Minisode

What Depletes and Recharges You

In this minisode, we share a few things that deplete and recharge us, as well as seven simple actions to renew your energy.

We’ll be alternating regular episodes and minisodes for a while to work on some other Semi-Together related projects. In today’s minisode, we talk about a topic that is top of mind for us right now: What Depletes & Recharges You. It’s a continuation of what we discussed in Ep. 23: How to Make Time for What Fuels You.

Our busy schedules can drain our energy and leave us feeling tired, cranky, and stressed. If we don’t make time for the activities that rejuvenate us, we start heading toward burnout – and that doesn’t serve us or others around us. You can’t pour from an empty cup!

What depletes Gill: Mindlessly scrolling through social media, spending time with people she’s not crazy about

What recharges Gill: Going for a walk, reading a book, or catching up with a good friend 

What depletes Melia: Conflicts with the kids, being around a lot of people for too long, working on a project that isn’t making much progress

What recharges Melia: Reading, making music, having quiet time alone, Zumba, taking a walk in the sunshine

We can be intentional about the ways we recharge ourselves. Michael Hyatt, an entrepreneur and author we both admire, writes his book Free to Focus: “Time is fixed, but energy can flex. Every day contains the same number of hours, while your energy swings up and down depending on multiple variables, including rest, nutrition, and emotional health.”

7 Practices to Renew Your Energy

Hyatt says that personal energy is a renewable resource, and we can replenish it with seven basic practices: 

  1. Sleep
  2. Eat
  3. Move
  4. Connect
  5. Play
  6. Reflect
  7. Unplug

Top of mind for Melia:

  • Sleep: Napping whenever possible to recuperate from Avery’s night wakings
  • Move: Finding little ways to work movement into each week, a blend of taking the stairs, dancing to a song at home, going to the gym and Zumba whenever possible

Top of mind for Gill: 

  • Eat: Following writer Michael Pollan’s advice: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” After she’s overindulged or eaten lots of rich food, getting as many vegetables as possible onto her plate 
  • Connect: Finding the right balance between connection and alone time, which is important — and different for — everyone. Scheduling one or two things with friends each week + reaching out to faraway friends/ fam via text or email.

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