The Two Simple and Effective Ways I Stay in Shape and Build Energy

  • 2024-07-29
  • 3-minute read

Having energy is essential in a busy day-to-day life. Work, kids, spouse, activities, chores—everything costs energy. After the kids are in bed, I really just want to sit down on the sofa, relax, pop a beer, and do something that requires zero cognitive effort, like rewatching The Office for the 10th time. It’s always been a challenge to not do that, to not just sit down and instead do something useful. It’s not that I can never do those things, but it’s better to schedule it. One specific hour once per week, or every Friday night—whatever fits you. Scheduling relax time helps me be mentally prepared to do something else when the evening comes.

So, How Do I Build Energy?

  1. I (try to) keep it tidy at home.
  2. Exercise.

“But both of them are so hard and boring!” Sure, but everybody knows that if you do these two things, you will most likely feel good and more energetic. Here’s how I approach them and make them simple.

Keeping It Tidy

It’s almost always messy somewhere in the house—I have two kids 🤓 (I love them 🩵). But I have become better at strategic cleaning every day to boost my own energy. What I use is a simple visualization technique. I picture myself sitting down, working on my personal growth or relaxing with a clean kitchen/living room/hallway/bathroom, etc. Then I clean one or two of these areas every day while I listen to a book or podcast. If I need some inspiration, I typically put on a random YouTube video or podcast with Alex Hormozi.

Exercise

Forget gym memberships, exercise clothes, shoes, equipment, tech, training programs, and thinking about what to do. For me right now, it’s all about getting it done. To ensure I can’t fail and can’t come up with any excuse for not doing it, I take the thinking out of the equation. Here’s my step-by-step guide to exercising 4-7 times per week:

  1. Clear some space, preferably in front of a TV. Or put a laptop or pad anywhere in front of an open space.
  2. Go to www.youtube.com.
  3. Search for “15 minute HIIT” or pick one from my playlist: My 15 min HIIT Playlist.
  4. Turn off your brain, press play and blindly follow the 15 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training. 45 seconds on, 15 seconds off. Or 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. For 15 minutes. Try it. It is so damn effective.

The beauty of most of these HIIT videos is that they generally only use body weight (no equipment required). Also, you can scale it up and down based on your fitness level. As you get more fit, just increase the intensity.

Then if I’m still going strong 3-6 months later, it means I have built new habits and I can start thinking about what to do next. But for now, I just need to get it done. 🚀

Conclusion

I automatically get energy when my surroundings are tidy, and it only takes 2-3 minutes to empty the dishwasher. Try it. 🤓👏🏻 Thirty efficient minutes a day goes a long way.

That is also:

  • 30 minutes * 7 days = 3 hours and 30 minutes of podcast/audiobook per week
  • Or per year:
    • 10,920 minutes
    • 182 hours
    • More than a FULL WEEK per year! Yes, there are 24 * 7 = 168 hours in a week 😄

Imagine what can be learned in that focused time.

There are 24 hours in a day, and if I can’t find 15 minutes to blindly follow one of the 15 min HIIT sessions, I think I need to reevaluate my schedule. 😅🚀💪🏻

What are your simple ways to stay in shape and build energy? Share on X 👋🏻

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