3 Little Things I Do to Restore My Energy

Restoring energy enables me (and potentially you) to excel in time management

Published in

Small Steps

5 min readJan 23, 2024

Have you ever thought that time management is not necessarily about time? It’s more about how you manage your energy.

We all have 24 hours in a day. An ordinary breakdown of this 24-hour period is in three groups of 8: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of free time, and 8 hours of sleep. There could be some variation, but we all have the same base.

So why do people differ compared to others on how many things they can do per day? Without cross-comparing among individuals, we sometimes have different levels of productivity on different days.

The answer is energy.

Knowing when we have the most energy enables us to learn the “suitable” timing to undertake our essential tasks. Knowing how to restore vigor lets us act despite not “being in the mood.”

Phrases like “early bird” and “night owl” imply we all have different energy flows. As for me, I’m an “early bird” who can do a lot of things in the morning and gradually becomes “brain-dead” at night. On the other hand, I have a friend who once claimed she could only do things at midnight since that’s the time she had excessive inspiration and creativity.

We have different lifestyles, but what matters is that we know what works for us. We know when to complete our imperative tasks instead of going against our will by following the “trending” lifestyle.

Three Small Steps to Increasing Your Energy

By being aware of our energy flow foundation, there could still be times when we feel “down.” And these are the little things I do to recharge and increase my energy level:

1. Writing a Diary

I started writing a diary when I was ten years old. There are essentially four themes to remark on at the different life stages I encountered:

Between the ages of 10–16, I documented all the negative emotions I absorbed throughout the day in my diary. You bet, as a youngster who underwent puberty, there was a lot of dissatisfaction.
Between the ages of 17–21, my diary entries were all related to my college life: the people I met, the events I experienced, and all sorts of academic stress.
Between the ages of 21–23, the theme shifted from college to work life. Despite the event differences, the emotions were essentially the same.

To summarize the above three themes, I treated my diary as a way of absorbing my negative emotions. It was great to release them, but it wasn’t pleasant to read them afterward if they were the only content.

I noticed that my future self wants aspiring events that would pump me up since I often read back to my diaries when I feel discouraged.

Fortunately, I had my diary transformation when I underwent my first job transition — where I commenced my self-improvement journey. My hunger for change is enormous, and I certainly know that I no longer want to wake up miserably. I aspire to wake up and proudly announce, “What a beautiful day to start my life.”

Two books that inspired my diary transformation:

🍃 “Kira and a Dog Named Money”¹: The power of a success diary is to wrap up the day with empowerment. Celebrating my wins (small and big) and reflecting on what I did well are my primary sources of confidence.

🍃 “Three of the Most Important Things Everyday”²: I let my morning journal writing kickstart my morning ritual. Despite numerous uncertainties, the only thing I know for sure while reflecting on yesterday is that I will be better today.

The morning journal is a recharging station that encourages me to keep doing the things I set out to do during the day. And the success diary is a witness to my everyday growth.

2. Taking a Creative Break

Most of us might be familiar with the “break” concept. Taking a break is known to have a substantial benefit in delivering a better result for studying, working, or doing other things.

But are all types of rest considered to be “beneficial?”

There were days that I utilized “rest” as my excuse to avoid my problems until I found my method of taking a “creative break.” When I act as a couch potato, I am more energy drained. Whereas, when I take a rest to do anything that involves playing around with my creativity, I find it more effective in reducing the energy deficit I accumulate by doing tasks that demand tremendous energy.

I could doodle to blank out. I could play a song to calm down. I could even write freely to claim back my moment.

3. Walking Before Sunset

Taking myself for a walk is a time I passively “exercise,” a way to wrap up a long day, and my source of inspiration.

When walking alone, I enjoy tranquility because this is the best time for me to become an active listener of my internal state.

When walking with my friends and family, I love hearing the stories they share because I am grateful for the chance they offer me to learn more about them.

Due to the nature of my work, I am constantly exposed to many digital devices, and walking outdoors is also a fantastic way to remind me about the beauty of nature.

Up to now, some may ask how all these little things help me to be proficient with my time management.

The key is to push me back into momentum when I don’t have sufficient energy to move forward (or I want to give up). They don’t occupy a big chunk of my time, typically ranging from 5 to 10 minutes each. But these tiny moments are the pillars that allow me to mimic the energy flow I could have on a regular morning. They also help me to take a step back from the busy world I have engaged myself in.

References

Schaefer, Bodo. Kira and a Dog Named Money. AB Publishing, 2017.
Yongxi, Zhang, and Ruiwen, Li. 每天最重要的3件事 Meitian Zui Zhongyao de Sanjianshi [Three of the Most Important Things Everyday]. Wenhua Fazhan chubanshe, 2017.