Manage Your Energy for Performance
How is your energy level today? Check in with yourself for a minute… Are you feeling a bit tired, distracted, or if you had a little trouble concentrating on work this morning. Do you feel well rested, capable of conquering the world?
Your energy influences your mood for the day; how you relate to your family, friends, colleagues; and especially ENERGY INFLUENCES YOUR PERFORMANCE!
It’s important to realize that there are several sources of energy. While physical energy is the foundation – emotional, mental, and spiritual habits contribute to the quality of our energy.
Let’s uncover more about these different sources of energy – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual – and some strategies that can help you to boost your energy. Imagine how your energy impacts your performance.
PHYSICAL Energy – QUANTITY
This is the part that everybody already knows. Get enough sleep. Eat well. Exercise regularly. Sounds simple, but for many of us, it’s not that easy.
- Sleep. IF YOU DON’T REMEMBER ANYTHING ELSE, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS: Getting enough sleep is the #1 thing you can do to restore your energy. Research studies conclude that adults need 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
- Eat well. It takes thoughtful planning and for some, discipline, to buy wholesome food and avoid the fast, processed food that is so easily available. READ THE LABEL. If you can’t understand what’s in it, you probably shouldn’t be eating it. Practice making healthy choices – with planning and intention.
- Exercise. For many of us, finding time is the biggest challenge to regular exercise. I would ask – what is your COMMITMENT to exercise? Keep it simple. Start with what you know – The point is to make a COMMITMENT to bring movement into your life.
MENTAL Energy – FOCUS
There is something called the “poverty of attention,” where we are forever racing to keep up with all the external demands – email, meetings, the Internet, Facebook, information overload!
There are many strategies to improve your mental energy and I’ll leave just one with you today – It may be a little hard to hear for many Gen Y folks out there…
- Do one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is the enemy of extraordinary energy!
EMOTIONAL Energy – QUALITY (engages our heart)
Feeling valued is a basic form of stress inoculation.
- Pause to celebrate. Try writing down your accomplishments – big and small, at work, in life. Then pause to celebrate. Writing down your accomplishments will help you to acknowledge all that you have achieved. And it will boost your emotional energy.
- Appreciate someone else. Take a minute to share your gratitude to someone. It’s worth the time and effort. You’ll be surprised to realize how we grow from connection and how it can boost your energy.
SPIRITUAL Energy – FORCE (values, purpose)
How do you find ways to restore your sense of calm? – When you start to feel that sense of overwhelm, when you’re stuck in traffic and can’t escape, when you’re standing in a long line and you’re in a big hurry?
- Breathe. Simply paying attention to our breath can restore that sense of calm and bring perspective to the situation.
And finally…
- Avoid judging others. This applies especially to you. Forgive yourself first.
Let’s face it. The trend seems to be that there is an exponential demand on our time and attention. The more demands that are made on you, the more you’ll need to rest, renew, and recharge your energy. Why not start creating some healthy new ENERGY habits today? See what it can do to make you feel better and perform better.
