Shownotes
Listen to today's episode where I share my thoughts on why we feel so tired - all the time!
Transcripts
We've all heard that we need to get seven to eight hours of sleep to feel our best,
Speaker:but what if we're already getting that much sleep and you're still feeling tired?
Speaker:No matter what you do, you just can't shake off that mental fog.
Speaker:The challenge with feeling tired all the time is that getting even the
Speaker:smallest tasks done feels difficult.
Speaker:In today's episode, I'm going to share my experience with mental fog and how
Speaker:I use the concept of closing loops to gain a massive amount of energy.
Speaker:I'm Amin Ahmed and welcome to Be Well, Do Well.
I learned a new word recently:enervator.
I learned a new word recently:It was the first time that I heard this word and I had to look up the etymology.
I learned a new word recently:Enervate comes from the Latin inner Vaus, the past principle of the
I learned a new word recently:verb Ive, which literally means to remove the sinus F, but it's also
I learned a new word recently:figuratively in the sense of to weaken.
I learned a new word recently:So innovate is the opposite of energize.
I learned a new word recently:When we do activities that give us energy, we're energized,
I learned a new word recently:Sports, nature, meditation, sleep.
I learned a new word recently:These all give us energy and leave us feeling great afterwards.
I learned a new word recently:Energy drains can come from many things,
I learned a new word recently:The first is lack of sleep.
I learned a new word recently:It's devastating to me that sleep deprivation has become a badge
I learned a new word recently:of honor amongst entrepreneurs.
I learned a new word recently:To say that you pulled an all-nighter, or that you wake up at four o'clock in the
I learned a new word recently:morning, but you go to sleep at midnight has become some kind of battle scar to say
I learned a new word recently:that you've made it as an entrepreneur.
I learned a new word recently:It's terrible, and I think we need to get rid of that.
I learned a new word recently:The second is dependence on coffee.
I learned a new word recently:Now, notice I didn't say coffee itself.
I learned a new word recently:I love a good brew, but it's the dependence on coffee
I learned a new word recently:that I'm referring to here.
I learned a new word recently:Coffee is great because it gives you a boost of energy.
I learned a new word recently:It can improve cognitive abilities.
I learned a new word recently:There's lots of health benefits to coffee.
I learned a new word recently:But when we start getting dependent on coffee, that's when it starts to become
I learned a new word recently:more challenging because we allow the coffee to govern our states of energy.
I learned a new word recently:If we find that we are only using coffee to gain energy rather than for the
I learned a new word recently:flavor or for the taste or for some of the cognitive abilities, that's when you
I learned a new word recently:know that you're dependent on coffee.
I learned a new word recently:The next is poor nutrition.
I learned a new word recently:So many of us will resort to fast food when we're in a rush, and that's okay.
I learned a new word recently:Sometimes you just need to do what you need to do For me, Subway is one of those
I learned a new word recently:fasted restaurants that I really enjoy.
I learned a new word recently:It's nutritious, it's healthy, it's filling, but other times
I learned a new word recently:I'll also go to McDonald's.
I learned a new word recently:And the food there is tasty, yes, but not nutritious.
I learned a new word recently:What happens is when you eat food that depletes your energy, you feel much worse
I learned a new word recently:afterwards, even though it may give you a quick boost of energy after eating it.
I learned a new word recently:Exercise is one of those things that I talk about often.
I learned a new word recently:Now enough cannot be said about the power and the value of exercise.
I learned a new word recently:While people think that exercises actually reduces your energy
I learned a new word recently:and takes away your energy.
I learned a new word recently:The opposite is actually true.
I learned a new word recently:When you exercise, your body releases endorphins into your body
I learned a new word recently:that make you feel really good.
I learned a new word recently:Those endorphins can be addictive as well, which gets you to exercise
I learned a new word recently:even more if you have a stronger body.
I learned a new word recently:If your mind is more clear, if your cardiovascular system is stronger
I learned a new word recently:and you can breathe better, it's so much better for you when it
I learned a new word recently:comes to getting more energy.
I learned a new word recently:And the last point I wanna make here is open loops.
I learned a new word recently:Now this is what I wanna expand on, specifically.
I learned a new word recently:When I talk about open loops, what I'm really referring to is unfinished work.
I learned a new word recently:This could be mentally in your head, it could be physically
I learned a new word recently:in your environment as well.
I learned a new word recently:As an example, you may start to empty the dishwasher in the morning when you get
I learned a new word recently:up for breakfast, but then you stop and you start making breakfast for the kids.
I learned a new word recently:Then you go back to emptying the dishwasher, and then you
I learned a new word recently:continue making breakfast.
I learned a new word recently:This constant back and forth and not finishing one task before
I learned a new word recently:you start the next task is what I'm referring to as an open loop.
I learned a new word recently:Then you get back to your desk and you start your workday.
I learned a new word recently:Well, maybe you're in a meeting and you're having a discussion with your teammates,
I learned a new word recently:but on the side you've got your second monitor and you're checking email, or
I learned a new word recently:you're responding to instant messages.
I learned a new word recently:These are all open loops.
I learned a new word recently:If you don't focus on one thing, complete that task, and
I learned a new word recently:then move on to the next one.
I learned a new word recently:You're leaving open loops.
I learned a new word recently:The problem with open loops is that you're constantly thinking about it.
I learned a new word recently:Now, if you look at it as your phone or your computer, your phone and your
I learned a new word recently:computer have what's referred to as ram.
I learned a new word recently:It's temporary memory that gets used when you perform
I learned a new word recently:lots of tasks at the same time.
