Energy Flow

Since early April, I've been living a quasi-digital nomad lifestyle. I'm traveling to familiar places, staying for a few days or weeks at a time, and then moving on to the next place.

I've developed a few tricks for self-care while being on the move: managing jet lag (I'm usually able to adapt to local time as soon as I land), simple and effective workout routines (a jump rope is your friend), and calling ahead to make sure there are options that fit my diet (if you're vegetarian/vegan, I highly recommend the Happy Cow app).

All of these tricks come from two things. The first is a mental model for the mind/body connection that I've procrastinated publishing, and the second is an application of something I've shared before: Energy States. If you haven't read the post on energy states, here's a quick summary:

• Equilibrium is a state of harmony, when things are calm, balanced, and clear
• Exertion is a state of doing, when there are large amounts of activity and movement
• Exhaustion is a state of exhaustion, when things have restorative or numbing effects

What I've learned is that the energy of the day follows this natural sequence: as the day progresses, entropy takes its toll. The mornings (especially if you wake up early) have a natural calm and stillness to them, the urge during the day (even if you don't have to go to work) is to do some activity, and it's natural to kick back and relax in the evenings. This flow is fairly universal to the human condition.

Recognizing that the energy of the day facilitates certain actions, I've started with those actions. In the mornings, equilibrium provides clarity, so I make longer-term plans, create my to-do list, and contemplate any pressing decisions. During the day, I embrace exertion and try to be absorbed with work, knock out my to-do list, and work out. In the evenings, I unwind and relax, as I'm exhausted and ready to rest.

The more I'm aligned with this natural flow of energy, the easier it is for me to function well without being overwhelmed by the constant change of environment. It's deceptively simple and seemingly common sense - isn't this what we were taught to do as kids? Isn't this the way humans lived for millennia before light bulbs made the midnight hours "productive"?

Not everyone has a lifestyle that corresponds to this flow. I see it when I work from Europe: my hours shift into the evenings, which usually means I need to stay up later in order to unwind and relax before I sleep, which in turn means I wake up later, and the cycle continues. It leads to less planning and contemplation than I do normally when I'm working 9 to 5.

But I've been aware of this energy flow for a few years now, and slowly, I've gotten into a groove where I'm able to make it work for me. After all, you can only create a habit by getting into a flow.