ENERGY BOOST

How to Manage Your Energy and Maximize Your Potential

Carolyn Anderson, MD

© 2014 Carolyn Anderson

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Contact Information: Info@CarolynAndersonMD.com

ISBN: 978-1-62660-077-5

eBook designed by MC Writing

Medical Disclaimer: The medical and healthcare information in this book is intended as an information resource only. Please consult your personal doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise routine.

Although the author has made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

ENERGY BOOST

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR ENERGY

AND MAXIMIZE YOUR POTENTIAL

CAROLYN ANDERSON, MD

CHAPTER 1:

Introduction

Is there ever enough time? Let me rephrase that question: Is there ever enough time to accomplish all that we wish to accomplish in life? It seems not. Doesn’t it seem like we are often just running around and not getting anywhere? We are so busy, but we often feel as though we are just busy being busy. We’re moving but not going anywhere. The constant movement is exhausting. We no longer feel like we are truly enjoying the journey.

This book will show you how to have the energy and focus to really love your life again. Can any of us really remember absolutely loving our lives? I mean don’t get me wrong, I feel grateful every day for the opportunity to walk this planet. Grateful to be alive and to breathe. I think as spiritual beings this human experience is such a profound gift.

Yet, how do we truly enjoy this gift without a framework to help us reach our true and divine potential? How do we enjoy this gift of life unless we have the energy to grab hold of the moments and really make them what they are meant to be?

This book will be a tool and a guide to reignite your passion for life and to maximize your energy. It will also enable you to run towards those passions. The strategies I will discuss did not come easy. Many of the lessons were hard won. As you read these pages, it will become abundantly clear that I did not always do things the “right” way, and even when I did, it was not always, or even ever perfect.

After I had my son in 2009, I went through a number of months where I often felt utterly exhausted. It prompted me to give great thought to what I was doing when I had more energy, when I had more passion, and when I was really in the flow.

I compiled a “When life is working list.” The creation of a list of things that you are doing when you are really in the groove can be exceedingly instructive. I found many of the habits and strategies that had made my life work had fallen by the wayside after the birth of my beautiful blue-eyed boy.

These habits had been instrumental in providing me with the energy to reach my dream of being a surgeon. I had just stopped doing them. When I distilled it down into the components, I realized that if I started doing the “right” things again on a consistent basis, I would get my energy back. I also realized that these strategies could help a lot of other people out there struggling to find the energy needed to pursue their own dreams.

Energy Management vs. Time Management

I truly feel that energy can trump IQ when it comes to the accomplishment of our greatest dreams. We need fuel to realize our greatest potential. The strategies in this book will fuel you towards your greatest life.

When I was in my twenties and going through medical school and my residency I used to wish for more time. I could have wished for more money, or a fabulous fit body, or even true love at that point but I figured that with an extra hour or two in my day I could work more, work out more, and find true love on my own.

Unfortunately, I never did meet any time-granting genies or manage to perfect a time machine. I did however, gradually come to the conclusion that energy, not time, is the hot commodity.

Whether we are Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Howard Schultz, or Hillary Clinton we are all given 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. How do some people manage to pull off extraordinary accomplishments, while others just make it through the day?

I’ve come to realize that the difference between these two groups of people is not only how they manage their time, but more importantly, how they manage their energy. How we manage our energy will dictate how big we play the game of life, and the impact that we have.

In this book, I’ll share with you my system of energy management. This system will revolutionize your life. If you follow the simple steps of the system, your energy will explode off the charts and catapult you to excellence in your business and your life.

Maximizing your energy allows you to finally go after your goals that have been on the back burner for far too long. You can improve your business or become a valuable employee on the fast track to a promotion. You’ll learn to become faster and more efficient by harnessing your untapped energy and applying it with laser focus.

You’ll also have the energy to be with your loved ones and do things you love doing. You can stop turning down engagements because you simply have no energy left after a long day, or week at work. When people say they have no time, they often mean that they have no energy to do anything but sit on the couch and watch TV. This book will help you conserve your energy for the things that are important to you.

I know what it’s like to feel like every day is slipping by, and before you know it, a year has gone by, and you’re no closer to your goals than you were last year. I know what it’s like to feel so tired at the end of the day, that you barely have the energy to get ready for bed. In the midst of everything going on with our families, personal, and career obligations it seems there is never enough time to look after yourself, let alone nurture your big dreams.

When I started researching and applying the steps in the Energy Management system, I noticed an immediate difference in my energy levels and overall happiness. Life is still as busy as ever, but I am happier, and making progress on my big dreams in life. Writing a book has been a lifelong goal, and I couldn’t have done it without making it a priority to focus on my energy levels.

Using the Energy Management System, I’ve taken my coaching clients out of feeling like all they did was get through each day to boundless balls of energy. It’s truly amazing to see the change in their lives. Some have used the system to help them manage life as entrepreneurs. Not only are they less stressed and feeling more energetic, but their businesses are taking off as well.

I worked with a stay-at-home mom who felt overwhelming guilt that she always felt so tired that she didn’t have the energy to play with her kids. In her words, she was home with them but she wasn’t really there for her kids. With this system, she’s got her spark back and she and her kids are much happier.

This book can help anyone who is feeling a lack of energy that is affecting their life. This proven energy management system can be applied to your individual situation, and help you become the person, employee, entrepreneur, partner, or parent you’ve always wanted to be. You’ll lower your stress levels, stop feeling run-down constantly, and improve your health. You’ll have more time and energy for the things that really matter to you.

Why the Energy Management Method is Different

I know you’ve already tried numerous times to set and achieve goals in your career, finances, health and relationships. We’ve all experienced the guilt and despair that can happen when, once again, you don’t stick to your New Year’s resolutions past January 10th.

If you faithfully follow my guidelines, forgive yourself for slip-ups, and change your focus towards managing your energy, you can break through and start living a life you love.

Many people attempt to manage their crazy schedules by multitasking. This is actually one of the worst things you can do as you’ll learn in the “Living in the Now” chapter. Multitasking increases your stress levels, makes mistakes more likely, and is less effective than focusing on one task at time.

Other people make detailed plans for their day right down to the minute. These plans rarely work out. The best plan in the world will not work if you don’t have the energy to execute it. The other thing that derails plans is procrastination. You’ll learn about making realistic plans and conquering procrastination in the “Everyday Life Management” chapter.

Another reason people fail to achieve their goals is because they only focus on one area of their life to improve, without understanding that everything is interconnected. You might read a self-help book on improving your business, but all the tips and advice take time away from another area of your life. The key to a happy and fulfilling life is to carefully allocate your energy between your priorities.

The Energy Management System

Energy is the new commodity we must gather, nurture, and expend in alignment with the way we want our lives to proceed. The Energy Management System is comprised of the following six steps.

Eating Well & Exercising

Now – Living in the Moment

Everyday Life Management

Rejuvenation

Gratitude

Your Passions

This book will help you build a strong physical base through diet and exercise to maximize your energy. Then it will discuss focussing your energy by living in the moment and everyday life management. Lastly, you’ll learn to nurture and renew your energy through rejuvenating activities and practicing gratitude.

Along with my own experience, the energy management system is supported with the latest psychological and neuro-scientific research into what really works to improve energy levels. You’ll learn how focused effort, combined with periods of rest, will generate the greatest productivity.

By being mindful of our energy, we are more conscious of how we use it, and where we can conserve it. While some of this book may seem like common sense, by the end of it you will have a new approach to life. Instead of just trying to save time, you’ll be able to maximize your energy levels, and apply your energy to the things that are important to you.

Each chapter builds on the next, so I encourage you to work through them and apply the action steps at the end. If you skip the first chapter, and don’t start eating for energy, you won’t have a strong physical base to give you the energy that’s required to implement the following chapters.

One of the important things you’ll learn from this book is to plan ahead so you can be proactive. Reading this book is your first step to creating the life you want and deserve.

My Story

Before we begin the book, I’d like to share with you more about my story and how I came to develop the energy management system.

February 2009

It is nearing the end of a busy day in the OR. A stale heat hangs over the room and mixes with the unappealing aroma of disinfectant that typically lingers in a hospital. The boom box at the back of the room is cranking out that old Diana Ross tune, “Ain’t no mountain high enough”, but the reception is so fuzzy I have to strain to make it out.

I am on my last case of the day. I move my chair into position, and start my first incision into the shining blue eye of the 81-year-old kind gentlemen who has entrusted me to remove his cataract. I feel a kick to my belly from the inside, and a bead of sweat rolls down my forehead. I am exhausted and uncomfortable, but the patient in front of me deserves my best and somehow I have to come up with it. I am 34 weeks pregnant and planned on working the rest of this week, before taking some time to get ready for the baby.

Little did I know that the little boy growing inside of me would feel compelled to get an early start on tripping around the planet. At the time I was doing that surgery of the day, I was probably in early labor. A few hours later, my beautiful little boy took his first breath on planet earth, and life as I knew it changed forever.

I would consider myself an optimistic and goal-oriented person. As long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a doctor. I finished my medical degree and residency, and started my practice performing cataract surgeries. While still practicing medicine, I opened up a private surgical clinic, a medical spa, a medical consultancy business, became involved in real estate development, and also founded an online magazine for active older adults. While I was busy, I was also happy, and felt I was moving forward in life and doing things that mattered to me. I had always been blessed with high energy and optimism, and I seemed to be able to keep all the balls in the air. Until I couldn’t.

One of my life-long goals was to have a child. While I was so excited to pee on a stick that finally turned blue, I had no idea how much it would change my life. It has been the most amazing experience, and it really is like making a decision to have your heart go walking around outside your body for the rest of your life. I love being a Mom, but for the first 18 months after my little man was born, I felt like a ‘walking zombie.’ Even when my son started sleeping though the night, I still felt constantly run-down and exhausted.

I kept wishing for more hours in a day so I could get everything done. But after accepting that I would never find a magic time-granting genie, I looked for a better solution. I realized that in my desire to be a supermom, I had stopped doing all the things that had made me successful in the first place. I wasn’t exercising, eating right, planning out my life, or taking the time to recharge.

I began incorporating my past habits into my daily routine, and immediately noticed a jump in my energy levels. Through extensive research, my own experiences, and the experiences of my coaching clients, I’ve come up with an Energy Management System. I now feel more energetic and productive than I ever have – even while chasing around a busy preschooler.

I am convinced that we cannot get to greatness and reach our potential in life without high levels of energy. This system will skyrocket your energy levels through the stratosphere, and put you on the path to world-class success in both your business and your life.

CHAPTER 2:

Eating Well & Exercising

I can’t write a book on improving your energy without starting with the most important element. You won’t get the full benefit of the other tips in this book, if you aren’t building a strong physical base by fueling your body with high quality food and exercise.

Just like a machine, our bodies need high-quality fuel in order to function at our highest level. Too often we rely on quick energy fixes like coffee, energy drinks, or sweets, which only improve our energy levels for a short time before we crash.

There is no question in my mind that when you feel better physically, you feel better mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It extrapolates to all areas of your life, and helps you to build momentum. The physical is the foundation on which all other aspects of your life are placed. Everything you eat either helps, or hurts your physical and mental health.

I don’t want to just reiterate the same old diet and exercise advice you’ve heard over and over again. I want to provide tangible and doable strategies to really help you to eat well, and exercise on a consistent basis. Only if something is done over and over, day after day, will it compound to give you the energy and the life you truly desire. I want to give you easy to implement strategies that, if followed, will lead to the level of energy and vitality that you have been seeking.

Don’t Focus on Depriving Yourself

The adherence rate with diets is extremely low. You can only deprive yourself for so long before you’ll crack. I encourage clients to stop focusing on things that they shouldn’t eat like candy, chocolate, fried foods, and instead concentrate on getting your 5-10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. If you are filling your body with nutrient dense food, you’ll be less likely to crave the junk food. This is a strategy you can continue on a long-term basis without feeling deprived or restricted. Once you’ve made this change, other diet switches can happen, like switching to whole grains, better quality meats and less processed foods.

A simple tip to dramatically change your outlook is to change your language. Instead of saying, “I should eat that broccoli”, or “I have to eat more fruit”, start saying, “I want to eat this because I want to fuel my body so I can be healthy.” By using positive language you can help change your mind set when it comes to food.

To avoid feeling deprived, I allow myself one cheat day a week. I don’t go crazy, but I might eat out, or have a few sweets. Planning a cheat day helps me maintain my willpower through-out the week. The more you exercise your willpower, the easier it becomes.

Basic Food Guidelines

There are some basic food guidelines we can all agree on like the importance of whole foods such as high-quality protein sources, fresh veggies and fruits. Because we all have different preferences, diet restrictions and body types we have to find the diet approach that works best for us.

I, myself am a strong supporter of the anti-inflammatory diet. By ingesting foods that trigger a less inflammatory state, we can improve our health and energy, as well as decrease the risk of cancer, heart disease, and prevent premature aging. Yes, we can decrease the inflammation and get fewer wrinkles. Seems like a good idea to me.

The easiest way to follow this anti-inflammatory diet is to shop around the perimeter of the grocery store. All the real stuff, the good stuff, is on the outside.

When my son was first born, I was so diligent about eating well because he was breastfeeding, and I wanted him to get the good stuff. But after he was no longer breastfeeding, I found I was exhausted and time-saving ways to eat won out over nutrition. I was so fortunate that my mom was such an incredible help when my son was very little. It was such a busy time, and this time-saving eating strategy, combined with my wonderful mom’s penchant for coupon clipping, culminated in many lunches at KFC and McDonalds.

