If we want to perform our best, we must first and foremost manage our energy, not just time. What’s the point in having the time and no energy? What’s the point of having a lot of energy and no time? Either way, you will be frustrated.

All of us want to get more things done. And since we have only 24 hours, the focus is on managing time well. While time management is important, it is not enough for you to be your best. Along with the time you need energy – personal energy so you can, not just get things done but also enjoy that journey

Imagine being in an important meeting and not unable to concentrate. Or that mandatory lecture that you must attend to learn a difficult subject but you’re just not able to focus.

Another scenario is that you get home from work but are dead tired to do anything else. You want to spend time with your family or indulge in your favorite hobby but you feel sapped of your energy. Didn’t this happen to us?

The key to living an optimal life, I believe – in terms of performance, health, or happiness is not about the quantity of time, but always about the quality of energy we have. And since we are not robots, we need to manage and secure our energy.

So what must you do to refuel your energy to maximise your productivity?

Let’s first understand where we can get it from.

We have 4 sources of energy – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Physical is all about how your body is doing? What kind of food do you eat? Nutritious or junk? Are you fit? Do you exercise?

The emotional source is all about how resilient you are with your emotions. Do you feel positive emotions more? Or are your negative emotions running the show?

The mental source is all about what your brain is doing. Are you able to focus or do you get distracted? What kind of thoughts go on in your head.

The spiritual source is entirely on your beliefs, your values, and the purpose of your life. This is your WHY.

So in order to optimise your energy you need to refuel from all these sources. All of them. And to do that… here are 4 rituals that we recommend –

1. Get physical.

Exercise, run, jog, dance, trek, walk.. choose what works for you. But you must move your body at least 3-4 times a week. We need those endorphins to fuel our energy tank. That’s the idea.

2. Get healthy.

Choose the foods you love and are nutritious. Have at least one power pack meal every day. If you have junk in the morning, at least try to have a nutritious meal in the evening. Or vice versa.

3. Get rest.

The very basic thing to do is to sleep. We typically need 6-7-8 hours of sleep to feel energetic the next day. How much do you need? If you don’t know, go to bed without setting an alarm and wake up naturally. See how many hours you took. That’s the number of hours you must sleep every single day.

4. Get quiet.

I could sit silently in front of you but my brain is sprinting. It’s running a marathon and that is exhausting. To refuel I must calm my brain. Sometimes sleeping full hours can fix it. But what works best is to meditate.

A daily ritual is a way of saying I am voting for myself; I am taking care of myself and I love myself. Oprah

These 4 rituals may sound very basic rituals but they have the capacity to fuel up your energy tank.

Now there are many more things you can do to get energy from these four sources. You must experiment and figure which source is best for you. Do let us know what works for you.

Good luck!