is important to visit your GP and rule out any underlying drivers of fatigue which, once addressed, can contribute to an increase in energy levels going into the year ahead.

23. Rest
Take the art of resting seriously. High-performance athletes know all about the importance of rest: they maintain a rigorous balance between stress and recovery because, after exertion, the body needs time to repair and strengthen muscle tissue. The same is true for our psyches. They too need proper pauses to rebalance and recharge themselves.