Your energy levels during the day or indeed the week or month affect your confidence. It stands to reason doesn’t it that when your energy levels are low, your self-confidence falls too.
This was brought sharply into focus for me this week. After a busy weekend with my family, I was off to Birmingham early Monday morning to spend time with my new Baby Cafe team. I now work for Baby Cafe two days a month, as a Regional Trainer, doing induction days, update days and site visits to Baby Cafes in the South East.
Fabulous – I had been organised and proactive with my newsletter and blog post, writing them in advance on Sunday evening. Brownie points for me then! When I got back Monday night, I was going to organise a special online learning session for Wednesday lunchtime to help mums Get started now finding work you love (that also fits around your family). I know that many mums planned to go back to work in September and somehow here we are, almost in December.
But the very early morning start on Monday morning kiboshed my plans. I was completely wiped out mentally and physically by the time I got home. So much new learning and information to absorb plus building relationships with my new team. I can’t believe that I used to consider 6am a bit of a lie-in. (Yes I had one of those children who woke up at 5am every day for months and months). Perhaps it’s a sign of getting old that I don’t handle the sleep deprivation as well as I used to. Or maybe what I was feeling on Monday is how I always used to feel, and I’ve conveniently blocked it out.
When your energy is low, your confidence is affected. When your energy is high, you can crack on through your important work with more creativity, increased productivity and an absolute focus. Everything takes longer when your energy is low. That also affects your confidence “For goodness sake, what’s going on, I’m getting worse at this” or “I must be losing my touch, this normally only takes me half an hour”.
Many of us go through a daily energy curve – some of us are early birds who like to get up early; we do our best work at the crack of dawn. Though you may hit a slump mid-afternoon. Some of us are at our absolute best in the evening. Some of the mums I work with do their best creative work until the early hours of the morning. That would kill me, but it works for them. Some of us find that our energy levels and creativity are much higher at the beginning of the week, and gradually the energy level shifts until by Friday afternoon, you’ve had enough “I’m a Mum, get me out of here“, you cry.
Top tips to manage your energy levels
- Notice what you notice about your own energy levels … are you an early bird up with the larks or a late night owl?
- Schedule your creative work, your decision-making, your important stuff at the appropriate times of the day i.e. when you have high energy levels.
- Do your energy levels fluctuate depending on the day of the week? If so, what are the factors involved? Are you getting enough rest? Is it connected with stress? Are you trying to do too much on a non-working day?
- If you notice that your energy level is feeling a bit low, do the things that don’t need so much brain power and creativity e.g. paying bills, ironing, updating spreadsheets etc.
- We know that good quality sleep is really important for your energy levels. Rachel McGuiness shares some great tips here on how to create the perfect bedroom for a good night’s sleep. If you have younger children, a good night’s sleep might seem ridiculously unrealistic, however do what you can to get good quality rest.
- Need an energy boost in the day? Put on some loud happy dance music and dance around for 5 minutes.
- Regular moderate exercise is good for you – honestly. I don’t mean go out and run a marathon but a brisk 20 minute walk every day is something we can all fit into our routine.
- Eat healthily – I know the health gurus tell us this all the time but what you eat honestly does affect how you feel. Check out these fabulous recipes to boost your wellness.
You have to take time to look after yourself to be able to look after others. Both your physical and mental wellness are super important; it’s common sense but it’s what neuroscience tells us too. Your energy levels really do affect your confidence however you can take action to minimise the impact. As for my grand plans to run a Wednesday webinar, I decided that I’ll do it next week instead. There’s no law that my online training has to be on a Wednesday!
Want to get more done?
When you are feeling overwhelmed, your stress levels are rising but your energy is falling because you’re trying to get that report finished, pick up the dry cleaning on the way home from work, bake brownies for the school fair and and and … wouldn’t it be amazing if you could magic up more hours in the day?
I know what life is like for the busy mum. We all want to know how to get more done in 24 hours. Click HERE to grab a copy of my free ebook that shares 7 ideas that really work, even for the busiest mum.
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