I am constantly at war with my energy levels.  Constantly.

I am one of the lucky millions who battle with depression, which makes me especially prone to the need for a midday nap.  I’m also really sensitive to carbohydrates, which means eating too many of them causes my blood sugar spikes and five minutes later I’m crashing - hard.  Add to that a personal tendency to procrastinate and the attention span of a two year old, and you have a recipe for how in the heck am I constantly employed??

Getting through an eight (or 12) hour workday can, at times, require herculean effort.

While most people might not battle the exact same energy suck monsters that I do, finding yourself left with more hours left in the day than gas left in the proverbial tank is, I’m told, fairly common.  What can we do to push through the occasional energy slump?

First - let’s discuss what not to do.

Don’t open up that oh so addictive computer game.  Yes, it’s a nice distraction and, we tell ourselves, stress reliever.  But I’ve found that if I’m tired and restless, getting hooked on a mindless internet game does little to make me feel more motivated to go back to work.

Don’t take a junk food or massive lunch break.  While I may be more sensitive to carbohydrates than the average person, it’s a physiological fact that a spike in blood sugar caused by a carb load will be quickly followed by an energy crash.  If you’re already feeling sluggish, avoid the burger and fries and milkshake for lunch.  Step away from the leftover birthday cake in the breakroom.  Choosing a healthy snack instead can actually give you more energy to get through the rest of your day.

OK, enough lecturing.  What does work for me?

Do get a little exercise.  It sounds silly, but a little bit of fresh air walk, or even a short cruise around the office (or house, on my work-from-home days), helps energize me.  I read once that you should try to do a few jumping jacks at your desk or run in place for a few moments to get your blood pumping and wake up your brain a little, but I am way too afraid of looking like a dork to actually try that.

Do turn on the tunes.  Music is hit or miss for me on whether it helps me focus or distracts me further.  If I’m writing, for example, I cannot listen to anything with lyrics - but the right classical music on the right day gets me in the zone.  If I’m doing mindless tasks, however, an embarrassingly cheesy Britney Spears playlist perks me right up.

Do clean up.  While I hate cleaning my house, I love organizing.  Something about clearing away clutter puts me in a better mood and clears away the sluggishness.  I might clean up my desk, or finally get the trash from the bottom of my purse or laptop bag.  If, by some miracle, my surroundings are already spotless, taking a few moments to tidy up my email has the same effect on me.

What about you?  How do you perk yourself up during the day?

Photo by tskdesign on Flickr.