optimizing and managing energy levels

[pterodactyl]

Hi all,

I am having tremendous difficulty maintaining consistently high and positive energy lately, and I believe most of this stems from my mental attitude, outlook and beliefs. Specifically, I feel very low, down and almost depressed. This is absolutely unacceptable for me, as I recently married the man of my dreams, landed the job of my dreams and I am working with a top group of highly intelligent, very competitive people and I cannot afford to make a single misstep in order to secure my future in this field. High energy levels are demanded not only for my job performance but in order to achieve all the other goals I have-- athletic goals, relationship goals and developing friendships, even learning a new skill such as playing a new instrument. At the moment, I have barely the energy to stay focused on my work tasks and instead of getting up at the crack of dawn and working 12+ hour days as before, I am now waking up around 6 am and working 10 hour days and only half days on weekends. I am also overly sensitive to other people's energy levels, and their moods and energy balance tends to greatly affect me, particularly negative ones. There is a coworker whose persistent negativity has so affected me that today I left early rather than sit there and be passively "poisoned" by his energy state. The energy levels of nearly everyone around me feels tangible, and I am becoming so sensitive to the people around me that when I walk into a room I can feel what they are feeling. This would be great if the overall mood and tone was positive, but like me these folks are stressed, and we all seem to be so immersed in competition that the more positive and nourishing elements I originally brought with me into the group are being lost.

While there are physical factors that have contributed to this state, I do believe that my low energy is primarily emotional and mental. How can I keep my energy high? I was following a raw diet for many months but found that it makes me too sensitive to others. If I cannot focus on what important information a person is conveying because his emotions are literally screaming out at me, that is a bad thing, and I experienced this increasingly on raw food. I want to feel good and normal again, so I switched back to a regular cooked and raw vegan diet. The light foods have helped me stay alert (anything more than about 300 calories in one sitting makes me fall asleep) but I still need two double espressos in order to make it through the day. I have also started drinking more in order to just feel more normal-- one to three glasses of wine, on average, per night. I don't know if this is contributing to how I am feeling but it may well be as alcohol disrupts sleep patterns and causes dehydration, which contribute to fatigue. I believe diet is generally OK otherwise, so I will keep on it and see.

I can't stress enough how important it is that I have high energy levels and meet my goals. It means everything to me. What can I do to improve my mental focus and attitude? I do not have time to take meditation classes regularly or do yoga/pilates. I would love to have downtime to do something creative (which rejuvenates me) but alas, there is too much to do lately. I have enough time at night to cook dinner, spend a couple of hours with my husband, maybe do a load of laundry or clean the kitchen, catch up on any emergency emails or necessary work, and go to bed (I'm typing this now while I eat dinner). What do high functioning people do to maintain their energy, particularly those who are "other-focused" or outward-focused in their energy and outlook? What do highly productive people do to keep themselves that way?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[silicon toad2000]

Physiological issues, qty and quality of sleep, diet (should snack every 2-3 hours), hyrdation (the brain is mostly water), air quality...

I would also suggest having a read of steves article on relaxifying your workspace.

From what you have said however it does sounds very much like an emotional thing. A lot of people call the first hour of the day the rudder. I find if you can spend the first our of the day getting a touch of exercise, leisurely breakfast and generally feel good for that hour, the rest of the day just gets that little bit easier.