Where Oh Where Has My Energy Gone?

As I ease into the weekend, I’m feeling anxious. I did not get done everything that needed to get done this week, and here we are trying to beat the clock to hit the road. When will these things get done?

I believe myself to be efficient at time and task management overall. I (usually) get up before the sun to get to work on my “to do list”. But by the time the sun is heading off to bed, I’m ready to head off to bed too, despite a list of things that still need to get done.

How can I be more efficient? How can I have more energy? How can I stop doing some of the things I do?

I need to be more efficient. This week I’ve found that putting off tasks until later isn’t procrastinating… it is a better use of my time. Things that can get done efficiently with a tired mind should get done in the evening. Things that need a fresh mind in order to get done efficiently should be done early in the morning. I’m going to try to practice that more. I often try to first do whatever can get crossed off of the list fastest, but despite giving me a little rush from having shortened the to-do list, it isn’t the best use of my time.

I need more energy. I tend to spend enough hours in bed, but often I wake in the middle of the night and toss and turn. I need to find ways to sleep better. Perhaps no caffeine after my morning coffee would help? Or something to help me sleep…not a medication, but a certain kind of tea?

I found this list of 55 Ways to Get More Energy. I like the ideas behind most of the things on the list. A bunch of my friends are posting “Incremental Steps” each day on their Facebook statuses. Perhaps I could tackle this list by taking on one challenge every few days. I like that idea. If I can take incremental steps towards eating better and exercising more, I know I’d have more energy in the long run.

For now, I pledge to give up calorie drinks (other than fresh fruit smoothies and/or juice), chips and sweets (other than a beignet or two while we are in New Orleans) for one month. I’ve now put it out there on the internets, so I’m going to stick to it.

I need to stop doing some of the things I do. This is *so* difficult for me. When a project becomes a serious part of my routine, I have a very difficult time giving it up. And, for the most part, I like the projects I am working on. Work, homeschooling, daily photo, kids’ music blog, travel blog, this blog, various community related tasks, organizing the house, traveling. While there are other projects that I want to pick up, I need to take it slowly and remember to protect my time. It is so hard for me to let go!

What do you do to maintain an adequate level of energy?