How to Increase Energy & Happiness Levels Within 1 Month

My “New” Reading Habit

I’m trying to squeeze more reading time into my daily routine additionally to reading before bedtime (need to finish these 18 unread books lol).

So I started to read at least 20 pages each morning when I get up (a habit building technique I found on James Clear’s blog). It’s working really well so far and I enjoy that time of the day when everything is still quiet.

Most of the books in my unread pile are about happiness.

My current read is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. The search for happiness, how people define it, what happiness means in different parts of the world and for people individually, these are questions that drive me (and the content of my blog).

Why I Relate to Gretchen Rubin

In her book, Gretchen Rubin describes how she wasn’t unhappy or depressed with her life – but how she felt that she could be happier overall.

That’s a feeling I can relate to and I think many others can as well (probably the reason why this book was in the New York Times bestseller list for more than 2 years and sold like hot cakes. Reading it 10 years after it was first published, I might be a little late to the party – but whatever).

Sometimes, the days just pass by filled with work and suddenly half the year has gone by without me realizing it. And with many opportunities to work on my personal happiness gone forever.

So what did Gretchen Rubin do? After a couple of months of research (she’s a lawyer turned writer), she set up 12 resolutions, that she tackled monthly starting at the beginning of the year.

The Link Between Energy & Happiness

Her first resolution was to boost her energy, so she spent the complete month of January doing things like

• decluttering her home,
• exercising regularly,
• crossing long overdue, nagging tasks off of her to-do list
• and improving her sleep quality.

Decluttering is something that definitely improves my energy and happiness as well, even if it’s just a small space that I’m tidying up.

I hate cleaning but I hate it even more when stuff just lies around and clutter secretly piles up in an unused space. Mostly because then the space looks ugly and my mind feels cluttered, too.

We’ve done a major decluttering project this Jan after watching Marie Kondo on Netflix (like probably everybody who watched that series) and although that took quite some time, we felt energized and happy once it was done.

Same goes for having a regular exercise routine, moving my body (even a short walk often helps me) and having healthy sleep habits.

But where I definitely have room for improvement is tackling nagging and long overdue tasks…

What about you, how do you boost your energy? Does any of the above mentioned things make you happier and feel more energized? Comment below and let me know (nice, it rhymes :)).

I haven’t finished the book yet, am super curious to learn more about Gretchen Rubin’s year focusing on her happiness and hope it sparks more ideas for my own journey.

Once I’m done, I’ll update this post, promise 🙂

Weekly Nuggets of Wisdom

Here’s this week’s list full of inspiring content – I hope you enjoy it!

…reading:

The first chapter of Gretchen Rubin’s book is accessible on her website as a free PDF, which I’m linking to here: Chapter 1 – Boost Energy.

What’s not included in that PDF are the “Note to Reader” and “Getting Started” chapters, where she explains her whole reasoning of doing her Happiness Project in the first place prior to the actual chapters.

…watching:

TEDxBeaconStreet: “What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness.” by Robert Waldinger. This is one of the 25 most popular TED Talks ever and has been watched more than 27 million times.

Robert Waldinger is the 4th director of the Harvard study about adult development, that started in 1938 and it was in its 75th year when the TEDx talk happened.

724 men were surveyed on a yearly basis (their wives joined at a later stage) and as their lives progressed, the Harvard study teams learned what really matters for living a healthy, happy and long life. About 13 minutes long.

…listening:

“Just got paid” by Sigala, Ella Eyre and Meghan Trainor feat. French Montana. That song just makes me happy and is my go-to song for short happy dance sessions in the living room.

…doing:

Need a little energy boost in the afternoon? These “Dark Chocolate Hemp Energy Bites” by Minimalist Baker look SO yummy AND you only need 6 ingredients. You could be done creating these in less than 30 minutes, imagine that!

Unfortunately, I still haven’t managed to find hemp seeds in Dubai, but these energy bite-sized balls rank very high on my need-to-try-once-I-find-hemp-seeds-recipe list!

I hope you’re having a beautiful day!