5 x hacks for more energy

Something I hear business owners say again and again is how exhausted they feel. In today’s episode of the podcast, I’m going to share with you my top five tips for creating more energy in your life.

Hello, and welcome to The Clare Wood podcast, where myself and incredible guests share about money mindset, financial successes, and how to manage your money in a fun and practical way to create wealth and abundance in both your business and your life. I’m your host, Clare Wood. I’m a business coach and a money mentor. I strongly believe that money has the power to positively change the world. I can’t wait to help you transform your mindset around money, create a love of numbers, and build the business of your dreams so you can live a life of financial freedom, giving, and global impact.

Now, first of all, I’m not a doctor. No surprises there. Please, before you make any big lifestyle changes, make sure that you talk to a health professional. These things I’m sharing today are just things that I personally do to help with my energy levels that I find really work.

How you can get better sleep to hit the ground running

The number one tip I have for having more energy, it sounds pretty obvious, but it’s to get more sleep. Go to bed early. Most business owners do not get enough sleep, and perhaps it might not seem achievable for you. Now, there might be two reasons for this. Firstly, you might have a ton of excuses about why you can’t get to bed on time. And if you do, then that’s purely a mindset thing that you need to work on. If you’re feeling tired, you need to go to bed earlier and get some more sleep.

But today I’m going to talk about something that has definitely affected me a lot in my life, which is if you are going to bed and you can’t sleep, or if you’re suffering from insomnia. I suffered from insomnia a lot of my life until I had children. And I joke that now I’m so exhausted that I just crash. But if you do have children and that hasn’t seemed to help you, or if you don’t have children, then here are some tips for getting a better night’s sleep. Now, the first one, which I stated before, is changing your bedtime. And it doesn’t necessarily mean going earlier. Maybe you need to push it back a bit and do a bit of a bedtime routine, but changing around your bedtime might help you to get a better night’s sleep.

The next thing that I do, I’ve done for many years now, and it’s a game changer, is don’t have phones in the bedroom. I don’t know the science around it, but there’s something about the blue light and the hits that you get whenever you see a notification or look at something on your phone that actually stop you from being able to sleep. If you don’t have phones in the bedroom, another idea that you can try is don’t have screen time for a certain period of time before bedtime. Really just take some time before bed to allow yourself to wind down.

Another tip that I’ve got is cut back on alcohol and caffeine. Now, I love alcohol and caffeine, but I definitely know that it can affect your ability to sleep. So really be mindful of the impact that it’s having, and give it a try and just see if it helps you to get a better night’s sleep.

Another thing that I found is making the room dark. This is something I’ve been trying a lot with my kids, but I do know that having a room that isn’t completely dark can affect your ability to fall asleep quickly. So try getting some black out blinds or curtains for your bedroom and make the room as dark as possible.

While we’re talking about the physical environment, the temperature in your room can also have a big impact on your ability to fall asleep, particularly if it’s too warm. Perhaps air conditioning isn’t an option for you. But if it is, then try sleeping with the temperature just a little bit cooler than what you’re used to, as that can help you to fall asleep. And also make sure that you’ve got a good bed and pillow. I really underestimated the impact that having a good bed can have. And since I’ve got my new bed, I am sleeping so much better. So it’s really something worth investing in. I mean, what is more important than your energy levels, right? It affects so many different areas in your life.

Now, these are some other things that I’ve heard people trying, not things that I personally have used. However, I’ve heard some of my clients say raving things about them, so I feel like I should mention them here. One of them is taking melatonin. Another is trying hypnotherapy as a method to get some sleep.

There’s lots of different strategies I’ve shared there. Maybe you’ve tried all of them before. Maybe you haven’t tried any of them. But when it comes to your sleep, don’t give up. Keep on trying different things until you find strategies that help you to get a great night’s sleep. Because trust me, it will have a huge impact on how you feel and on your energy levels.

Exercising to energise you

The second thing that I find that really helps with energy levels is exercise. I’ve always been a big exerciser, and I’m surprised at how many people don’t regularly exercise. And it’s often those people who share with me that they are feeling really tired. And while you think, well, hang on, won’t exercise wear me out if I’m already tired, but it’s actually the opposite. Exercise energizes you, and the reason is your body releases endorphins when you exercise. So not only is exercise great for your energy levels, but there are also those feel good happy chemicals in there that make you feel better. So there’s another added benefit in there.

If you do already exercise and you’re finding it’s not helping your energy levels, then perhaps you can increase the amount you exercise, mix it up, or take it to the next level. But like I mentioned at the start, please make sure you do talk to your doctor or health professional before you do make any major lifestyle changes.

