Eight Strategies to Beat Afternoon Slumps and Manage Your Energy!

The reality is that many people experience slumps in the afternoon. It can be too many carbohydrates eaten at lunch, low blood sugar, or a variety of other reasons. While knowing the cause is important, the key right now is getting your blood moving and motivating your mind and energy. Here are eight simple tips to overcome afternoon depression.

1. Eat smart. For lunch, eat light – enjoy smoothies, fruits, water, nuts, and protein instead of heavy carbohydrates that will take more energy from your body to digest.

2. Do the hardest project of the day first. If you eat your “frog” in the morning, instead of leaving the more difficult task to do in the afternoon, you will have other less difficult things to work on in the afternoon, allowing you to wait for the afternoon and fly for it.

3. Create a routine for the afternoon. For example: after lunch, take a 5-minute electric walk outside, do 10 jumping jacks, go to the bathroom, put cold water on your face, and drink a large glass of ice water. Then walk into your office, clear your desk, do a mental push out of all your morning tasks, turn on the lights / music, get good airflow with a window / fun, and get to work! Routines help our brain connect with what we want to do. Once you develop habits, your brain will automatically shift gears when you do the same activities.

4. Get your body involved. Do things that make your body move and are “easy.” Get up, sit on a balance ball instead of a chair; do things that keep your blood and body moving. Stay engaged in the movement and let the momentum of the movement keep you on your toes.

5. Give your brain a break. Save the stupidest and most active tasks for the afternoon (eg errands, phone calls, filing, smoothing, sorting). Tasks that require a lot of concentration, such as looking at the computer, reading, or listening, can work against your energy, making it difficult to focus and participate.

6. Change the scenery. If you can, move to another room. Do things to get more light or air. Sit in a place that is suitable but not welcoming (perhaps a natural setting to avoid being distracted when your mind is already wandering). Play upbeat music. Let your surroundings keep you alert.

7. Play a game. Give yourself a goal or a game to play. For example, if you finish a project or make so many calls, you can reward yourself by going home early or stopping for something to eat on the way home. Introduce some momentum and urgency into the picture to counter the decelerating force of the afternoon low energy.

8. Lastly, don’t fight it. If nothing else works, take a 10 minute nap or a 10 minute mediation time (set a timer). This will allow you to rest and then focus and re-engage in high productivity. If you keep fighting it, you will have a longer period of low productivity.

Monitor your energy and look for patterns of what works and what slows you down. Find the things that help you to be more productive and attentive; try different things. When you find things that work, turn them into habits. Try to figure out what may be the cause, if it is what you are eating for lunch, staying up too late, stress, etc. you will always do better to fix the root cause.