Get Power This Way

DISCLAIMER: I’m not your doctor. I’m not a physician. You’re not my fault.

3 Fundamental Concepts

1. Don’t waste energy

• Ask for help from people who are qualified to help you. Don’t ask for help from people who can’t.
• Use tools that make the task easier. If you don’t have tools, get tools.
• Master those tools so that you don’t get distracted from the work by the tools.
• The simplest tools to master are the simplest tools. Sometimes, paper is the tool.
• Do prep work beforehand. That’s what prep work is. It’s the work that happens beforehand, such as planning, which can be done on paper the night before whatever it is you’re trying to do. So, that you can focus on the unique aspects of the task at hand and not be distracted by getting ready.
• Automate the repetitive parts of your work. (You probably can’t do this with paper.)
• Guess what happens when you focus on the negative aspects of your work and do nothing to address them?
• Seriously, guess.
• You get weak. Like a baby.
• Avoid music that makes you sad. (I don’t care if it’s good music. That’s irrelevant.)

2. Cultivate energy

• Remind yourself, daily, why the work matters to you. Tell yourself the story of why it matters.
• Figure out what you like about the work. Focus on that, so that you find the work rewarding while you’re doing it.
• Carve your work into very small tasks (a.k.a. small wins) so that you can create a reward gradient. Use Work Cycles to refine this skill.
• Log in a noteboook (or tell someone) about what you’ve accomplished in the course of the work.
• If there’s an aspect of the work that you can drill to develop stamina, drill it.
• Replace pastries with fruits (dates, bananas) and nut butters on whole grain or GF bread (go light on the bread) so you can fuel yourself without a carb crash. Throw cinnamon on there or cocoa powder.
• When you want something sweet, drink a pint of water. You may be dehydrated.

3. Recuperate energy

• Design a specific recovery plan to replenish your energy. When you execute the plan, wait for the moment when you feel recovered, i.e. where you now have energy to burn. If that moment doesn’t come, modify your plan.
• Laugh. Especially laugh at things that don’t exploit schadenfreude.
• After work, steal glucose from your brain and send it to your muscles so you can’t obsess over work (try 5-10 minutes of calisthenics, biking or Wim Hof breathing).
• Eat anti-inflammatory foods with every meal, like beans, whole grains, fruit, nuts, olive oil.
• Go outside and get some natural light and look at some green things and appreciate cute stuff.
• Involve yourself in a low-stress hobby.
• Avoid any recreational activity that makes you wish you could get your time back.
• Try listening to an audiobook – experience someone else’s story for a while.
• Take a hot bath, find a sauna and go inside it, then come out.
• Play. Do anything that you think of as being fun.
• Sleep.

Here’s a General Purpose Checklist for Cultivating Energy

By energy, I’m referring to your capacity to do work. Not your kundalini. I don’t know anything about that. Here’s the list. Look at it and then read the elaborations below:

1. Eat for Energy
2. Hydrate
3. Take a Good Multivitamin
4. Take Supplements
5. Exercise
6. Meditate
7. Don’t Red Line
8. Keep a Guide to Self

Eat for Energy

• Take a good multi-vitamin
• Stay away from any food that causes the itis (for a lot of people: baked goods, meat, fried foods)
• Protein (no less than ~.33 g of protein/ lb of body weight, don’t slam protein or you’ll get the itis)
• Eat foods that have a lot of polyphenols
• Eat all of the foods on the Daily Dozen App before eating anything else for the day (or just leave it at the foods on the app)

Hydrate

If you drink caffeine, don’t pour yourself a cup of coffee without pouring yourself a glass of water that’s larger than your cup of coffee. Drink both. Otherwise, always have a glass of precious hydrating fluids at your work station. When the glass is empty, refill it. Don’t let it sit empty. Drain it frequently into your face.

Take A Good Multivitamin

Take Country Life Max for Vegans. You don’t need to be vegan to take this. This is seriously the best multi I’ve ever taken. If you’re dragging from a nutrient deficiency, it’s likely that this multi has you covered.

Take Supplements

Avoid supplements that make you pay later for the energy that they give you today. Try these:

• Moringa
• Maca
• Beet Root Powder
• Fermented Pea Protein
• Creatine
• Lion’s Mane Mushroom Powder

Exercise

• Coffee Killer: In the morning, breathe in belly first, then chest, trying to fill your lungs as much as possible. Hold it for as long as you can while timing yourself. Still need that cup of coffee?
• With 5 lb dumbbells or lighter, try Eugen Sandow’s workout
• Walk, especially up hills, especially in interesting places
• Do low rep heavy lifts in the evening
• Practice your skillz: tumbling, rock climbing, throwing people, running away, cardio-crochet

Meditate

• Do Wim Hof Breathing
• Do The Waking Up App (I can get you a free month at no cost to me)
• Do Loch Kelly’s Effortless Mindfulness audiobook

Don’t Red Line

• When you’re inconveniently tired, take a nap, and then figure out why you were tired when you didn’t intend to be tired and then stop doing that thing that made you tired.
• Don’t rely on caffiene. Meaning: don’t add caffeine in proportion to your fatigue. That’s deficit spending.
• Don’t workout too hard. Gain without pain.
• Let go of anger. (See the section on meditation.)
• Don’t complain. Take note of a problem, move on, or formulate a solution and then move on.
• If you don’t have energy after work, you’re red lining. Figure out where it’s happening and refer to the 3 Fundamental Concepts to debug the situation.
• If you don’t have energy for sex, and you’re not asexual, and the doc says you’re fine, you’re red lining. Take better care of yourself.

Keep A Guide to Self

When you realize that you have a problem with energy or producitivity, write down the problem in a notebook called Guide to Self. When you try out different ways to solve the problem, record what you’ve tried in the notebook. When you’ve found a solution, record that too. Next time you have that problem, look it up in your Guide to Self and take your own advice.