It’s the most wonderful time of the year – you’re about to check out for a few days for Thanksgiving dinner(s), Christmas is just around the corner and then…BAM it’s the New Year. My apologies if your blood pressure just spiked while reading that sentence, but fear not, my friends! I’m here to tell you that you can make it through that third serving of mashed potatoes and still perform well at work (I can’t say the same for your cholesterol levels).
We’ve all heard about the afternoon slump, and who can forget about fending off Robert Goulet during your day? There’s more to going to work than just showing up, and working efficiently helps you get more done. While it’s one thing to manage your energy during the day, we’ll also take a look at a few tips to manage your life for the remainder of 2015.
The concepts referenced throughout are laid out in the book The Power of Full Engagement, which was our most recent book club read at Betts Recruiting. Check it out for more tips and an in depth workbook.
Energy
There are four sources of energy – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. How you focus your energy during the day and how you feel overall, in theory depends on how you manage your different sources of energy. Maybe you work out everyday but you fill the rest of your time with only work and television. You might find yourself depleted of other sources of energy.
Take a moment to list how you fulfill each source of energy. Where are you lacking? Where do you feel fulfilled?
Rituals
Have a morning ritual like chatting with a friend, yoga, tea and a book or just something to look forward to that gets you out of bed and do that everyday. As explained in the book, “the power of rituals is that they insure that we use as little conscious energy as possible where it is not absolutely necessary, leaving us free to strategically focus the energy available to us in creative, enriching ways.” Forming rituals allows you to find focus and spend energy where it matters.
What is your positive ritual?
Renewal
According to the authors of “Full Engagement” underuse and overuse of energy isn’t effective. What we should be doing is balancing times of high-energy usage with periods of renewal. For instance, when you’re working on a large project many hours a day and you finally turn it in, give yourself time to renew by taking a break. A lot of analogies explored within the book focus on work with athletes – if you stress a muscle during a workout, it’s important to also take time to recover and allow that muscle to build. The same works for your energy at work and in life.
What are you doing to renew your energy?
Putting these practices into your daily life now, will help you get one step closer to closing out the year on a high note. Why wait until next month to start thinking about New Years Resolutions? Make a point now to focus on your energy and become fully engaged.