The Home Business Athlete Part II: Building Your Energy

This series of articles is taking a look at some similarities in the home business and professional athletics fields. In the first installment, we took a look at preparing to deal with the pressure that comes with the main event. In this article, we’ll take a look at some long term training strategies when it comes to building up your energy.

It’s a sad truth among most adults that fatigue is an issue that becomes part of daily life. If you look at some of the most successful people, though, you might notice that they seem not to suffer from the lack of energy that can be so telling in the rest of us. Don’t be quick to assume that their fix is the inevitable result of too much caffeine or some other substance; there are ways that you can make sure to build your energy up so you always have sufficient levels to meet the rigors of the day, month, and year.

Don’t Let The Energy You Do Have Go To Waste!

This is a big mistake that a lot of people make. They mistake charges of adrenaline for energy; plugging on for days without sleep and months without a day off, one day they realize that although they seem to have finished the jobs that were in front of them, they are not meeting them according to the standards they set for themselves. Not only that, but too many days in a row without sleep greatly reduces a body’s ability to fight infection; those who are coming off of a days-long run will fall prey to an illness, and these enforced breaks can be a lot longer than any self-imposed time off of work.

It’s important to make sure that you are getting the down time you need away from your work. Don’t just slot in the eight or ten hours a day recommended as healthy sleeping; also include some time to exercise and truly enjoy your meals, and to have some time with your family. You should take at least one day off of work, truly off of work, every week, and at least one week away from work every year. These days aren’t the refuge of the week; they are based on biologically sound principles that are common to all humans. Refusing to take time for yourself will mean that eventually, your business will suffer. Overworked people are far less efficient than those who set boundaries.

True Training

Just like a pro athlete, home business owners need to make sure that they are eating right and getting exercise in order to perform at their best. High energy foods are a must in any diet. Protein laden food in particular is good for that mental edge; nuts, grains, seeds, chicken and fish are all considered brain food. You need to avoid food that many swear bumps up energy levels, like coffee, sugar, and other types of junk food; the boost is temporary and artificial, and may end up actually causing you more stress. It’s also good to have some high energy snacks on hand while you are working; again, seeds, nuts, and fruits are the perfect long term energy providers.

Exercise should also be a part of your work routine. In order to stay at peak levels, you need to engage in at least thirty minutes of aerobic activity a day. Aerobic activity is any activity that gets your heart pumping faster through movement, not through weight pressure. Running, swimming, cycling, and dancing are all popular aerobic activities.

Enjoy Yourself

One great way to suck the life out of yourself is turning your work from home job into a daily burden. People do this when they put too much performance pressure on themselves. Don’t take on tasks that make you anxious, especially when you have other tasks to perform. Keep your pace manageable and remember to take small steps towards big goals, and you’ll keep the pressure down. Remember to analyze what you are doing to make sure that you still enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, it will take a lot of energy just to talk yourself into sitting down and starting the task.

Building your energy is an important step in the training part of home business success. Our next article in this series will look at training to build another critical area: concentration.