The turning point was one afternoon when Mom called and had a 2-for-1 fish and chip coupon for this restaurant called Critters. We headed over there with Nicholas, and parked to go in and get our fish and chips for a deal.

We walked in, Mom clutching her coupon, looked around and realized that we were in a pet store and the 2-for-1 fish was goldfish. I think I really did pee my pants laughing at that point (My bladder control was still less than stellar). It finally made me tell my mom that coupon or no coupon; we were going to get a salad, or something half ways healthy.

This was the turning point of me getting back to what works from a diet perspective. As the old adage says, “You really are what you eat.”

I recommend eating whole foods and staying away from processed foods. Look for foods with short ingredient labels that have ingredients you actually recognize. As Michel Pollan writes in his book Food Rules, “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” It might seem overly simplistic, but by sticking to foods close to their natural states, we avoid many chemicals, preservatives and unhealthy fats.

In order to keep our energy levels up, and your blood sugar consistent, eat five to six small meals or snacks a day. Skipping meals is one of the fastest ways to deplete your physical and mental energy stores.

Meals should be roughly 30% protein, 30% whole grains, and the rest a mixture of multi-colored vegetables. Aim for snacks that are 200-300 calories, and contain a mixture of protein and carbohydrates that will slowly release energy.

If you find yourself craving junk food in the evenings, try tracking your average food intake throughout the day. You may find you’re not eating enough, and your body is trying to make up the calorie deficient at night when your willpower is at its lowest.

Another way to control your cravings is to make sure you get enough sleep. Being sleep deprived causes your body to produce more ghrelin, which is a chemical that triggers sugar cravings.

Planning Ahead

In order to eat a well-balanced diet with whole foods, you need to plan ahead. Stock your fridge and pantry with easy snacks like cut up veggies, yogurt, whole wheat crackers, almonds, and dried unsweetened fruit.

You might want to create a list or visual board of snack ideas. Then when you’re hungry and don’t know what to eat, you can look at the list and decide what you feel like. You can see my Pinterest board at Pinterest.com/drcarolyna for healthy snack ideas.

A meal plan is essential for eating well without wasting time and money. Create a weekly meal plan so you always have the right ingredients on hand. It also cuts down on the frustration you feel at 5pm when you’ve just gotten home from work, and have no idea what you’re going to eat. Without a plan in place, you’re far more likely to go for take-out or something less than ideal. With a meal plan you can come home, take out your thawed chicken out of the fridge, and quickly whip up a healthy and satisfying dinner. This will cut down on your stress, grocery budget, and the amount of food that gets wasted every week.

To keep you from getting bored, experiment with new recipes. Once or twice a month find a new healthy recipe to try. If you, and more importantly your kids like it, you can add it to your rotation of meals and slowly replace less nutritious dinners.

We often get stuck in a rut with our meals and miss out on new flavours and ingredients. Try expanding your side dishes from potatoes, rice and pasta to quinoa, couscous, salads, butternut or spaghetti squash. It’s no wonder many people don’t like vegetables when they’re preparing them the same old way every time. Instead of simply steaming or baking vegetables experiment with different flavors, sauces and combinations.

For the nights when your schedule gets out of hand, or you don’t have much time to prepare dinner have a back-up plan. It could be a healthy frozen dinner idea, breakfast for dinner, or a collection of raw vegetables, nuts and a sandwich. You may also want to make large batches of soup or other meals on the weekend that can be reheated on days when you don’t have time to cook.

Sometimes we can be eating well but just eating too much. I ran into this situation a few years ago when no matter how much I exercised, I always felt like I was carrying an extra 5-10 lbs. I realized that the cause was grabbing handfuls of nuts whenever I was hungry, without any concern for how many I was grabbing.

I think on some days I was eating an extra 300-400 calories in almonds and cashews. I didn’t realize this until I started tracking my food intake for a period of time. The best online tracking site I could find was myfitnesspal.com. It is easy to use, and you can calculate your ideal daily caloric intake based on your current and goal weight. It also takes into account your activity, and gives you more calories to consume if you are exercising. Check it out, it is really easy to use, and may be the tool that finally helps you reach the goal weight that has been eluding you for years.

Hydration

Being hydrated is essential to high energy. I follow the guideline to drink half of your body weight. To determine your recommended intake, take your weight in pounds, and divide it by two to see how many ounces you should be drinking. For example, a 130lb woman should drink 65oz.

It’s unlikely that you will end up drinking this much water without consciously trying. Make sure to have a full glass of water with every meal and snack. Fill up two or three big water bottles in the morning, and make sure to empty them by the end of the day.

Be wary of the mostly empty calories found in juice, lattes, and other specialty coffee drinks. Even 100% juice drinks are lacking the fibre found in the actual fruit. High sugar drinks and food burn off quickly, and the resulting blood sugar crash can make you feel tired, lethargic, and grumpy.

While energy drinks are hugely popular, they should not be used regularly. They can temporarily energize you, but there are health risks involved. They are a short-term fix and a symptom of a larger problem.

I know many people can’t make it through the day without their morning cup of coffee. While there have been some studies advising against too much caffeine intake, you’ll be happy to know that there are also studies that highlight the benefits of coffee, including antioxidants. I personally recommend consuming no more than one or two cups a day, and making sure not to drink it after lunch.

I also try to drink green tea whenever I can. When I was researching nutrition during my mom’s battle with cancer, I kept finding astounding facts on just how great green tea is for your health. Green tea has been shown to slow the growth of tumours, inhibit inflammation, and act as a detoxifier. When I’m at Starbucks I usually order a “cancer-preventing” Soy Green Tea latte (made with Matcha Japanese green tea) and skip the sweetener.

If you’d like to save money and decrease your risk of cancer you can always make green tea at home. If possible, buy Japanese green tea (Matcha, Sencha etc…) since it seems to be a greater source of nutrients than Chinese green tea. Let the green tea steep for ideally 10 minutes (but at least 5min) to release all the nutrients, and drink it within an hour of preparing it. I also read research that adding soy milk to your green tea will increase the absorption of the healthful properties of the green tea considerably.

Another recommended way to stay hydrated is smoothies. Not all smoothies are created equal, and you need to read the ingredient lists for high sugar content. Green smoothies are a fantastic way to increase your servings of fruits and vegetables. While the colour may throw you off initially, with a good blender and the right mix of fruits and vegetables, they can be a healthy and delicious drink.

My favorite green smoothie is 1/2 cup of soy milk, 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1/4 cup frozen organic blueberries, half a banana, broccoli, kale and spinach. Blend well and enjoy. I know it does not sound that great, but the blueberries and banana overpower the greens, and the flavor and texture are really quite good. It packs a huge punch from a health perspective, all with less than 150 calories.

Recommended Supplements

Although I eat well, there are some things that I don’t get in enough quantity in my regular diet. A study from Journal of Women’s Health & Gender-Based Medicine found that most women were deficient in many key vitamins, including iron, zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin B12.

Iron deficiency is a serious threat to your energy levels. Iron plays a vital role in producing hemoglobin, which is the main component of red blood cells. Red blood cells transport oxygen as well as other important functions. A lack of iron can slow down the production of these critical cells. If you feel constantly run down, you may want to ask your doctor to check your levels. You can also try to boost your iron levels naturally by eating iron-rich foods like red meat, iron-fortified foods, whole grain bread, green vegetables (particularly broccoli), and certain nuts and seeds. These iron-rich foods are best accompanied by a food high in vitamin C to help absorption of the iron.

Fish oil, or omega-3 is really important to be taking as a supplement. I take a Carlson’s pressed omega-3 supplement (lemon flavored) on a regular basis. I typically take two teaspoons a day, which will help to keep you healthy and will also help ward off illnesses like the flu. The lemon flavor really cuts the edge off the fishy taste. My son actually says it tastes good. If that is not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Because most of us do not get our levels checked, and vitamin D deficiency is common, I recommend Vitamin D. I take a liquid form of vitamin D because it is significantly better absorbed than vitamin D in pill form. The current recommendation is for 1000 IU per day.

Vitamin B12 can also be an important supplement. Especially in peri-menopausal women that find themselves tired much of the time.

*Please discuss the use of supplements with your personal doctor*

Benefits of Exercising

The benefits of exercising cannot be overstated. In addition to helping keep one at a healthy weight, it helps prevent a multitude of diseases, extends your longevity, and provides an instant energy boost. It helps lower your stress levels, improves your mood, and can make you more productive. A study from Indiana University found that participants felt calmer, less anxious, and less fatigued up to four hours after exercising.

I truly believe that you can’t perform at your mental peak unless you are making a point to exercise your body. Exercise provides a mental break, and a way to recharge your creativity. When you’re not focused on a problem or task your brain is free to think more creatively.

“At one point in your life you either have the things you want or the reasons why you don’t.”

—ANDY RODDICK

By letting your mind relax you allow it to be creative and see the big picture. Research has shown that exercise can lead to a 10% increase in cognition, and in being more effective in processing a problem or situation^1.

When you conquer the treadmill or the weight machine you feel like you can conquer anything. A study published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management showed that employees who exercised before work or during lunch breaks were better able to handle the day’s demand. Their concentration improved and they felt more motivated to work^2.

Even just 10 minutes of exercising can cause significant improvements to your mood^3. Try to fit in a walk during your lunch hour, or head out the door for a quick walk around the block when you’re feeling upset or lethargic. You’ll get the mental and health benefits of exercising, and it can also help you avoid unhealthy coping strategies like emotional eating.

Exercise Guidelines

Exercise can take many different forms, and my basic guidelines are to weight train at least twice a week and get your heart rate up for 20 minutes a day, 5 times a week. While this may seem like a lot, it takes less than three hours of your week to fulfill these requirements.

Weight training is essential to strengthen your bone mass, help burn calories, and keep you at a healthy weight. You don’t have to go to a gym to weight train; you can simply use your own body for exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, and squats.

Whatever exercise you choose to do, make sure you constantly challenge yourself. Running the same route at the same pace for months will eventually become easy, and your body will reach a plateau. Challenge yourself by going farther or faster.

In order to do this, you should track your workouts to some degree. You might not notice the changes in your strength, stamina, or speed if you don’t record your starting levels. I am a big advocate of tracking in general. I think any behavior we wish to change can be more greatly influenced when we write down what we are doing.

After exercising it’s important to have a post recovery drink or food with protein. Be sure to drink water before and after exercising. Being hydrated before can help prevent muscle cramps, and ensures you have the energy to work hard. Depending on your activity and the length, it may or may not be necessary to drink water while exercising.

Exercise Obstacles

With all the benefits of exercise it’s astonishing that more people don’t make exercise a regular habit. It’s been said that if exercise was a drug we would all be taking it on a daily basis, no matter what the cost.

There are a number of obstacles to exercising regularly that keep people from getting its full benefits. Some of them are external but many of them are internal factors.

I think the biggest excuse busy people use is that they don’t have time. Nike once ran a brilliant ad campaign that had the tagline, “Someone who is busier than you is running right now.” It can easily be adapted to say that, “Someone who is busier than you is exercising right now.”

We are all given the same 24 hours in a day, and if top CEOs can find time to exercise we all can. When you look at the habits of some of the most successful business people, you’ll find that they are up before dawn and exercising before they hit the office. They realize that exercise must be a priority for their physical and mental health.

An interesting recent study also found that an executive’s weight can affect their perceived leadership ability. While it is not fair, it is something to keep in mind if you want to be considered for leadership roles. Being at a heavier weight can affect your stamina, confidence, and other’s perceptions of your capability^4.

To avoid letting time be an obstacle to your exercise, you have to schedule it. Don’t wait for an opening in your day. If you can, try to exercise in the morning because things will happen during the day that can alter your plans to exercise later. But if a lunch time workout, or night-time exercise session works best for you then work with it.

Another big obstacle for not exercising is a lack of energy. The paradox of this excuse is that you will likely never have the extra energy, unless you make changes in your lifestyle like exercising regularly. Energy is an essential part of your life force, and without energy you’ll never reach your full potential.

To get over the energy slump, commit to going for a five minute walk, or lifting weights for a few minutes. If you can get started, you’ll often find some untapped energy and be able to continue a bit longer. Even if you only spend those five minutes walking, it is still better than nothing and helps prepare you for the next time you exercise.

Remember that exercise doesn’t have to last hours to be effective. If you only have 10-20 minutes free you can still use it to exercise. Don’t fall in the all-or-nothing trap with exercise. Even if you don’t have time for an ideal workout, it is better to do something rather than nothing.

My favorite way of exercising is with a Tabata exercise. With this program you can adapt any cardio workout or exercise. In your chosen activity go all out for 20 seconds, and then slow down or rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this sequence eight times and you’ve completed a four-minute Tabata. To push myself when I do this on my exercise bike, I keep track of my distance and see if I can beat the previous day’s distance.

Research is showing that high-intensity interval training can be as effective as traditional endurance training at a moderate pace. Make sure to go all out and push yourself far past your comfort zone while doing a Tabata exercise. I recommend warming up before and spending some time to cool down and lower your heart rate after.

Another idea to find time for exercise is to use the times while you’re waiting for something, or someone. Rather than sitting in the car while your kids have their activities get out and take a walk or jog around the area. Do some squats while waiting for the microwave or bust out some push-ups in between TV commercials.

Some people struggle with the motivation to keep exercising. To counteract this you need to set SMART goals when exercising. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Sensitive. Having a goal to be healthy and energetic doesn’t meet the criteria. Instead you could say I can run 3 miles in 30 minutes, in six months’ time.

Upcoming events like a school reunion or a trip to Mexico can motivate you to stick to your exercising schedule. But if you don’t have a specific occasion you can set up mini challenges. Can you cut 30 seconds off your run time, lift 10% more weight, or lose two inches off your waist in the next four weeks?

With any goal or challenge you need to be accountable, and have a short, specific goal in mind. While your overall goal may be to lose 50 pounds, you should have a realistic goal for the next few weeks. While many women tend to use weight as their overall goal, you should also track your accomplishments in terms of inches lost, overall well-being and increased fitness levels.

If you meet your challenge you can reward yourself with a massage, work-out outfit, weekend getaway or new exercise video.

A final obstacle is that some people just don’t like exercising. Some people have rigid ideas about exercise and believe that they need to hit the gym for a standard run on the treadmill, and circuit around the weight machines. For some people that sounds like the most boring thing to do and if they’re not seeing results it’s even more discouraging.

Remind yourself that exercise doesn’t have to happen in a gym. Try out activities like rock climbing, ballroom dancing, or martial arts. These activities are beneficial on their own but you might also find yourself motivated to do more traditional cardio and strength conditioning to get stronger, faster or more flexible to be better at your chosen activity.

You can also make your exercise more enjoyable by listening to your favorite music or by watching a taped TV show on the treadmill or stationary bike.

If you are a parent who wants to set a good example for your kids, you can go for a family bike ride or walk. If you have a dog, make it your job to run with the dog. Find an exercise buddy to motivate you to show up, and to give you someone to talk to during the exercise.

Exercise needs to be a lifelong part of our routine. Write down your reasons and motivations for exercising, schedule exercise time, and work hard to meet your goals.

When to Exercise

The best time to exercise is when it fits into your schedule best. I personally prefer early morning workouts which give me a great start to the day. But depending on your schedule and perhaps childcare situation you might find yourself working out during the afternoon, evening or at lunch.

Whatever time you decide to exercise you must commit to it. Don’t wait until you finish a project, book, or chore. When it’s time to exercise treat that time like an appointment. This is one of the reasons exercising in the morning works well because there is nothing to get in your way but the snooze button. Also it is a known fact that willpower gets depleted as the day goes on, so getting your workout in early makes it much more likely that it will actually occur.

Second-wind workouts are a great way to recharge during the late afternoon. Although most of us want to do nothing more than lie on the couch after work, if you exercise you’ll wake up your body. Stop at the gym on the way home from work and spend 20 minutes raising your heart rate. This will help you get through your evening without being lethargic.

The New Health Threat

Did you know you’re probably engaging in one of the most harmful health practices right now? Sitting and being inactive for too long has been compared to the equivalent of smoking. Research shows that even if you exercise regularly, all those inactive hours can have a serious impact on your health. Marc Hamilton, an inactivity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center compares trying to combat long periods of inactivity with exercise, to trying to combat smoking with jogging.

Women tend to be more inactive than men because they tend to hold less active jobs and participate in fewer sports. Sitting weakens the muscles supporting your spine, and can contribute to lower back pain.

Sitting for over an hour leads to a decrease in fat-burning enzymes and causes your good cholesterol (HDL) levels to fall. The electrical level in your muscles drop and your calorie burning rate drops. An Australian study showed that for each additional hour of television watched each day, the risk of dying rose across all ages, gender, and activity levels^5.

Research estimates that this lack of physical activity is directly linked to 6% of heart diseases, 7% of type 2 diabetes, and 10% for breast cancer, or colon cancer^6.

To combat this problem, you can try a number of solutions. Try scheduling walking meetings with staff and clients. You’ll avoid sitting, get some exercise, and can boost your creativity. If you are on the phone you can stand up and move around your office. If the weather doesn’t permit a walking meeting, a standing meeting also has benefits and generally leads to a shorter meeting.

Treadmill desks are a genius, although somewhat expensive solution. Designed to hold your laptop steady they allow you to stand or slowly walk while working. You can also try switching your office chair for an exercise ball to keep your body in motion, and to correct your posture.

You can use your computer or phone to remind you take regular breaks. Stop for a few minutes every hour and move around. This restarts your metabolism after a period of inactivity and also helps you to take a mental break. There is great research in the productivity arena that shows that working for any longer than 90 minutes at a stretch is counterproductive anyway.

In one study, those who took regular breaks, regardless of their exercise routines, had slimmer waists, lower BMIs (body mass indexes), and healthier blood fat and blood sugar levels than those who sat the most^7.

Conclusion

Remember something is better than nothing. If your schedule doesn’t allow you to spend two hours a day making all your food from scratch, then find high quality minimally processed convenience foods or delegate some meal planning to your partner or even your kids. A home-made meal of baby carrots, natural peanut butter and crackers isn’t fancy but it’s healthier than your local drive through offering.

We all want to be the healthiest we can be but you have to let go of perfection in order to inch our way there. Perfection can paralyze us and keep us from making any changes because we’re so worried about doing it right the first time.

As you begin to make small changes to your diet and exercise routine they’ll become habits, and you can keep improving your eating habits and getting fitter. These gradual changes will have countless benefits for your health, happiness, and your energy levels.

To help you get started with making healthy choices for more energy I’ve created Pinterest boards that feature snack ideas, exercise inspiration and routines and more. Find me at Pinterest.com/drcarolyna.

Action Steps

Eating Well & Exercising Monthly Challenge

1. Go to myfitnesspal.com or download the app on your phone to calculate the ideal caloric intake for your ideal weight and track this for one month. Don’t track on Saturdays and have it be your cheat day. After a month of tracking, you’ll have a better understanding of your eating patterns and whether you generally eat too much or too little.

2. Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. Do this every day for the next month.

3. Eat five times per day everyday (Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner). Do not eat within two hours of going to sleep. Do this for the next month.

4. Eat at least six fruits and/or veggies per day and track using myfitnesspal.com the amount for the next month.

5. Move your body (walk, run or bike) for at least 20 minutes, five days per week for the next month

6. Start a simple 20-30 minute weight routine two days per week for the next month.

I know that if you follow these action steps for the next month you will feel so much more energetic that you will want to continue doing them. If this seems too overwhelming, pick two of these ideas and implement them for a few weeks. Once you’ve mastered these ideas and they’ve become routine, pick another two habits to implement.

CHAPTER 3:

Now – Living in the Moment

I sometimes hop in the shower to get ready for work and start going through the “list”. You know the “list,” we all have one, the endless and never completed list of tasks that need to be accomplished. We often keep the “list” in our heads and the best time to go through it is in the shower.

Email this person, make that phone call, bake cookies for the bake sale, pick kids up from soccer, make a long-overdue dentist appointment, finish the proposal, pick up the dry cleaning,… .and on and on it goes until the water gets cold. You get out and dry yourself off not really sure if you even shaved your armpits, or conditioned your hair. The entire event is just a blur.

“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.”

—ABRAHAM MASLOW

So much of our life is a frenzied blur of endless activities, thinking about the next while doing the previous. Imagine if you could hop in the shower, take a deep breath, and feel the water run down the back of your head onto your neck and down your body. If you could smell the body wash and breathe in the steam, while relaxing every muscle and indulging in the moment. How would our lives change if we could actually be where we are mentally when we are physically there?

Mindfulness can be defined as, “bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis^8.” While this seems simple, it can be extremely difficult to live in the moment in our chaotic world. If you don’t believe me, try to sit still and do absolutely nothing for two minutes. Even if you can manage to sit still, you were probably thinking about what you should be doing and planning ahead.

By living in the present moment we reduce our anxiety and stress by learning to only focus on what is currently happening. Mindfulness helps you be more energetic, productive, less stressed, and happier.

The Importance of Monotasking

When you follow the nutrition and exercise tips in the first chapter you will notice a huge increase in your energy levels. You may feel like you could do a millions things at once, but that is actually the opposite of what you should be doing.

You need to focus on one task at a time to maximize the use of your energy. When we try to do too many things at once we waste our energy by constantly having to switch our focus.

The challenge is in how do we put this into practice in our chaotic world? I think we can start by being deliberate about it. When we can bring our awareness into what we are doing, it can help to refine our focus. When I think back to a very difficult time in my life in 2011 when my mom was sick, it was a time where this practice of being deliberately in the moment was a god-send.

A warm sunny day in June is forever etched in my memory. I can remember the exact date, time and place when I got the heart-breaking news that my beautiful mom was in for a horrible and painful end to her life. I had been worried about her for a number of weeks as she had told me she was feeling unwell.

As a doctor, it is common for me to play the role of advisor to the family for all things medical. Usually I get the call and urge people to get things checked out. So I had called Mom’s family doctor and had an ultrasound and a CT scan set up to try and see what was going on with her. I was running a busy clinic at my office, and it was one of those crazy standing room only days when the radiologist called and stopped me in my tracks.

There was a tumor in the tail of my mom’s pancreas that extended to her stomach and had spread to her liver. The picture was bleak and the prognosis for survival poor. I stopped. And I started to cry. I cried and could not stop.

Sometimes it takes moments like this to bring instant clarity to your life and priorities.

In those next few precious and painful months, when my mom and I had time together to have a conversation, or just be together, I took the moment, and embraced it and hung on. I knew in a very short period of time that I would give anything to have a conversation with her.

I was extremely deliberate about truly being in the moment. The iPhone was off, the home phone was not answered, my son Nicholas was well looked after by the grace and help of others, so I could really be there, really be there with my Mom. Even as my home was turned into a palliative care ward, we made the most of the situation. I think the magnitude of the situation, and the fact that I knew she would not be of this earth for long made being deliberate more essential.

I think if we could bring that deliberate effort to be in the moment to other activities, our life would be so much richer. It shouldn’t take a tragedy for us to spend more quality time with our loved ones.

Imagine if the next time my son needs me, I stopped everything, and for that time, for that moment, I was all there for him. Imagine if the next time my husband needed to chat with me, I was all there for him. Imagine if the next time a member of my team needed me, I stopped everything, turned to them and gave them my undivided attention. I think this could transform our lives.

The Mental Health Benefits of Living in the Now

There is an anonymous saying that perfectly sums up why we need to live in the moment, “If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is.” We spend so much time worrying about the future and rehashing the past that we aren’t enjoying our present time. We are wasting our mental energy on things we can’t change, predict or control.

There are so many times we’re not fully engaged in our day-to-day life. Sometimes I’ll be at work and wishing that I was home with my son, and wondering what’s left in the fridge that I can use to make dinner. When I am home, I sometimes get distracted when I start to think about all the work I still have to do that evening. These thoughts distract me from the task at hand and have little benefit.

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” ― Leo Buscaglia

Eckhart Tolle wrote an excellent book called The Power of Now all about this idea. One phrase I underlined in the book and think of often is, “Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry — all forms of fear — are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”

Being conscious of needing to be in the moment is the key to mindful living. When you find yourself thinking about the future or past, stop and take a few deep breaths to help you re-center yourself in the moment.

Look at your surroundings and remind yourself to live in the present. If you find yourself thinking of work when you are with your kids stop yourself, and bring yourself back into the moment. When you are at work thinking about what you need to pick up for dinner, write it down and then bring yourself quickly back to the task at hand. The writing it down is critical. If you can download the information from your brain and get it onto paper you can stop stewing over it because you know you will not forget it. Commit yourself to the event at hand and appreciate the moment for what it is.

By committing yourself to living in the present, you’ll notice a huge change in your life. You’ll be less stressed and able to enjoy the moment.

“Live by your values. Happiness is really the harmony between a woman and the life she leads.”

You’ll also notice benefits in your relationships. When I ask people to list their top priorities and values (See the “Passions” chapter) they often list their families at the very top. However, when they look at how much time they spend devoted to quality time with their family they realize that they aren’t being true to their values. While most of us can’t abandon our jobs to spend all of our time with our families, we can make sure that when we are with them we are fully focussed on them.

Mindfulness and Eating

An unexpected benefit to committing to mindfulness might be weight loss. When we are conscious of what we are eating, we eat better which could result in weight loss, and will also create more energy. When you’re mindlessly munching while watching TV or eating on the run we tend to eat more. We eat so fast that we don’t have time to realize we’re full.

When you sit down at an actual table and eat without distractions you’ll enjoy your food more, fully chew it and be more conscious of what you’re feeding your body. How many times have you finished a cookie, chocolate bar, or other sweet and realized with the last bite you’ve eaten it so fast you haven’t really tasted it?

“We overeat not because we enjoy food too much – it is because we don’t enjoy it enough.”

—CHARLES EISENSTEIN

Researchers who wanted to see if there was a link between mindfulness and eating, studied a group of women who were taught a mindfulness program with a focus on eating habits. The women had a significant decrease in binge eating, anxiety and depression^9.

Start with one meal at a time and take the time to savor your food. There are several training exercises you can try to strengthen your ability to be mindful. One classic exercise involves three raisins where you have 10 to 20 minutes to touch, taste, and chew them. Another exercise you can try is eating half an apple as you normally would when watching TV, talking, or reading. You then eat the other half without any distractions and compare the experiences.

Practicing mindful eating has immediate benefits in your diet but also trains you to be more mindful in all aspects of your life.

The Downsides of Multitasking

Mindfulness is a hard concept to master because multitasking is ubiquitous in our busy lives. In an effort to juggle our roles as entrepreneurs, spouses, parents, and friends we often try to multitask. We are texting during dinner time, or thinking about a company problem while spending time with a friend.

A study by the Families and Work Institute in New York City showed that 45 percent of American workers were expected to work on too many tasks at once^10.

