Ask HN: What do you do when you are lethargic?

I know it can be really hard to make yourself do it, esp. when you feel down, but after you are done, you will be asking yourself what were you objecting to in the first place.

If you want to learn more about the link between exercise and brain health read "Brain Rules" by Dr. John Medina or watch his Google talk by the same name:

https://youtu.be/IK1nMQq67VI

He also has "Baby Brain Rules" on parenting techniques to help your new baby get a good start (some of the stuff you need to do way before you even get pregnant/decide to have a child).

1. Eat food. Eat good, healthy food on a regular schedule. The willpower center of your brain takes a LOT of calories to run, and if you don't fuel it, you'll find yourself paralyzed by laziness. Make sure the calories you ingest are solid ones - protien, fat, sugar. Not HFCS or other forms of fructose, since it messes with your insulin and makes you feel full even when you aren't.

2) If you are male, check your orgasm and pron consumption. For myself, if I've orgasmed in the last three days, I get a kind of empty, grey fuzz feeling that feels a lot like depression. As someone who's fought mild depression, one of the best ways for me has been to regulate my sexuality and orgasm only when I know I don't need to do anything the next day. Track your energy and your sex drive, and see if there's a correlation - I bet the results will speak for themselves.

3) Sleep on a schedule. Caffeine doesn't count. It's painful and it takes willpower and it sucks but that's life. I solved this one by getting married to a woman who keeps a very strict sleep schedule (ymmv :P )

4) Organize your time. Follow pomodoro or a one hour on-one hour off time. If you find yourself "half-working" (sitting at your computer pretending to work but really browsing HN and Reddit). Get up. Go outside. Walking and standing are good for your health and your creativity.

5) Find a friend or partner who energizes you. Someone who you can hang out with and have crazy ideas and good conversation. If you don't have someone like this, start by making acquaintances at a local club or meetup.

6) Rest. Understand that recuperating your strength for a day isn't going to wreck your chances at becoming the next great startup CEO. It's okay to give yourself a break, before you break.

Hope this helps :)

Usually when i get lethargic it means something is wrong with my enviroment, nothing new, everything run of the mill and other people have allready down it. In that case- try to automatize it or find out how one could do that .