My 3 Most Used Energy Hacks

Energy drinks. Coffee. Meditation. Tea. Stretching. Pushups. Talking to myself in the mirror.

I’ve tried everything to figure what was the best pick me up.

Here’s what I’ve found.

Green tea every morning

Believe it or not, I used to drink a Monster energy drink every morning. I actually really like the taste of energy drinks, but family and friends grew concerned when I told them this. “Those are so bad for you!” they’d say. I would always say that there isn’t any evidence of that, but it was the same argument every time.

After two straight years of having one every morning, my body began to feel different. If I didn’t have once soon after I woke up, I would get extreme headaches and later in the day, my body would be a bit achy and jittery as if I needed another one to keep me going. I decided to try and switch to coffee to see how that would affect me instead. It was a hard switch since I liked to be able to just pick out a can from my fridge in the morning.

I switched to iced coffee from Starbucks with no sweetener and just a little bit of half and half. After about a week, I completely forgot about energy drinks. It was easy to switch from and provided enough oomph to not give me any headaches. I really liked how coffee didn’t really affect my body the same energy drinks did - no more jittery or aching feelings in the late afternoon.

The problem with coffee is that I didn’t like how it made my breath smell, stained my teeth, and made my stomach upset to the point where I would have to furiously use the bathroom every afternoon.

It didn’t take as long for me to switch from coffee to tea. Although it involved the most effort to prepare, I found drinking green tea in the morning (yes it has caffeine) to be the ultimate pick me up. Light, warm, and tasty.

I have been drinking tea every morning for the past 5 years now and because tea is good for you, I also get excited for afternoon tea as well. I really can’t say anything bad about tea, although some people will think the taste is too bland, but it’s easy to get used to.

Massage therapy every month

I didn’t know there was a thing called “massage therapy” and I just thought all massages are the same. Typically, you go to a massage to relax your muscles and body, which feels great, but could be harmful to your productivity and energy levels.

Then, I learned about massage therapy from an old friend, Dr. Vasili Gatsinaris who is a chiropractor in Orange County, California and owner of Next Level Wellness. Massage therapy is a science of massage that reinvigorates your muscles to unleashes untapped energy into your body. Massage therapists use exclusive massage techniques to ensure your problem areas don’t hold back or disrupt your natural flow of energy within your body. Instead of feeling relaxed after a massage, you feel reinvigorated! Now, I made this a monthly habit and it has paid off big time!

Physical exercise everyday

Everyday?! Yes! Each day of my week, I force myself to do at least 30 minutes to one hour of exercise. Three to four days a week I will do hardcore physical exercise at the gym for an hour and on my off days, I do less strenuous exercise that also gives me a chance to do other fun activities such as hiking.

I love hiking because it provides physical exercise, a chance to think about the week or ponder any thoughts that have been in my head, and allow me the chance to see beautiful scenery. There are many hiking places all over the world including ones where you live. Even if you live in a city, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a hiking spot that’s close to your home, well unless you live in Tokyo.

I think it’s important to save a part of every day for physical exercise because science has proven that exercise not only gives you more energy throughout your day, but it also leads to a happier life. Alternative exercise activities include swimming, bicycling, running, skiing, etc. As long as you stay active everyday, you will begin to see the benefits of daily physical exercise in your energy levels.

Those are my three tips that I use the most to increase my energy levels. What have you incorporated in your life to keep your energy high?