Re-fuel your body with a premium diet

The third energy hack I have for you is diet. Think of your body like a car. It runs off the fuel that you put into it. And some people put the cheapest kind of fuel that the car needs just to get by, and other people invest in the premium fuel. And that is definitely something I do for my car because I want to keep it running at its optimum level. And our bodies are the same. So think about your diet. Are you getting plenty of healthy foods? Are you eating lots of iron, which gives you energy, and are you having lots of good fat like salmon, avocado, nuts, and getting plenty of fruit and vegetables and carbohydrates in your diet? I also love to eat lots of protein because I find that that helps with muscle development, and again helps to give you extra energy.

We as a family don’t buy a lot of food from a big grocery store. We shop mostly at green grocers. We buy our meat from a butcher, and we go to a baker. And I also take a multivitamin every day, just in case there are any gaps in our diet and I’m missing out on any important nutrients. Now, I want to acknowledge my privilege here and recognize that I know that not all people can afford to eat like this. I don’t take it for granted at all. And maybe it’s outside your budget at the moment, but I am sure there are some positive steps that you can take to eat healthier that will have a really amazing knock on impact to how energetic you feel. To me, your energy levels are so important. And I know this podcast is all about money and trust me, this is very much related to money.

Some other energy hacks is to cut back on sugar. Now trust me, I love chocolate, like way too much. I eat the 70% dark chocolate. And because I know it’s good for you, I was eating it way too much, like literally after every meal, including breakfast, and snacking throughout the day. So I’ve recently stopped buying chocolate because even though it is dark chocolate, there’s still so much sugar in there. And I’ve realized how much I was reliant on it for my energy levels. But the thing is, what goes up must come down. And I was finding that I was relying on eating chocolate throughout the day. So I’m definitely finding that cutting back on chocolate has really helped my energy levels.

And another thing I’ve cut down on is alcohol. I stopped drinking alcohol during the week, and I can’t tell you what a difference it’s made. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my vino, but at this chapter in my life, not drinking during the week feels so much better, cutting back. And I’m also finding that my focus with work has really increased. So it’s a win-win there as well. Your diet plays such an important part in your energy levels. So I’d love to challenge you to think about how you have been eating and see if you can make some small tweaks there.

The game changer that is meditation

The next energy hack I have is meditation. Meditation has been a game changer for me. I know it sounds cliche, but if you are like me and your mind just doesn’t stop running, meditation is a great way to calm the mind and the body, which in turn gives you more energy. If you’ve heard a lot about meditation and you don’t really know where to get started, I would recommend checking out Insight Timer. It’s a free app and there are heaps of great categories that you can choose from. And you can even choose the length of your meditation. Like any changes in life, if you start small, even just with a five minute meditation a day, and you can build it from there. I actually invested in a course many years ago to learn how to meditate. And it was a wonderful way to immerse myself in the world of meditation and learn some techniques that did and didn’t work for me.

Fill up your cup to fill up your energy levels

The last energy tip I have for you is to invest time in filling your cup. I’d love for you to take some time and think about what makes you feel energised. I’m an extrovert. And so I find that hanging out with other people really lights me up. I love to eat out at restaurants. I love to have a few drinks. In fact, pretty much the opposite of all of the tips I was giving you earlier, but like everything in moderation, I definitely find that doing things that light me up and fill my cup give me lots more energy.

Some other things I love to do is get my nails done, I enjoy getting a massage or getting away on a weekend away or a holiday. But perhaps for you, the way that your cup gets filled is different. Maybe you enjoy having quiet time. Whatever it is that makes you feel more energized, make sure you make time for that in your calendar. Do what works for you in terms of filling up your cup, because when your cup feels full, you’ll have more energy.

There are lots of different ways to improve your energy levels, and today I shared a few of my faves. So to recap they are:

1. Sleep, making sure you get a good night’s sleep
2. Getting in some exercise
3. Eating healthy
4. Doing meditation
5. Taking time to do activities that fill your cup.

Your energy levels are everything when it comes to business. It affects how you feel, it affects how you show up, and it affects how you serve your clients, which all in turn affects how much money you are able to make in your business.

If you have any other energy tips you’d love to share with me, make sure you pop on over to Instagram and send me a DM. I would love to hear. And if you’ve enjoyed this episode and taken away some good tips, please make sure you share it with your audience. And don’t forget to tag me so I can thank you for taking the time to do so. Have a fabulous and energetic week, and I look forward to chatting to you again next week.

Thank so much for listening. If you loved this episode, please share it with your audience. And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram at @Clare_Wood_Coach, and also make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Have an abundant week, and I look forward to talking to you again next week.