For years we’ve been proud of our ability to multi-task, but new research shows that multi-tasking isn’t always the right solution for our busy schedules. While most of us can walk and talk that is because walking is a mostly automatic habit. If you try to do two tasks that require decision making or language processing, you will quickly notice the downsides of multitasking.

Multitasking uses our working memory and we can only remember so much information at a time. When you try to return to the first task you were working on before being distracted, you’ll spend a few seconds trying to regain your train of thought.

While we may think we are getting things done faster, the research shows that multitasking leads to lower overall productivity. Not only is it less effective, it makes us more stressed, irritable, and unable to enjoy the present. Multitasking drains your positive energy and the constant switching of tasks is not an effective use of energy.

A study showed that when switching between two tasks, participants took 50% longer to complete both tasks, than when working on each task continuously without any interruption. This is known as a switching cost.

Professor Mayer, Evans, and Rubinstein name the two stages of multitasking as goal shifting and rule activation^11. When we move to another task, we must consciously shift our goals and start to apply a new set of rules and behaviors. While switching our attention can happen in less than a second, multitasking involves a large amount of switching back and forth, and the switching cost can add up.

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science did not show a difference in the accuracy of the work performed by the multi-tasking group, over the control group. But they did find that multi-tasking affected their ability to answer analytical questions about what they learned^12. When multitasking, the brain tries to remember the new information as a routine task but doesn’t fully understand the concept.

This suggests that in order to fully learn something we need to devote our entire attention on the task. You may have experienced this while reading college textbooks. You can quickly read an entire paragraph but if you’re distracted you won’t fully understand it. In order to actually process the information, and apply it in real life or on an exam, you need to slow down and focus.

The Cost of Interruptions

When researchers studied workers at Microsoft they found that a quick break to check email resulted in 15 minute break on average^13. Workers often read non-urgent emails, or browsed entertainment and news sites before returning to their initial more serious tasks. Another research study showed that up to 28% of workers’ time was spent on interruptions and recovery time^14.

A study from the University of California showed that a group of professionals only managed to make it an average of 11 minutes before a distraction occurred, and then took approximately 23 minutes to get back to their work^15. While these interruptions may be work related, they take away from the initial more important task. To make up for interruptions, people have to work faster and this causes stress. People feel pressured, overloaded, and frustrated^16.

Researchers at the University of Illinois found that the harder the task was, the harder it was to get back on track^17. If you’re working on an important or time-sensitive project, you may want to lock your office door, log out of your email, and turn off your phone.

A business research firm analyst, Jonathan B. Spira estimated the cost of work interruptions at a staggering $588 billion a year in the United States alone^18. That estimate was several years ago and the problem only seems to be getting worse. Now we get email alerts on our phones which accompany us everywhere. While technology was supposed to make us faster, productivity has only risen 3% between 2000 and 2006^19.

How to Stop Multitasking

How do we stop doing too many things at once and feeling stressed, when it seems there is so much to do all the time?

Try doing just one thing at a time. Really be in that moment, immerse yourself in it and see if it is more enjoyable. Live your life. Really love your life, one moment at a time. Don’t waste your energy trying to do everything at once.

I struggle with this constantly. But I do find if we are conscious of living for the now, we are more likely to do it. I am trying to make efforts in little ways to achieve this. For instance, when one of my team members comes into my office to ask me something, I put down what I am doing, and physically turn my chair towards the person addressing me. By giving people your full attention in the moment, they feel more valued, you actually hear what they are saying, and the issue or question can be addressed more appropriately.

While work interruptions are often necessary we can try to cut down on them as much as possible. Considering that the recovery time from an interruption is 15 minutes on average, you could have another 30 minutes of productivity if you can schedule your email breaks, or other interruptions to four times a day rather than six.

Even something as simple as listening to a song on YouTube can lead to wasted time. You might see another video you want to listen to, have to listen to a distracting advertisement or decide to open another browser window while you’re on the internet. If you do want to listen to music at work, I recommend setting a playlist of your favorite music. Don’t try to listen to music for free on YouTube just to save a few dollars. You’ll save hours of time over just few months by having a set playlist.

It is much easier to stay focused on a task when you commit a specific amount of time to each task and know that you have that finite time to focus on it. The experts say that 60-90 minutes is the most time that you can effectively focus at once. So set your day up with 60 minute blocks of focused work time and take 10-15 minute breaks in between. During that 60 minutes only work on the task at hand and clear everything else off of your work space.

Set aside time in your schedule for the things that normally interrupt you. If you have co-workers constantly in and out of your office, you can set times where your office door is open for discussions. For instance, when you are in a focused 60 minute block do not take phone calls or answer knocks at your door. Do these things when you have a planned break.

Email Productivity Tips

For most people, email is an essential tool for their professional and personal life. Despite its necessity and benefits, one study showed that 45% of people associate email with a loss of control^20. Our inboxes can get out of control and just looking at your 100+ unread messages can provoke anxiety.

The average information worker spends 23% of their time dealing with email, and checks their email over 30 times an hour^21. Considering what we know about interruptions and recovery time, there is a huge amount of time being lost to constantly checking our emails. In fact, the company Intel has estimated that some large corporations lose up to a billion dollars a year in lost productivity due to e-mail overload.

While most people cannot imagine being cut off from their email for an entire day, a research team restricted a team of participants from using email for five days. They found that workers did less multitasking and were able to focus on tasks longer. They also had lower levels of stress and felt more relaxed^22. An added benefit was that workers had to walk to talk to colleagues which prevented them from sitting too long which is a health risk.

Just as you should have a system for your paper mail you need to have an email system. Set up automatic filters so that any non-important emails are sent to folders that can be read later. Ideally your inbox should only consist of emails from your friends and colleagues, not shopping recommendations or industry newsletters.

I recommend picking a certain interval throughout the day to check your email, say every hour on the hour. If you constantly check your email and feel compelled to respond immediately, your day is not prioritized based on what you think is important, and your time will be hijacked by what someone else thinks is urgent.

Another important tip with email is to only check your e-mail when you have time to respond. Otherwise you’ll end up reading it twice, and spend more time thinking about your answer than necessary.

Conclusion

In attempting to have it all, never forget that if we don’t have love, joy, peace, tranquility, and an ability to be truly present in our lives that we don’t have it all anyway. We really don’t have anything.

Action Steps

1. Do one thing at a time and give it your full attention and focus – before moving on to the next task.

2. Practice eating a meal or snack slowly without any distractions once a day.

3. Try having a mindful shower.

CHAPTER 4:

Everyday Life Management

We live in the age of dramatic distraction. It is difficult not to get sucked into the vortex of our To Do’s. They are endless, and if we are not careful, we can end up living someone else’s life, someone else’s priorities.

So how do we do it all? How can we possibly do everything that needs to be done in a given day, and still have time and energy to be there for the people we love? I have wondered this so often. I have also wondered how some of my dreams would ever really happen. How would I find enough hours in the day?

Often in life we are going along and then stuff happens. Things happen that break our hearts or stretch us emotionally to the absolute brink. In 2011, when my son Nicholas was two and a half, my mom, and Nicholas’s beloved grandmother, was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Within a week, our home became a palliative care and my world was turned upside down… emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and in every possible way really. I had to care for both my son and my mom with love and understanding while still offering excellence in my work.

The strategies I will discuss in this chapter enabled me to achieve more in less time so I could be there, really be there for the people I love and care about. How I managed to run my busy eye surgery practice, keep the household together, and be there for those precious moments with my son, and those conversations with my mom was due to following the plan I lay out in this section.

Without these habits in place my life would have unravelled, and I could not have opened my heart to the people I loved, and the people that needed me. At the end of the day, and at the end of a life, being there with an open heart for our family and friends is what truly matters. It is what feeds our spirit and enriches our experience on the planet.

Some of these practices may seem rigid. Too onerous. Too structured. Yet it is only through structure that we garner true freedom. Freedom to live our dreams and freedom to make manifest the greatness that lies inside each and every one of us. If you feel like you are just busy being busy, following these practices will give you your life back.

The Importance of Planning

The importance of planning cannot be overstated. We cannot reach our goals if we don’t know what they are or what steps we need to take in order to achieve them.

Planning out our lives is so important on a large scale – in terms of our long-term career goals, family planning, and even retirement. However, planning out smaller things on a short-term basis is also important because we can’t reach the long term goals without taking small steps towards our goal on a daily basis. Everyday life management is a critical step in maximizing your energy and will help you put all the other steps into practice.

So often we rush through life reacting to our problems, rather than proactively planning. We are so busy dealing with the frustrations of everyday life, that we never get a chance to even think about our hopes and dreams. This chapter will help you practice everyday life management, in order to help you stay calm and organized through the craziness of our professional and personal lives.

The importance of everyday life management and planning can be found in countless examples. How much easier are trips when you have an itinerary and aren’t searching for a decent place to eat after arriving on a red-eye flight to find that the airport shops are already closed? If you carefully design your office with a file system, physical inboxes and outboxes you can keep better track of all your ongoing projects. As discussed in chapter two, exercise and proper nutrition are also much more likely to happen if you plan ahead and schedule time in your calendar.

The reason many people don’t plan their lives is because we get in a rut of reacting to things instead of being proactive. When we suddenly need milk or bread for the kid’s sandwiches, we run to the store, gather a few more items we’re almost out of, and head home. The next day, we realize we are once again out of something and repeat the entire cycle.

In the long run, something as simple as planning out our daily meals can mean we are richer, less stressed, and healthier. Planning small things can have a huge impact, and the more we plan out our time, our energy, and our lives, the closer we will get to our ideal lives.

Why Planning Doesn’t Always Work

You may be shaking your head and thinking that if planning was all it took, you would already be where you want to be. It’s important to realize that planning will get you nowhere unless it’s a realistic plan with steps and deadlines.

When planning we tend to over-estimate how productive we will be. Psychologists even have a term, planning fallacy, for the tendency of people to underestimate how long they will need to finish a task, even when they know that similar tasks have taken longer than expected. People are adamant that their current prediction is realistic, even when they realize that their past predictions were overly optimistic.

There are several explanations for this fallacy. People anticipate an optimistic scenario where there are no unexpected events or outside distractions. Another reason people engage in this thinking fallacy is because they want it to be true. A third reason could be that people want to impress others with their anticipated results.

Whatever the reason that we engage in this fallacy, we need to recognize it and adjust our expectations.

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.

Using the meal planning example from earlier in the chapter, I used to plan elaborate meals but soon realized at the end of a work day, I didn’t have the energy to start these meals. I needed to adjust my meal plans according to my schedule, and have simple, easy-to-prepare menu items for my work week.

No matter how much we want something, we need to be aware of our physical, mental, and financial constraints when planning ahead.

Another reason our plans can fail is because we plan for the wrong things. We may write down that we want to run a marathon, and take the time to research a proper diet and training schedule. We may even go as far as joining a running club and signing up for a race. But if running a marathon is simply something we think we should do, rather than something we actually want to do, it is unlikely to happen.

People often choose big goals in an effort to achieve another goal. If your goal is simply to be fit, a marathon may not be the best option. For most people there are more effective and fun ways to stay in shape.

We’ll examine finding the right goals in more depth in the “Your Passions” chapter.

The Procrastination Obstacle

One of the biggest obstacles that holds my coaching clients back is procrastination. Even when clients plan out a realistic schedule for managing their everyday life, they often fall behind due to procrastination.

Procrastination usually comes from three main causes.

1. Being Overwhelmed

2. Lack of Motivation

3. Perfectionism

When some people feel overwhelmed by their workload, they avoid it entirely because they don’t even know where to start. The key is to break everything down into manageable steps. Remind yourself that even though you can’t get everything done right away, you are slowly making progress toward your goals.

Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.

—SPANISH PROVERB

It’s hard to be productive when you don’t care about your current task. Ideally our entire lives are filled with things that we are deeply interested and passionate about, but even the most self-fulfilled person will have some mundane routine tasks they need to take care. Take a look to see if it’s feasible to outsource. We often resist asking for help because we reason that it will only take a short time, but if you procrastinate over something, and it steals your time, it may be worth it to have someone else complete it.

If you can’t outsource, think of the task in the big picture. Write a list of things you can do once it’s completed. Think about how good it will feel not to have to keep thinking about the task. Commit to working on the task for just 15 minutes. Often if we can just start, we will get into the zone.

“Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.”

—HARRIET BRAIKER

Aiming for perfection is a sure-fire way to be miserable. Perfectionists would rather do nothing, than risk doing something that isn’t 100% right. The reality is that everything is a work in progress and it’s better to have an imperfect draft than nothing at all.

Figure out your primary cause of procrastination and work towards conquering it. Life is too short to waste your time avoiding what needs to be done.

Everyday Life Management System

How you plan out your short-term and long-term goals can vary from a series of handwritten to-do lists, to a file folder system, to a computer program, or even an iPhone app. How you manage your goals and plans is not important, as long as you have a system that works for you.

I find that for myself, an old-fashioned system of to-do list works best for me. The mistake that most people make with to-do lists is only having one insanely long list of tasks. It looks overwhelming, and people often get discouraged that it never gets any shorter. Instead you should have several to-do lists for the different aspects of your personal and professional life.

“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal is, you can get there – as long as you’re willing to be honest with yourself about the preparation and work involved.”

—OPRAH

Every Sunday, I sit down with my husband and we plan out our following week. We figure out our work schedule, childcare, and any personal commitments. I have several to-do lists for all my businesses and all the other areas of my life such as finances, fitness, and relationships. For each list, I put an ultimate goal on the top of a blank sheet of paper. For my medical practice to do list, my ultimate goal is to be a respected eye surgeon who has a positive impact on the lives of my patients.

