5 Unexpected Reasons Why You Don’t Have Energy

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If you’re wondering why you feel tired all the time and don’t have any energy left in your body – you’ve come to the right place!

Most of the blog posts about this topic talk about health-related or physical problems that might cause you to have low energy. So, if you’re looking for a list of causes such as: low water intake, bad eating habits, and poor sleeping schedule – I’m sorry to disappoint you but this is not it!

In this post, I share the 5 hidden reasons why your energy is at its lowest and what you can do about it.

Are you ready to find both the causes of your low energy and the right solutions? Then, let’s get started!

Last updated on July 20, 2024

Why You Feel Tired All the Time

Problem #1: No Time for Self-Reflection

The first reason why you don’t have energy is that you struggle to make time for yourself.

From the moment you wake up to the moment you crawl back to bed, your mind is spinning around thinking of: what you have to do, what is expected of you, and what others’ opinions are if you do XYZ.

Am I wrong? I doubt so. I function the same way you do.

So yes, accept the fact that you rarely make time for yourself.

And also accept that other people – and so their opinions, judgments, and ideas – influence you even if they’re not physically present at the moment.

All of that, though, is external and shouldn’t be affecting you at all times.

Realizing this is the first step toward making sure that you carve out some time for you just to be…you.

I want to encourage you to use your alone time to stop scrolling through social media to see what you’re “missing out” on.

Forget the FOMO, and embrace JOMO (Joy of Missing Out)!

If most of the time you are running – like a ham in a wheel – thinking that you’re moving ahead when instead you’re not moving forward, how can you expect to create and live the life you desire?

If you don’t take the time to reflect on yourself, your decision, and your present moment – you’re living life on autopilot.

Without identifying what triggers you, you’ll be stuck in the same loop.

Solution #1: Journaling for Self-Discovery

If you don’t take the time to know yourself and what you want out of life, you’ll end up living your life based on others’ terms.

How can you get a better grasp of who you truly are and what it is that you really desire? Fear not, because I’m here to help you out!

If you’re only getting started with self-discovery, I recommend you download these FREE “30 Journaling Prompts for Self-Discovery” – ideal if you want to just get started on a self-discovery journey!

Want to dig a bit deeper? In need of some more inspiration? Get access to the FREE “50 Ultimate Journal Prompts for Self-Discovery”

Problem #2: Constant Interruptions

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Technology has made it incredibly easy for us to access unlimited information about any topic.

But…at what cost? We got impatient. Terribly impatient.

If a website doesn’t load quickly, we skip to the next one.

If the Wi-Fi doesn’t work well, we switch to our mobile data in the blink of an eye.

We got impatient with time itself.

We now do only activities that can provide an instant boost of dopamine.

When was the last time you managed to do 1 hour of focused work? Meaning:

• without being interrupted by any notifications from your phone
• not reading any emails
• not mindless scrolling TikTok “for just 2 minutes”

Technology helped us save a lot of time, but, in exchange, we gave it the possibility to interrupt us any time of the day.

You’re taking in external stimuli from the moment you wake up to when you go to sleep through:

• Social media notifications
• Emails popping up on your laptop screen
• Receiving alerts of news from websites
• The never-ending buzzing of your phone

The worst thing is that you’re not even aware of it!

You don’t know how much energy this intake of information takes on you daily, yet you always wonder why you feel so drained and out of energy all the time.

Solution #2: Mindful Social Media Use

This is your sign to take a break – online and offline.

Do a digital detox now and then.

Find a way to make social media less depleting to your mental health.

Reduce your addiction to technology.

Here are some ways that might help you:

• Turn off notifications
• Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode when you’re working
• Set a screen time limit and STICK to it!
• “No Phone” rule for at least 30 minutes after waking up and before going to sleep
• Unfollow people that don’t make you feel good
• Delete social media from your home screen
• Digital detox: no phone for one day a week (only important calls or messages)

Problem #3: Short Attention Span

A study from Microsoft Corp. found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds today.

