Boost Your Energy in a Week

If you were to ask women to identify their biggest health concern, what would you expect most of them to say? Probably breast cancer, or heart disease, or even excess weight would immediately pop to mind. And yet, according to a recent study at the Women’s Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, women’s top health concern is far more mundane. We’re all simply too tired. We need an energy boost.

If you feel like you’re always running just to catch up, try these strategies this week to minimize the frantic pace of your life and help you to feel invigorated.

Sunday: Plan

How many times have you come home from work at 5:30, wondered what to make for dinner, put on the spaghetti sauce, and then realized you don’t have enough pasta? Time for another dash to the store, or perhaps a phone call to order pizza.

Before the week starts, take time to plan your menu to minimize the last minute rush. Let your family members each choose one meal that week (they’re more likely to eat it, then, too!). Once you’ve finished your menu, check your cupboards for ingredients and make a list of what you need. Then only buy what you’ll use. You’ll save time by not unloading groceries you don’t need, and you’ll save money by not buying things you won’t use for months!

If you’re really ambitious, you can try some of the new cooking strategies that are available now, such as Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg’s Once a Month Cooking. They advocate setting aside two days in a month to shop, prepare and freeze all your meals for that month. Preparing beforehand and cooking in bulk can save you time, and best of all eliminate the frustration you feel when it’s dinnertime and you don’t have a clue what to make!

Monday: Delegate

Maybe the reason you feel like you have too much to do is simply that you do have too much to do. You feel out of control, ready to give up before you even start. It’s time to delegate.

Elizabeth Prinzen, a homeschooling mother of eight, was recently feeling overwhelmed. She wanted to be able to give her undivided attention to the children during the day, but often the mundane got in the way. After a particularly stressful day, she realized that laundry was the biggest culprit. Now three of her children do the laundry, and the house runs more smoothly.

Take an honest look at all the chores that you do, both at home and at work, and ask if somebody else can do some of those instead. Three-year-olds can dust. Though they need help now, with practice they’ll be pros by the time they’re five! A nine-year-old can be taught to make a simple meal like spaghetti, and can certainly start to do laundry. A five-year-old can sort socks while he or she is watching TV. You may have to tie these chores to an allowance to encourage kids to help, and they may resist major changes. But it is in everybody’s best interests that everybody helps, so persist!

Then take a look at work. Are you doing tasks that someone else should help you with? After the downsizing that’s occurred over the last decade, often one employee is asked to do the job of two. If you’re regularly staying until 5:30 or 6:00 just to finish up, then it may be time to speak to your employer about delegating some of your tasks to somebody else.

Tuesday: Eat

Where does our energy come from? Children know. We tell them all the time. "You’d better eat your breakfast, or you won’t have any energy at recess!" We get our energy from food, yet often our eating habits rob us of energy, instead of providing the boost we need.

"We can’t overstress the importance of eating breakfast," says Peter Vash, endocrinologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center. Today, don’t skip breakfast, but don’t grab a Pop-tart or a danish because you’re in a hurry, either. Eating nothing first thing in the morning signals your body to store fat, leaving you lethargic. But eating high fat foods increases insulin levels, leaving you tired. Instead, eat low fat food with some protein to help your body rev up for the day. The same logic applies to lunch: if you eat high fat, you’ll be tired in the afternoon.

So stock your cupboards with nutritious snacks you like. Eat in a hurry if you have to, but today, promise yourself at least to eat.

Wednesday: Relax

It’s the middle of the week. It’s time to relax and take stock, before we make some bigger changes tomorrow. Stephen Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, claims that many people spend their lives "putting out fires": loved ones storm out of the house, big blow-out fights occur, we have nervous breakdowns or crises with our in-laws. If these things are consuming your energy, it could be because you’re not putting your energy into the things that will prevent such crises: taking time for yourself, nurturing your spiritual side, and spending time with people you love.

Take some time today to do something just or you, even if it’s only for fifteen minutes. Take a bath. Listen to a motivating tape. Cuddle with your children. Do those things that will refresh your spirit, so that you feed your soul to be able to handle what comes next in the week.

Thursday: Say No

Look in the mirror, and repeat this ten times: "No. No. No. No." It seems deceptively easy. Yet many of us have trouble saying the word.

When someone calls for a favor, do you automatically say yes so that they won’t be mad at you? Do you let your children be involved in all kinds of hobbies and lessons, even though it leaves you with a crazy driving schedule? Perhaps there are other commitments you have accepted that are wearing you out.

It’s time to decide what’s really important, and to say no to the rest. Take some time today, either with your spouse or by yourself, and write down what you think is reasonable and important for you and your family to be involved in. Then decide how to start eliminating commitments that don’t fit. Put everything on the table, even your job. Many people work because they think they need the money, yet when you add up all the extra expenses of working, such as childcare, extra clothes, and a second car, it may not be worth the money!

Get rid of the things that bog you down. Then practice saying no. It gets easier with time!

Friday: Sleep

Before electricity, the pioneers tended to sleep ten hours a night. Now we live in a 24-hour society, where you can watch Jay Leno at midnight and buy groceries at 3 a.m. And what happens to us? We get sick more often. We fall asleep driving. We are accident-prone.

Some of us feel proud that we can survive on six hours of sleep. My friend Lisa, who has three preschool children, routinely stays up until midnight or later doing all the housework she says she can’t do while the children are awake. Yet according to Dr. James Maas, author of Power Sleep, if you’re getting less than 8 hours of sleep, you’re sleep deprived and you’ll have less energy.

So what’s the answer? Go to sleep and get up at the same time each day, and sleep for at least eight hours. This gives your body the rest it needs and trains your body to be alert at specific times of day.

Tomorrow most of you don’t have to go to work or school. It’s tempting to stay up late tonight and sleep in tomorrow. Resist the temptation and give your body the rest it needs. You’ll reap the rewards!

Saturday: Expand

One of the reasons we often feel so tired is because things are always the same. We have the same job. The children have the same routine. Our errands and chores are the same. Adding something different to the mix can give your life some excitement and leave you energized.

What have you always wanted to do, but never done? What have you always wanted to learn more about? Financial planning? Gardening? Another language? Where have you always wanted to volunteer, but never felt you had the time? Find something that’s been nagging at you, and do it! You’ve already said no to superfluous things in your life, but it is not superfluous to make sure that you are always learning. When your mind is occupied with something new that you find fun, you have something to look forward to. So go to your library and check out a book. Explore community college or continuing education classes. Search for service opportunities. Try to expand your life, even if it’s only for a short time each week. Enlarge your horizons. See how high you will soar!

Now you have seven different strategies to boost your energy and enthusiasm. Don’t be content just to try each one once. Changes won’t necessarily happen overnight. But if you make these things a priority, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much less stress you’ll experience, and how much more energy you’ll have to embrace the life you’ve been given!