By David Chiu

Vanessa Ogle, the CEO of Enseo, a Texas-based company involved in digital media engines, knows the importance of staying healthy to maintain her energy in running her business. That message became more apparent to Ogle as she went through two pregnancies while overseeing Enseo. So to keep her energy up, she did things from making her own juice drinks to creating flextime in her work schedule.

“I do find that when I’m there [at my job] and focused,” she says, “my energy level is much higher because of both what I’m doing from a lifestyle perspective as well as just being focused on getting the business done during the timeframe I have available.”

For some, the question is how to maintain that maximum energy level. The energy can be divided into two parts-- physical and mental, says Donna Cardillo, a registered nurse and professional speaker. One aspect of physical energy is having good nutrition, for which she suggests a consultation with a dietician even if we are not sick. “A dietician can give you good advice on the number of calories you should be eating, the right combination of foods, whether or not you need supplements.” She also cautions about using energy drinks and beverages that have caffeine in them “To the same degree that it brings you up it’s gonna bring you down below normal,” says Cardillo, “so you have to anticipate that.”

Ogle says she makes sure she has fresh fruit and vegetable juice around: “Lots of fresh, healthy snacks at the office, herbal teas to replace the coffee and the caffeine, lots and lots of water, things like sparkling water with fruit juice extracts.”

Fitness is another component of physical energy, according to Cardillo. She recommends seeing a personal trainer to help determine proper exercise techniques. “Let’s say your lifting hand weights for upper body strength,” she explains. “A personal trainer will make sure you’re working with the right weights and that you’re doing the right number of repetitions. If you’re doing the wrong thing, you can be working and getting the wrong results, or worse you can actually be hurting yourself.”

Just as maintaining one’s sense of physical well-being is important with respect to a person’s energy level, so is the mental aspect. “All of us are busy today,” says Cardillo, “”but being busy does not necessarily equate to being productive or being happy or being challenged. We almost get a little stagnant in our professional life.” To fight complacency, she suggests enrolling at a college or networking outside of your circle.. “These are the things that helps keep you revved up, helps you get out of bed in the morning [and] helps keeps you going on a regular basis,” says Cardillo.

A common thing that comes with running a company is stress. One a way to lessen it, according to Cardillo, is meditation. “It’s the time when you sit in an environment,” she says, “ideally with your eyes closed where you minimize outside distractions and you just focus on yourself. Some of us never take the time to slow down and just listen to those inner voices.”

Prayer is one method Ogle uses to relax. “Some people would call it meditation,” she says, “taking time to go for walks, be outside and to focus on what’s important on the bigger scheme, not just the problem of the day from business perspective.”

Ogle has also learned to make adjustments to be productive on the job. She recalled a day when she was scheduled to make business calls to Europe at 6 a.m. and Singapore at 10 p.m. “In order to stay awake during the day and maintain my energy, I created some flexibility in my schedule. I started going home for lunch and taking a nap in the middle of the day. Not a very typical technology CEO thing to do, and yet it was necessary for me to be healthy and to finish the rest of my business day.”

Maintaining a high level of energy is not only good for one’s health, it can be beneficial for your business. “For everything to grow,” Ogle says, “for our families to be supportive of us, for the companies that depend on us, you have to take care of yourself on a daily basis.”

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