Do you have a favourite day of the week? A favourite time of day? Fridays are a day of rituals in my life. Coffee (for me) & breakfast pastries (for the kids) from my local coffee shop. Catch up on paperwork at home. Squeeze in a yoga class or go for a walk. Browse Joanna Goddard’s fun roundup for the week. Movie night with the kids snuggled on the sofa (after 30 minutes of heavy negotiations of who sits where and which movie it’ll be). I also write my blog posts and newsletter on Fridays.

I know some writers like to “batch” blog posts, creating a cache of them a few times annually. My style is based around the issues that my clients bring up at The Nook. There are always common themes. Friday afternoons I write my blog post and immediately press “send” to deliver it to my subscribers. Hot off the press. These ritualistic Fridays keep me focused and energized. It’s a time of reflection and replenishes my energy.

Battery chargers. Restoring your energy. Filling up your gas tank. How do you do it? Or, more to the point, do you do it, or are you running on empty?

I think many of us have this fantasy when we’re feeling drained and tired that ‘a week away’ would feel great. Swimming in the ocean. Walking on the beach. Ahhhh…… But then we come back to real life, and that feeling of being relaxed and recharged is left behind. We need to figure out a way to give ourselves little energy boosts on a daily basis, just like plugging in our phones to keep them charged.

It would be nice if I could offer you a list, “Do these 5 things to recharge your battery”. But that would be ineffective and disingenuous. There is no perfect formula or recipe for restoring our energy. It changes from person to person. It can even change day to day.

For someone who’s feeling low, depressed, and can’t get out of bed, encouraging them to slow down and sleep would be bad advice. For a young woman who parties non-stop and is out with friends every night, suggesting that she meet up with some pals wouldn’t restore her depleted energy. What you can do is take five or ten minutes to see if these three general elements show up in your life on a regular basis. You’ll need to tailor and tweak them to meet your needs, but these are the three basic ingredients required to boost your energy.

Ingredient No. One
There are a few universal battery chargers that I suspect you’re already aware of. Eat your fruits, veggies, and nutritious meals. Get a solid sleep each night. Move your body. Great, those are the basics. But can you truthfully say that you’re nailing this? Integrating these practices into your day-to-day life consistently? That’s ingredient number one: nourish. Without it, the hopes of increasing your energy are dismal.

Ingredient No. Two
Connection. Good old fashioned face to face contact (I don’t mean facetime on your phone). Being around other humans can help us to feel uplifted, inspired, and energized. You need to select these interactions carefully because the wrong ones can leave you feeling depleted and lonely. This doesn’t need to be intensely intense heavy heart to heart disclosures. It can be some playful 10-minute banter where you listen and feel listened to. If you’ve had too much connection lately, scale back and get connected with yourself again.

Ingredient No. Three
Get. Stuff. Done. Yes there is a reason that I saved this one for last; I have a tortured relationship with ingredient number three. As you may know, I’m a world-class procrastinator. But what I’ve discovered lately is that getting stuff done gives me the same energy boost as a jolt of caffeine. It feels great. All of those things on your mental list that you should be doing but just keep putting off (making the dents appointment, getting the car serviced, filing, taxes) take up mental space. If I can commit to ticking things off my list, so can you. Schedule them in, get it done, and enjoy the battery boost.

Don’t wait for the beach vacation or weekend getaway a few times each year to recharge your battery. It’s no fun running on empty. Integrate these three vital ingredients into your week and relish the recharge.

Nourish.
Connect
Get it done.