Then under each overall goal, I write two to five things that I need to do that week to bring me closer to that goal. It could be emailing someone, having a staff meeting, or researching a technique for surgery. I will describe my Six for Success system in more detail later in this chapter.

Whatever the steps are, I write it down and then schedule it in my planner. Life as we know can get so crazy that unless you actually schedule something to occur, it is unlikely it will ever get done.

I used to get discouraged because I had many ideas or plans that just never seemed to get off the ground. But, with this system I can see small incremental progress in every area, and every business every week. Even if it is only one thing in a given category of my life, as long as things are moving forward and improving I will not stress. I am doing what I can, when I can and enjoying the journey on the way.

This also gets me by the mental block of always looking for a big chunk of time to work on something. This way I am doing small things in shorter spans of time, in a number of areas consistently. It is amazing how this can impact your life over time.

You can also review what you have done the previous week and take time to correct any area that you have neglected. Maybe you did all your workouts and achieved some key goals for your business, but you did not spend enough time with your family or connect with your kids. You can make sure that in the upcoming week you do those things.

This act of becoming clear on what you want in each area, and then setting focused goals to achieve it, is life altering and energizing. I think you will find at the end of the week you will be energized by the amount you have accomplished.

To get very strategic, here is what I do to set myself up for success in a given day or a given week. Much of this has been garnered from studying the best of the best in the productivity arena, and then using myself as the testing ground for what works, and to be honest, what does not. Much of this info is from the incredible book, The Power of Full Engagement by Tony Swartz, as well as adapted from many strategies I learned from the amazing insights of Robin Sharma.

I do the following and I recommend you do the same to skyrocket your productivity and catapult your energy levels. The principles are 1) The Brain dump 2) the Hour of Energy 3) The Six for Success.

1) The Brain Dump

The energy we expend trying to remember to do all the things that need to be done in our lives is astonishing. The psychic drain this causes depletes our energy enormously. The brain dump is simple; it involves getting all your thoughts out of your head and onto paper.

All you need are two pieces of clean blank paper and a pen. On the top of one write ‘Personal’ and ‘Business’ on the other. Then take 20 minutes or so and write down everything you think of that needs to be done in each arena. Just write it all down. It could be to organize photos on the computer, send a thank you, change the light bulb in the utility room, organize the sock drawer, plant annuals for the spring, or make an important phone call, send an email, watch an instructional video… whatever… just get it on paper and out of your head. This is so freeing.

Once it’s written down, you don’t have to spend any more energy trying to remember it. When you plan out your day or week, look at the lists and see what should be put into your schedule.

2) The Hour of Energy

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to start your day right. You need a morning routine that sets you up for success every single day. This is personalized, and should be what works for you. It needs to contain the three components of exercise, relaxation and planning/visualization.

I give myself 60 minutes every morning (Yes, it’s often dark when I get up but it is so worth it). My routine is as follows: Wake up, do the bathroom thing, brush my teeth, grab water and head to the stationary bike. I then ride for 20 minutes of interval training while drinking a large sport bottle of water (24oz.). All the while I’m listening to an inspirational book or podcast that expands my mind and inspires me.

“The way you start your day is the way you will live your day. The way you live your day is the way you live your life.”

—LOUISE HAY

Once I’m done on the bike, I do a movement prep and stretching routine, and finish the rest of the water. Then I go to the mat and go through a relaxation and visualization exercise that encompasses deep breathing and progressive relaxation from head to toes. This is followed by thinking of five things to be grateful for, and visualizing my ideal life in three to five years. I also visualize my day and imagine everything happening just how I would want it.

I then grab my daily plan and review my top goals for the day and what I need to do practically. Afterwards I get ready for work and eat a nutritious and balanced breakfast.

This structured and empowering start to the day has revolutionized my life and lives of all I have shared it with.

3) The Six for Success System.

I have categorized my life into six sections 1) Family and Friends, 2) Health and Fitness, 3) Career and Finances, 4) Personal Growth, 5)Spirituality, and 6)Giving back.

To follow this system for yourself, take six blank sheets of paper and write a vision for what you want each to look like. The most successful lives are reverse-engineered from a vision of your ultimate life. This will be a working document. These are six things that if you did by the end of your life you would feel as though your life was an amazing success. By breaking it down into different categories you keep a balance between all the different priorities in life.

Every week you look at the six long term goals, and make a weekly plan taking the six categories and looking at a couple of things you could do that week to move you closer to your vision.

This is best done on Sunday evening (assuming your week starts on Monday) and will take about 30 minutes to complete. My six for success for the week may look like; one to three items from each category such as:

1. Family & Friends: Call my sister and spend two hours of quality time a day with my son

2. Health: Drink three bottles of water per day and do 20 minutes of cardio five times this week.

3. Career & Finances: Watch a surgical video and look at my investments.

4. Personal Growth: Listen to an audio podcast and hit some golf balls.

5. Spirituality: Meditate three times.

6. Giving Back: Connect with a contact at a charitable organization I support.

Then I can take that weekly list and do a daily plan. Every day, I list out six things that I want to do that day. Most but not all come from these categories and from the weekly plan. These are six simple things that if done for that day, you can truly feel like the day has been successful. Some of the goals seem so small but if you do something every day it will bring you that much closer to the life you want to be living.

“I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.”

—JIM ROHN

I may not do every category, every week, but if I miss a category one week, I make sure to take action on it the next week. The important thing is that you are gradually moving toward the life you really want and enjoying the journey.

There will be things that come up during the week but do your best to accomplish your weekly goals by scheduling in time for them.

Breaking out of the Daily Rut

Many of the women I talk to say they are so overwhelmed with the amount of stuff they have to deal with on a daily basis, that they can’t even begin to think about working towards their long-term goals. Yet, if they follow the Six for Success plan the six things we set to do on a daily basis should naturally align with our ultimate goals.

“Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant.”

—COVEY, MERRILL AND MERRILL

I think one of the most helpful systems for breaking out of the rut of only dealing with immediate tasks is to organize items on your to-do list into four quadrants. In his best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey grouped tasks into the following four areas.

1. Important and do soon,

2. Important and not do soon,

3. Not important and do soon and

4. Not important and not do soon.

It’s not hard to realize that we should complete the tasks that are important and urgent soon, and that unimportant and non-urgent things can wait. Where most of us get things mixed up is between the other two categories. The key is to make sure that the important and not do soon, takes precedence over the not important and do soon category. Starting on the truly important stuff that could be put off until later is one of the keys to a life truly well lived.

If your dream is to write a best-selling book, don’t leave it to midnight when you’re exhausted. If possible, work on it during your peak productive time. Remind yourself that you don’t have to write an entire chapter at a time but simply writing a page to two at a time will eventually lead to a full book.

Outsourcing to Free Up Your Schedule

Another way to break out of your daily routine is to start looking for things you can outsource. Far too many women have trouble giving up control over any aspect of their life. Instead of being able to let their partner or children help clean the house, they insist on doing things their way. While you may do a better job of cleaning the bathroom than anyone else, by not outsourcing it, you are not giving yourself time to work with your key strengths.

Conclusion

The dreams I had for myself were always being put to the back burner because of more urgent matters that were sometimes dictated by what others wanted. By planning out my life in a way that allows me to schedule time for the things I value, I feel more in control, happier and more purposeful.

By seeing the positive results this planning can bring you will be energized and able to accomplish more than you ever thought possible.

Action Steps

1. Do a Brain Dump – Write down everything you think of that you need to do for your business and personal life, and get it out of your brain and onto a piece of paper.

2. Set up a morning routine that works for you. Plan to do some exercise, drink some water, relax and plan for the upcoming day.

3. Do a Six for Success plan looking at the categories of Family and Friends, Health and Fitness, Career and Finances, Personal Growth, Spirituality and Giving Back. Then write out a weekly plan looking at your categories and pick six key things a day that you want to accomplish.

CHAPTER 5:

Rejuvenation

In the midst of our busy, overscheduled lives it is critical that we take time to rejuvenate. It’s not something that can be put off until we graduate from college, finish our big project, or when the kids are grown up.

The longer we are constantly stressed, the harder it is to shift to a less-stressed mode. Over time the connections in our brain that produce the feeling of calm become weaker. Our bodies need time to relax and rejuvenate on a regular basis so it can activate the daily restoration process.

The Difference Between Relaxation and Rejuvenation

I deliberately use the word rejuvenation rather than relaxation. Relaxation can be defined as relief from bodily or mental work, especially for the sake of rest or recreation. Rejuvenation on the other hand is defined as the phenomenon of vitality and freshness being restored.

People often relax by watching TV but this usually results in us being tired, lethargic, and unmotivated, although it is relaxing. Even people who watch shows like the Biggest Loser will attest to the fact that television isn’t likely to motivate you to jump and start exercising.

A rejuvenating activity is one that will refocus you, lower your stress, improve concentration, and boost your belief in your ability to handle problems. After you finish the rejuvenating activity you should be eager to begin working again.

I think in every life we need ample time for both rejuvenating and relaxing.

The Health Benefits of Rejuvenation

The key benefit of practicing relaxing and rejuvenating activities is lowering your stress levels. Research has consistently shown that stress can have a huge effect on our health. It is estimated the up to 60-90% of all doctor visits are for stress-related conditions. Stress can affect our memory and our decision making processes. Stress makes us more likely to crave junk food, and increases our risk for several diseases.

Our bodies respond to stress by mobilizing to fight or flight. In the past, stress usually came from a physical threat and the body prepared by increasing blood pressure, heart and breathing rates, and shifting blood flow from the organs to our muscles. Over extended periods of time, this can raise our cholesterol, disturb our intestinal activity, and depress the immune system.

Dr. Herbert Benson, the founder of the Mind/Body Institute in Boston, published numerous studies and wrote a book called The Relaxation Response. His research showed that prayer, meditation, and other relaxation techniques resulted in a relaxation response, which involves lowering blood pressure, breathing and heart rates, a reduced need for oxygen, and less carbon dioxide production.

Relaxation techniques work by breaking our everyday thought patterns, and decreasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which is also known as the fight-or-flight response.

There have been over 3,000 studies that show a link between relaxation and increased overall well-being. A study from 2009 showed that a group of stressed people who were taught mindfulness techniques, such as meditation or deep breathing, had a 54% drop in psychological distress and a 46% drop in medical symptoms like high blood pressure.

Another study published in the Health Psychology Journal showed that retirement home residents, who had a month of relaxation technique training significantly increased their resistance to tumors and viruses.

Other health benefits of relaxing and rejuvenating activities are reducing muscle tension as well as anger and frustration. By lowering our stress levels, we can also allow ourselves to focus, and avoid wasting our time worrying.

The Top 10 Rejuvenating Activities

Some of these activities will be things you already use in your life, and some may be new to you. I encourage you to try some of the more unusual activities and see what works best for you. Some of them will take a little practice to become comfortable with. The more you practice the easier it will be to reach a relaxed state.

Some of these relaxation techniques will help you become more aware of the symptoms of stress like muscle tension. Becoming more aware of your physical and mental state can help you prevent problems before they become bigger.

1. Breathing Exercises

Deep breathing is an easy exercise you can do anywhere in just a few seconds. A few deep breaths will help oxygenate your blood and wake up your brain. You’ll also relax your muscles and calm your mind.

The simplest way to practice a breathing exercise is to sit or stand comfortably with your shoulders relaxed. Slowly inhale through your nose and silently count to five. Exhale and silently count to eight. Repeat as often as necessary.

When breathing let your abdomen expand, rather than moving your shoulders up and down. This lets you breathe deeper and gives you an increased lung capacity to increase oxygenation of blood. Try not to think about anything other than focussing on your breathing. The exact length of your inhales and exhales is not as important as trying to breathe deeply.

Another breathing exercise you can try is the deep breathing square which takes only 28 seconds.

Deep breathing Square: Picture a square in front of you. Starting in the lower left hand corner of the square, breathe in for four seconds and in your mind’s eye to travel up the length of the square. Then hold for four seconds in the corner. Then exhale and travel along the top portion of the square. Hold your breath again for four seconds. Then inhale and travel down the side of the square. Hold again for four seconds at the corner, and then exhale and travel along the bottom of the square to the corner that you started in.

2. Meditation

Studies have shown than even just a few minutes of meditation can significantly reduce stress levels. Meditation can also improve sleep quality, moods, and reduce fatigue.

Meditation can be described as the art of silencing the mind. It helps you increase your concentration and helps you achieve inner peace. By learning to control your thoughts, you can stop negative thoughts throughout your daily life. You learn to create an inner space where you control your mind and reactions regardless of the external circumstances.

It is not necessarily a religious activity, and can be used by anyone. Meditation requires a spot where you can be undisturbed, and it is recommended that you sit rather than lie down so you won’t fall asleep.

Meditation involves concentrating on a single image or thought, and learning to unclutter your mind. You might be surprised to learn how difficult this can be at first. Some people choose to repeat a word to focus their mind, while others use a visual cue. Eventually you can progress to having no thoughts at all.

Try something simple to start such as the following… Take four deep breaths in and out. Then do a progressive relaxation of your muscles starting at your scalp, to your eyes, face, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, legs, feet, and toes. Then repeat four deep breaths in and out. Quiet your mind and repeat the word “Peace” at least four times. This will be challenging. It is so difficult to turn off the brain. Yet, with practice, and by using this technique that helps your mind to focus elsewhere it is easier to achieve.

