The Internal Energy Dilemma
Since becoming an adult, I’ve considered myself to be a highly ambitious person. I knew what I wanted and then I would do whatever I could to achieve my goals. As an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, I double majored in Art History and French, traveled to another country which I had never been to in hopes of improving my French skills, was president of a student club my senior year, and graduated with two honors distinctions. When I made the decision that I wanted to continue my education and get a graduate degree, I set my goals to get into a prestigious university and, thankfully, achieved that goal. Massive brag now over and I promise it is relevant to this discussion.
In my last semester of graduate school, I wrote a twenty-plus page thesis and was dealing with the start of what would become one of the largest global pandemics in a century. Thankfully, I completed my thesis and passed all of my other courses, but I struggled through it. I didn’t fully understand what was happening with me. I like academics and learning, and was typically, a very enthusiastic student. At first, I wrote it off as the shift into remote learning as being a difficult one for me. I didn’t realize how important the physical, in-person interaction with other students and professors was for me (so to the students who are currently dealing with this, I’m sorry!). Analyzing this period of time for me in retrospect, I now understand that an energy shift occurred in me. And this shift was a massive one.
Since the pandemic began, I have been dealing with intense low energy. I have always complained of chronic fatigue since I entered my twenties, but this type of low energy is different. Before, I could always complete the tasks that I wanted or had to. I had motivation. Now, I have a hard time doing more than reading and going on walks every once in a while. To combat this energetic lethargy, I try working out, but even that only gives me some energy for a couple of hours.
I have to say, as someone who is so used to being productive and enthusiastic when approaching my goals, lacking in motivation and energy is infuriating. Even if I wasn’t an ambitious person I’m certain that this daily lack of energy would be infuriating. And I’m exhausted of being exhausted.
I like to relate to people or perhaps have my own feelings validated by asking my friends if they are feeling similar ways to me. More often than not, at least one of my friends is feeling a similar way when I am dealing with certain feelings or situations in my life. We all may experience things in a unique way, but many times we share similar experiences. I have expressed to my friends my frustration surrounding my lack of energy to do things and most of them are feeling a similar sense of lethargy to some degree. Some are feeling even more so, unfortunately.
In a New York Times article titled “Are Companies More Productive During the Pandemic?” David Gelles explores the productivity levels since most companies have started working remotely. Actually, in the short-term, companies have found that their employees are just as productive as they were pre-pandemic, if not more so. The article examines how this productivity surge is contingent on the type of work you are doing. People who work mostly by themselves are more likely to have had this increase in productivity, while those who work with clients or in tandem with other co-workers are having a harder time. However, leaders in these organizations are questioning the quality of their employees' work and are concerned with the long-term results of working remotely. They fear that the lack of face-to-face working and self-isolation will lead to burnout and other mental health issues. The article asserts that this is due to the fact that working with co-workers in-person attributes to one’s motivation and energy levels.* Please find a link to the article at the bottom of this post if you are interested in learning more.
So, it's good to hear that some people have been experiencing a spike in productivity, and I hope that continues for them! I hope the longer we have to self-isolate and work remotely does not lead to burnout and loneliness as many predict.
For those of us who are feeling this low energy effect due to living remotely right now (and in the unfortunate event that others start to feel burnout in the future), what are some ways in which we can combat this? Please note: these are suggestions for people feeling like they need a jumpstart, if you are dealing with anything more serious I would encourage contacting a mental health professional.
Do as I suggested in my post about the effects of self-isolation on mental health: connect with a loved-one or friend. And, make this a frequent act. Make sure you connect with this friend on a weekly basis, that way you can each look out for one another.
Do everything you can to not get into a hopeless mindset. Just because you are feeling down multiple days in a row and are not able to do as many things as you would like to doesn’t mean that you are going to feel that way forever. So, don’t allow your mind to get into a cycle of convincing yourself that you're always going to feel like this. That can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. We don’t want that! If you continue to feel in such a way, I encourage you to seek out a friend to talk about how you are feeling, if not a health professional.
Find something that you’re interested in and devote some time to that. This could be drawing, playing a video game, or learning about something new. Doing something little like this can get you to start feeling motivated about other things, too.
Get inspired by others! We learned that there was actually a productivity surge in companies during the first few months of the pandemic. Take some inspiration from this and help it motivate you to get moving in aspects of your own life. If someone else can do it, why not you?
If you like to exercise, get your heart-rate up! Moving your body can actually give you energy due to the endorphins released during exercise.
Create habits that bring you back to the present moment and out of your head for a few seconds. This could be writing in a journal, yoga, mindful eating, or meditating. Being in the present moment allows you to become more aware of yourself and your surroundings. This could be different to what your mind had you believe! In the present moment, you have nothing to worry about and can just simply exist. This sounds really nice to me.
Although I still feel like I have less energy than I typically do; through working out, meditation, and writing posts like this, I am able to gain some of that energy back. And, feel a sense of accomplishment! For the first time in my adult life, I am able to focus on creative outlets, which makes me feel inspired! Even though on some days I still feel too low energy to be motivated, I feel deep down this feeling is momentary, because I have ways to get past these moments. I feel inspired to work past this intense lethargy and that is a big first step. In fact, at this moment, I feel a tidal wave of motivation and that fact alone is substantial. You could feel this way, too!
*Gelles, D. (2020, June 23). Are Companies More Productive in a Pandemic? Retrieved October 01, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/business/working-from-home-productivity.html
Further resources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/business/working-from-home-productivity.html
