When five p.m. hits, you’re wrung out. Heck, you’re zapped of energy by mid-morning. You drag yourself to work five days a week, knowing the remaining two days won’t be sufficient to regenerate the energy you need. You work an energy vampire job, but it’s your job. So, what can you do?
Plenty – and here are four essential strategies:
Detox nightly
If you work a killer job, don’t take it home with you. Instead, give yourself an every-evening and weekend vacation. As you drive or walk away from the work site, remind yourself, “I’m off!” And if you’ve been venting about your job to your friends and family, cut it out. Don’t give your job any additional air time.
Fill your tank
When your job drains your tank, you need to fill it. In addition to the standard strategies – eating a great breakfast, getting adequate sleep, drinking lots of water as dehydration creates a sense of fatigue and enjoying at least twenty minutes of exercise daily – knowing exercise boosts energy even when you think “I just can’t” – try these creative approaches.
Look at the bright side. Write down what your job teaches you about your inner strength, resilience and ability to make the most of a challenging situation. Focus what the positives in your work situation and the reasons you feel good about your job. Remind yourself of all the things you do well and strategize how to use your strengths to help you with the challenging parts of your job.
Create boundaries
Even and especially when you work a draining job, you can decide – this much and no more. Which boundaries do you need to create?
- Leaving at five or six p.m. daily?
- Working hard at work, but not taking it home?
- Letting toxic coworkers know when to back off?
- Setting limits on the expectations you, your boss, or peers set on you?
Have you juggled so many shifting, overwhelming priorities for so long, that you handle a work overload in a chaotic environment and so today you need to commit four hours to prioritizing and organizing?
Game plan
Finally, develop your game plan. What’s creating the energy drain? Are you burnt out, and need to find a different job or career, even if it means a pay cut? Does your work not fit you, for example, are you an introvert stuck in an extroverted job? Do you work around toxic coworkers or those who don’t pull their own weight? Has overwork forced you over the edge of overwhelmed?
Whatever the problem or cause of your energy, create a plan for taking back your life. You’ll feel better immediately and even better once you take action.
