How to Focus & Find Energy When You’re Tired

Whether you are a mom racing to do a million things, a hard worker getting your job done or a student trying to keep it all together, we all have times when we are tired. With deadlines fast approaching and a “to do” list pressing on your schedule, sometimes there is no time to be tired. I have times during the day when I can barely keep my eyes open, but there is no time to let being tired impede on my day. Everyone gets too tired to focus from time to time. We are merely human beings with limits, but sometimes we still have to remain focused when our limits have been reached. Today I am sharing some tips to focus when tired so that you can get that project completed and successfully.

Eat Something Healthy

You need to eat healthy for sustained energy. Adding some fresh squeezed lemon juice and/or peppermint leaves to an ice cold glass of water is a perfect pick-me-up. Protein from nuts and seeds are good along with fresh fruit for natural sugar. Dark chocolate has a natural boost of caffeine that can improve your focus and help you stay alert. Foods with iron and vitamin B are a great resource for mental and physical energy so try a big salad with dark greens and some citrus dressing.

Take a Cat Nap
Try to sleep as much as you can in 30 minutes. 15 – 30 minutes is considered a quick cat nap and can rejuvenate you. Don’t stress out by letting yourself have 30 minutes to yourself. Use ear plugs, a sleeping mask and set an alarm for 30 minutes (If you are really tired, set 2 or 3 alarms!). Do your best to relax and sleep as much as you can in that half an hour. This will allow your body and mind to recoup quickly and come back to work with focus and drive.

Play Music
Do not turn on the music you love to sing to, for you will naturally focus towards trying to sing those songs. Consider playing instrumental music that allows your brain to focus on the rhythm of the music versus the words and in turn increases your brain to start functioning properly. Instrumental classical music will be a great way to get your mind focused back on task when tired and has been scientifically proven over and over to increase mental sharpness. Strauss, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky are my personal recommendations because they are lively and upbeat.

Caffeine Fix
You can use the good old fashioned method of drinking up a caffeinated beverage to get your focus back. Surely this will be a short lived boost to focus but if you only require a brief amount of time to meet that deadline; this may be your best option. Consider drinking green tea so that the rise in caffeine is gradual and the fall not as abrupt. Or, get yourself a big, fancy coffee drink or energy drink and then sit down to get that work wrapped up.

Quick Exercise
Exercise has been known to boost endorphins which will make you happy naturally and in turn allow you to get your focus on. You may opt to go out for a brisk walk or jog out of the office, or do a mini-cardio type workout in your living room. Consider taking just twenty minutes to get in a little exercise to get that brain focus and physical energy back.

Start Small
Rather than focusing on the project as a whole, learn to start small and go big. If you can, break down your project piece by piece so that you can be laser focused on one small task at a time. When you are tired the brain can only handle so much at once and you can lose focus and get overwhelmed by taking on too much at once. Starting small and working to complete individual parts of the project at a time will help increase focus.

Life makes you tired so use these few tips to focus and energize so that you can continue getting things done. Sometimes you have to push yourself, but make sure that you always make time to get the rest that you need or you can make mistakes and even get into harm. There’s no telling when your brain and body just says it’s done, but we all know it doesn’t usually happen at the best of times. Try these tips when you are exhausted to push through with focus and energy.