I mean, think about it: we sleep with our phones in the bedroom, we eat with our phones on the table, and we go to the restroom to scroll our Instagram feed.

We reached the point in which we cannot commit to staying focused for a long time. Even when we’re watching our favorite TV show on Netflix, we often reach our phone to scroll through TikTok!

We are looking for that dopamine high that only quick, engaging content can deliver.

When was the last time you read a book?

Even right now, I’m sure you’re just scanning this blog post and not reading it thoroughly.

Why? You’re not giving it your full mental attention, cause you’re thinking of the next articles you could benefit from.

The perks of technology couldn’t have come without any side effects.

So, even if you have all of the information you need available, now you don’t have enough focus to absorb it thoroughly.

The question now is: “Are you really retaining any information you could benefit from at all?”

Solution #3: Boost Your Focus

Just because we’ve hit rock bottom, it doesn’t mean we can’t find our way back to the surface.

Here are some of the best ways you can lengthen your attention span:

• Practice mindfulness
• Get rid of multitasking
• Always carry a notebook with you to jot down ideas
• Stick to one screen at a time
• Don’t use technology when outside
• Play classic music when working
• Remove any distraction from your work environment

Problem #4: Hunger for “More”

Another energy-sucker is the unlimited hunger for “more”.

You want more. You constantly think of how to get more, do more, and be more.

What if the key to having more energy is not doing more of everything, but doing more of what excites you, makes you happy, and feels good?

Think about it: what do you do when you don’t have energy? You blame yourself because you’re not being productive! Next thing? You surf the web to find ways to be more productive.

The things you need productive with, most of the time, are also the most energy-draining ones. Those are the things that you have to do, not that you want to do.

Solution #4: Do “More” of the Right Things

To have more energy, you need to start doing more of the things that enlighten and recharge you.

That is the key to – ultimately – being more productive in all the other areas of your life.

Stop listening to your ego. Abandon the idea that you must chase more success, money, and love from others.

Find ways in which you can be the one giving more to yourself.

Focus on giving you more peace of mind, more joy, and more mindfulness.

If practicing yoga lights you up, make time for it every day.

Do you feel the most content when painting? Either during your morning – or night – routines, carve out some time to do that, only to nourish your soul.

If you love dancing, even having a 3-minute daily dance party in your living room before going out to face the world might bring you more joy than you ever thought.

Stop chasing the idea of “more” that is dictated by your ego.

Start doing “more” of what your soul lives for.

Problem #5: People Pleasing

Partly connected to the point above, if you want to create more time for what you love, you might have to say ‘no’ to other people.

This can be a tough point to work on because most of us are people-pleasers. There is nothing special about it: as human beings, most likely driven by our ego, we want to be liked by others.

The fastest way to be liked by other people is by accommodating their requests and doing what they expect from us.

Well, you should really think about what you’re saying ‘no’ to whenever you say ‘yes’ to something or someone.

Is that person – or thing – worth your time, or are you dreaming all the time of being somewhere else?

If you find yourself in a situation in which your brain is thinking “I wish I was [somewhere else]… doing [something else]…”, then do yourself a favor and leave (if you can).

We think that money is our most valuable asset – but it’s not. It’s time.

You can always make more money, but you won’t get back time. So treat it as the most precious resource you have in your life because – guess what? It is!

Solution #5: Set Healthy Boundaries

Just because you’ve been a people-pleaser for your whole life, it doesn’t mean you can’t stop it.

The best way to do it? By starting to set healthy boundaries.

Being more mindful of your time might look like:

• saying ‘no’ to your boss when you’re asked to work extra hours
• declining a friend’s invitation to go out for drinks if all you really want to do is chill and read
• working on your side hustle instead of spending 3 hours watching Netflix

It all depends on your priorities. But, recognizing that time is the most valuable thing in the world is the first step to treating it in a valuable way.

Make the most out of the time you have.

Say ‘yes’ to what’s important to you and leave out of your life what doesn’t make a difference.

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I hope this list of not-so-common reasons why you don’t have energy helped you understand where your problems derive from and how to solve them best.

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next time,

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