3. Laughter

Laughter can be an instant stress buster. By finding humour in a stressful situation we assure ourselves that no matter how bad a situation gets, we can find something positive in it and the situation doesn’t seem as bad anymore.

Laughter helps reduce the level of stress hormones, and increases positive neurotransmitters and endorphins. It also increases the number of antibodies and the effectiveness of our T cells; in short, it boosts our immune system. There really is something to that saying that humor is the best medicine.

The best laughter is spontaneous but you can seek out humour online, in a romantic comedy, or the latest re-run of Friends. Whether you’re laughing at a video of someone wiping out, a pun, or an inside joke you get the same health benefits.

If laughing out loud in the office might make you seem a bit crazy, try just smiling instead. Smiling instantly lifts your mood even if the smile is for no reason.

4. Sleep

Sleep is an obvious inclusion on the list. Sleep is the ultimate in rejuvenating activities, yet too many of us try to cut back on this essential activity. A lack of sleep affects our emotional state, mental functioning, and food cravings.

See the sleep section of this chapter for more on maximizing your sleep to help your body rejuvenate.

5. Music

There’s a reason why spas play soothing music during treatments. Music has been shown to aid relaxation, and certain music like classical music has been found to increase the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain killers. No matter the genre, listening to your favorite music can instantly put you in a better mood. Trained therapists can use music therapy to aid in the treatment of chronic pain, depression, and anxiety.

When you need a break, take 5-10 minutes to sit and listen to some calming music. You can also try listening to music while working, as the right type of music will help you become less tense and help you focus.

While most music will have a positive and relaxing effect, there are certain songs that are extremely relaxing. You can see a list of the 10 most relaxing songs on my website. (http://carolynandersonmd.com/songs)

The song “Weightless” by British band, Macaroni Union was specifically designed to be the most relaxing song in the world. Everything from the rhythm, tone, frequencies, to the beat is designed to help slow down your heart rate and even brainwaves to synchronize with the rhythm.

6. Visualization

Visualization is the process of focusing on a specific goal or feeling in a visual form. Athletes can use it to prepare for their upcoming event. You may use it to see the end result of finishing a big project. By visualizing and imagining how good it feels to not have the project hanging over your head, imagining others’ accolades and the other rewards it can motivate you to work harder.

You can also visualize yourself on a beach where you can fully relax. Unlike meditation you don’t try to empty your thoughts but seek to imagine all the senses you would experience like the sound of the waves, the smell of the salt, the feeling of the sand beneath your toes, and the sight of a beautiful sunset.

Visualization can be done anywhere. You can use an audio file with instructions or guide your own thoughts. You start by relaxing your muscles and controlling your breathing to block out any distractions.

Our mind has difficulty distinguishing between reality and our perceived reality. By visualizing yourself as relaxed and happy, your body responds with a lower heart rate and increased endorphins.

7. Stretching

Stretching doesn’t always have to precede or follow exercise. Stretching can help reduce muscle tension, improve circulation, and reduce fatigue. It also boosts mental alertness. Try a simple stretching break in the middle of your day to wake up your body and mind.

Yoga is an activity that combines the benefits of stretching, with the benefits of breathing exercises and meditation. In a three month study, an emotionally distressed group who took biweekly yoga classes had improved scores in their perceived stress, depression, anxiety, energy, fatigue, and overall well-being.

8. Prayer

If you believe in a higher power, prayer can be an extremely rejuvenating activity. Prayer usually involves a few minutes where you slow down and relax. Prayer has been shown to reduce stress and increase positive thinking.

Prayer also lets you shift some of the control and stress towards a higher power. Believing that something is in the hands of God lets you focus on the things that you can control, and stop stressing about the things you cannot control.

There is no right or wrong way to pray, and if it is something that fits in with your personal beliefs, you can use it as rejuvenation technique on its own or as part of a meditation or visualization technique.

9. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

This technique involves slowly tensing, then relaxing every muscle group in your body. You learn the difference between your relaxed and stressed state, and later when you feel tense you can easily relax the muscle group.

Some people prefer to start by tensing their toes and progressively working up to their shoulders and neck, while others prefer to start at the top and work their way down. You should tense your muscles for about five seconds and then relax for around 30 seconds.

This exercise can be done anywhere, and as you become more aware of your body you’ll find yourself able to relax much quicker.

10. Exercise

The importance of exercise can never be overstated, but its rejuvenating benefits are often overlooked. Exercise kick-starts your day and gets your heart, lungs, and brain in gear. Exercise has been shown to decrease stress hormones and increase endorphins. It also puts you in a positive mindset. Once you’ve conquered the road, the weight room, or your cycling class you know you can accomplish almost anything you put your mind to.

If you feel exhausted after exercising, make sure you are getting enough water before, during, and after exercise. Eating and drinking properly after exercising is important because the carbohydrates, water, and electrolytes lost during exercise must be replaced. Studies have shown that athletes do not voluntarily rehydrate after exercise and they need to have a plan to replenish fluid lost during exercise.

You also need to make sure you are eating a post-recovery protein rich snack, and getting extra sleep so your body can repair and rebuild your muscles.

The Top Relaxing Activities

These activities are relaxing and will help you reduce your stress. They are unlikely to immediately motivate you to work though and should be saved for down-time before bedtime or on your weekends.

1. Baths

Baths are a wonderful way to unwind and relax. Immersing yourself in water can help relieve sore muscles and joints, reduce tension, improve circulation, and help you sleep. One of the best recipes for a relaxing bath is Epsom salts and lavender. The lavender scent can naturally relax and de-stress. You can enhance the relaxing environment by adding soft music and candles.

2. Massages

Massages can help relieve muscle tension or stiffness and reduce inflammation. Some forms can calm our nervous system and reduce anxiety. Massages can improve our circulation and stimulate our lymphatic system, which carries away bodily waste products. Massages can also help aid in the recovery process from exercising. One small study showed healthy adults had decreased stress hormones and an improved immune system after a Swedish massage.

During your massage be sure to be in the moment and forget your to-do list for an hour to get the full benefits.

While most of us aren’t lucky enough to get weekly massages, there is some evidence that any form of physical touch can be beneficial. Physical contact has been shown to boost serotonin, a natural anti-depressant. 10 to 15 minutes a day of sitting close to someone, holding hands, or other forms of physical contact is optimal but even just a hug can help.

3. Books

There’s nothing like curling up with a good book at the end of a day. Fictional books can entertain us and take our minds off our problems. Self-help books can give us new strategies to tackle our problems. Biographies can inspire us, and put our own problems into perspective.

Whatever your favorite genre of literature, taking time to relax is a great way to end your night and prepare for bed. Provided you can put your book down without reading the next chapter, and the next.

While e-readers have become extremely popular, and I admit I love the convenience of reading on my iPad, printed books may be better for night-time reading. Our televisions, laptops, and backlit e-readers emit blue light that tricks our body into believing it is still daylight. This affects the production of melatonin, which is a hormone that helps us sleep. E-readers that use e-ink screens that look like a printed book and are not backlit will not interfere with your sleep like some of the tablet and e-reader combinations.

To help combat this problem, there is a free program called F.Lux that you can download on your computer or iPad that will adjust the light settings for the nighttime. http://stereopsis.com/flux/

The Importance of Sleep

Sleep is the ultimate rejuvenating activity. While the best and most simple advice is to get at least seven hours of sleep consistently, there are ways you can maximize your sleep and wake up feeling refreshed every morning.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult sleeps less than 7 hours per night when 7.5 to 9 hours is recommended. While many people think they can function on less sleep, they could be missing out on their true physical and mental potential with their chronic sleep deficit.

A good test to see if you are getting enough sleep is how many times you have to hit the snooze button before you drag yourself out of bed. Most of us have never known anything different, and it takes time to rebuild a healthy sleep schedule.

Know Your Sleep Cycles

Attempting to catch up on your sleep deficit by sleeping in on the weekends is counterproductive. Your body will function best with a consistent schedule.

When we sleep, our body goes through REM sleep cycles. We cycle between light and deep sleep, and if you learn your body rhythms, you can time it so you wake up during a light sleeping period. There are wearable monitors and iPhone apps that help you monitor your sleeping habits and wake you up during an optimal time in your sleep schedule.

One last thing to consider; even if you exercise consistently and eat a healthy diet, you will not see the best results unless you also give your body the sleep it needs. Sleeping, for most people, is the easiest thing you can do and could be the key to achieving your fitness goals.

Action Steps

1. Make Sleep a Priority: Make getting enough sleep a non-negotiable priority. Sleep affects our mental and physical functioning, and there is no substitute for a good night’s sleep. Keep to a consistent sleep schedule as much as you can.

2. Try a New Rejuvenating Activity: Pick one or two rejuvenating activities that you think will work best for you and your schedule. Practice on a daily basis for a few weeks. The more you practice, the better you will get at switching your body and mind to a relaxed state of mind.

CHAPTER 6:

Gratitude

If the only prayer you ever said was “thank you”, it would be enough. So often many of us don’t even bother to utter those words. How does this really fit into a book on managing and gaining energy? Well it is amazing what an energy boost those two little words can be.

We all know that in life things don’t always go exactly the way we want them to. Part of the human experience is dealing with disappointments and setbacks. In fact, it has been shown that how we handle these setbacks can be one of the greatest predictors of our ultimate success. Sometimes it is hard to be grateful when some aspects of our lives are not going so great. One of the hardest things to do is to count your blessings when you feel the hardships are outnumbering them. Yet if we look hard enough, there is always something to be grateful for.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

—CICERO

In the midst of everything that is going on, it’s important to step back and be thankful. While we should always be striving to do more, and be more, we must simultaneously be content with what we have. As Oprah once said, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough.”

Gratitude has a number of surprising tangible benefits. Gratitude improves our overall emotional and physical well-being. Research shows that grateful people are more likely to have more energy, be able to handle stress better, be less likely to be bothered by minor inconveniences, and suffer from less depression.

A relatively new field of psychology is positive psychology, which focuses on what makes people thrive. Instead of a traditional approach where psychology tries to fix negative past events, it focuses on strengthening positive characteristics. A key question is, “what makes people happy?” Gratitude plays a large role in our happiness level. It increases our own happiness, and affects how we view life and treat others, both of which increase happiness.

We have a tendency to notice and react more to negative things, than to positive things. Psychologists call this, “the negativity bias.” There is a saying that, “housework is something you do, that nobody notices until you don’t do it.” It applies to other work and situations as well. We tend to take people and things for granted until they are no longer there. But when we focus on practicing gratitude it forces us to take notice of the everyday positive events.

“Reflect on your present blessings of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

—CHARLES DICKENS

Gratitude also helps us live in the present, an important concept that was discussed earlier in this book. Rather than wishing that things had turned out differently, we must accept what is and be grateful for what we have. Gratitude doesn’t mean that negative events never happen, but it can help us deal with setbacks and recover faster.

In this chapter we’ll look at some of the benefits of gratitude, and then look at ways to expand your attitude of gratitude.

Benefits of Gratitude

Some of the many benefits of gratitude are listed below.

Open to Possibilities

One benefit to gratitude is that when you focus on the abundance of possibilities around you, you begin to see more opportunities to expand and improve your business, and your life. It helps you view life through a lens of abundance rather than scarcity.

Robert A. Emmons, PhD, author of Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, claims gratitude helps an individual create a higher income and superior work outcomes.

“Mindfully counting your blessings is like watering seeds in your heart.”

—JON KABUT-ZINN

The Journal of Personality & Social Psychology published a 2003 study by Emmons, which divided hundreds of people into three groups that were instructed to keep journals. One group recorded all their daily events, one group recorded their daily hassles, and the other group recorded things they were grateful for. The third group participants were not only more optimistic, but had better progress on their goals and felt more loved.

Gratitude breeds happiness, which releases more dopamine and serotonin to helps us to function more effectively. These hormones help us to remember and retrieve information in a more efficient way, to organize tasks more effectively and to be more creative.

Luck or Attitude?

Psychologist Richard Wiseman took two groups of people who considered themselves lucky or unlucky. Both groups were asked to look at a newspaper and count the number of photographs inside.

The group that considered themselves lucky only took a few seconds to complete the task, while the “unlucky” group took over two minutes. It’s not that considering yourself lucky gives you superhuman counting skills, but this group noticed the prominent message on the second page that said, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in the newspaper.” The “unlucky” group were too focused on the task that they missed seeing the message.

People who consider themselves unlucky are too focussed on finding what they think they are looking for. In their single-mindedness they miss out on countless opportunities. People who consider themselves lucky are more relaxed and open to possibilities.

Wiseman spent years studying people who considered themselves lucky and unlucky, and found that the lucky people generated their own luck through four basic principles. They were able to notice chance opportunities, and they listened to their intuition to make lucky decisions. They created self-fulfilling prophesies through their own positive expectations, and when faced with bad luck they persevered until it turned in their favour^23.

When people were taught these four basic principles in “luck school” they too became lucky or even luckier and happier^24. Being grateful can help you recognize how lucky you really are and in turn help you be open to more opportunities to create your own luck.

Better Health

There is research that has proven that practicing gratitude improves our emotional and physical well-being, and can even help you live up to 10 years longer^25.

People who kept gratitude journals were more likely to exercise up to an hour and half longer than those in the control group per week,26 which leads to better short and long term health. Participants who kept gratitude journals were more likely to have made progress in their personal, academic, professional, and health-based goals^27. Noting your workouts in a gratitude journal can motivate you to keep up the habit, as well as remind you of the positive feelings you get when exercising.

One study showed that grateful people are less likely to use substances, likely due to their positive outlook and stronger social support networks^28. Another study showed that increasing gratitude helped improve sleep duration and quality.

