Balancing energy and projects

It has been 8 months since my minor accident  back in August. I feel it is time for a short recap, and a summary of my experiences so far.

August 25, 2009, I had the interesting (not as in pleasant) experience of a trafic accident. I experienced what is often referred to as «Out of Body» experience, an event that reassured me that my life values and goals where right on target. And I was (still am) extremely happy to have had such an experience, and to be back in this body, in this life. 

The way back from my injuries has been a tough one. I spent quite some time in hospital, and in rehabilitation. And because I live in a country where the government takes care of health, I have not ended up with a huge bill to pay. 

The first half year, the biggest challenge was physical. It took a lot of hard work (training, that is) to get back into shape. In the process, I have regained my strength, and gained some more. I have lost weight, and my waist is smaller than before. My lungs are still in need of special attention, and parts of the body acke from time to time. But that does your body too, right? 

I have had to set new goals in order to motivate myself to get back in shape. I still want to run a marathon. Probably not this year, though. What I will be doing this year is a thriathlon sprint instead. It is not as heavy as it sounds - a sprint is 750 meters swimming, 20 km bike riding, and 5 km running. And as long as I can determine my own speed, I should be able to run a triathlon sprint in August. This year. 

The thoughest challenge for me so far has been the mental strain. I still experience some very vivid dreams , although much rarer now. The fascinating thing about those dreams are that they change - so far, I have experienced dying in an amazing number of ways (in my dreams, that is). I will not bore you with such details.

What most people will experience as a result of the accident is not the fact that my arm still hurts, so shaking hands is not that much of a pleasure for me, but the lack of energy  I get at times. What happens is that I can loose most, if not all, the energy and drive I have. This, in turn, leads to projects slowing down, that I do not respond to e-mails that quickly, and that I simply are harder to reach than when I am on a high. 

This is, according to my doctor, a perfect normal reaction. It should go away within 12 to 18 months after the accident. And the frequency of when it occures should decrease, as well as the time it lasts. This information is of great comfort to me, as I try to relearn my working ability boundaries. Impatience as I am, I would love to be fully recovered, so that I can go about and do all the things I used to, in the same speed as before. 

I must admit that I tend to omit this fact when I do business and projects, hoping that this time I will be fully recovered, so no more downs will occure. Then I head on down the road, gaining speed, and at some point - usually very hard to predict when - I run on empty. And we all know what happens when running on empty - your car simply stops moving (unless there is downhill, gravity forcing you forward). 

And that is usually the time I bring out the Accident Card, explaining that what is happening is not my lack of interest, but my lack of energy. It will come back at some time (usually a few days, perhaps a week if I am really strained). My challenge, though, is to keep the number of projects down, so that I am able to balance the energy use with the energy reserves I have. Or delegate. 

Do you have any experience where you loose energy? What do you do to mitigate that effect? What are your secret weapons to stay on track, and deliver as promissed, even when you are lacking on energy?