So many of my clients came to me initially because they were exhausted and were starting to feel the effects of middle age.
Although most of them are only just approaching middle age, they felt so much older than they used to even just 5 years ago.
Bottom line: they wanted to know how to instantly have more energy.
And while there are truly no quick fixes when it comes to improving your health long term, there are actually 2 things you can do to instantly have more energy.
Energy Fix Examples: Client Case Study
I’m going to give you two tangible examples from previous clients of mine.
We’ll call my first client Sam for anonymity purposes.
Sam just turned 40 and manages a Hedge Fund in New York City.
She has a husband and two young kids.
She has been in her role as a fund manager for 5 years and when she first got promoted to the position, she felt on top of the world.
Her income increased 2 fold and she felt like she finally had made it to the big leagues.
But there was one problem.
Sam was burning the candle from two ends.
She was spending long days in the office and then going out after work with colleagues for late dinners and drinks.
Although Sam and her husband had a nanny to pick the kids up from school, by the time she came home, it was crunch time to get the kids to bed.
This pattern for Sam had repeated for about 5 years until she finally began to crack.
By the time she hired me to help her, she was at her whits end.
She knew that her lifestyle was contributing to her exhaustion but she just didn’t know where to start.
I told her she was going to have to be willing to make some serious changes.
I asked her what consistent daily healthy habits she has.
She said, well come to think about it – I haven’t really had any time to do anything for myself.
And right there we identified problem number one.
Problem #1: You Aren’t Focusing on Yourself
All too often high performers like Sam are great at what they do and are great at getting things done.
But they often are getting things done for other people.
While these things may indirectly benefit Sam in terms of social brownie points or fiscal reward, they do nothing to build Sam up.
She was tired and the solution needed to be instant.
Instant Energy Hack #1: Sleep
The first habit we instilled into Sam’s lifestyle was that she was going to get 8 hours of sleep each night mandatory.
Currently, she was getting back to Greenwich at 8 pm and by the time she put the kids to bed and finished some last-minute work things, it was 12 pm.
She got up every day at 5 am which means she was only getting 5 hours of sleep.
I don’t care how little sleep you think you need, in 2022 the research is abundantly clear that getting only 5 hours a night is terrible for not only your health but also your performance.
Do you think Olympic athletes are sleeping 5 hours a night?
Well, guess what?
You are a superstar professional in your line of work and you should treat your recovery no different.
How Much Sleep Should You Get?
It’s hard to change habits all at once, so I had Sam commit to just 1 day each week that she would be home by 5 pm.
This meant, no going out for dinner and drinks.
But just one day, she could manage.
Then 1 day gradually became two and three.
Before she knew it, Sam was home by 5 each night and she even had time to cook a healthy dinner for her family and spend some quality time with them after dinner.
The kids were in bed by 9 and her lights were out by 10.
She now was getting 7 hours of sleep a night.
Now – 2 hours more each night might not seem like a lot.
But from a physiological perspective, 2 hours is the difference of a great next day.
Not to mention those two extra hours she was getting each night, compounded and carried her energy into the following week.
We all know that getting sleep is important but how many of you high performers actually stop and take a look at how many hours you are getting each night?
I can guarantee you might not be thinking about it, but you certainly feel it when you are dragging yourself out of bed in the morning and slugging down triple shot espressos at mid-day.
Make the commitment like Sam did.
Commit to 2 hours of extra sleep for just 1 day a week.
Just 1 day, that’s easy!
Then, you can gradually build up.
I promise you will instantly have more energy from just one night of two hours extra sleep.
Then, it just gets better from there.
Instant Energy Hack #2: Hydration
Now the second solution to instantly having more energy requires much less schedule rearranging.
As soon as you wake up in the morning, I want you to roll out of bed and slug down 16oz of water.
While we sleep, we lose an immense amount of water and since you are sleeping for all of those hours, you will inevitably wake up dehydrated.
Dehydration is the biggest performance killer and I have watched so many of my clients make bad decisions because they weren’t clear-headed.
The best way to combat a foggy brain and tiredness is first with sleep, and then with water.
Unless you are cognizant of how much you are drinking throughout the day, I promise you aren’t drinking enough.
The tendency is for people to drink a lot at once and then go several hours without water.
By the time they take that next sip, they are already dehydrated, tired, and making bad decisions.
It is much better to dose yourself with small quantities of water throughout the entire day.
How Much Water Should you Drink for Energy?
So for men, you guys need 3.5 liters of water per day.
And ladies, you need about 2.5 liters of water per day.
Mayoclinic reccomends those metrics as well.
I know this seems like a ton, but just break it down into smaller quantities throughout the day.
Let’s say you drink your first half liter right when you wake up.
All you need to do is drink 12oz of water every hour during the 8 hour workday and you will have hit your ideal water intake.
12oz is a little more than a cup that can be drunk in literally 2 big sips, so there is no excuse.
If you need it, set your timer so that at the top of every hour it rings.
Keep your water bottle next to you and take a sip.
Soon, you won’t need any reminders because your body will tell you.
And once you actually start feeling hydrated there is no going back.
You’ll notice a huge boost in your energy levels and performance.
All of my clients now immediately know when they need water because they are so attuned to their hydration levels after years of working together and focusing on healthy habits.
Instant Energy Hack Recap
So to recap, the two ways to instantly have more energy are sleep and hydration.
These are painfully obvious yet so many of you don’t actually pay attention to them.
You may be aware of it, but what is your actual sleep and hydration strategy?
If you don’t have one, then chances are you are lacking in that department.
The good news is, these two easy fixes can be quickly incorporated into your lifestyle and you will see the benefits practically overnight.
Your healthy habits need to make you feel less stressed, not more.
So start off slow at first and gradually increase your commitment to health.
You don’t want your healthy habits to become stressors.
So you need to be gradual and controlled.
The tendency is to go zero to one hundred, but you’ll be much better off if you make small commitments over time that compound.
If you need any help feeling younger and healthier, feel free to shoot me an email or leave me a comment below.
I really value personal relationships and promise I will get back to you.
You can also find more of my articles about how to get healthier here.
Cheers and we’ll see you next time.