September is a hectic one for me, with a hen do, a wedding and a family holiday to the south of France, I’ll only have one weekend at home all month. I’m also fresh into starting a new project working with ZOE and about to kick-start another with Nusku. I’m grateful to have interesting work, to be invited to celebrate special occasions with friends and to go away somewhere beautiful with family…but I’m also feeling pretty overwhelmed by how much is going on.
In August I took part in the Squiggly Careers Skills sprint, a programme aimed at supporting your career through 20 7-minute podcasts. I listened to most of them on my morning lap around the local park.
In the episode on Energy Helen’s idea for action is to get clear on your energy baselines and boosts. Baselines are your non-negotiables, foundational things you need to take care of your energy. Boosts are small things you can pepper throughout your week to give you a boost of energy when you need it most.
I loved the idea and decided to spend some time thinking about my energy baselines and boosts to avoid crawling to the finish line of September feeling like a husk of my previous self.
So here are my energy baselines: My non-negotiables that protect my energy levels
Sleep. Anyone who knows me will know I love my sleep. I’m fortunate to be a good sleeper (and not a parent of a small child) so I quite consistently get 8-9 hours a night. I can just about deal with one or two late nights a week, but any more than that and I really feel the impact.
Eating well. When I’m most busy I often don’t feel like I have time to cook healthy meals. I end up cooking quick, beige foods like pasta with cheese. And although I do love a beige meal every so often, I know too many beige banquettes make me feel sluggish.
Drinking Minimally. Taking a year off booze was a great re-set of my relationship with alcohol. This year I’ve started drinking again but much less frequently than before. I now drink once or twice a week max. If I have a week where I end up drinking more, I can feel that it zaps my energy.
Exercise. Similar to the food conundrum, when I have a busy or stressful day I often feel like I need to spend the evening on the sofa recovering. Despite exercise being the least appealing thing, it’s often exactly what I need, some stress-releasing endorphins.
And here are my energy boosts: small things I can pepper throughout my week to give me energy.
A coffee date with a friend
Tidying up my house
Having a night into myself with no plans
A run with a good podcast (I love Changes by Annie Mac, she’s such a good interviewer!)
A long bath with a few drops of lavender oil
An evening at home with my partner enjoying his delicious cooking
A trip to the library to pick up some books I’ve had on order for ages
Listening to or sending a voice note to a friend
A cup of Pukka peppermint and liquorice tea with some dark choc
Laying in my hammock even for 5 minutes and feeling the sun on my face
Giving myself time to get ready in the morning so I feel nice for the day ahead
Watching one of my favourite YouTubers
Getting things out of my head and into my notebook
An afternoon in the studio painting
A coaching session with my coach Hannah Harrison
My favourite pan au choc from my local bakery
I’m going to try as much as possible to protect my energy baselines and weave in energy boosts throughout September, whilst also being kind to myself if I don’t always manage. I’ll let you know how it goes.
What are your energy baselines and boosts?
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A great list of reminders and I love you beautiful bathroom. I'm with you on a bath being the perfect energy boost and I also swear by a few drops of lavender oil. I stocked up while I was in France!