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Rubicon - wondering if you can recommend any readings, links or books on energy management. What you described is the crux of my life limitations. When I have e

Rubicon - wondering if you can recommend any readings, links or books on energy management. What you described is the crux of my life limitations. When I have energy, I can do almost anything...and when I have no energy...can't do much of anything. All of other factors become secondary, and proper management of energy is not something I'm very conscious of, nor have good strategies for.

thevagrant 5y ago
I don't have any good books but this is exactly how I feel about myself. I spent a decade trying to get better with my management of energy. Apologies if these are too obvious or basic. * Sleep is important. Not too much. * Sleep on schedule is helpful, if you can do that. * Food and diet play a factor. Don't rely on processed food/sugar too much or it will bite you down the road. * Exercise. The fitter you become the better your energy level. My body is like a battery. I need to recharge with exercise or the battery capacity will deplete. * Mindfulness (be aware of thoughts and stressors, don't let them consume the thought process) * Meditation can help you learn to relax * Momentum. Small progress daily can make you feel good and is more sustainable than big bursts then burnout. Keep the ball rolling. * Develop habits and routine * Identify your weaknesses and chip away at those with small habitual adjustments or scaffolding * Work systematically so you can work when your energy is low * Life balance - we can't be a machine. You may need to recharge in nature or around people. * Surround yourself with people who are positive (vs negative) and have lots of energy. Their enthusiasm can be helpful. * I used to use copius coffee or stimulants or supplements or whatever worked in the moment but nothing will fix this. Save some of those aids for those days when you need them. I never mastered this. I got a bit better at life, however I had to realise, I can only work to my strengths.
- rkhassen9 5y ago
  thevagarant - thank you so much. This is a very detailed strategy plan. I can see so many places I work against myself here. I think the main one is hoping that the things that draw too much energy do not. Like over investing in work. Also some people seem to have so much more energy to work with! And comparing myself to them seems not to help at all. It will be interesting to figure out my min/max from this Lensa. Thank you again! Much to think on here.
- rubicon33 5y ago
  These are great suggestions and they even appear to be in priority order. Nice. I think the problem of "energy" is a tough one to solve because often what we mean by "energy" isn't what we think. I find it's easier to think about what we're trying to do. If my goal is to write more quality code, then this is actually a function of more than just my energy. The problem is that the line between these factors is somewhat blurred. Energy influences focus, and motivation influences both focus and energy. Lack of knowledge can sometimes feel like lack of focus. etc. - Knowledge - Energy - Focus - Motivation The last one, motivation, is the biggest wild card for me. It can be the source of huge productivity. When I feel motivated, it's almost like a 2x or 3x modifier to energy and focus. There are days when I have energy, and I can focus, but I just don't feel motivated to work on programming... even if, I want to. I often describe this as, "I want to want to work". In other words, I want to work, but I'm just not feeling it at all. I'll generally read a book or something in those instances.
  - thevagrant 5y ago
    I agree with you on those four key factors. Motivation is difficult but if I have structured plans and start small, then motivation can build as I make small amounts of progress. I found motivation doesn't have to be there to start, it can be created as long as we see a task/milestone that is not impossible (assuming the end goal still aligns with our objective/future outlook). We can become re-motivated by taking a break, visualising the end goal or exploring our feelings that brought motivation early on and try revisit / recreate these. Focus / Energy is a bit more difficult. On days where I have tiredness, fog or bad focus, it doesn't always clear up if I get started and push on. I have the knowledge in my head but the connections are not quite firing, an opaque feeling, recall is bad, reading is harder, progress is slow, motivation does not come.
armchairhacker 5y ago
What works well for me is to 1) work smart not hard, and 2) pace myself. I plan ahead to make everything require less energy, easier and (if possible) more fun. And then I listening to my emotions so I don't push myself too hard, which overwhelms me or drains my energy later. For example I make sure to go running every day. But I only set a minimum like 15mins, and it takes like 5min to get ready. And I can always get a Lyft or slow down if I get tired. This leads to me running for hours which are really like 10 10-min increments, because I can stop whenever I want, but I'm also out there so there's no point in stopping. Also do things that feel easy and natural for you in particular, and don't make things unnecessarily difficult. For example, I don't waste time trying to "study" (stare at papers). I skim them over and re-read / lookup stuff when necessary, because that's how I learn. You'll hear from others about getting good sleep, exercise, diet, etc. I think that planning ahead and listening to your emotions helps with that too. For example, eat when you're hungry, but eat healthy and have something relaxing to do after you eat so you don't over-eat. Also, you don't have to spend 1hour cooking and cleaning, I can microwave frozen veggies and heat up meat in a skillet in 5min, and then clean the 3 dishes I use in 2min. For sleep - sleep when you're tired, but if you need to set a schedule, wake up at a fixed time and your sleep should correct yourself.

thevagrant 5y ago

I don't have any good books but this is exactly how I feel about myself. I spent a decade trying to get better with my management of energy. Apologies if these are too obvious or basic. * Sleep is important. Not too much. * Sleep on schedule is helpful, if you can do that. * Food and diet play a factor. Don't rely on processed food/sugar too much or it will bite you down the road. * Exercise. The fitter you become the better your energy level. My body is like a battery. I need to recharge with exercise or the battery capacity will deplete. * Mindfulness (be aware of thoughts and stressors, don't let them consume the thought process) * Meditation can help you learn to relax * Momentum. Small progress daily can make you feel good and is more sustainable than big bursts then burnout. Keep the ball rolling. * Develop habits and routine * Identify your weaknesses and chip away at those with small habitual adjustments or scaffolding * Work systematically so you can work when your energy is low * Life balance - we can't be a machine. You may need to recharge in nature or around people. * Surround yourself with people who are positive (vs negative) and have lots of energy. Their enthusiasm can be helpful. * I used to use copius coffee or stimulants or supplements or whatever worked in the moment but nothing will fix this. Save some of those aids for those days when you need them. I never mastered this. I got a bit better at life, however I had to realise, I can only work to my strengths.

rkhassen9 5y ago
thevagarant - thank you so much. This is a very detailed strategy plan. I can see so many places I work against myself here. I think the main one is hoping that the things that draw too much energy do not. Like over investing in work. Also some people seem to have so much more energy to work with! And comparing myself to them seems not to help at all. It will be interesting to figure out my min/max from this Lensa. Thank you again! Much to think on here.
rubicon33 5y ago
These are great suggestions and they even appear to be in priority order. Nice. I think the problem of "energy" is a tough one to solve because often what we mean by "energy" isn't what we think. I find it's easier to think about what we're trying to do. If my goal is to write more quality code, then this is actually a function of more than just my energy. The problem is that the line between these factors is somewhat blurred. Energy influences focus, and motivation influences both focus and energy. Lack of knowledge can sometimes feel like lack of focus. etc. - Knowledge - Energy - Focus - Motivation The last one, motivation, is the biggest wild card for me. It can be the source of huge productivity. When I feel motivated, it's almost like a 2x or 3x modifier to energy and focus. There are days when I have energy, and I can focus, but I just don't feel motivated to work on programming... even if, I want to. I often describe this as, "I want to want to work". In other words, I want to work, but I'm just not feeling it at all. I'll generally read a book or something in those instances.
- thevagrant 5y ago
  I agree with you on those four key factors. Motivation is difficult but if I have structured plans and start small, then motivation can build as I make small amounts of progress. I found motivation doesn't have to be there to start, it can be created as long as we see a task/milestone that is not impossible (assuming the end goal still aligns with our objective/future outlook). We can become re-motivated by taking a break, visualising the end goal or exploring our feelings that brought motivation early on and try revisit / recreate these. Focus / Energy is a bit more difficult. On days where I have tiredness, fog or bad focus, it doesn't always clear up if I get started and push on. I have the knowledge in my head but the connections are not quite firing, an opaque feeling, recall is bad, reading is harder, progress is slow, motivation does not come.

armchairhacker 5y ago

What works well for me is to 1) work smart not hard, and 2) pace myself. I plan ahead to make everything require less energy, easier and (if possible) more fun. And then I listening to my emotions so I don't push myself too hard, which overwhelms me or drains my energy later. For example I make sure to go running every day. But I only set a minimum like 15mins, and it takes like 5min to get ready. And I can always get a Lyft or slow down if I get tired. This leads to me running for hours which are really like 10 10-min increments, because I can stop whenever I want, but I'm also out there so there's no point in stopping. Also do things that feel easy and natural for you in particular, and don't make things unnecessarily difficult. For example, I don't waste time trying to "study" (stare at papers). I skim them over and re-read / lookup stuff when necessary, because that's how I learn. You'll hear from others about getting good sleep, exercise, diet, etc. I think that planning ahead and listening to your emotions helps with that too. For example, eat when you're hungry, but eat healthy and have something relaxing to do after you eat so you don't over-eat. Also, you don't have to spend 1hour cooking and cleaning, I can microwave frozen veggies and heat up meat in a skillet in 5min, and then clean the 3 dishes I use in 2min. For sleep - sleep when you're tired, but if you need to set a schedule, wake up at a fixed time and your sleep should correct yourself.