How to Shift Your State: Moving from Low Energy to Productivity

“You don’t need to force yourself into focus or energy. You just need to know how to transition yourself from where you are into where you want to be.”

Introduction: We All Wake Up Off-Center Sometimes

You’ve had a rough night. Poor sleep. You wake up groggy, unfocused, and already behind. This isn’t unusual—many high-performing individuals start their days in less-than-optimal states.

The mistake most people make? Trying to immediately tackle high-resistance tasks or beat themselves up for not “snapping out of it.”

Instead, there’s a more intelligent, body-aware, and psychology-informed approach to shifting your state.

What Is a “State”?

In coaching and psychology, your state refers to the totality of your mental, emotional, and physiological condition at any given moment. It’s how you feel, think, and operate—your current “mode” of being.

Examples of states include:

• Calm and focused
• Tired and distracted
• Energized and inspired
• Anxious and overwhelmed

Your state determines how well you can think, communicate, create, and execute. The goal isn’t to stay in one ideal state but to recognise your current one and know how to shift it when needed.

Why State Management Matters

If you’re in a low-energy, low-focus state, you’re more likely to:

• Procrastinate
• Make reactive or poor decisions
• Feel overwhelmed
• Experience negative self-talk

When you learn how to shift states, you unlock a superpower. You stop being at the mercy of moods and start influencing your own performance and experience.

The First Step: Check-In and Rate Yourself

Start by asking yourself two questions:

1. On a scale of 0–10, how is my energy?
2. On a scale of 0–10, how is my focus?

This gives you a quick diagnostic. You’re not judging—you’re just observing.

“What gets measured gets managed.”

Once you’ve rated yourself, don’t jump into high-energy or high-focus tasks right away—especially if your scores are below 5. That’s like trying to run a marathon with no warm-up.

Start With Transition Activities

If you’re in a low state, begin with transitional activities that gently activate your system. These are simple, low-resistance actions that help build momentum.

Here are examples:

• A 5–10 minute walk (ideally outside)
• Making a hot drink while practicing deep breathing
• Listening to upbeat music and moving your body
• Journaling a few lines on how you feel and what would help
• Tidying your desk or environment
• Doing 10 slow stretches or mindful breathing

The key is movement, momentum, and low resistance.

These activities act as bridges. You move from foggy or stagnant into flow—not by jumping, but by stepping.

Chaining States: Don’t Try to Leap

Trying to go from zero to hero doesn’t work. Instead, use a technique called state chaining.

“Chaining states is like stepping across a river using stones—one foot at a time.”

Here’s how:

1. Start in your current state (e.g., tired, groggy)
2. Choose an activity that nudges you slightly toward a better state
3. From that better state, choose the next action that nudges you again
4. Repeat until you’re at a level of energy or focus that allows deeper work

For example:

Tired → Warm drink + music → Gentle movement → Clear desk → Light admin → Creative writing

You’re not pushing yourself. You’re guiding yourself.

What Are Anchors?

An anchor is a stimulus—sound, scent, movement, object, or environment—that triggers a specific emotional or energetic state.

Anchors work because the brain links internal states to external cues. You can use this intentionally.

Examples of positive anchors:

• A particular song that energizes you
• A scent (like citrus or mint) that wakes you up
• A stretch or breath pattern that centers you
• A specific workspace setup that signals focus
• A phrase or mantra that reminds you of your intention

You can build and reinforce anchors over time by associating them with high-performing states. The more you use them, the more effective they become.

Practical Daily Strategy

1. Check In: Rate energy and focus (0–10)
2. Identify Needs: What kind of work or presence is needed today?
3. Choose Transition Activities: Small steps to shift state
4. Use Anchors: Trigger helpful states using practiced cues
5. Chain Forward: Move through one or two states before going deep

Final Thought

“You don’t need to be in the perfect state. You just need to know how to create the next one.”

Energy is dynamic. Focus is fluid. The real skill isn’t controlling your state—it’s relating to it wisely and guiding it intentionally.

Teach this to your clients, teams, and loved ones. Make it a practice. Over time, you’ll build emotional agility and true performance resilience.

🔹 1. Definition and Role of State

🔸 Concept: Mental, emotional, and physiological “state”

The idea that a “state” includes physiology, emotions, and cognition is rooted in NLP, somatic psychology, and neurobiology.

• Tony Robbins (1997). Awaken the Giant Within. Defines state as a combination of physiology and focus. Suggests managing state is central to peak performance.
• Richard Bandler & John Grinder (1979). Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming. Founders of NLP describe how internal representations and physiology create state and how you can shift it.
• Antonio Damasio (1994). Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. Argues that emotions (and thus states) are deeply embodied and influence decision-making and rationality.

🔹 2. State Chaining

🔸 Concept: Progressively shifting from one emotional/mental state to another

• James Clear (2018). Atomic Habits. Introduces the idea of “habit stacking,” which is behaviorally similar to chaining states—start with small, easy actions to build momentum.
• BJ Fogg (2020). Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Emphasizes starting with simple, achievable behaviors to create lasting change—mirrors the idea of moving through micro-states to shift energy.
• Behavioral Activation Therapy A treatment for depression that uses small, manageable activities to shift mood and energy levels.
  Source: Martell, C.R., Addis, M.E., & Jacobson, N.S. (2001). Depression in Context: Strategies for Guided Action.

🔹 3. Anchoring

🔸 Concept: Using external cues to trigger internal states

• Classical Conditioning (Pavlov, 1927) Foundational psychological principle where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a response.
• NLP Anchoring (Bandler & Grinder) Applying Pavlovian conditioning to personal development; teaches how specific stimuli can “anchor” states like confidence or calm.
• Herbert Benson (1975). The Relaxation Response. Demonstrates how simple triggers like breath and environment can induce parasympathetic states (calm, healing).

🔹 4. The Role of Physiology in State Management

• Amy Cuddy (2012). Power Poses and Presence. Shows how body posture influences emotional and cognitive states.
  TED Talk: Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are
• Stephen Porges (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. Explains how the nervous system shifts between states of activation and regulation. Emphasizes that movement, breath, and voice help reset the nervous system.
• Andrew Huberman (Stanford University Neuroscience) Research on how specific breathing patterns (e.g., “physiological sigh”) can rapidly shift stress and improve focus.
  Podcast: Huberman Lab

🔹 5. Self-Assessment and Self-Regulation

• Daniel Goleman (1995). Emotional Intelligence. Emotional self-awareness and self-regulation are essential components of high performance and leadership.
• Marc Brackett (2019). Permission to Feel. Offers tools like the RULER method to help people identify, understand, and shift their emotional states.

🔹 6. Practical Tools Backed by Research

• Mood Tracking and Biofeedback Used in CBT and self-regulation coaching. Self-rating (like 0–10 for energy or focus) improves metacognition and emotion regulation.
  Source: Kazantzis, N., et al. (2010). Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.
• Flow Theory – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Advocates that matching task difficulty with current energy/focus levels is critical for entering a productive state.

✅ Summary Table of Sources