Have you ever found yourself in a place where you are slow and fatigued every day? Do you stay up late, fueling fatigue? Are you discovering that breaking the habit of going to bed late is an ongoing process? If so, have faith.

This was me for a long time. Then I realized that there were aspects of my life that contributed to this low energy. In turn, the reduced energy levels affected my confidence.

I began to recognize this as an opportunity to develop a way to go from having virtually no energy to feeling motivated to move and do.

The personal development research that I have completed over the years, and which I still continue on a daily basis, is revealing that certain aspects must be in place for my energy levels, and therefore my mood and confidence, increase:

Energy strategy – Raise your mood constantly every morning

1. A good night’s sleep, or if not, have time during the day to rest and make up for lost sleep. Being able to take control and do this when you can helps you stay in control of your physical and mental energy throughout the day.

2. Some type of movement to make the energy flow: that is, exercise, do [a] physical tasks, etc.

3. Some kind of technique to release luggage and help you feel more of a sense of connection with yourself, others, the world, the universe, for example, Emotional Freedom Therapy (‘Tapping’)

4. Fuel (good food): so that your brain works at the optimal level

5. Water: a good amount throughout the day to increase electrical activity in the brain. The ideal is said to be 2 to 6 liters per day.

6. Clean, tidy and orderly environment, which helps you feel more energetic and in control.

7. Some sort of positive, prioritized set of goals that you know you can accomplish in the day, even if you’re on a stretch: for example, a to-do list

8. Some kind of set of positive, achievable and realistic deadlines – so your mind knows that there is an end point that you can actually achieve.

9. A healthy balance of equality (eg routine) and difference (eg variety, different activities, different ways of doing things). This helps meet (according to personal growth specialist Anthony Robbins), two of our key human needs

10. Some kind of reward system for a job well done, even if it’s just sunbathing for a few moments or patting yourself on the back.

An important element of this is that you participate in the above at the level that is right for you on that particular day.

If you’ve had little or no sleep, you may need to do more tapping or more movement to get the same amount of energy flowing as when you slept longer. If you feel out of place, you may have to watch what you eat that day a lot more than when you feel a little better.

The above list constitutes a strategy that I have come up with thus far, in a rough order of priority, but is by no means an exhaustive list.

I know how I can feel in the morning. Some mornings I feel like my energy is at zero. However, I know I have things to do, so resting in bed is not an option.

The above is a simple set of tools to get me from zero (in terms of energy) to level five, level eight, or even nine on a consistent basis. These tools, while easy enough, have had a significant impact on my mood and life. I hope they can help you too.