This is a really good description of how the "mental energy meter" seems to work for me. It's almost impossible for me to tell what fills it and what drains it!

This is a really good description of how the "mental energy meter" seems to work for me. It's almost impossible for me to tell what fills it and what drains it! Yesterday, I spent the entire day ripping out some rotting boards from my deck and replacing them. I tore out 4 16' deck boards and another 12 4' boards from the stairs. Then cut new ones for all those and put them in. You wouldn't think that a project like that would take 12 hours, but there were so many little subtasks that had to happen that added up to a ton of work. I went to bed utterly physically drained, and was sure that I was going to wake up today feeling like doing nothing. Instead, I woke up at a reasonable time and went out to my yard to seed some grass. I just felt like getting more shit done! Meanwhile though, there have been times where I finish up some big programming task at work and then have a day or two where I just can't get momentum. I like weightlifting (although I'm a bit off the wagon currently). Sometimes, I get a huge burst of energy and focus from a session, and other times, I'm gassed and dead for the rest of the day. Same goes for socializing. Sometimes after an event I get home and can't shut up while talking to my wife. Other times I feel like I drained all my social energy for the next week. It's so strange how little contextual things make such a difference in whether the things I do energize or drain me. > I got nothing. Ditto ;)