I wanna be less tired from my job!

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

As a practitioner I feel like a lot of what I do requires mental energy - particularly the raja yoga exercises. I find that my job has me all too often coming home and feeling like my brain's been soaking in a pickle jar all day and put out on a tanning rack to dry on the way home. While I have all the incentive in the world to work at the art, and I do, I can't help but feel like I working with the narrow margin of a budget where my job takes up most of it and it's challenging to come up with ways to reclaim it.

I've already cut out caffeine, that seems to help somewhat. I'm also trying to teach myself how to relax as much as possible and give the minimum effort required for each task by removing as much arbitrary tension and anxiety as possible.

Just wondering if there's anything else that's worked for other people here? As far as working out I've been doing martial arts but had to cut that back to once or twice a week just to buy back recharge time. I feel like there has to be some other angles I can pull in from but I'm not 100% sure what those angles are. Should I start doing Qi Qong or Tai Chi daily? Are there particular meditations that are known to be good for real and lasting invigoration?

[Rin]

Should I start doing Qi Qong or Tai Chi daily?

Certainly can't hurt, as long as you're practicing it under the guidance of a teacher.

Have you considered waking up earlier and practicing before work?

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

I was doing more work early in the morning, however I got to a point where I had to sacrifice that time for sleep. A couple nasty sticking points with my own physiology - 1) I've never been able to govern when I fall asleep, seems like the only way it happens is by dumb luck, enough repetition, and enough melatonin and 2) it seems to be a controversial topic apparently but a good portion of the wear and tare is my attempts to hold a job while functionally ignoring a neurological disability (it's one of those situations where, societally speaking, there's no choice to the contrary).

Tonight is a good example of the the first point - I tried to do the right thing, be in bed by 10PM, I drifted into something a little past border state for an hour or maybe an hour and half, and at present it's almost 1:00 AM, my alarm is set for 6:00AM and I have to be out of bed by 6:30. This kind of thing thankfully only happens maybe a couple times a month anymore but it still shows me that how many factors just aren't in my conscious control. I really doubt there is anything - either medicinal or occult - that would resolve all of the causes, just that any corner I can chip off of the problem is one more card back in my hand.

[Ušušur]

I had similar problems for quite some time. These days, job still exhausts me from time to time but it's never an obstacle to my private life as it used to be.

Every morning, I'm doing some basic aikido workouts. It's a combination of stretching and breathing techniques. I shower in warm then cold water and ride a bike to job (around 20 mins). I don't drink coffee.

At least one hour before I get to bed, I read and try to stay away from monitor screens. I figured out it's simple and it works. Whenever I'm on PC before going to sleep I get all fuzzy in head, but when I read I tend to sleep better and wake up more restful. Also, really really simple workout before bed is also good.

I go to sleep around 11 PM and wake up between 6-7 AM. I don't use alarm for quite some time now as I realized it's stressing my body. Usually a cat or sunrise wakes me up - it's still a 'body stress' but at least not robotic like alarm - or I wake up just by myself.
Interesting thing is, even when I go to bed after 11, I wake up around 6-7. I just can't oversleep as I used to. It's just how my body works now.

Other than that, I really don't think about my job throughout the day. There's an occasional burst of negative or mundane job-related thought which I learned to extinguish quickly enough. If it's not productive, it's not worth thinking about.

[Rin]

I really doubt there is anything - either medicinal or occult - that would resolve all of the causes

Perhaps, perhaps not, the only way to know is to strive for constant self improvement and address the issue from every angle.

I've made some amazing progress in areas of my life which I thought were close to hopeless, simply by seeking out some help with a few things, finding some decent herbal treatments (and other modalities, acupuncture and cupping in particular were of massive benefit with chronic pain) and revamping my diet. The last in particular was huge - it's still very much a work in progress, but I've seen massive benefits from swapping to a more healthy,organic diet and cutting down significantly on the obvious stuff (meat, processed food, non-water drinks and off course junk/snack food).

[Coffee_and_Burberry]

...
Sounds to me like you need a day of nothingness. No plans, not even for "relaxing" activity. Just nothing. No obligations besides feeding yourself and taking dumps. Wear some cozy socks, drink some coffee/tea, watch some netflix and say "fuck every single thing" just for a day at least. That always helps me recharge my batteries. Literally don't do shit. Obligations to go to a class or session of sorts is still something you're going to do. Do nothing. Be as disgustingly lazy as possible.

Me, personally. I put on a sea salt masque, and then take a disturbingly hot shower, sugar scrub and use some aroma therapy products. Then I put on my most comfortable sweats and ugg slippers, light myself some candles, have my favorite foods delivered and just veg the f*ck out. Be it doing some reading, playing video games, online retail therapy, or watching movies. It's my "f*ck everything time."

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

...
Sounds to me like you need a day of nothingness. No plans, not even for "relaxing" activity. Just nothing. No obligations besides feeding yourself and taking dumps. Wear some cozy socks, drink some coffee/tea, watch some netflix and say "fuck every single thing" just for a day at least. That always helps me recharge my batteries. Literally don't do shit. Obligations to go to a class or session of sorts is still something you're going to do. Do nothing. Be as disgustingly lazy as possible.

Me, personally. I put on a sea salt masque, and then take a disturbingly hot shower, sugar scrub and use some aroma therapy products. Then I put on my most comfortable sweats and ugg slippers, light myself some candles, have my favorite foods delivered and just veg the f*ck out. Be it doing some reading, playing video games, online retail therapy, or watching movies. It's my "f*ck everything time."

I've been doing something like a half day of that a couple times a week. It does help tremendously.

[corvidus]

When was the last time you cleansed your internal organs, particularly the colon, liver and kidneys? It's a particularly good idea to cleanse the body twice a year -- at the change of summer to winter, and again at winter to spring.

