Protect Your Energy: Get Your Mind Right

Mental and emotional energy are just as critical to getting things done as physical energy, maybe even more important. Sometimes there just isn't anything to be done about the amount of physical energy you have and in those times it's especially critical to look for opportunities to protect mental and emotional energy stores. And you don't have to look far. Try these practices for getting your mind right:

• Meditation. If you're a meditation beginner start with a guided meditation. There are tons of meditation apps out there as well as free and subscription Podcasts. Meditation helps you cultivate self-regulation skills and improves your focus so that you can manage the overwhelm and come up with a plan for how to move forward. Meditation is both preventative and corrective. It works to set the tone for the day and it can also work to reset when you're running out of energy. Find 10 minutes to meditate. You won't be sorry.

• Exercise. Earlier this month I wrote about the energy, strategy, and ideation benefits of exercise. It doesn't have to be complicated. Take a walk. Stretch. Stream a yoga class during a work break. Block some time each day to get moving. You'll come back with double the energy you started with.

• Rest. This may seem obvious but it's tried and true. Even if you can't get in to meditation and don't have time for exercise, rest is paramount. Studies abound about the ratio of active work time to down time that create the optimal balance for productivity. You simply operate better and maintain a more productive energy level by taking breaks and resting your body and your mind.

• Check your connection. For some of us, connecting with friends, loved ones and mentors fills us up and brings us great energy. For others, people, even the ones we love, can be depleting. Being aware of the people around you and how they impact your energy is critical to protecting it. If your week is full of calls, meetings and personal interactions you might be craving quiet time. On the other hand, you might have been dialed all the way in on project work all week and need some time connecting with friends over the weekend to recharge. Whatever that balance is is up to you, but knowing this balance is important to protecting your energy is the key.

When mind, body and spirit are tended to thoughtfully energy is abundant. When you start to feel overwhelmed, anxious or spread too thin, kick-off the reset by getting your mind right.