Your energy is low but you don’t know what is draining your energy
You wish to do things and wish you had more energy, but you’re always so exhausted that you feel like you have no further capacity to do anything other than just lie down or check your phone.
We say time is important, and yes it is, but we often forget about how energy matters too.
We may have all the time, but if we don’t have energy then we won’t be able to do anything even if we may desire.
We may have less time, but if we have the energy to feel good and have the desire to do it, then we will be able to make time for it no matter what.
But just as how you use your time is in your hands, how you use your energy is also in your hands.
And today I want to point out the top energy-draining habits that are always keeping you low.
Here they are.

1. Not getting enough sleep
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Every day we are given 24 hours and what we do with that 24 hours is up to us.
Every day we are also given a 100% battery life, which is our 100% energy provided we have slept for 7-8 hours.
I like to see energy as a personal human battery life.
I feel it so- how sleep recharges us to carry on with our day.
I also find sleep so mystical.
It is as if keeping our bodies on charge mode while we sleep and the Universe kindly recharges us all night in our sleep and our bed is just a medium where we keep our bodies to rest.
Our phones doing all their work need 2 hours to get charged.
For us humans, it’s 7-8 hours.
I have known many young adults- my brothers and sisters saying they stay up for 2-3 days without sleeping or say proudly that they can go the whole night without sleeping.
But there is nothing to be proud of. This is not an achievement.
When we don’t sleep we disrupt the flow of the Universe.
Please keep sleep its priority because good sleep is needed for your body and mind to rest, recharge, think more clearly, concentrate and process emotions.
P.S How sleep affects our energy levels
2. Bad Sleep schedule affects our energy level
A bad sleep schedule affects our energy levels more than anything.
There used to be a time when I used to wake up at around 11 am or even afternoon and still feel tired even after getting more than 8 hours of sleep.
My bad sleep schedule for the cause of it.
I had no routine, no direction and no meaning in life and that too drained my energy.
I had very low energy and I would sit down to even brush my teeth in the morning.
Slowly, as I deliberately decided to improve my sleep schedule, my anxieties disappeared slowly, sleep started coming early naturally and so did my energy return.
But I had to try a lot to improve my sleep schedule. And finally, now it’s improved and I know how much it matters.
I have written more about my sleep problems and how I overcame them in this post, on how to sleep better with anxiety
P.S How to fix your sleep schedule
3. Getting too much sleep drains energy
I think there are two kinds of extremes with people. People who end up sleeping too little and people who end up sleeping too much.
Both are extremes and must be avoided. And it can be if you are only willing to change and see how it goes.
As I said, I used to be someone who slept a lot. This was in my teenage years. I slept till late in the morning and even after waking up, still pass my time in bed because I felt like I didn’t have anything to do after waking up.
So I slept a lot and it drained my energy.
I had no energy to do anything else.
I would just lie down after doing every little thing.
In this case, getting too much sleep was what was draining all my energy.
Remember, you CAN stop all of these bad sleeping habits starting today.
You need not wait for some other day to improve your sleep.
When the future comes, that will come as today too.
The point of change is only today.
P.S Why sleeping makes you more tired
4. Checking social media compulsively
Just as junk food is bad for the body, junk thoughts are bad for the mind.
The content we see on social media is all junk food for the mind that brings us junk thoughts and makes our minds heavy and burdened without our knowing.
They drain our energy even though we might think we’re only watching and not working.
But our brain is processing all this information for us and taking in every reel, every comment, every post.
It exhausts our minds with all the information. And mental exhaustion is as tiring as physical exhaustion.
I want to tell you- nothing drains our energy more than checking our phones and social media compulsively every 5 minutes.
It is such a big energy vampire that I cannot emphasise it enough.
You can experiment with it yourself – Go a day without checking your phone. Just one day. Take it as an experiment and see if you can feel the difference in your energy level.
I never use my phone first thing in the morning like I used to and this small habit has changed my life.
Not checking my phone as soon as I wake up has also been major for me.
This year my goal is to use my phone intentionally. I tell myself that every time I check my phone, it should have a purpose and not be useless.
Another way I am trying to reduce my screen time is to check social media only at a designated time and check my phone only while checking my phone, not when I am walking, reading, working or anything else.
P.S. Ways to reduce screen time for adults.
5. No movement and exercise
If you have no movement and no exercise in your day, then you are bound to feel low on energy.
Exercise boosts our mood.
Just like checking too much screen time is an energy drainer, exercise is an energy-giver.
If you are low on energy, just stretch for 10 minutes.
You will feel so much better and your energy will return.
I no longer wait to feel good and motivated to exercise. I exercise to feel good and motivated.
After a good stretch and exercise my energy always returns and it is my go-to energy giver.
P.S How I made myself love working out
6. Not having a proper routine
Not having a proper routine and order in your day and spending away your time uselessly also drains our energy.
Meaninglessness drains our energy. When we have no hope and no direction in life, that too drains our energy.
But you don’t have to worry too much about what meaning your life holds or if you have or do not have hope in life.
Just focus on spending your time well and work on crafting a simple daily routine for yourself that you know would bring a lot of joy.
Research and find out in what ways you can spend your time more constructively.
