Eight ways to pick up more pep and change your life
Life coach and author Simon Ong has gone from burnt-out financier to energy management guru
In this hectic world, we all seem to want more energy – but few are able to easily get it. Learning how to do so, however, can be life-changing.
This is the heart of the message Simon Ong delivers. The Malaysian-Chinese former financier quit his job after suffering from burnout and shifted his focus from time management to energy management.
He found the approach so rewarding he became a life coach and wrote the self-help book Energize: Make the Most of Every Moment.
“Your energy levels determine your state, who you attract into your life and how you do what you do. If you are to take advantage of the opportunities that arise in life, you must have the energy to do so,” he says.
Ong suggests the most successful people in the world may not be the youngest, strongest or fittest, but are the best at staying energised.
“When feeling energised, we become the chief architect of our future and there is nothing we feel we can’t overcome,” he says. “When we lack energy, we make poor decisions, easily get frustrated and operate below our potential. It’s the unfortunate reality for many of us.”
Once shy and introverted, Ong now speaks across the world at conferences and for global brands such as Barclays and Unilever.
“Productivity is less about doing more, and more about doing less – but doing the right things,” he says.
His YouTube video, 7 Habits For (Almost) Limitless Energy, has had over 100,000 views in the two months since it was posted. (He shares one “bonus habit” too, bringing the total to eight.)
Here, the author shares those simple habits to boost your energy and be as productive as possible.
1. Plan your day the night before
Many of us have our highest level of energy in the morning, yet we waste it because we don’t know what our priority is. So we expend brain power on thinking about what to focus on, or worse, aimlessly scrolling through social media. If you ask yourself the night before, “How will I know that tomorrow will have been a productive day?”, it allows you to have focus. As Chinese general Sun Tzu said, “Every battle is won before it has been fought.”
2. Have a uniform
There is a reason the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wore the same type of clothing every day, as does Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. When you do not have to decide what you are going to wear every morning, it gives you back mental capacity to focus on more important decisions.
Productivity is less about doing more, and more about doing less SIMON ONG
3. Plan meals in advance
Food is our primary source of energy. Many of us can benefit from eating less junk food and takeaways. Better meal planning can help ensure you make smart food decisions before hunger hits, including having a greater variety of plants on your plate. Drinking more water throughout the day also helps boost energy.
4. Move your body regularly
Exercise is one of the most powerful ways to energise your body and mind. Schedule time for exercise, whether you do a little or a lot: consistency beats intensity. On a busy day with a work deadline, if you can take only 20 minutes for a fast walk – do it. Spend more time being physically active on a less busy day.
5. Have a bedtime routine
Avoid bedtime procrastination and the inability to detach yourself from bad habits such as binge-watching television, aimlessly scrolling through social media, or continuing to work despite feeling exhausted.
The 3-2-1 technique can help. Three hours before bed, log off from work. Two hours before bedtime, stop eating. One hour before bedtime, stop using digital devices and do something to help you transition into sleep. This could be having a warm bath, meditating, writing in a journal or reading. This will contribute to deeper, better and more energising sleep.
6. Create an energising environment
Our environment is defined by the people we spend time with, what we read, our physical and digital spaces, even those we follow on social media.
The more negative energy that surrounds us, the more negativity seeps into our mindset. Surrounding ourselves with more positive energy makes us feel more positive.
Ong says he carries a good book with him wherever he goes. “When I have micro-moments where I’m delayed or stuck somewhere, I can dive into that and feel energised and inspired.”
7. Make time to disconnect
To thrive over the long term, there must be a balance between work and rest. Periods of hard work must be accompanied by times of rest and contemplation, to come back to work rejuvenated.
Being able to slow things down can help us live in the present moment and reap the accompanying benefits.
8. Develop a gratitude habit
To instantly elevate your energy, write down the name of someone who has helped shape you into the person you are today. Then write down how your life has changed because of them and how they have supported you. Then call them and tell them everything you wrote.
Happiness ultimately begins with gratitude. It energises not just the recipient, but benefits you, too.