Too tired? Often droopy? No reserves? We feel your pain (we really do). So with the help of four health and wellness pros, we put together a point-by-point day planner to give you back your snap.

The alarm feels like a dope slap and we literally have to peel ourselves out of bed. Breakfast and school drop-off are a drowsy whirlwind. We nod like bobbleheads at our midmorning meetings. We’re cranky and clumpy by 3 p.m. we can barely get through the dinner/bath/bedtime shuffle. then, when it’s finally time to crash, we toss and turn.

Clearly, working moms are stretched—and sapped. So how can we find the energy we need to do what we need to? we asked a team of experts (all working moms) how to build and sustain energy levels at crucial points in our day, so we can tackle our endless stream of tasks with maximum gusto. Get ready to get revved—and revived!

6:35 a.m.
The alarm sounds and you try to drag yourself out of bed—but the snooze button wins. “ ‘Snoozing’ fragments sleep, which is counterproductive, energy-wise,” says sleep expert Ana Krieger, MD.

Pep Booster Set your alarm a few minutes later and place it across the room so you’ll have to get up and turn it off.

Pep Booster Wake earlier than the kids and get moving to get your blood pumping, says fitness pro Lisa robins. If your morning is too jammed for a jaunt, fire up the wii (“Just Dance” is one of Robins’s faves) or follow a workout DVD for a fast morning fitness fix. Moderate cardiovascular exercise, like a brisk walk, most days of the week will promote increased energy levels, studies show. And doing it early revs your whole day.

8:20 a.m.
Everyone’s fed and ready for the day—except you. Skipping breakfast is one of the biggest energy saps, says nutritionist Joy Bauer. “It interferes with your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and insulin, which can negatively affect your energy levels.”

Pep Booster Eat a combo of protein and fiber for a slow, steady rise and fall in blood sugar—boosting your energy and mood to sustain you until lunch. If there’s no time for a sit-down breakfast, stash a nonfat greek-style yogurt (it packs twice as much protein as regular yogurt, plus calcium) and a banana in your bag on your way out the door.

Pep Booster Need a coffee fix? That’s okay in the a.m., says Bauer. “The caffeine in coffee offers a short-term boost that increases alertness and concentration.” But if you can, save your morning dose of joe for 10 a.m. too much caffeine can cause stress and irritability, but holding out until midmorning can give you optimal bang for your buzz—you’re good to go when you really need it, at work.

10:45 a.m.
Your to-do list is so long your eyes cross, and you can actually feel energy seep from your body. That’s because the brain is designed to get foggy when you’re stressed, says mind/ body maven Peg Baim.

Pep Booster To give each task more oomph, tackle the most routine, mundane tasks first. Complete one at a time mindfully, with real purpose. Doing so mimics meditation by activating the brain’s “adaptive network,” deflecting stress’s drain and restoring energy.

Pep Booster Swap your desk chair for an exercise ball, even 20 minutes a day. It engages your core, improves posture and boosts energy by keeping the body mobile, says Robins.

1:25 p.m.
Back-to-back meetings leave no time for lunch. You’re overstarved and dragging. “Eating too little can leave you weak and fatigued and blur your focus,” says Bauer. You’ll get more done with fuel in your tank.

Pep Booster Schedule your lunch break like you would a meeting, then scarf a big salad with lean protein. too many lunches out with clients? Skip the bread and half the side starch (like sugar, starch sets the stage for a blood sugar crash); double up on veggies.

Pep Booster While you’re at it, circle the parking lot on foot a few times before heading back to your car. Or walk after your desk lunch if you can. A 20- minute walk in natural light can energize you in the midst of a midday maelstrom, says Baim.

3:20 p.m.
You’ve been staring at your computer so long, your eyes feel dead—and so does the rest of you. Many working moms are planted in front of a monitor for the better part of the day. The resulting eyestrain can make your whole self feel enervated.

Pep Booster For eye relief and an energy boost, practice the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a break for at least 20 seconds and look at something 20 feet away.

4:00 p.m.
The 4 o’clock blues hit hard and you’re nodding off while nodding at your boss. The candy bowl calls. When energy levels are at low ebb, the baked goods on the conference table will only drag you deeper into the doldrums. “Carb-y or sugary shuts your brain cells down, making you drowsy, less focused and hungry again an hour later,” Bauer explains.

Pep Booster If you need a snack, go for a rice cake topped with peanut butter. (Stash Jif To Go peanut butter portions and Mini Babybel cheeses at the office for easy protein fixes.) And substitute green tea for coffee, says Bauer: “it lifts with less than half the caffeine of coffee, so it’s less likely to interfere with sleep.”

Pep Booster Been sitting for a long spell? it’s a surefire way to feel sluggish. For a quick no-calorie lift, Robins suggests evading the elevator in favor of a jaunt up and down the stairs—a quick sprint brings in energizing oxygen to rev metabolism.

6:30 p.m.
You’ve been dreaming of dinner all day but lack the moxie to cook.

Pep Booster Instead of lunging for carb-full kid leftovers, throw together a chicken or shrimp and vegetable stir-fry and add a scoop of brown rice, or whip up quick turkey burgers with salad, recommends Bauer. Put on some music while you prep dinner to renew your spirit.

Pep Booster If you’d like some wine to unwind, the earlier, the better. “Alcohol causes the brain to spend more time in lighter stages of sleep at the expense of a deeper, restorative sleep,” says Dr. Krieger. “After an evening of imbibing, you may find you wake up earlier than usual or feel less rested the next day.”

8:45 p.m.
The kids are out cold, so you cram in some screen time. Working late or shopping online can wind you up when you should be powering down. “It impairs the ability to sleep because it stimulates the brain,” explains Dr. Krieger.

Pep Booster For a better night’s rest, view your child’s bedtime as your cue to chill. Downshift into bedtime gradually by creating a peaceful, positive vibe, just as you would for your kid, suggests Baim. “no one falls asleep in a foxhole. You don’t put a kid to bed saying, ‘Do you know how much you have to do tomorrow? have you watched the news lately?’ You have to calm things down to get into a natural sleep rhythm.”

Pep Booster If TV is a must, avoid the news and stick with light fare. Keep the lights down low, too. “A dark room stimulates the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that facilitates sleep,” says Dr. Krieger.

11:30 p.m.
You’d hoped to pass out an hour ago, but tomorrow’s to-do list is scrolling across your brain. The ultimate energizer: a good night’s sleep. “Sleep recycles the chemicals in your body that create energy,” says Dr. Krieger. “It’s as simple as that.”

Pep Booster If your racing mind is keeping you conscious, stash a pen and paper bedside and purge preoccupying stresses by jotting them down for the next day. Writing them down gets them out of your brain, so they don’t reappear when you close your eyes.

Pep Booster Do you wake up during the night feeling hot? Keep water at your bedside. Drinking some will lower your body temperature so you can quickly reenter the land of nod—and be refreshed and ready to go tomorrow.

Stop the Sap
We working moms are notorious for draining our metaphorical batteries before they have a chance to charge. Here are ways we unwittingly weaken ourselves, and how to regain what we’ve drained.

Our office isn’t natural.
Adding a few plants to a sterile office or cubicle can provide an easy energy boost, says mind/body expert Peg Baim. “People are biophilic creatures—inclined to bond with other living things,” she explains. “Looking at a plant is one of the easiest ways to engage your adaptive network, reduce stress and reinvigorate."

We work out after work.
It’s important to exercise and burn off the day’s stress when we can, but a rigorous evening cardio class can keep you from sleeping and sap the next day’s energy. Fitness pro Lisa Robins recommends a gentle yoga regime for a better night’s rest. Save harder workouts for the a.m.

We conduct personal business at night.
Dealing with stressors like family issues and finances too late at night can get your mind and your heart racing when they need to downshift toward rest. Instead, try to address these issues earlier in the day, or as early in the evening as possible, to keep potential bedtime preoccupations at bay.

We eat dinner at bedtime.
To wake with more pep in your step, keep late-night eating light. “Eating high-fat, high-salt, high-calorie meals before bed can leave you feeling heavy and bloated in the morning, which makes it hard to get out of bed—sort of like a food hangover,” says nutritionist and Today show consultant Joy Bauer. If you do eat supper late, opt for lighter fare with protein, like a bowl of lentil or bean soup with a piece of fruit.

The Experts

Nutrition
Joy Bauer, MS, RD, contributing nutrition expert for the Today show and author of The Joy Fit Club; mom of three

Fitness
Lisa Robins, certified personal trainer, spokesperson and Fit Mommy expert at modernmom.com; mom of two

Mind/Body
Peg Baim, MS, NP, clinical director at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Mass General; mom of two

Sleep
Ana Krieger, MD, MPH, medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College; mom of one