One major factor in not having enough energy, is that the energy in the 'food' you consume isn't being assimilated efficiently because of all the gunk clogging up the system.

Detoxify the Liver. You can also look for a 'liver flush' recipe that involves epsom salt, olive oil and grapefruit juice.

Detoxify the Colon

Cleanse the Kidneys

[Stukov]

It sounds like to me that you want to do something to have more energy, however sometimes when you are exhausted every day the only way to not be is not to do anything. Literally, relax, get some rest, take a break, get some sleep, just chill out. If you are fully rested and want to recharge "drive" rather than you energy, then do whatever you find entertaining and fun. Whether going out with friends having a drink and some laughs, going hiking, watching a new movie, doing some art, really whatever it is you just enjoy to do no excuses or reason for.

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

When was the last time you cleansed your internal organs, particularly the colon, liver and kidneys? It's a particularly good idea to cleanse the body twice a year -- at the change of summer to winter, and again at winter to spring.

One major factor in not having enough energy, is that the energy in the 'food' you consume isn't being assimilated efficiently because of all the gunk clogging up the system.

I haven't looked into that in a while but it makes sense - it's a bit like cleaning/changing your fuel filter I'd suppose.

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

It sounds like to me that you want to do something to have more energy, however sometimes when you are exhausted every day the only way to not be is not to do anything. Literally, relax, get some rest, take a break, get some sleep, just chill out. If you are fully rested and want to recharge "drive" rather than you energy, then do whatever you find entertaining and fun. Whether going out with friends having a drink and some laughs, going hiking, watching a new movie, doing some art, really whatever it is you just enjoy to do no excuses or reason for.

I have to think also, particularly being a frequent listener of MP Hall's lectures and considering his way of thinking, that we've been given a certain allotment of energy to either use or abuse and to the extent that we abuse it we end up depleted - thus the lesson done properly would be for me to stop abusing what I do abuse rather than ask for more.

I think the challenge with work is that it's a chaotic environment with respect to expectations - ie. even if the work load isn't particularly difficult it doesn't seem like performance isn't benchmarked well at all (or even if at all) and whether a person stays or gets their contract terminated seems be on considerably more spurious factors. I figure if I get fully hired in rather than just being a contractor and particularly if my new boss is as clear a communicator and as organized as I think she'll be (and that they decide that they do or will have enough work to keep me on) I'll be in better shape just because the employment sword of Damocles won't be hanging over my head in the same way. Sometimes I'd figure that being like a mushroom and fed crap and kept in the dark on the future of your ability to get a paycheck can be as energetically expensive as maintaining a big spool of lies about an extra-marital affair or something along those lines.

[Coffee_and_Burberry]

When was the last time you cleansed your internal organs, particularly the colon, liver and kidneys? It's a particularly good idea to cleanse the body twice a year -- at the change of summer to winter, and again at winter to spring.

One major factor in not having enough energy, is that the energy in the 'food' you consume isn't being assimilated efficiently because of all the gunk clogging up the system.

Detoxify the Liver. You can also look for a 'liver flush' recipe that involves epsom salt, olive oil and grapefruit juice.

Detoxify the Colon

Cleanse the Kidneys

...
I agree with that completely.

[E.]

I was at a point where I can relate to you. I landed a dream job and with certain titles come more responsibilities.

With a time consuming job you want to sleep as much even down to the last second the alarm is supposed to go off and sometimes that's not even enough ( appreciating the snooze button ). When I come home from work I want to kick back and have a few beers and watch Netflix or something till its very late and I have 5 hours of sleep before waking time.

I found that on my days off I'm thinking of ideas for work and trying to get all my chores done, it leaves no room for meditation. It takes discipline to give yourself a time limit on chores, for myself I give until 11am and after that I'm free to do whatever I want. With nothing to worry about I can meditate freely and I now have space to work on my endeavors.

Time management is a wonder worker.
Have you found a solution to this dilemma since when you first posted?

Have a good day!
E.

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

I was at a point where I can relate to you. I landed a dream job and with certain titles come more responsibilities.

With a time consuming job you want to sleep as much even down to the last second the alarm is supposed to go off and sometimes that's not even enough ( appreciating the snooze button ). When I come home from work I want to kick back and have a few beers and watch Netflix or something till its very late and I have 5 hours of sleep before waking time.

I found that on my days off I'm thinking of ideas for work and trying to get all my chores done, it leaves no room for meditation. It takes discipline to give yourself a time limit on chores, for myself I give until 11am and after that I'm free to do whatever I want. With nothing to worry about I can meditate freely and I now have space to work on my endeavors.

Time management is a wonder worker.

I remember in my freshman and sophomore years of college I had up to 19 credits a semester and was working 30-35 hours a week. I agree - I was getting things done!

Have you found a solution to this dilemma since when you first posted?

Yes, I have as a matter of fact. I've been unemployed for the last month! [lol]

All jokes aside though I've been interviewing, the interviews are going well, and when this conundrum starts back up again with time and energy budgeting I've started back in on Israel Regardie's One Year Manual. I see some tips and tricks in there where I think by maybe the fifth or sixth part I'll definitely be in a much stronger position in terms of using esoteric techniques to re-energize.

[E.]

I'm so sorry to find out that your not employed. I wish you all the best of luck with finding a new job that you can enjoy.

Take the time to empower yourself as you mentioned earlier.

E.

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

Thanks, and I hope so.

The challenge also - my own higher self seems to be putting me in a state where it's on the side of me being unemployed. Seems like this is an arranged purgation period of sorts and every time I pick up my tarot deck to analyze a new job offer or what I'm supposed to be doing right now it comes out very similar to that effect.