Today’s episode of Creating The Path is about how to manage your energy and stay productive during the colder, shorter days of winter. I’m sharing 6 tips to stay energized and productive during this season when we usually feel more sluggish and lazy because of the weather.
LISTEN ON:
Topics discussed in this episode:
[02:09] How your environment affects your energy
[03:20] Focusing on the things we can control: what we think, feel and do
[06:26] Tip #1: Getting enough sleep
[07:49] Tip #2: Get outside before 10 am
[09:42] Tip #3: Finish your shower with a blast of cold water
[12:20] Extra tip for the evenings
[12:44] Tip #4: Do something to raise your body temperature
[13:15] Tip #5: Schedule focus work in the morning
[16:07] Tip #6: Honor where you’re at
Free Resources:
Get your FREE Energy Tracker here and start doing less and accomplishing more in your business.
Follow me on Social:
Noteworthy Quotes:
“Negative emotions will drain your energy, and positive emotions will increase your energy.”
“Once you understand your own energy flow, and what drains or replenishes your energy… Then you can adapt to any changes in your environment.”
“It’s all about finding balance.”
“Sleep is the foundation of our energy and overall health.”
“Schedule 90 min of focused work in the morning.”
“When things in your environment become more draining, don’t just push through.” Make sure you are aware of that and you’re taking the time to take care of yourself.”
“Honor where you’re at and let yourself have a slower pace of life.”
Summary of the Podcast:
Creating the Path is a podcast that challenges multi-passionate entrepreneurs to achieve their goals by working less and eliminating overwhelm, so they can create their own unique pathway to a life they love. My mission is to transform hustle culture and assist others to shift away from living life on auto-pilot to living intentionally and following your own path to a life you love instead.
Host Bio:
Heather Grace Hanson is a certified positive psychology-based coach and creator of the Intentional Energy Framework, a system that empowers you to create a life and business you love without burning out. Heather is obsessed with all things personal development, running and walking in the park, interior design, salsa dancing and most importantly, spending time with her pup, Barclay.
Episode Transcript:
Okay, so before I get into today's topic I just want to warn you that I am working unscripted today. I'm a new podcaster and I'm, you know, trying to figure out what works for me. And so for the first couple episodes of the podcast I wrote full scripts because I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't forget anything that I wanted to say, and you know make sure I wouldn't ramble too much or say um too much.
So I wrote those scripts and just followed them for the most part, but I felt like, you know, maybe I sounded a little bit stiff so I wanted to try an unscripted episode. So here we go. All right, so getting to today's topic. This episode is basically my answer to a question that I got from someone on my email list, and her question was basically, how to manage your energy and stay productive when it's winter, when it's getting darker and colder outside.
I am in the Northern hemisphere. So we are, you know, getting into winter right now, and I think this is such a fantastic question because at least for me, and I think it's this way for most people, you know winter is a time where you just want to stay in, get cozy on the couch and not do much. Right?
So how can we boost our energy and make sure we're just not, you know, not getting things done? So the other reason that I love this podcast topic today is because I think it's a perfect example of how our environment affects our energy. There are so many ways that your environment can affect your energy. You know for me, if my apartment is cluttered, I just feel frazzled, and I feel like my brain is cluttered. You know, if you're surrounded by negative people, they are going to drag you down. They're going to bring you to a negative place and that is going to drain your energy, because I think I've mentioned this before on the podcast but negative emotions will drain your energy and positive emotions will increase your energy. So when you're surrounded by negativity, that's just naturally going to drain you. And like today's topic, the weather, the seasons, like that can affect your energy. Um.
You know if it's a rainy day, or like today's topic winter, the amount of light that we have during the day, that can all affect our energy, and you know some things we can't change. We can't change the fact that it's winter, I mean unless you're going to travel down south. Um. You know for the most part we we can't change the fact that um, it's wintertime and that the days are going to be shorter, so what we can do obviously, is focus on the things that we can change or that we do have control over, and on a high level the things that we can control, are what we think, feel and do.
So today I'm going to be talking about, what are the things that we can do to counteract the things in our environment that we can't change, and when I sat down to think about what I wanted to say for this episode, I realized, you know, that the tips I'm going to give today, like it's all the same things that we can always do to manage our energy, like it's always the same underlying principles, and that's what I think is so great about this.
Because once you understand your own energy flow and what drains and replenishes your energy, then once you understand that, then you have the basic skill. Then you're flexible, then you can adapt to any changes in your environment. So when your environment changes to become more draining, what you want to do basically is to compensate by doing more things to replenish your energy. You know, it's always about finding this balance, like we're always going to be in a constant state of balancing and rebalancing. You know, having things that are draining our energy and then counteracting that to replenish our energy.
