Three energy-boosting techniques for busy parents

The intensity of blurred work and family life boundaries throughout the global pandemic has often meant constantly switching between parenting and professional mode with very little time for self-care.

While the dream of escaping immediate surroundings for a much-needed change of scene is slowly edging closer towards reality, after the emotional rollercoaster of the last year the secret to revitalisation likely lies beyond a week’s summer break. Especially if you have all the family in tow.

In addition to some holiday R&R, now is a really good time to consider whether there are also small acts of self-care and compassion that you can start to weave into your daily routine. This is about giving focus to the little things you can do to continuously top up your energy levels bit-by-bit and – once restored – prevent your tank from reaching empty.

Here are three simple energy-boosting techniques from psychology that can help to recharge your resources each day:

Adopt a ritual that’s meaningful to you.

In today’s chaotic world, rituals are the little moments that help you to re-centre and catch your breath amongst all the busyness. They have been shown within the neuroscience research to have a buffering effect against uncertainty by offering a sense of personal control, which in turn can help us to feel less frazzled and more focused. It also aligns to recent research into the energy-enhancing benefits of taking microbreaks throughout the day. And the more we put them into practice, the more meaningful they become.

What regular ritual can you put into practice? Choose something that you enjoy; something that gives you a sense of pleasure. Rituals can also help you to recharge before you make the family to work or work to family mental switch. I recently spoke to a Dad who enjoys a short park walk with his favourite takeaway coffee between school drop off and the start of the working day. For me, it’s listening to a podcast for 10 minutes on my way to collect my son from childcare.

Set a simple intention for the week.

Setting a simple intention for how you want to approach the week can help you make the most of your precious time and energy resources. This likely requires that you first make peace with the fact that you will never get through everything on your to-do list! Doing so allows you to re-focus and prioritise what’s most important and feel more empowered through doing so.

As you progress through the week, it’s also essential to keep an eye out for the little clues that signal you need a moment’s pause. For me, that’s searching for a sugar hit in the kitchen cupboard, made all the more accessible while working from home.

A simple intention I’ve recently implemented is to save e-mail checking for working hours, which means leaving my mobile phone elsewhere in the evening. Instant access to e-mail can be a massive energy drain, and this small act really does make a big difference to the way I feel by the end of the day.  

Celebrate your small successes.

Feeling that you are making daily progress plays an important role in increasing your energy reserves and engagement levels. The challenge with this is that we often set the bar for success very high. Our vast number of family and work demands can also create a baseline level of anxiety that masks any sense of achievement.

In addition to this, we have an innate negativity bias to contend with. As humans, we tend to focus on and pay attention to negative experiences over positive. This can influence how we think, feel and act, and can leave us feeling emotionally exhausted at the end of a tough week.

You can challenge this bias by ending each day with just a few minutes of reflection on what’s energised you. Consciously recall what’s gone well; even the smallest of seemingly insignificant successes are worth celebrating. Giving special attention to positive experiences will help to build up a store of positive mental images that you can draw on in future when you need a bit of a boost. An extra bonus – getting into the habit of recognising your small wins each day also builds up your confidence and self-efficacy.

Jayne Ruff – Chartered Occupational Psychologist & Founder of Parenting Point.

Parenting Point exists to give everyone the self-belief that they can flourish as a parent and a professional by positively aligning both worlds. We help parents find their meaningful and fulfilling work-life balance through practical, psychology-based workshops and coaching. We work with organisations to create positive and inclusive performance cultures that support and encourage the growth of working parents.