Having a proper morning routine and evening routine goes a long way in improving our energy levels.
I say this because I have felt it in my own life.
How low I used to feel when I didn’t have a proper routine and knowledge about how to spend my time, and how I feel now with a proper routine.
The difference in energy level is remarkable.
So if you are feeling low on energy, start afresh each day and strive to use your time wisely with a simple morning and evening routine.
Here is some help from me
- How to stick to a simple daily routine
- My morning routine rituals
- 30 things to learn when bored
- How to spend me-time intentionally
7. Multi-tasking
When we are constantly shifting our focus from one thing to the next, that drains our energy too.
We simply aren’t meant for multi-tasking.
When I am overwhelmed and see a lot of work to be done, I end up multitasking and it drains my energy even further. The work degrades, my focus degrades and I end up feeling even more overwhelmed and in the end, nothing much gets done.
Compared to that, I have noticed a difference in my energy levels when I am doing things one at a time.
When I do things slowly one at a time without rush, without hurry, I am much more relaxed and my energy is there even after I am done.
The work surprisingly gets done much faster with better focus and quality and I end up feeling good.
So if you’re feeling drained, consider how much you’re multi-tasking on things and give it up.
Do things one at a time. And while you’re at it, be with it completely and don’t think of what you have to do next.
Let there be no rush.
P.S. How to slow down: 8 rituals for slowing down.
8. Complaints are energy drainers
Complains are another big energy drainer and till you engage with this energy-draining habit with unawareness, your energy levels will continue to be low.
Quit complaining. Let things be how it is.
Learn to accept them for how they are.
Quit complaining about how people are. You cannot change them.
Quit complaining about how things are. If you can change them, change them. If not, don’t complain.
Don’t let everything get to you. You are much stronger than the petty issues that bother you.
9. Being around negative people
Everything is energy. I am energy and you are energy too.
We are just bundles of energy in a living body and we take up other people’s energy all the time.
Being around negative people- people who are always criticizing, complaining, gossiping and talking about the burdens of life drains our energy and life force.
Notice how you feel when you are around with people.
Who makes you feel good? Who makes you laugh?
Who makes you feel panicky? Who makes you feel tense?
Maintain a healthy distance from people who drain your energy whether it is your family member, a friend, a colleague or anyone else.
And if you’re in a negative relationship where there are sadder and energy-draining moments than happy ones, you should leave it too.
10. Overwork
Some of us are too tempted to work.
We feel any free time we get must be filled with pending work and we don’t want to waste any time.
We feel everything else that is not working is useless.
This usually happens when we’re working for ourselves. We are so caught up with work and we feel proud of it.
We feel working is good and not working is bad.
But that is not the mindset to have.
Always choose the middle path. Work when you have to. Set a designated time for work. Don’t let work seep into all your waking hours where you give no time for your wellness, family and most of all, your life.
Your work is not your life. Please remember that.
Your work is just a part of your life and to make it a wonderful part of your life, you have to do it with joy.
Overwork never brings joy. It only brings exhaustion and it ultimately affects how you show up for your work.
So strive to maintain your balance and keep your energy level high.
11. People Pleasing drains your energy
Being fake and trying to please everyone is another energy drain.
We drain our energy every time we are not being truly ourselves.
When we have to constantly try to maintain our worth and our perception of people, it drains our energy.
The less you care how people perceive you and the less you care to maintain that perception people have of you, the more energy you will have to do other meaningful things.
Let people think what they want to.
If you know who you are and how you are, other people’s opinions won’t matter at all.
12. Cluttered living Space
Our energy is also affected by our living space.
Most of the time, our outer living space reflects our inner life state.
But the opposite can also hold.
If you want to have more energy, take care of your surroundings.
Clutter creates stress and makes us feel heavy and burdened.
Declutter and keep your home spacious and light.
Let the natural lights and fresh air come in.
Live in a clean and tidy bedroom. Always make your bed. Keep your desk tidy and see what a difference it makes in your mood and energy levels.
13. Not drinking enough water
How much water do you drink in a day?
We humans are 70% water. We need water for our wellbeing.
So if your energy level is low and you’re not sure what is draining your energy, just drink water.
Keep a water bottle with you all the time and drink water regularly.
14. Eating unhealthy food
What foods are you feeding yourself?
Our food affects our energy level.
Junk foods make us heavy. Processed food makes us lazy.
Here are 7 foods that drain your energy.
Eat healthy food. Try to eat as much home-cooked vegetarian food to keep you light and going.
15. Gossip and Drama
Lastly, save yourself from gossip and drama.
Simplify your life. Hold boundaries or cut off people who bring in all the news and drama into your life.
You deserve to be in a quiet and peaceful era.
Stop being concerned with what happened to someone or what he/she did or did not do.
It is their life. Let them do what they want to.
You do what you want to.
Leave out gossip. It is only your ego that likes it.
Your higher soul has nothing to do with it.
So these are all the habits that drain your energy

Be mindful of your habits. Because it is our habits that make or break our life.
Give priority to maintaining your energy this year.
Keep being mindful of what is draining your energy and what is uplifting it.
Keep experimenting with your energy levels.
Then do less of the things that drain your energy and more of the things that uplift your energy.
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