How are you feeling today?
And “Fine…” is not the answer I’m looking for.
How are you REALLY feeling? Are you feeling energized and ready to take on the world? Perhaps you’re feeling tired and overwhelmed? Or, maybe you’re somewhere on the spectrum.
I ask because I want to talk a little bit about energy management today…more specifically, about how you manage your personal energy.
Energy management is a crucial part of your productivity. It’s what helps to keep you and your business moving forward – on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis.
And yes, it definitely ebbs and flows. Some days you can have all the energy and then some – and the next day you can be wondering where it all went.
A while back, I wrote a blog that tackles the topic of energy management, and in it, I asked that you reflect on 6 questions:
- Do you know what zaps your energy?
- Do you have a daily routine?
- Do you work in some fun?
- Do you take breaks?
- Do you pace yourself and prioritize?
- Do you know what replenishes your energy?
I encourage you to go and read that blog here: Productivity Basics – Energy Management.
The Momentum CEO Network also talked about energy management recently – and I loved what this group had to share on the topic. This group is definitely high energy, but like all of us, they experience the same ups and downs when it comes to managing their energy. Everyone had some great things to share during this meeting and here are a few of their comments:
“When I put the tasks in writing and I check it, it gives me clarity on what I need to do.”
Grazyna Pajunen
“I have an enormous amount of energy. When I’m on sales calls, I don’t look at it as a defeat. I have to get ninety ‘no’s’ to get one ‘yes.’ If you look at it from that point of view, every ‘no’ is a certain amount of the way to getting a ‘yes.’”
“The only way to get something to happen is to be positive…You have to be positive and conceptualize what is needed.”
“When you have to do things you don’t want to do, that’s where we run into problems like procrastination and not being responsible with tasks we need to do.”
“A lot of times we create stories around the tasks that we have; calling somebody takes a lot of energy. The action itself doesn’t require a lot of effort, but the story you tell yourself takes a lot more energy than is necessary for the simple action.”
“I take the emotions out of every task that I’m not motivated to do. That works for me perfectly. There’s no emotion about cleaning rooms, tables, walking the dog, I just do it. It’s just a task that needs to be done and I do it. Having completed the task successfully, that gives me the positive feedback that I need.”
“I equate this to sports, refer to it as load management, the practice of monitoring and restricting a players physical activity to reduce physical risk. How you use energy management to address a crisis and transitioning that strategy into key points you need to accomplish to push through that crisis. That frees you up to having to handle that issue as a leader.”
“Energy is based on motivation. The only two reasons we do something are either to gain a benefit or avoid a loss.”
So many excellent thoughts on the subject of energy management! Tell me – how do you manage your energy? What are your best strategies? Do any of the thoughts shared at this meeting resonate with you?
