Nov 29
5 Common Habits That Drain Your Energy and Leave You Mentally Drained
Get rid of the mindless, energy-draining everyday habits
You know what it feels like when you’re tired. You’re low on energy, irritable, and experience apathy. This mental exhaustion and shutdown of your system is not an overnight phenomenon. It happens over some time and is usually the result of some bad habits.
The recurring negative behaviors drain your energy and cause long-term stress, leading to various physical and mental health problems.
Here are five bad habits that may be silently draining your energy and leaving you mentally exhausted.
1. Chasing perfection
We all desire to be amazing at what we do and to be known for our excellent work. However, some people go overboard and get obsessed with being perfect.
Pressuring yourself to push your limits beyond your capacity and engaging in the relentless pursuit of perfection has a problem that there’s no finish line. You can go on and on and still not reach there because there’s no such thing as perfection.
As you try hard to reach perfection and your expectations go sky-high, the chances of you getting disappointed also rise. This stresses you up immensely and takes a toll on you.
Instead of pursuing perfection, develop the habit of striving for excellence. Put in your best efforts in your work and take it a notch up. Shifting from unrealistic standards to realistic goals will help you work better and increase your odds of succeeding.
2. Not getting enough sleep
One of the results of living in the modern digital age is lifestyle changes leading to disrupted sleep patterns. There are too many distractions stealing away your time and attention and causing sleep disturbances.
Without proper rest and adequate sleep, it’s impossible to operate at your optimal level and give your best. Chronic sleep deprivation makes you feel cranky and lethargic, besides affecting your ability to concentrate on the task at hand.
A drop in your work performance leads to mood swings, irritability, and anxiety. You cannot think straight, solve complex problems and make rational decisions. This affects your mental well-being and makes you feel low and drained out.
To avoid feeling worn out and combat mental fatigue, it is essential to build good habits that enable you to sleep better and help optimize your health.
Make it a point to switch off all devices at least an hour before the designated sleep time. This will reduce your blue light exposure to facilitate sleep. You can read a book or listen to relaxing music to help you fall asleep.
3. Having unfinished tasks on your to-do list
There’s nothing more frustrating than a long to-do list of tasks half-done or, worse untouched. An overflowing list is an example of list-making gone wrong and is one of the few instances when a to-do list can do more harm than good.
For some people, a never-ending to-do list is a regular feature and a cause of great mental stress that saps your energy and leaves you exhausted.
Often, the problem is not with time management. The culprit is your unrealistic to-do list. When you stuff too much on your plate without considering the time you have at your disposal or your other commitments, you set yourself up for overwhelm from the word go.
To avoid feeling drained out of your energy, give up the habit of overloading your to-do list. Respect your body and stop looking at yourself as a superhuman. Know that you only have finite energy and stamina. Stay focused on your priorities and bite off only as much as you chew.
Learning to prepare a clean and manageable to-do list is the key to high work performance and greater productivity. It will help you get more done, make daily progress, and achieve your goals.
4. Taking things personally
If you’re one of those who take things personally, you may be unknowingly draining your energy and jeopardizing your mental health.
Every person has the right to say what they want to and have an opinion of their own. When someone says something to you or about you, there’s little you can do to stop them. But you can control things at your end and choose how you respond.
There’s no need to internalize everything others say, see them suspiciously and allow yourself to get offended. The habit of taking things personally makes you feel you’re being attacked and puts you on the defensive, and upsets you.
Instead of interpreting things negatively and seeing them in a bad light, build better habits. Give people the benefit of the doubt, see things in perspective and ask for clarifications to understand the real meaning of what was being said.
5. Holding a grudge
We’re all human and liable to get hurt. Someone said something offensive to you, was mean, engaged in nasty behavior, insulted you publicly, or didn’t stand up for you when you expected them to. What they did was their part, but how you respond will decide your life’s course.
You and you alone are responsible for your feelings. If you hold grudges and allow bitterness and anger to occupy the sacred space within you, you are sabotaging your peace of mind.
Resentment has never served any useful purpose for anyone. All it does is sap your energy, ruin your mental well-being, and distract you from your life goals.
Instead of ruminating about other people’s bad behavior, take action and deal with it positively. If you can muster the courage to catch the bull by the horns, confront them. Communicate your displeasure and seek an explanation.
If you don’t feel up to it, let go, leave them to their devices, delete the episode from your mind, and be done with it. Any other course of action will only prolong the mental agony and prove damaging for you.
In Conclusion
Your habits impact your life and can have negative consequences on your health.
Recognizing bad habits that drain your mental battery and modifying them can help you mute the outside noise and help you shift focus on things that truly matter. You’ll be better able to work peacefully, get more done and make rapid progress toward your life goals.
Originally published on drroopleen.com
