Tired and without energy, but still so many things on the to-do list? First, ask yourself what energy you are lacking right now. Physical energy, emotional energy or spiritual energy? Often we lack only one form of energy while there is still enough in the other two energy stores. Analyze what energy you are currently lacking and consider how you can rebuild it.

Exhausted, drained, infinitely tired.

There are many different reasons for feeling low on energy. Each of us has different levels of energy reserves. When we feel tired, we often forget to think about what makes us tired. It is worthwhile to distinguish between the three main types of energy and to know techniques to replenish the respective energy depots.

After hours at the desk, hunched over what feels like hundreds of tax documents, we feel tired and drained. But it is only the spiritual energy that we lack. There is probably enough energy left in the other two energy reservoirs. Away from the desk, we have plenty of energy left at this moment to clear the garden of weeds or call a friend who is going through a difficult breakup and offer her encouragement and confidence.

So if one energy depot is empty, we can access another – usually it is the type of energy in which we have a particular strength. At the same time, switching to a different energy depot helps us to refuel the energy store.

Physical energy

This form of energy is most closely related to the biological makeup of our bodies and how well our body balance works. We deplete the energy balance through exercise. After an intense sports workout, the body needs time to recharge this form of energy, but usually has enough energy left over for emotional issues or mental work.

We can keep the energy our body has available at a high level through regular exercise, a healthy diet and sufficient sleep. It is important to practice different types of sports and to pay attention to the current state of the body.

If the body is already at a low level in all three energy budgets due to many emotional stress factors, too much mental work and little sleep, a particularly ambitious intensive sports program is not a good idea.

A quick walk in nature helps more at that moment than an intense session on the treadmill at the gym. The latter can cause the body’s already low energy reserves to be depleted even further instead of being recharged.

Emotional energy

A fight with our partner, a heated argument with a colleague or a rejection on a job application lead to acute stress reactions in our body. The heart rate and blood pressure increase, the body produces more cortisone and adrenaline. All of this drains the supply of emotional energy.

In the short term, it helps here to put on the sports shoes and go running. But even a book whose story takes our thoughts in a different direction helps us to rebalance our energy levels.

Enormously important for emotional energy is to surround ourselves with positive people who radiate energy and give us positive affirmation. Feeling safe and valued in their presence is one of the most important sources of recharging emotional energy.

But that also means we should think about which people are costing us energy. Sometimes it is necessary to separate from people who only drain our emotional energy reserves for a long time.

Our work can likewise become an emotional energy drain if we ourselves do not feel it is meaningful. The attitude we have toward our work largely determines how much emotional energy is available to us.

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Spiritual energy

All mental activities cost us energy. Writing a complex report, an intense meeting, analyzing data, or working through emails. Every decision, even if it is only the decision in the restaurant at the sight of the menu, reduces the supply of our mental energy.

The more decisions we had to make during the day, the more tired we feel in the evening. If we force the mentally tired body to make further decisions deep into the night, we find them increasingly difficult. The body consumes high levels of glucose and oxygen for mental activities.

Physical activity helps us here to replenish the empty reservoir. But also the conscious switching to emotional energy. A drink with a friend and relaxed laughter with someone we feel comfortable with fills the energy reservoir faster and more effectively than an evening on the couch. But if the appointment also means additional stress, a warm bath with your favorite magazine will help.

Individual energy strengths

Each person has individual energy levels and there is usually at least one energy level in which we have a strength. So it happens that a run of 15 km through difficult terrain may give us little trouble, but after a short phone call with the brother or sister we feel completely exhausted and would prefer to retire to the sofa for a power nap.

Analyzing exactly where our strengths and weaknesses lie helps us to make sure that we regularly recharge all three forms of energy.