You must have heard before that “Life is a marathon, not a race”, and that is exactly the secret to reach your goals – just like in a marathon, you need to manage your energy to get to the finish line!
A good management of your energy at work can be useful to improve the quality of your work and make your day more productive and efficient.
Energy is defined as strength and vitality that are needed for a physical or mental activity. Our work usually falls into one of these categories. So your energy is the strength and vitality you need to get the job done.
This is why so many people and organizations focus on time management, they know there’s something to manage. However, even if you fulfill are your tasks and meet all your deadlines without resting or recovering, will you be running a race or a marathon? What if companies started focusing on energy management? Maybe those same deadlines would be met but with more energy, thrust and spirit. Managing our energy allows us to do more in less time with bigger levels of engagement and sustainability. Its not a speed race, it really is like a marathon.
Think of your energy as batteries. Your mind, body and spirit are like batteries, they last a certain amount of time and they need to rest to recharge and get back to their full potential!
As we all know, some tasks kind of ruin our disposition to work faster than others. Boring and repetitive tasks, or projects that aren’t inspiring drain your energy quickly. But even doing the things you love requires a pause. Focusing on negative feelings or thoughts, let your ego get the best of you or the lack of self-control get in the way or accomplishing a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
And self-control is the key word here. Your success is not based on running a sprint early in your career but moving forward every day, every hour, and every time possible, take a break. If you feel your energy level is dropping, listen to your body! Do something else, that your body, mind and spirit need at that moment, and then get back to work, when you feel ready.
How to manage your energy levels at work
Depending on what you need, some simple changes in your routine can do Wonders to recharge your energy to work. There are some activities that help manage your energy throughout the day more effectively and here are some tips to help you recharge your levels:
Sleep well; Have a healthy diet; work out; take breaks during the day; focus on one task at a time; spend time with your loved ones; get some fresh air; Read; have a thankful list; do what you love more often and focis more on being positive than being negative.
These might even seem logical and obvious things, but then, why aren’t we able to just do them?
Many times, you actually plan to have a break but get swamped in deadlines, urgent meetings, tons of tasks and a whole lot of pressure to finish everything in time. And that amount of speed, or stress, is not good for you. Not good for you, your family and friends, or co-workers, even your boss or your clients.
And yes, you can do everything but you don’t have to reach the point of burnout. You can cross your to do list and take pauses during the day to recharge your batteries, to manage your energy. Listen to your body and the results will start to be noticed.
Here are some activities to manage your energy efficiently at work:
1. Know how you work!
Do you like to have a tight schedule? Do you normally leave everything to the last minute? Do you take up a lot of responsibilities or have a problem saying no? Think about it for a minute. It’s important to know how you work and use up your energy. High drive people should take breaks more often to avoid burnout, not to exceed their energy limits. People with a lower drive should set minimal expectations for themselves everyday and never get below them.
2. Define your daily limits
If you take up many tasks and spend a lot of energy every day, set limits and stick to them. For example, set a limit of 5 meetings a day and give yourself a day without meetings. That way you will avoid burnout and will be helping yourself and others. And it’s also more likely that you become happier in each meeting because your energy levels will increase. So, learn your limits, set boundaries and work around realistic time restrictions, to help you reach your goals and manage your energy
3. 'Power hour'
The power hour is basically the maximum efficiency time we all have. It’s when our bodies present natural cycles and go through high and low levels of energy. These energy cycles they vary from 90 – 120 minutes, depending on the person. Keep the focus on the power hour, and get to what needs to be done. Avoid bouncing between tasks, checking your phone or emails during that period. This will only be draining your time and energy. And you’ll be very happy once you discover the amount of quality work that can be done in a short period of time.
Now it’s time to take a break, relax and get your energy back. At the end of a cycle, your body will tell you it needs to rest and recover. You may start yawning, get hungry or thirsty or even show difficulties to concentrate or start being impatient. These are all signs you need to stop. Most people ignore these signs and that’s how you get tired, in a bad mood, lose focus and start producing a poor quality work.
Managing your energy means listening to your mind, body, spirit and emotions. They will tell what and when they need something. You just need to listen. Know your energy cycles, take breaks in the next days and make it a habit, start managing your energy as if you had a week to live, honor yourself, know what makes you happy, what inspires you, what kind of work ignites your creativity, sets you on fire, and get to work on that power hour doing more of what you love. This is a choice you will not regret making.
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