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I’ve written before about how important it is to limit how much time you spend on the energy-sucking elements of your life, but I think it’s just as important to make room for people and rituals that energize you.
This topic almost seems too obvious to write about, but hardly anyone thinks about which people and activities provide them with the most energy, and then acts to make time for them.
There are likely people that provide you with an incredible amount of energy and motivation after you have a coffee with them. Or activities you do, like working out or meditating, that provide you with a solid reserve of energy throughout the day.
Here are a few of my favorite ways to identify the people and habits that give you the most energy:
- Literally skim through your contact list on your phone and think of which people have provided you with the most energy after you had a coffee or lunch with them.
- Look back through your calendar to see who you’ve met with. Which meetings gave you the most energy, motivation, happiness, and drive afterward?
- Go the other direction: Which meetings have you felt the worst after? How can you get out of those commitments down the line?
- Reflect on when you’ve had the most energy. What were you doing immediately beforehand? Were you working out? Meditating? Spending time with a loved one? Reading?
This is one of those ideas that seems painfully obvious in hindsight, that you might not think about because it’s so much easier to accept the commitments people throw at you. Scheduling time for rituals that energize you is one of my favorite ways to gain more energy and boost my productivity.
