There’s a term called energy level. Intuitively, you might think it’s the degree of tiredness, but it’s a bit broader and more complex than physical fatigue. Actually, even when extremely tired, energy can come and I can code for a few more hours before sleeping, and conversely, even when not tired, energy levels can drop and I can’t do anything all day.

There are broadly three types of this energy, and here’s the priority from top to bottom for considering that I have energy:

1. Is it a very important thing to me?
2. Is it enjoyable?
3. Am I physically okay?

But I recently realized that these situations are mostly external factors, and there’s another factor that determines my day. In one sentence, it’s How much am I fully in control of my day?

When thinking about the conditions needed to spend the day well and go to sleep feeling good, there were the following major turning points:

1. Did I meditate and go wash instead of immediately checking YouTube or my phone after waking up?
2. Did I eat only after a certain time (2+ hours) had passed since waking up?
3. Did I not eat snacks?
4. Did I exercise?

I found that when these conditions were met, I could spend my day more focused, and my output also increased significantly. Because these behaviors helped maintain the low point of my energy level high, I’ve recently been making efforts to make them into a routine.