Energy

Since our time is limited and our to-do lists are long, we can’t afford to have time wasters in our schedule, especially if they also steal our positive energy. Take this opportunity to review how you’re spending the precious minutes in your day. If it includes any of the following “3 C’s,” get rid of them now! You deserve better.

1. Comparing

Having role models is great. Constantly comparing yourself to others to see how you “measure up” is not. There will always be someone who is smarter, richer, or has a fancier job title than you. So what? Judge your accomplishments based on your goals and priorities, not someone else’s.

2. Complaining

Complaining takes away valuable time and energy you could be spending finding a solution or making the best of a sticky situation. It also brings down the people around you.

3. Criticizing

It’s easy to find the bad in every situation and person. Finding the good becomes easier when you make it a habit. Take a moment to point out the good in something. It takes just as much time as a criticism but puts you in a better mood to plow through the tasks on your to-do list.

Getting rid of these 3 C’s helps free up your time and energy for more useful and productive endeavors. Enjoy!

Connect with The Time Diet for more time management tips

In order to have excellent time management skills and complete everything on your daily list, you need three things: 1) Time 2) Motivation and 3) Energy. If you’re anything like me, that third ingredient, energy, is sometimes hard to come by.

I’ve been in a real energy drought this week, mainly because I had such a relaxing holiday break that jumping right back into 100% productivity is a shock to the system. It’s felt like trying to go 0 to 60 in a broken down station-wagon. I certainly don’t have the magic energy solution (or I’d be enjoying early retirement on a beach somewhere in Hawaii) but here are some things that work for me.

1) Fight Boredom
Boredom is one of the worst energy zappers. If you aren’t interested in what you’re doing, your energy level will plummet. Make boring days more interesting by changing up your routine. Try switching the order you usually complete your tasks. Turn your work space around, or my personal favorite, open a window! Getting a little sunshine is a great change to a dull workspace. This article suggests some other ways to make small changes to find more energy such as taking a different route to work.

2) Drink Water
I can’t function without my morning cup of coffee, but I also can’t function without a few refills on my water bottle throughout the day. Drinking water keeps you alert and hydrated. When my energy level starts to fade mid-afternoon, a few gulps of ice water is the first thing I try.

3) Move Around
We’ve all heard that exercise gives you energy, and that’s great, but when I’m on a deadline I don’t have the time to hop in my car and go to the gym. Instead, try standing up and walking somewhere briskly, even it is just across the room or around the corner. When I’m trying to knock things out and work in the afternoon, I’ll get up and go to the mail room to check my mailbox, even though I know there is nothing there, just for the energy boost.

4) Fake it!
When I stumble into my car to drive to work at 6am, I’m always amazed at how peppy the announcers on the radio are. Here I am still trying to wake up and they have already been at work for the better part of two hours. Then it occurred to me: when your job depends on having energy at the crack of dawn, you must get pretty good at faking it. Sometimes just pretending to be awake and energetic can be helpful, rather than sulking in your tired state. Pretending may not work all the time, but wallowing in your lack of energy does nothing for your productivity.