Productivity is the key to high performance, and this depends heavily on your energy levels; and sometimes your energy levels can be affected seriously by energy vampires. Every animal has its fair share of parasites…including human beings. Whales for example, accumulate algae and barnacles around various areas on their rubbery skin. These parasites live off the whale, and if it weren’t for smaller fish that feast of these parasites, the whale would eventually get covered by them. We may not have barnacles, or algae growing on our bodies, but people are plagued by their own parasite. In a given day, you only get so much energy. And “energy vampires” that act like parasites draining our energy and this absolutely destroys your productivity. To make things worse, we don’t have any “smaller fish” that come along to remove these parasites. If we were whales and our energy vampires were barnacles and algae, we’d literally look like a humongous swimming coral reef.
Your Lack of Productivity Is Not Because You Have No Energy.
In many cases, it’s not that you have no energy to get through your day – you’d be astounded at how much energy you have available for productive use. It’s just that you may have to feed so many energy vampires, that you have none left for yourself when they’ve had their fill. In this article, I’m going to introduce some of the most common vampires that suck your daily supply of energy away, and what to about it.
Energy Vampires #1
I call it the First Hour Thief. The most critical part of your day (as far as energy and productivity goes), is your first waking hour after a night’s rest. Most people roll out of bed, moan and groan about how they don’t want to go to work, and then IMMEDIATELY check their email, where they get forced into solving OTHER people’s problems all day. By the time all is said and done, you’ve already established a negative, unproductive tone for the day. Instead, start the day with a powerful morning ritual so that you frame the context of your day in a positive way. When I wake up, I DON’T check email. Instead, I put on my headphones and start listening to something uplifting IMMEDIATELY. Often, it’s a list of prerecorded affirmations. I start slow, and I work my way up gradually to something more intense… I might pick up the pace with the Youtube video “I am a champion speech.” Then perhaps some killer pump up music… I did this every day for about 7 weeks over summer, and by the time I got to the music, I’d be so pumped up that I’d usually go for a spontaneous run outside… sometimes I’d still have pajamas on… sometimes barefoot! And this coming from the most grumpy morning guy in the world… stands testament to the power of controlling your thoughts right from the start of your day!
Energy Vampires # 2
Inner conflict is one of the BIGGEST “gas-guzzling” mental activities; it can rob you of an incredible amount of energy and productivity. Inner conflict happens when you have mixed feelings about something – anything. If you’re thinking about breaking up with your former sweetheart, but you’re too scared to do it, know that there’s an added cost to your indecision: you’re burning a massive amount of energy every day, and it’s hurting your productivity. I promise. Really inner conflict can come from virtually anything, but one of the big characteristics of inner conflict, is that it drains your energy, and distracts you from your main goal, and you can’t help it… The key to overcoming inner conflict (and increasing your focus and productivity), is to strive for inner peace daily. Yoga, exercise, and breath work, are great places to start. PS. What’s the fastest way to create more inner conflict and thus destroy your productivity? By LYING. Keep that in mind the next time you start keeping secrets.
Energy Vampires #3
We evolved on wild open plains and vast jungles, and today, clutter has become a huge obstacle to our productivity. Humans are very territorial animals. We get more strongly attached to things than you might ever suspect, and every physical possession that you own occupies it’s own peace of real estate in your mind. Have you ever seen or heard of a really rich person who simply miserable because of the stress they have to endure just to keep track of all of their “stuff”? When you detach from your physical possessions it frees up an incredible amount of space in your mind for more productivity. A great way to do this is to get rid of half your stuff! Every time I move, I try to give away half my stuff. This is hard to explain without trying it yourself, but the benefits for productivity? AMAZING.