Do you stand in front of your closet each morning trying to figure out what to wear? Do you know how much mental energy goes into that decision? Girl, don’t get me started!

It is said that Albert Einstein had multiple sets of the same clothes so he wouldn’t have to use any mental resources making a decision about what to wear. There are reports that he refused to memorize his phone number for the same reason.

I like Al’s style … not his fashion style of course, but his way of thinking. He may have been onto something. It’s all relative, right? 😉

We are a society that accepts the answer to the question “How are you?”, with one word, “Tired.” In a recent post, I made the case about why it is important to protect your energy. Check it out here.

In addition to limited physical energy as we age, our mental energy also begins to decline as we get older. What you did at age 20 that required more mental energy, you may no longer be able to do or do less of in your 60’s and 70’s and later. Is this just aging or is this more to do with patience? Hmmmm …. That may be a question to tackle on a future post.

For today’s post, however, what can be done to conserve your precious mental energy?

If you want to be at your best mentally for a good long while, here are 5 suggestions to get you on your way:

Build routines.

I cannot tell a lie. I am a creature of habit and I LOVE routine! Routines eliminate a lot of decision-making issues. Pay your bills every Saturday afternoon. Have a morning routine from the moment your feet hit the floor until you’re out the front door. Start a night time routine to help you wind down from a stressful day. The more decisions you can eliminate, the more mental energy you’ll have for the things that really matter.

Mono-task:

I’m no fan of multi-tasking as you may know from this post. It gets you no where fast in my humble opinion and leads to overwhelm. Study after study is showing that multi-tasking is simply inefficient. It takes time and energy to switch from one task to another and you end up getting nothing done to satisfaction.

Give yourself regular breaks.

Short breaks provide a mental and physical boost. A 15-minute break can do wonders if you are consistent. Experiment with what works for you.

Let go of the things that don’t matter

This is where you have to prioritize and be a little selfish (which I never really thought was a bad thing). If you feel your mental energy is being drained from overwhelm, now is the time to step back, review and prioritize. It only makes sense to save your mental energy for the things that really matter. Most things in life aren’t worth a lot of fuss, yet sometimes we get caught up in the muck and stress ourselves for no reason. Save your attention for the big stuff!

Monitor your self-talk.

Mind your words! It’s easy to wear ourselves out with negative thoughts. Believe me, they are draining you of your energy more than you know! Try to keep your internal dialog positive and upbeat. This matters far more than you realize!

Conserve and build your mental energy in every way possible. You’ll feel and perform better in all facets of your life.

Albert Einstein took it seriously, and many thought he had a productive life.

Until next time!

Francine