Optimizing mental energy

Most professionals are mentally busy but not mentally effective.

Their attention is fragmented. Their thoughts are looping. Their cognitive load is maxed. And while they may appear successful on the outside, their internal bandwidth is being quietly eroded.

Mental energy is your ability to focus, solve complex tasks, and shift your mind into the right state – whether that’s calm and reflective or sharp and action-oriented. and adapt your brain waves to the task at hand. In today’s world, that’s one of your biggest performance advantages.

Your attention is the gateway to everything, including strategy, creativity, intuition, even empathy.

How you spend it determines your effectiveness and overall performance.

But very few of us were ever taught how to work with it.

A cluttered mind can’t see or act clearly. So one of the first things we teach is how to create space.

Here are a few ways to do that:

• Set thought boundaries - not everything deserves your attention.

• Stop over-consuming - give yourself moments of input fasting.

• Work in focus sprints - short, protected blocks of deep work.

We call this “clearing the field”. It removes invisible clutter so your most important thoughts have room to land.

Once the noise dies down, your real thinking can begin.

To set up yourself for success, you need to design your environment, tools, and rhythms to reinforce clarity rather than drain it. For example:

• Have your phone packed away (not in arms reach) as the default during work, and only check it during scheduled time slots.

• Airplane mode during deep work blocks.

• Use a visual board so your brain isn’t holding everything.

• Schedule “white space” hours with no inputs, just time to think.

When your surroundings support your rhythm, clarity stops being something you chase and becomes your default state.

Mental energy is not infinite. But it is renewable, with the right habits.

Here are three daily rituals that make a real difference:

• 3x3 check-in – get in the habit of asking: What am I thinking? What am I sensing? What do I need? This takes 30 seconds but can make a huge difference.  

• 90-minute focus windows - one task, one screen, one space.

• Phone-free time slots – your phone keeps your brain stimulated, whether you like it or not. There’s no way around it – giving your brain a rest requires de-coupling yourself from your phone, ideally for a few hours every day.

These aren’t productivity hacks. They’re habits related to mental hygiene, and can help your brain recover from the micro-trauma of over-stimulation.

We often talk about mindset like it’s about staying positive. But real mindset work is deeper.

It’s about the stories you tell yourself, and how those stories shape your energy.

For example:

• Instead of “I don’t have time,” try “What actually matters today?”

• Instead of “This is too much,” ask “Where can I simplify?”

• Instead of “I can’t slow down,” wonder “What would clarity ask of me right now?”

This is where self-leadership begins: not by doing more, but by listening and seeing things differently. 

The most transformative shifts often start in your internal dialogue.

Start here:
What’s one thing you can remove - digitally or mentally - to create more space this week?

Download our free Energy Scorecard Tracker at www.potentialacademy.org/energytracker to track and rebalance your four energy domains, including mental energy.

Next in the series: Activating Spiritual Energy, where we look at how meaning, purpose, and values become fuel for sustainable performance.