I learned a new word recently:on your computer specifically, you may notice sometimes that
I learned a new word recently:your fan, your computer fan starts running and it gets really hot.
I learned a new word recently:The same thing is happening in your mind, your mind is using up resources, your
I learned a new word recently:attention, resources, and it's trying to process all these things in the background
I learned a new word recently:while you're focusing on one thing.
I learned a new word recently:Because of all these open loops, the best way is to close those loops one at a time.
I learned a new word recently:Now, I've talked about it in a different podcast episode is context switching
I learned a new word recently:when you go back and forth between.
I learned a new word recently:You're really not getting anything done because you're constantly
I learned a new word recently:bouncing from one to the other.
I learned a new word recently:In the past, people used to be proud of the fact that they were multitaskers,
I learned a new word recently:but really multitasking is just rapid switching from task to task.
I learned a new word recently:You're not actually getting two things done at once.
I learned a new word recently:So here are three ways to close open loops.
I learned a new word recently:The first is time block.
I learned a new word recently:When you're doing a task set, asides a specific amount of time,
I learned a new word recently:let's say half an hour, 45 minutes.
I learned a new word recently:For me, 45 minutes is the optimal amount of time, any less, and I feel like I'm not
I learned a new word recently:getting enough done anymore, and I start to fade and I start to get distracted.
I learned a new word recently:So say you set aside 45 minutes and you're going to write a blog post,
I learned a new word recently:or write an email or a proposal in that 45 minutes, only work on that.
I learned a new word recently:Turn off all the distractions, flip your phone over so that it's not gonna
I learned a new word recently:be notifying you or it's not gonna be flashing and beeping in your face.
I learned a new word recently:When you time block, you finish that task and then that's it.
I learned a new word recently:You don't come back to it again.
I learned a new word recently:The second tip here is daily planning, ideally the night before, so that your
I learned a new word recently:subconscious has some time to process it.
I learned a new word recently:When you start wrapping up your day, you think about what you
I learned a new word recently:need to get done for the next day.
I learned a new word recently:Check your calendar to make sure there's any events that you need to attend or
I learned a new word recently:any meetings that you have coming up.
I learned a new word recently:And your daily planning will actually help you when you get
I learned a new word recently:to your work the following day.
I learned a new word recently:The last tip I wanna make here about closing loops is work only
I learned a new word recently:on your most important task first.
I learned a new word recently:So when you get up in the morning, whether you're getting up really early or you're
I learned a new word recently:getting up later in the day, focus on just one important task and get it done.
I learned a new word recently:I refer to these as my mips, my most important project.
I learned a new word recently:So if a project is small and you can get it done in the first
I learned a new word recently:couple hours of a day, great.
I learned a new word recently:Finish it up in that day, if not, and it's gonna take you, let's say,
I learned a new word recently:seven to eight hours to finish.
I learned a new word recently:Well work on it in chunks every single morning.
I learned a new word recently:Chip away, work on it for an hour, maybe two hours, but start with that and only
I learned a new word recently:work on that first thing in the day.
I learned a new word recently:Definitely don't check your email first thing in the day, because all you're
I learned a new word recently:doing is you're flooding your mind.
I learned a new word recently:You're flooding your brain with stimulus and other people's priorities, and then
I learned a new word recently:you're gonna get distracted, and then there's gonna be a ton of open loops.
I learned a new word recently:Just as a side note, email is the best way to open loops because you're constantly
I learned a new word recently:responding and reacting to other people rather than working on your own task.
I learned a new word recently:The Be Well Do Well Planner, which I've talked about a lot, has this
I learned a new word recently:designed in mind specifically.
I learned a new word recently:When you start your day, it has a section at the top where you'll
I learned a new word recently:fill in what your life looks like, and then it gives you a block.
I learned a new word recently:It says, What project are you gonna work on today?
I learned a new word recently:This is your most important task, your most important project, and it
I learned a new word recently:gives you three spots where you're gonna fill in item number one, number
I learned a new word recently:two, number three, and these are the first three steps in order to get
I learned a new word recently:that most important project complete.
I learned a new word recently:On the right hand side, there's a schedule and you can fill in where you're going to
I learned a new word recently:spend that time doing those three things.
I learned a new word recently:Ideally, you wanna do it first thing in the morning, but if it's something
I learned a new word recently:that needs the rest of the day, you can fill it up at the rest of the day.
I learned a new word recently:As a quick recap, open loops are really like your computers fan running.
I learned a new word recently:At full tilt, you wanna make sure to cloth all the loops in your mind so
I learned a new word recently:that you don't have to think about it, and your mind isn't thinking about it.
I learned a new word recently:When you're not working on that task, specifically, if you're gonna
I learned a new word recently:start something, try to finish it up as quickly as possible.
I learned a new word recently:This will reduce the amount of stress you have in your life.
I learned a new word recently:This will also make you more present when you're not working.
I learned a new word recently:So rather than thinking about it in the back of your mind when you're out for a
I learned a new word recently:bike ride, let's say, or you're driving, instead of thinking about it all the
I learned a new word recently:time, your mind is now settled and calm.
I learned a new word recently:I hope this has been helpful.
I learned a new word recently:Tomorrow I'll be talking about how to craft the perfect evening routine.
I learned a new word recently:I talked a little bit today about how you should plan your day, the day before,
I learned a new word recently:and I'm gonna get into more detail about what an evening routine looks like and
I learned a new word recently:what your perfect evening routine can be.
I learned a new word recently:Thanks so much for making the Be Well Do Well Podcast a part of your day.