Decreased Depression

A study of over 1,000 high school students showed that gratitude was negatively correlated with depression, and positively correlated with life satisfaction^29.

Part of this has to do with the fact that grateful people are less likely to engage in negative self-blame and/or denial^30. As previous research has shown, grateful people are also more likely to exercise, which releases endorphins.

Grateful people focus more on the positive events in their life, rather than daily hassles. A psychology professor at the Eastern Washington State University, Philip Watkins, found that grateful people recall more positive events and remember them with greater ease.

Improved Relationships

Gratitude puts you in a more positive mood, which affects those around you even when they’re not the recipient of your gratitude. Professor Robert A. Emmons has conducted studies which demonstrate that people who practice gratitude have more friends, longer marriages, stronger social supports, and richer social interactions. Part of this is because people who practice gratitude are more likely to seek out emotional and social support^31 and because grateful people are more pleasant to be around.

In one study of 50 couples who had been married for an average of 20 years, researchers asked both partners to keep a daily diary. The more that a partner felt and expressed gratitude, the more satisfied they were in their relationship^32.

By focusing on what is positive and good in our relationships, you will find yourself appreciating, supporting, and taking more interest in your partner. This will change the way they respond to you and enrich your relationship at all levels.

I once read of someone who transformed his relationship with his wife by writing one thing he appreciated about her every day for one year and giving it to her in a journal. Not only did she love the gift and the gesture, it made him focus on the positive aspects of his life partner for the entire year and their relationship has been amazing ever since.

Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude

Gratitude is something that can be taught, strengthened, and practiced. Professor Emmons who pioneered much of the gratitude research, said that “gratitude is a very demanding quality, a rigorous quality we need to work on. It is a discipline, an exercise, and it doesn’t come easily to most people^33.”

It is something that has to be practiced for its own benefits, not for the myriad of side benefits. Gratitude is its own reward and by focussing on the true spirit of gratitude the other benefits will come naturally.

In the Western world, our lives are better than they’ve ever been. We have long life expectancies, access to modern medicine, and all the conveniences of modern life. Yet, the number of people who say they’re “very happy” has dropped according to the National Opinion Research Center. Since we’ve become accustomed to our lives of comfort, we’ve stopped appreciating what we have. Focussing on the positives and giving thanks for them will help us live a more fulfilled and happier life.

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”

—G. K. CHESTERTON

Teachers in Hong Kong who participated in an eight week gratitude intervention program were successful in raising their gratitude scores. This in turn reduced employee burnout and increased overall well-being^34.

Purposely look for things to be grateful for throughout your day. Slow down so you can appreciate the scenery, and take a few more seconds to hug your loved ones before rushing out the door to work. Open your eyes to the everyday miracles surrounding us.

Keeping a Gratitude Journal

Oprah is a famous advocate of the gratitude journal. Oprah says that by writing down five things you are grateful for daily; you’ll begin to change your perspective of your day and your life.

I encourage you to try keeping a gratitude journal for the next month. Before you go to bed sit down and write five things you were grateful for that day. It could be a kiss from your spouse, your child smiling at you, a beautiful sunset, or simply that you are healthy.

To make the most of a gratitude journal, start off each morning by consciously looking for things you can record later. Go beyond the obvious things you are grateful for and look for more subtle, often overlooked good things in your life.

It’s best to write in your gratitude journal on a regular basis. Aim for daily, or at least a few times per week. It is important to build the habit and to keep doing it consistently.

I prefer the paper journal option but you can also keep an electronic or online record. By recording your memories you can review your past journal entries during a difficult or sad time can help shift your perspective and cheer you up.

Thank at Least One Person a Day

We say thanks several times a day, but make it a point to say more than just a quick obligatory thank-you to someone each day. Describe why you’re grateful for their hard work, support, love, or friendship.

Writing your gratitude down can make the positive effects last longer for your recipient and also shows that you took time and effort to write the note. When appropriate the commendation can be shared with the person’s boss or publicly.

When a group of students were asked to write gratitude letters to someone they had not thanked enough, the positive feelings of writing and delivering the letter lasted up to a month.

Teaching Your Children Gratitude

If you have children, you have undoubtedly admonished them to say please and thank you. But a mindless mumbled “thanks” when you make them a sandwich isn’t likely to teach them gratitude.

Gratitude for children can be taught using some of the same methods as with adults. Young teenagers who kept a gratitude journal were more appreciative and satisfied with their lives. As parents, we must model gratitude for our children and help them focus on the things they do have, rather than on what cool gadgets their peers have.

Volunteering at the local soup kitchen or going on family outreach trips in third world countries can also make kids more grateful for their relatively privileged lives. Parents can also avoid rewarding children with material gifts and instead use an experience or family outing as a reward.

Jeffrey Roh, a psychology professor who studies gratitude says that, “grateful kids are happier and more satisfied with their lives. They report better relationships with friends and family, higher GPAs, less materialism, less envy and less depression, along with a desire to connect to their community and to want to give back^35.”

Having our children recognize our hard work can make us feel more appreciated, and more likely to be in a positive and grateful mood ourselves.

Action Steps

1. Start writing a gratitude journal and see how it improves your life

2. Make a point of thanking one person a day for their help, hard work or positive attitude.

CHAPTER 7:

Your Passions

I used to stand on the tennis courts at Robson Park, a block from the home I grew up in. The cement was cracked, the net was sagging, and the lines on the paved court were wearing, but to my 10-year-old’s imagination I was at center court at Wimbeldon. I dreamt I was a champion. I hit balls until my arm was sore and my hand was blistered, but there was nothing else I wanted to be doing. At that point in my life that was my passion. What is your passion? How do you find it and how do you know if you’ve found it?

If you study truly successful people the world over, they are usually doing something that they love. I truly believe you will never get to world class if you don’t absolutely love what you do. Loving what you do is the only way you will ever have the energy to reach mastery. And there is no question in my mind that reaching mastery takes a huge amount of energy.

It sounds so trite when someone talks about following your passion and then the money will follow. In a certain way, that is crap and not true. But what is true, is that if you take the intersection between your passions, what you are good at and what the marketplace will pay you for, you will likely come up with what you should be doing. If you skip the third aspect, and not consider what the marketplace will pay for, you may be following your bliss to the food bank. I also think you have to have a tangible and feasible plan to take your passion and turn the dream into a reality.

I was once giving a speech to a group of employees and was talking about making time for your passions when someone interrupted and asked what they should do if they didn’t have any big dreams. It threw me off a bit because I assumed that most people have some kind of big dream for the future.

I think deep down we all have a picture of our ideal life but some people haven’t taken the time to fully realize their dream. We don’t all have dreams to become president, a world class athlete, or a billionaire; but if given the chance to dream, we can picture what our ideal life looks like.

I think one of the best ways to uncover your true passion in life is to brainstorm. Just let yourself dream of an ideal life. Make a list of all the things you would want to do, have, and be, if nothing was impossible. If there was no limitation. If nothing was unrealistic. Once you have generated this document, then study it and hone it down to the five things you are most passionate about. This is what you really want to focus on.

At first, you might think your ideal life would consist of being able to sit on the beach sipping mei-teis and reading romance novels. But if you dig deeper there is probably something more profound. How do you want to contribute to the world, how do you want to help others, what will your impact be?

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

—JIM CARREY

I think at some level we all really know what we have a passion for. Our true inner self really does know what we love. It is our social self, the part of us that cares too much about the opinion of others, the part of us that needs to take a consensus, the part of us that does not want to feel embarrassed, that is the part of us that will not always let us admit it.

I know how this feels, I have spent a great part of my adult life caring way too much what others think of me. I would ruminate about it, and even let it impact major life decisions. When my first marriage broke up, my decision to walk away was in large part due to what people would think of me if I stayed. In the end, walking away was the best thing I could have done for my soul and my inner well-being, but what others thought, should never have been a factor. My husband at the time just forgot that you should stop dating other people when you get married. This little character flaw was really a deal breaker for me.

When you let what others think of you dictate your decisions, you can never really express your authentic self, and the ability to know and follow your passions will be severely hampered.

Anytime I have neglected to follow my heart and my passions because I worried about what others thought, I have been disappointed with the outcome.

Finding Your Passion

1. The key to following your passions is first finding them. Some of us have had a clearly defined passion for life while others haven’t a clue what their greatest passion is. If nothing is standing out in your mind, seriously consider the following questions and let your brain wander. What would you do if you couldn’t fail?

2. What would you do if money wasn’t an object?

3. What did you love doing as a kid?

4. What did you want to be when you grew up?

5. What kind of work or hobby would you do even if it paid nothing?

6. Who do you feel jealous towards?

7. Who are your role models?

8. Where does your mind go when it wanders?

9. I wish I had more time to…

10. If you were handed $10 million tax free, what would you spend your time doing?

Don’t be concerned if your passions seem selfish or self-centred. Your passions can be things that make you a happier person, which positively influences the world around you.

“I cannot teach you something you already know in your heart, I can only show you how to recognize it, and by recognizing that you have it you can begin to use it.”

—CHARLES “TREMENDOUS” JONES

When Dr. Susan Biali took up flamenco dancing to help her overcome her depression, and later moved to Mexico to dance professionally, everyone thought it was a selfish decision, and said that she was wasting her time and talent. What they didn’t know, and neither did Susan at the time, was that she would become a celebrated speaker and author, who incorporated her dancing into her presentations. With her unique life story, she has been able to inspire thousands of people to go after their own passions, get healthier and happier.

Her story reminds me of a quote by Harold Thurman that says, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”

We don’t know where our passions lead us, but the worst that happens is we only better ourselves and the possibility for impacting others is huge. If you are following your passions and feeling fulfilled, it will positively affect your relationships with your partner, friends, family, and co-workers. People that follow their passions have greater amounts of energy to fuel their lives.

You may not be able to pursue your passions through your work, but if you have a purpose or hobby you have more motivation to work to support your dream. By having a clear purpose you are motivated to quickly finish the other tasks, so you can get back to your passions. You may not be able to currently earn a living pursuing your passion, but at least you can love doing it, and who knows maybe one day it will develop into a career.

Making Your Dreams a Reality

You are now hopefully considering some exciting possibilities but at the same time the old doubts, negative thoughts and excuses start.

Many people believe they are too old to make radical changes or even take up a new hobby. I’m a passionate believer that it’s never too late to do anything. I even founded the Impowerage magazine for the 50 plus population based on this concept. Impowerage hosted a writing contest called “It’s Never too Late to…” and invited readers to send in their stories of life after 50.

One woman, Daphne Solecki, discovered bird-watching in her mid-50s and subsequently became interested in conservation. She joined the Vancouver Natural History Society and became the president when she retired. Realizing that children weren’t learning enough about conservation, she helped create the Young Naturalists’ Club of British Columbia and says there hasn’t been a dull moment since.

“When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable.”

Another reader, Gerry Hennessey, wrote about being a bored realtor who made a list of things that intrigued him on his 50th birthday. Since then he’s earned a black belt in Aikido, studied psychology, gotten acting roles, and became a professional magician. His mindset was that if he lives to be 100, he was going to use his remaining 1200 months to be all he could be.

There are also fears of failure that can prevent us from taking action. In this case you need to ask yourself if you’d be happy to have tried and possibly fail, or to spend the rest of your life wondering what would happen if you had tried.

Another common barrier is a lack of time. Some dreams can be daunting and it’s best to break them down into manageable chunks. If you want to write a novel, commit to writing 200 words a day. This could take approximately 15 minutes and in less than a year you would have a 50,000 word novel completed. You’ll often find that if you can start on something, you’ll be motivated to keep working on it especially if it’s something you’re passionate about.

Going after your passions and dreams may require sacrifices. It’s important to remind yourself of the quote by Richard G. Scott, “Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.” Going after your dreams may require extra work, but I’d rather work hard for something worthwhile than live an easy unfulfilled life.

The Actual Mechanics of Making Your Dreams a Reality

With your new dreams and goals in mind, take a look at your daily activities. Are your activities in line with your values and where you want your life to go? We all have hopes and dreams but it is sobering to realize how little time we actually allocate to making them a reality. Figure out a way to include your passions and big dreams into your daily life.

Just as we need to plan out our days, we need to plan out our lives. You won’t get from your current life to your ideal life, by continuing to do the same things you’ve always done. As a quote from Mike Murdock says, “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

The consistent daily actions are what enable us to pursue our passions, and move more rapidly towards our dreams. I used to wait for big chunks of time to come available before I would sit down to write. I now know that the large chunk of time is never going to happen. Use the in-between moments.

Surround Yourself with the Right People and Books

I love the following quote by Charles “Tremendous” Jones, “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things, the books you read and the people you meet.”

By surrounding yourself with like-minded people, and learning you can positively change your life. To become successful in a particular area you need to immerse yourself in that world.

There is research that shows that having friends who gain weight, makes you far more likely to do the same^36. One of the reasons for this correlation is that our friends make it more socially acceptable to eat unhealthy and not exercise. For example, when we see others indulging in dessert after dinner, we are far more likely to order it ourselves.

It stands to reason that our friends will influence us in many other areas. If your time with friends is spent partying, complaining about spouses or gossiping about the neighbours, it is unlikely to encourage you to dramatically improve your life.

Not all friends will be interested in the same areas as you, but finding a like-minded group of people is only a few clicks away on the internet. You can find forums dedicated to anything you could imagine. By observing and asking questions you can become well-versed in your chosen subject. You’ll often come across knowledge or questions you hadn’t even considered, and by being part of the community you’ll be encouraged and motivated in your own journey.

I am a huge fan of books, and read or listen to a book every week. Most are the area of self-improvement, the psychology of success and business. I can’t even begin to tell you the ways it helped me in life. By committing to learning you gain an entirely new way of looking at things, and you can draw on the experience and wisdom of the authors. I may not be able to call up Richard Branson or Oprah to ask their opinion, or see what worked for them but I can read their autobiographies and business books. It is incredible to be able to learn from the experts for under $20 in most cases.

I make time for continuous education by reading a chapter or two before bed, and also through audio books. I have a daily one-and-a-half hour commute to work and back, and spend most of this time listening to audio books. You can also try listening to a book while exercising or on your lunch break.

Many people are skeptical of self-help books. To get the most of a book you need to implement it. Take the top 2-3 tips and implement them over the next week or month. For more tips on getting the most of self-help books you can read the Six Steps to Get the Most Out of Self Help Books on my website. (http://carolynandersonmd.com/self-help).

Conclusion

There was a quote in the movie, Barbarella that said, “a life without cause is a life without effect.” What effect on the world will you make? Whether it is improving your own life or the lives of someone in your family, neighbourhood, country or world, start following your passion today.

I’m not advocating quitting your job tomorrow and only pursuing your passions, but I am proposing that there is more to life than our daily routine. If we can figure out what truly excites us, it will serve as a constant source of energy that permeates all aspects of our lives. As I said before, reaching mastery in our chosen area takes energy but if we are following our passions it is very energizing.

Actions Steps

Value Exercise

Write down your top 10 values in life using the values exercise below.

You can visit my website for an extensive list of values at CarolynAndersonMD.com/values. Go through the list and circle the words that resonate with you, then go back and pick your top ten. Take out two pieces of paper and on one list your values and on the other list your daily activities. Then take the two lists and determine how many of your daily activities align with your values.

“It’s not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are.”

—ROY E. DISNEY

For those activities that don’t, determine if you can stop doing them or spend less time on them. Always ask yourself prior to taking on any new project or commitment whether what you will be doing is congruent with one or more of your values. If it is not, then politely decline.

By living a life consistent with your values, you will spend more time in life on things that you are passionate about and that will energize you.

CHAPTER 8:

Conclusion

To recap the six parts of the Energy Management System are

E: Eating Well & Exercising

N: Now: Living in the Moment

E: Everyday Life Management

R: Rejuvenation

G: Gratitude

Y: Your Passions

All the parts of Energy Management System work together. Without discovering your passion and purpose, you might not have the motivation to maximize your energy. Without building a strong physical base, you can’t maximize your energy. Without gratitude or mindfulness we can’t enjoy and direct our energy.

Remember that managing your energy is a process that needs to be repeated daily. You will find that as you get used to managing your energy it becomes second nature. Within a few weeks you’ll have systems and procedures in place that will reduce your stress and make your life easier.

If you haven’t already, go back through the book and fill out the action steps and take time to implement some of the strategies and advice. You’ve completed the first step of reading the book, and now you need to put it in action to realize the benefits.

Going from Goal Setting to Goal Achieving

You may have tried some of these strategies before and been unable to keep up with your new goals and lifestyle changes.

One of the reasons people don’t follow through on their goals is that change is hard. Keeping consistent with a new commitment is difficult and it is just plain easier to not do it. Whether at New Year’s or any other time of the year, goal setting is always easier than goal achieving.

So how can we stack the cards in our favour? How can we make it more likely that we will be consistent with the changes we set forth to make and actually see a lasting change in our life? One of the keys is in the way we think about our goals.

Most of the obstacles to following through with a resolution or a goal aren’t external, they’re internal factors. The reality is that life will always get in the way of our best laid plans. The realities of being tired and overstressed after a busy day at the office, make going to the gym after work really hard to do.

You have to be able to see yourself where you want to be so that you believe it is possible. If you want to be at a healthy weight or have a certain level of financial success, you must truly believe that you can achieve it in order to take the necessary steps to get to that point.

Once we believe that we can achieve our goal, we can take small consistent steps and lean into the goal by starting slow and doing something that moves us in that direction.

To remind myself of my goals, I take time to write my top goals out every single morning in a journal. This helps triggers the reticular activating system (RAS) in your brain to help notice the ways in which you can achieve them. This part of your brain acts as a filter.

What you focus on will be noticed. So if your goals are front and center, you are much more likely to notice ways you can move towards them. It starts every day with focusing on what you truly want. While I might not be able to work on every single one of my goals on a daily basis, this ritual helps me focus on what I can do each day to move me closer to my goals.

Energizing Your Life

You now have the basic framework in which to organize your life to maximize your energy. This shift in your way of thinking means you judge your actions and their effects by more than just a clock. Before beginning any task, ask yourself if it’s a good use of your energy stores.

Following this system gives you a new outlook on life. You’ll learn to eat for energy. You’ll look at exercise not as a chore, but a way to revitalize your body and mind. We aren’t meant to operate at full pace 100% of the time. Take time to truly recharge your body and mind, and then when you are working you can focus your energy by avoiding multitasking.

When you focus on maximizing your energy, you begin to notice ways you can conserve, maximize, and focus your energy. I’m excited to see what you will do with your newfound energy and focus.

Let’s Connect

I would love to hear more about how you’ve incorporated these steps in your daily life. Please send an email to:

info@CarolynAndersonMD.com.

I try to respond to all my mail and really appreciate any feedback you have.

You can also connect with me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/CarolynAndersonMD

or Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/drcarolyna

To further assist you in improving your energy and productivity you can download a free report on The Top 15 Productivity Tools at:

CarolynAndersonMD.com/productivity.

REFERENCES

Chapter 2 References

1 Leary, K. C., Pontifex, M.B., Scudder M.R., Brown M.L., Hillman, C.H. (2011). The effects of single bouts of aerobic exercise, exergaming, and videogame play on cognitive control. Clinical Neurophysiology. 122 1518-1525

2 Coulson, J.C, Mckenna, J., Field, M. (2008). Exercising at work and self-reported work performance. University of Bristol, Department of Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management. 1 (3), 176-197.

3 Anderson, R. J., & Brice, S. (2011). The mood-enhancing benefits of exercise: Memory biases augment the effect. Psychology of Sport & Exercise. 12 (2), 79-82.

4 Kwoh, Leslie. (2013). Wall Street Journal. Want to Be CEO? What’s Your BMI? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324595704578241573341483946.html?mod=e2fb

5 Dunstan, D.W., Barr, E.L., Healy, G.N., Salmon, J., Shaw, J.E, Balkau, B., Magliano, D.J., Cameron, A.J., Zimmet, P.Z., Owen, N. (2010) Television viewing time and mortality: the Australian diabetes, obesity and lifestyle study. 121 (3), 384-391.

6 Lee, I-M.L., Shiroma, E.J., Lobelo, F., Puska, P., Blair, S.N., Katzmarzyk, P.T. (2012). Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: An analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. Lancet. 380 (9838), 219-229.

7 Owen, N., Healy, G.N., Matthews, C.E., Dunstan, D.W. (2010) Too much sitting: The population health science of sedentary behavior. Exercise and Sport Science Reviews. 38 (3), 105-113.

Chapter 3 References

8 Bell, L. G. (2009). Mindful psychotherapy. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health. 11, 126–144.

9 Dalena, J., Smith, B. W., Shelley, B.M., Sloan, A.L., Leahigh, L., Begay, D. (2006). A preliminary study of the effects of modified mindfulness intervention on binge eating. Complementary Health Practice Review 11(3): 133-43.

10 Manhart, K. (2004). The limits of multitasking. Scientific American Mind. 14 (5), 62-67

11 Rubinstein, J. S., Meyer, D. E., Evans, J. E. (2001). Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 27 (4), 763-797.

12 Foerde, K., Knowlton, B., Poldrack, R. A. (2006). Modulation of competing memory systems by distraction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (31), 11778-11783

13 Iqbal, S.T., & Horvitz, E. (2007) Disruption and recovery of computing tasks: Field study, analysis, and directions. Retrieved from http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/horvitz/CHI_2007_Iqbal_Horvitz.pdf

14 Spira, J.B, & Feintuch, J.B. (2005). The cost of not paying attention: How interruptions impact knowledge worker productivity. Basex. Retrieved from http://iorgforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/CostOfNotPayingAttention.BasexReport.pdf

15 Gonzales, V.M., Mark, G. (2004). Constant, constant, multi-tasking craziness: managing multiple working spheres. Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. p. 113-120.

16 Mark, G., Gudith, D., Klocke, U. (2008) The cost of interrupted work: more speed and stress. Computer Human interactions. Retrieved from http://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf

17 Iqbal, S.T., & Bailey, B.P. (2005) Investigating the effectiveness of mental workload as a predictor of opportune moments for interruption. Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 1489-1492.

18 Spira, J.B, & Feintuch, J.B. (2005) The cost of not paying attention: How interruptions impact knowledge worker productivity. Basex. Retrieved from http://iorgforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/CostOfNotPayingAttention.BasexReport.pdf

19 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Major Sector Productivity and Cost. Retrieved from http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost

20 Barley, S., Myerson, D., Grodel, S. (2011). E-mail as a source and symbol of stress. Organization Science. 22 (4), 887–906.

21 Renaud, K., Ramsay, J., Hair, M. (2006). You’ve got email! … shall I deal with it now? Electronic mail from the recipient’s perspective. 21 (3), 313–332.

22 Mark, G.J., Voida, S., Cardello, A.V. (2012). A pace not dictated by electrons: An empirical study of work without email. Retrieved from http://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/Home_page/Research_files/CHI%202012.pdf

Chapter 6 References

23 Wiseman, R. (2003). The luck factor. The Sceptical Inquirer. Retrieved from http://www.richardwiseman.com/resources/The_Luck_Factor.pdf

24 Wiseman, R. (2003). The luck factor. The Sceptical Inquirer. Retrieved from http://www.richardwiseman.com/resources/The_Luck_Factor.pdf

25 Danner, D., Snowden, D., Friesen, W. (2001) Positive emotions in early Life and longevity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 80 (5), 804-12.

26 Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. 84(2), 377-389.

27 Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology. 84(2), 377-389

28 Wood, A. M., Joseph, S., Linley, P. (2007) Coping style as a psychological resource of grateful people. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology. 26(9), 1076-1093.

29 Froh, J., Emmons, R., Card, N., Bono, G., Wilson, J. (2011). Gratitude and the reduced costs of materialism in adolescents. Journal of Happiness Studies. 12(2), 289-302.

30 Wood, A. M., Joseph, S., Linley, P. (2007) Coping style as a psychological resource of grateful people. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology. 26(9), 1076-1093.

31 Wood, A. M., Joseph, S., Linley, P. (2007) Coping style as a psychological resource of grateful people. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology. 26(9), 1076-1093.

32 Gordon, C. L., Arnette, R. M., Smith, R. E. (2011). Have you thanked your spouse today? Felt and expressed gratitude among married couples. Personality & Individual Differences. 50(3), 339-343.

33 Norville, Deborah. (2007) Thank You Power.

34 Chan, D. W. (2010). Gratitude, gratitude intervention and subjective well-being among Chinese school teachers. Educational Psychology. 30(2), 139-153.

35 Butler, C. (2011) Teaching kids to be grateful may have long-term benefits even though it’s not easy. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/teaching-kids-to-be-grateful-may-have-long-term-benefits-even-though-its-not-easy/2011/11/14/gIQAbtlshN_story.html

Chapter 7 References

36 Christakis, N.A, & Fowler, J.H. (2007). The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 Years. The New England Journal of Medicine. 357:370-379.

CarolynAndersonMD.com

Table of Contents

ENERGY BOOST

Chapter 1: Introduction

Energy Management vs. Time Management

Why the Energy Management Method is Different

The Energy Management System

My Story

Chapter 2: Eating Well & Exercising

Don’t Focus on Depriving Yourself

Basic Food Guidelines

Planning Ahead

Hydration

Recommended Supplements

Benefits of Exercising

Exercise Guidelines

Exercise Obstacles

When to Exercise

The New Health Threat

Conclusion

Action Steps

Chapter 3: Now – Living in the Moment

The Importance of Monotasking

The Mental Health Benefits of Living in the Now

Mindfulness and Eating

The Downsides of Multitasking

The Cost of Interruptions

How to Stop Multitasking

Email Productivity Tips

Conclusion

Action Steps

Chapter 4: Everyday Life Management

The Importance of Planning

Why Planning Doesn’t Always Work

The Procrastination Obstacle

Everyday Life Management System

1) The Brain Dump

2) The Hour of Energy

3) The Six for Success System.

Breaking out of the Daily Rut

Outsourcing to Free Up Your Schedule

Conclusion

Action Steps

Chapter 5: Rejuvenation

The Difference Between Relaxation and Rejuvenation

The Health Benefits of Rejuvenation

The Top 10 Rejuvenating Activities

The Top Relaxing Activities

The Importance of Sleep

Know Your Sleep Cycles

Action Steps

Chapter 6: Gratitude

Benefits of Gratitude

Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude

Keeping a Gratitude Journal

Thank at Least One Person a Day

Action Steps

Chapter 7: Your Passions

Finding Your Passion

Making Your Dreams a Reality

The Actual Mechanics of Making Your Dreams a Reality

Surround Yourself with the Right People and Books

Conclusion

Actions Steps

Chapter 8: Conclusion

Going from Goal Setting to Goal Achieving

Energizing Your Life

Let’s Connect

References