LITMIR.BIZ

      What will this book do for you?

      Energy. If you are reading this you would probably like some more. Perhaps to be able to stay fully alert in all those meetings, to feel like going to the gym at lunchtime, or simply to just do something with your evenings. What happened? Once, when you were a toddler, nothing could stop you! Then, as a child playing 5-a-side every lunch time and even as a teenager who could skip a night's sleep with no real downside. But now … now you seem on autocue and survival mode a lot of the time, clutching your latte to go: the “buzz” has gone.

      Most of us would probably distinguish two kinds of personal energy. There's the “mental” kind: that's feeling like doing something, having the willpower to make it happen. You've just come back from a fantastic vacation feeling pretty well-rested and had planned to go for a swim most lunchtimes but somehow a spot of retail therapy seems more attractive: you lack the mental energy, the willpower to make the swimming happen. And there's the “physical” kind: that's the “oomph” in your muscles. So although you would actually really like to get out into the garden, as it is such a lovely summer's evening, and do a bit of watering and tidying up you are just so physically shattered from the long day at the office, you cannot get off the sofa: you lack the physical energy.

      The two are strongly linked: the salesperson who closes a great deal (a wonderful mental boost) she has been chasing for months suddenly finds untold reserves of physical energy and decides to go hit the gym before going to celebrate at the pub. The person who takes a walk every lunchtime whatever their work load or the weather finds he has more “drive” to cope with poorly-run conference calls with head office in the US.

      The goal of this book is help you have more energy. Energy for every day, for dealing with the kids and the team and the email, as well as energy for the “other” stuff such as your start-up plans and archery class. We will look at the two threads we have mentioned: physical energy, that is the stamina and the “oomph” we need for so many activities; and the mental energy, that is the focus, clarity and willpower.

      Here's the structure of Bags of Energy Now

      The majority of the sections will start with the big idea (e.g. getting exercise to work) and then explain how to address that challenge in more detail. There will then be a mini case study: those at home or work with the same challenges you have, that we all have; this gives us a chance to see how they implement practically the concepts. We'll also make sure your toughest questions are answered before a final summary. Everything in this book is tried and tested: it is both pragmatic and practical. We encourage you to start using the ideas immediately as that's the way this digital version was designed.

      Read on …

1

      Boosting Your Physical and Mental Energy

      The Challenge

      “Having energy” can appear elusive and complicated. We certainly remember a time when we had loads and we can still have our great days. Holidays do help but too often we simply come down with the flu. An extra coffee is OK in a meeting but one in the evening spoils our sleep. We don't allow the kids cola, so why do we knock it back several times a day to try and keep alert? And sometimes we'd like to push back on a daft idea in the marketing meeting but to be honest we simply can't be bothered. Yes, that mental buzz and that physical drive seem horribly elusive.

      In this first section, let's simplify the concept and understand how it can be within your grasp.

      The Detail

      Firstly, the two kinds of energy, mental and physical, are interrelated. So the good news is that anything you can do to improve physical will help mental and vice versa.

      And for each kind of energy, there are four main drivers or initiators of great energy.

      Firstly, physical – the drivers or components of great physical energy are: