Three Ways To Maintain Your Energy At Work

By Ashley Stahl, Originally Published in Forbes

As a career coach, nothing gets me more pumped than seeing my clients excited about a brand new job. On the flip side, nothing makes me sadder than seeing a client throw away an excellent opportunity because they don’t feel the same energy and motivation they did at the start. The worst part about these scenarios is the fact that the change doesn’t have to be with the job at all, but rather a few simple tweaks in a less than healthy daily routine.

Let’s say you started a new job at the beginning of the year. When you signed on, you were motivated, inspired and most of all, energized. Nothing was going to get in your way, but now, it’s March, and you’re noticing that no amount of caffeine is getting you through long days anymore.

It can be totally normal to feel a crash once in a while after a hectic morning, but if you’re feeling lethargic and tired on the regular, it’s definitely time to make some sort of change in your daily routine. Here are some methods you can use to maintain your energy throughout the workday.

• Incorporate morning workouts. While it may seem like working your body out when you first wake up will cause you to crash even harder, the opposite is true. An article on WebMD states that researches say expending energy by engaging in regular exercise may pay off with increased energy in the long run. By working out, your body and your brain will have kickstarted into high gear so you can come into work feeling fresh and inspired. Exercise also helps you maintain better sleeping habits, and a study from the Sleep Foundation found that adults with insomnia fell asleep more quickly, slept slightly longer and had better sleep quality than before they began exercising.
• Eat better and smaller meals. Eating right goes hand-in-hand with regular exercise. Instead of eating a burger and fries, eat a salad with quinoa or some other equivalent of a small but robust meal. A study from Harvard stated that the circadian rhythms of people who eat a lot at lunch typically show a more pronounced afternoon slump. Eating late will also keep you up at night because of the extra energy it uses to digest your food. Sleep.org states that a healthy, balanced diet that’s high in fiber and low in added sugars could help you to fall asleep faster, and give you as much as two extra hours of sleep per night.
• Take your breaks. Sometimes I find myself on a real work bender and realize that I have been on the computer for hours without taking a break. Not only is this hard on my eyes, but it’s going to kill my energy levels in the long run. There are a number of studies that show taking a 15-minute break every 90 minutes will help both your energy levels and productivity.

A drastic cure for feeling a lack of energy at work is a change in career, but I would only recommend this step if you’re feeling burned out on your job completely. Far too often, I see clients who are low on energy as just low on purpose. Believe me, when you have a sense of purpose and meaning in your career, you tap into unexpected wells of energy! Nonetheless, you don’t have to make a bunch of sudden changes in your life just yet, so try one of these steps at a time and see if you like it. Hopefully, some of these tips can help you regain your stamina and power through your workdays so you can stay motivated, challenged and successful.

For a FREE course to land a new job you love, launch your dream business, or find your purpose, visit https://ashleystahl.com/