So today I'll talk about a few of the main things that you can do to manage your energy you know during winter when the days are darker and colder. And I'm going to specifically focus on, you know, there's a lot of things you can do, but today I'll specifically focus on some of the things that address this issue of the darker colder days.
So the main thing that I think is helpful in this situation, is to really give yourself a boost of energy first thing in the morning because I think that just sets your whole day on a better trajectory if you start yourself out with energy first thing in the morning.
And the first thing I want to say before I get into the specific tips is that I am all about natural ways to boost your energy. So that's what I'm going to be focusing on. You know you can definitely have caffeine in the morning, but I personally try to avoid boosting my energy in ways that can crash me later on like with caffeine or sugar. I'm definitely not perfect. I'm a huge sugar addict, so you know I definitely indulge sometimes but I try to avoid it.
You know, usually for me, it's the afternoon when I want to go for the sugar. Um. But I know that it's going to make me crash and feel crappy later on so I just want to mention that. You know, it's not that you can't use those things you know like if you want to have coffee in the morning. Definitely go for it. But um I just wanted to give that little disclaimer before we move into the tips.
So tip number 1 is get enough sleep. This is like the number 1 tip that I always revert to first when I'm talking about energy management because honestly it's. You know sleep is the foundation of our energy and our overall health and if you think about it, you know, we're talking about how to give yourself a boost of energy first thing in the morning. The first most important thing is to make sure you're not starting out at a deficit, you know. If you are waking up and you haven't gotten enough sleep the night before you're already. Um
Yeah like I said, you're already at a deficit. You already have to make up for that loss of energy, um, that you didn't get during the night.
So. Yeah. That is my first and number 1 tip and honestly you know the reason I mentioned this first too, is because you can do all sorts of other things to boost your energy, you know, after waking up. But honestly, if you're starting out from a place of not being tested enough or not having gotten enough sleep, there's only so much you can do. You can do all these other things, but you're likely to still feel tired and sluggish throughout the whole day if you haven't gotten enough sleep. So number one, most important tip.
Moving on to tip number 2, is to get outside and view the natural daylight as soon as you can after you wake up, ideally before 10am. So this is a tip I learned from the Huberman Lab podcast, which is a science-based podcast.
I highly recommend it if you are like me and you really love learning the nitty-gritty science details of things, and so what he said about getting outside and viewing daylight early in the morning is that there's something. Um. I'm probably not going to remember exactly what, you know, all the nitty-gritty science and I don't think we need to get into that anyway. But there's something about viewing the sunlight when it's at a lower angle, when the sun hasn't risen you know to its peak quite yet. There's something that just like signals our brain and our body that, you know, hey it's morning. It's time to wake up. So that's a really great way to and I think just viewing as much light as you can first thing in the morning. I mean that alone just signals your body that like, hey it's daytime, wake up.
So, I've been doing this since I learned that from his podcast. I've started taking my dog on a longer walk in the morning so that I'm outside for maybe like 15 to 20 minutes on our walk. I think on the podcast he said, you know, if you go outside for like ten minutes that should be good, and since I've been doing that, I do feel like I've been more awake right away in the morning. So I do feel like for me it's been very helpful. So I definitely recommend that, and it's an easy thing to do, you know, to just get outside if you have a place where you can easily get outside.
So tip number 3, I don't know how many people are going to, um you know, take this tip or actually start doing this, but I will say that I have been doing this for over a year now and I love it. I absolutely love it. And so tip number 3 is to finish your shower with a blast of cold water, and this is why I say I don't know how many people are actually going to do this. Because, I mean, I'll admit even though I love it, you know, it is a shock, and and right before I turn on the cold water, I'm not looking forward to it, but I will leave on the cold water for maybe like a minute or so and I'll turn around and make sure my whole body gets covered in the the cold water and I wait until I've adjusted to the cold water. So as soon as I turn it on, you know, it gives me a jolt and I want to jump out, but I wait until my body has adjusted and it's not so much of a shock anymore.
So this does a few things. It creates resilience in your body. It definitely jolts you awake really quick obviously, and this is another tip related to this that I learned from the Huberman Lab podcast which is that when you expose yourself to cold in the morning, what it does is, when you get out of the cold, it triggers your body to to start raising your body temperature, because obviously your body wants to bring yourself back into some sort of balance.
