Procrastination: Living Life When You Have No Energy

I think we can all admit that life is hard and draining sometimes. I've really been struggling with this for the past 2-3 weeks, just trying to find the energy to do stuff. I love writing these blogs and posting them on social media. I consider this like my small mindset/empowerment coaching business. I started my coach training program two weeks ago not because I don't feel like I know stuff but because I want to give 100 percent to everything I do. If I'm starting something new, I always want to educate myself first and be able to give my clients my all. Even if I've already been trained in something, I feel like we can never have enough reviewing and learning. All this to say that starting a business is a lot of work. So shout out to you if you are a small business owner or have a side hustle going on.

So I have these days where I feel like there isn't enough time in the day. As a mom, I have to make time to work, engage in my business, be present with my daughter, participate in my coaching class, take care of myself, etc. Do any of you ever feel this way? The feeling of being pulled in so many directions.

I used to think that feeling drained was only a physical thing or when you didn't get enough sleep. There's actually so much more that goes into feeling drained and tired. If you are usually feeling drained, this may be a sign that you need to change something in the way you engage with things outside of you or other people. If you are constantly focused on things or people that don't matter, you are more than likely neglecting your own physical and mental wellness. Once you feel drained, you're also more likely to just not want to do anything that requires a lot of energy or creativity, making you feel even more tired. I know I do this. When I'm feeling drained mentally and physically, I will usually just want to sleep or sit on the couch. But no matter how much I sleep, I still feel exhausted. This is because being tired is not only physical. Exhaustion can be physical, emotional, and mental.

Physical

Physical drains are:

• Lack of sleep.

• Overeating junk food.

• Not moving your body enough.

• Ignoring aches and pains in your body.

Some signs of physical exhaustion are headaches, muscle aches, change in appetite, stomachache, eye twitches, and interrupted sleep.

Mental

Because of procrastination, unmade decisions, clutter, engaging too much with negative people, and lack of preparation, mental drains happen. Some signs of mental exhaustion are lack of focus or attention, lack of interest in anything, zoning out, feeling fatigued, failing to plan ahead, lack of energy, etc.

Emotional

Emotional drains happen when you are holding a grudge, angry at someone for a long time, grieving, or paying too much attention to people who are critical of you. Some signs of emotional exhaustion are lack of motivation, feeling anxious, lack of productivity, feeling angry, getting angry easily, feeling hopeless, feeling trapped, and sadness.

Live your best life (or just a better life)

I think for me, when I'm feeling drained, I feel a change in energy right away. The vibes are off. Once you feel drained mentally, physically, and emotionally, it's essential to identify where the stress is coming from. What have you been focusing your energy on? Who or what is making you feel so tired? Once you can identify the stressor, you can think about whether this person or thing is something you can remove yourself from. This doesn't mean cutting the stressor out entirely if that's impossible. Instead, just take a step away for a bit to decompress. Take time for yourself to regroup, get your energy level up, and then figure out better ways to deal with the stressor. This past week I took a break from writing blogs and just really tried to focus on hanging out with my daughter because that makes me feel happy.

Move your body

Yea, I know. Moving your body is even more tiring, lol but it actually releases endorphins in your brain that can make you feel happier. Happier means more energized? I know that for me, if I were to push myself and jump on the treadmill, even if I'm feeling drained, I will end up feeling awake after my run. There are so many ways to move your body. All the way from going for a 10-15 minute walk to just walking circles around the room you're in. Stretching, moving your arms up, jumping jacks, etc. I think along with physical is making sure to get enough sleep and cutting down on the high processed fatty snacks/food. I do notice that when I indulge in hot Cheetos or just really crappy junk food, I feel super drained and crappy afterward.

Endless possibilities

Honestly, there are just endless possibilities. If you're feeling emotionally or mentally drained, you can watch a funny movie, meditate, close your eyes for a couple of minutes to regroup, or even schedule mini-breaks in between what you're doing. We all have cellphones mostly so set a timer for 3-5 minutes and just breathe. If you're working on many different things like I am, I think it can be easy to overwhelm ourselves. We get drained with just having to try to make time for different things. Something that I've found helpful is to set goals for the week and break it down into mini-steps. This can make things feel less overwhelming and more manageable.

This is a topic that we can talk about endlessly, and we're always going to have situations where we feel drained. All we can do is do our best to take care of ourselves and handle these situations. We need to learn to say no and try to stay away from people who drain us. Stay close to people who uplift you and make you happy. Lastly, accept that sometimes there will be situations that you have no control over. Let go of worry and exhaustion of things you can't change.

Repeat: "'I release negative thoughts that do not serve me." "I will not let things out of my control consume my mind."

xoxo