Protect Mental Energy & Stop Feeling Drained

Mar 23

Physically well-rested, but feeling tired? Don’t ignore your mind. Your mental energy is a huge part of how you physically feel.

Think about it - when you’re in a peaceful mood, you’re much more likely to tackle cleaning, working out, and high-energy activities.

“It’s only 2 percent of your body weight, but your brain consumes 20 to 25 percent of your metabolic energy. And that’s just on idle, the energy cost to keep your 86 billion neurons and give-or-take 164 trillion synapses on stand-by. Once the brain is activated, energy demands quickly multiply.”
- Psychology Today on mental energy

To be happy, energized, and productive, it’s crucial that you understand what causes mental exhaustion and take protective measures.

Let’s explore 4 ways to maximize mental energy and prevent feeling drained.

1. Reduce taxing relationships

First, recognize the relationships in your life that are mentally draining you. You might be surprised to learn that it’s not your enemies! The people you can’t stand are easy to avoid and discredit.

It’s actually the relationships you’re confused about that require the most mental energy. It’s the going back and forth that drains you.

According to social psychology expert Vanessa Edwards, “energy vampires” are the people who waste mental energy as you decide how you feel about them. It’s difficult to cut them out when you’re on the fence, and your brain (which dislikes ambiguity) wastes effort searching for clarity.

Reduce time spent with confusing people and stop yourself from thinking about them. Or, try to be more decisive and deem people as friends or “not worth it.”

2. Understand and remove decision overload

Decision-making anxiety can take a huge toll and cause burnout. We often think of mental stress coming from sitting at a desk for hours and focusing on a difficult task, but making decisions can be the most stressful of all.

Why are managers so well-paid? They make high-pressure decisions surrounding people and strategy.

When you recognize decisions as taxing, it’s easier to cut them down. Ultimately, you want to save your brain for the thinking that most impacts your life. That may be prioritizing tasks, making medical decisions for a loved one, parenting, or deciding how to invest budget.

Reduce unimportant decision tax by:

Creating healthy mindless habits: For example, eat eggs for breakfast and a salad for lunch every day so you won’t have to think about it. Follow the same workout schedule so you won’t have to decide what to do.
Outsourcing as much as possible: For instance, have your kids choose crafts from a magazine or an employee create a social media strategy.

3. Combat racing thoughts

While depression involves living in the past and anxiety involves living in the future, the racing thoughts involved with each are equally harmful.

While it’s important to reflect and learn from past actions, playing a loop with no progress can only hurt you.

Likewise, while it’s important to plan and prepare for the future, running worst case scenarios through your head is harmful.

Exercise, meditation, and breathing exercises are your best friend to prevent these behaviors. Find free resources to reset your mind and make it a daily habit.

4. Prioritize heavy workloads

You can’t do it all, but learning how to prioritize can help focus your mental energy on high priority tasks and prevent effort wasted on task-choosing.

According to task automation tool Zapier, here are two project management methods that can help you prioritize tasks quickly:

1. Use grids to determine resources vs. impact:

2. The Ivy Lee method:

The Ivy Lee method is simple: plan before your day starts. Each evening (or end of work day), create a prioritized list of tasks to complete tomorrow.

Now, you won’t waste mental energy choosing what to work on next. It’s all laid out in a prioritized list.

5. Try supplements to give you a boost

Supplements are not a quick fix, but if you’re already applying the previous methods, adding supplements can give you an edge.

These trending mind supplements can be found over-the-counter:

Some mushrooms, specifically lion’s mane and turkey tail, are thought to improve memory and focus
Gingko biloba is thought to reduce brain inflammation and promote brain health
Nootropics are a range of “smart drugs” meant to improve brain function

Just remember, supplements aren’t healthy for everyone and should be used with caution! Talk to your doctor if you’re taking medications, as they may have interactions.

Key takeaways on mental energy

It’s not complicated - a well-balanced diet, hydration, and plenty of sleep are the basics for peak brain performance. But if you’re doing your best in these areas and still feeling exhausted, your mental health could be the cause.

Protect your mental health and regain energy by: