How to Invest Your Time to Create More Energy

When you consistently have low energy, you may feel like there’s nothing you can do to get out of a state of fatigue. However, converting one resource to another may help you solve your low-energy problems.

Many people in today’s workplace suffer from fatigue, and the long-term impacts of COVID-19 have only exacerbated these issues across many demographics. Millennials, in particular, are most affected by low energy, having to work an average of 4,459 hours more than baby boomers to pay for their higher education.

If you find yourself in a constant state of fatigue, exploring options to improve your energy levels is key. By effectively using your most valuable finite resource (time), you can create more of an essential renewable resource (energy).

Time—A Finite Resource

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. It may be hard to imagine that you have a resource equal to that of President Joe Biden, Elon Musk, and Beyoncé, but this information should encourage you, nonetheless.

No matter what you do, you can’t get any more time than the hours you have in your day. This begs the question: How are you spending your time?

Since time is such a finite resource (more scarce than money), it should be treated with the utmost care. When you learn how to optimally use your time, you maximize your return on a priceless resource.

One of the most important things you can do is to get out of a scarcity mindset around time. With a scarcity mindset, you may frequently have thoughts like:

• “I just don’t have enough time.”
• “This is too much of a commitment.”
• “I don’t have a place for this in my schedule.”

When you have a scarcity mindset around time, you’ll always see the time you do have as a limitation rather than a tool to use for your success. Start looking at the time you have as an invaluable asset, rather than a roadblock. Break out your calendar and take inventory of how you spend your time during a typical day or week. The more you properly invest your time in the right activities, the more energy you create.

Energy—A Renewable Resource

Shifting your mindset to see energy as a changeable and renewable resource is a step in the right direction. Energy can be renewed, and your capacity to hold energy can be expanded.

Newton’s first law states that an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Humans have a similar experience with energy based on our mental state and habits. By moving in the right direction, you create more of the same.

How to Spend Time to Gain Energy

Consider time as a tool for replenishing your energy reserves. It represents an investment requiring an immediate expenditure (time) with the promise of a high return (energy). Adopting this mental shift to recognize the elements you can control is the most efficient strategy for recharging energy levels.

Realize the potential to convert your time into greater energy and actively search for concrete methods to incorporate this principle into your everyday life. Through judicious application of these exchanges, you stand to gain an abundance of both time and energy.

Here are some ways you can trade time for energy:

• Lifting weights requires time and energy, but makes you stronger, therefore, you have to expend less energy to do other activities in the future.
• Cooking a nutritious meal takes time and effort, but it provides you with more energy in the long run than getting fast food.
• Going to bed early takes up more of your hours but gives you more energy because you are better rested.
• Taking care of your mental health requires time now, but results in greater mental energy down the road.
• Working with a health coach requires time and money now but saves time by reducing poor health choices thus optimizing your energy for years to come.

Gaining more energy involves making incremental positive adjustments. This transformation is gradual, so consider your time expenditure over the long term as a genuine investment. Looking for an easy way to develop these habits for greater energy? Use the Arootah Habit Coach app to track your progress over time.

The Bottom Line

By strategically utilizing your most precious limited resource (time), you can generate more renewable energy. Awareness of this dynamic is the first stride in augmenting your energy reserves.

Want to learn more about how optimizing your health will save you time and energy for years to come? Register for our upcoming Energy Principles Health Workshop on Thursday, March 14th at 6 p.m.