At home during the day, I leave the dishes in the sink, the laundry in the dryer, mail on the counter, etc. and so forth.
I clean up NOTHING. I leave a mess in my wake. (I clean it up at the end of the workday.)
I used to feel bad about it. Then, today, while I was eating lunch and reading a segment from Tim Ferriss’ book.
It was his interview with Seth Godin. (I love me some Seth Godin.) Seth said “I eat the same thing for breakfast every day. It is one less decision I have to make.”
Y’all OMG.
One of the business gurus I admire the most is just like me! He has streamlined his breakfast. I HAVE STREAMLINED MY BREAKFAST. (I eat the same thing for breakfast every day.)
I don’t cook right now. I get meals from a fresh meal place in town. At lunch, I don’t stand in the kitchen and wonder what to eat. I open the fridge, pull out a meal, nuke it, eat it, (and read some Seth Godin). I do not waste energy during the day thinking about what to eat.
Sometimes I *do* cook. If I do that, I cook on Sunday and I prepare components to cook during the week, so I can grab three containers and throw them together and cook them. I prepare everything so I don’t have to think.
WHAT’S ALL THIS ABOUT NOT HAVING TO THINK?
A lot of people (including sometimes me) try to work 12 hours a day. That is not terribly effective because we only have so much mental energy. If I waste it on what to eat for breakfast, I can’t use it on my business.
Working on a book spreadsheet last week, I listened to Amy Porterfield’s podcast about getting more done in less time or with less energy and her guest was talking about how our brains can basically make 200 decisions a day, and once we’ve done that, we’re toast.
If I waste it on what socks to wear. . . well. . . I can’t get as much done in my business. Same thing if I do the dishes during the day. (Unless I use dish doing for a little break from my desk. You know your life is exciting if you use doing the dishes as a break. Ha!)
Over and over and over again I read the same thing about batching tasks and monitoring my time to be more efficient. And when I do that, it works and I get more valuable projects done.
THAT IS HELLA EXTREME, GIRL!
You might be reading this and thinking, “THAT IS TERRIBLE. SHE EATS THE SAME THING EVERY DAY FOR BREAKFAST SO SHE CAN DO MORE WORK?”
It depends on your priorities. My priority is not eating an interesting breakfast every day. I’d rather eat the same thing Monday-Friday so I can get my work done and take the weekends off.
So, the answer to the title: How DO I conserve mental energy? is: I limit my decision making during the day.
‘CAUSE WE CAN’T DO IT ALL!
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