Why Are We Always So Tired? Email chains and social media feeds never rest but we need to.
By Jim Joseph
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
"I'm so tired," has to be one of the most overused sayings these days, right up there along side "I'm so busy" that I wrote about a few weeks ago.
"I'm so tired" comes out of my mouth at least once a day, if not more… morning, noon and night.
"I'm so tired" has become a way of life, a state of being, and a constant norm for so many of us.
"I'm so tired" is often the default answer to "How are you?"
Related: Why Entrepreneurs Should Never Feel Guilty for Sleeping (Infographic)
But if I'm going to be honest, I actually do get a fair amount of sleep. And I exercise every day. And I eat pretty well, for someone who works and travels on a crazy schedule every week. I do pretty well in managing my lifestyle.
So why am I so tired all of the time? Why are we all so tired all of the time? Why has "tired" become the status quo for most of us?
One simple answer, at least in my book: we are over stimulated. We are tired because we are always on. We are always in active mode and it tires us all out. Our power button is always on and it gets tiring.
Related: How CEOs Optimize Their Sleep Schedule
Our email chains and social media feeds never stop, and we have an undying need to keep up with it all. How many of you have gotten up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and end up checking your phone? I'm guilty of it. And we wonder why we're so tired.
So what's the way out of this? Sure, get plenty of sleep, exercise on a regular basis and definitely eat well. Proper care will keep you physically rested and ready to face each day. Those are givens.
Related: Sleep: Why Successful Entrepreneurs Snooze More and Work Less
In terms of mental rest and preparedness, though, try exercising a little focus. Do one thing at a time, and get it done well so you can check it off your tiringly long list. Set aside regular intervals during the day to check emails, pay the bills and monitor social feeds. But don't try to do it all day long, continually. It'll only serve to exhaust you as you try to keep up and get your to-do's done at the same time. Make a daily priority list of the things you want to accomplish that day and try to stick to it. Don't try to start everything all at once… start one thing at a time and then finish it. And then move onto the next. Take breaks to catch up with friends and then hit at it again.
This will help keep you from being tired all day long.
This will actually keep your mind not only focused on what's in front of you, but also fresh to tackle each task one at a time. Then, at the end of the day, you won't be so mentally drained because you've been using your energy wisely rather than wildly. You've been pacing yourself, mentally.
Then that good night's sleep will refuel you to do it again the next day.
Sound good? Sounds good to me… I need to take my own advice.
