Reflections on the week
During this week, I started focusing on gradually increasing the amount of exercise I’m doing, particularly exercise that raises my heart rate. I think this helps improve my mental energy, but there’s a complicated trade-off: physical fatigue and mental fatigue are linked to some extent. For me, what happens in practice is that a session of high intensity exercise gives a boost to mental energy, but if I exhaust myself physically then this boost often fades quickly.
There’s a longer-term effect, because exercise improves my sleep quality. I think the best approach for me is to maintain a habit of frequent high intensity exercise (that is, several times a week whenever possible) but experiment with the timing of the exercise during the day. Exercising in the afternoon may be better for preserving my mental energy. Of course, a plan like this is optimistic during a time when I’m busy (and most in need of mental energy).