And we actually want our body temperature to be raising in the morning because that, or just generally during the day whether it's the morning and then throughout the day, we want our body temperature to be raising because that is the natural way that our system works, which is that our body temperature raises during the day, and then at some point later in the day or the evening, our body temperature starts to lower as we prepare for sleep. So it's just a good way to make sure your system is on that proper schedule of what happens when you're awake and putting yourself in a good place for when it's time to go to sleep.
I hope I did not butcher the science on that, but that was the basic gist of it which is that exposing yourself to cold in the morning is good because it triggers your body temperature to rise and that's also why? Um. Just a side note, that's also why it's good to maybe or can be relaxing to take a hot or like a warm bath later in the day because that does the reverse then when you get out of the hot bath it triggers your body temperature to start cooling and that helps you get in a good place for sleep later on. So those 2 things are good for keeping yourself on a good waking/sleeping schedule.
Okay tip number four, do something to raise your body temperature. You know when it's winter and it's cold or if your home is cold, and if that's making you not want to move and not do anything, you know because obviously when you're cold you just kind of want to um not move and maybe just cuddle up under some blankets and things like that.
You know if you want to get yourself moving, actually get up and do something that's really going to raise your body temperature like dance or exercise or something like that.
Tip number five. So this tip is a tip on how you can be productive during this time when maybe you're not feeling so productive.
So this tip is, to schedule ninety minutes of focused work in the morning. So maybe like 1 to 2 hours after you wake up. And there's science around this which basically shows that, and I think it makes sense, You know that shows that the morning is a good time to really focus and get work done, for a few reasons. So I think honestly just because the morning is a time of the day when most of us are more likely to have more energy anyway because you know we've just woken up.
We haven't had the full day to have things draining our energy. You know, as long as we got enough sleep the night before, we should be well rested, and then so this idea of doing ninety minutes of focused work. So you know, I've tried in the past doing pomodoros which you know they say to do for pomodoros to do twenty five minutes of work, then take a five minute break, then do another 25 and so on, and that doesn't really work for me because when I'm doing focused work, I really need a big chunk of time to really get into whatever project it is that I'm working on.
And there actually is science that shows that ninety minutes is a good amount of time because you may have heard this in relation to sleep, where our bodies will cycle through the different phases of sleep every ninety minutes. Well it turns out that our body actually sort of naturally runs on ninety minute cycles throughout the day also, so when it's a good time for you to do focused work, it's good if you can do ninety minutes to take advantage of that full cycle. So I've been doing this, and for me I actually think of it as kind of like a revised pomodoro, you know, where like my pomodoro just happens to be ninety minutes instead of 25. And then, honestly for me, like if I do 2 maybe 3 of those ninety minute sessions of working, that's good. That's all I need, you know? If I do 2 of those and I get 3 hours of really focused work, that is amazing, and that's all I need to do during the day. So that's a tip I highly recommend, you know 1 to 2 hours after you wake up or figure out what might be the exact best time for you. But if you can do that, it's really helpful to be productive.
And tip number 6 is, just to honor where you're at. You know I think especially for us people who live in areas of the world where there are different seasons. You know, just being aware that there are going to be those seasons where, you know our energy is different. You know, maybe our energy is a little bit lower and to just honor that and not try to push through it, and you know to make sure you're taking the time to rest and replenish, and you know if you can try to keep your schedule a little bit lighter.
You know it goes back to what I said at the beginning of the podcast, which is that if our environment is more draining, then we have to find that balance by doing more things to replenish our energy, to find that better balance. So this is what that is, you know, is to just honor the fact that like, your environment has changed. It's a little bit more draining, so that means you just need more time, more rest time, you know, or if you're going to add in activities make sure you're adding activities that are going to replenish your energy rather than drain it.
You know, in just the last podcast episode, I talked about hustle culture. So that's what we want to avoid, you know, when things in your situation or your environment become more draining. Don't just keep pushing through. Make sure you are aware of that, and that you're taking the time to take care of yourself. So let's do a little recap. Those are my 6 tips.
So tip number 1 is get enough sleep.
Tip Number 2, if you can get outside and view the natural daylight as soon as you can after waking up.
Tip number 3 if you are brave enough, is to end your shower with a blast of cold water.
Tip number 4 you know if you're cold because it's winter, do something to raise your body temperature. And you know and make it fun. You know, dance, exercise, whatever you want to do.
And to keep yourself productive tip number 5 is to schedule ninety minutes of focused work in the morning approximately 1 to 2 hours after you wake up.
And tip number 6 is to just honor where you're at and let yourself have a slower pace of life if that's what you need during the wintertime.
And that's what I have for you today. Until next time.