Managing Energy vs. Managing Time: The Benefits of Managing Energy
Time management has been a buzzword in the workplace for as long as we can remember.
The advice has been to prioritize tasks, create schedules, and strive to meet deadlines. However, in today’s dynamic and competitive world, managing time may not be enough.
Managing energy has started to gain more traction. Energy management focuses on utilizing your body’s natural rhythms and energy flows to maximize productivity and produce superior results.
In essence, it is about working smarter, not harder.
As opposed to managing time, managing energy revolves around three main factors: physical, emotional, and mental energy.
Physical Energy Management
The human body is not a machine; it needs rest and recuperation to function at its best. Physical energy management involves recognizing the difference between sprints and marathons.
It involves taking frequent breaks to rest, going for walks, or simply closing your eyes and breathing deeply. The key to managing your physical energy effectively is to establish smaller goals.
Believe it or not, trying to focus on one goal for entire hours can be equivalent to running a marathon! By identifying smaller, achievable goals, you can set yourself up for success in every step.
Emotional Energy Management
Emotional energy involves regulating your emotions to maximize your ability to deal with stress. Similar to physical energy management, emotional energy management requires smaller intervals of rest to recharge your disposition.
For instance, try incorporating breathing exercises, writing in a journal, or talking with a friend to revive good emotional energy.
Mental Energy Management
Mental energy management consists of being aware of how much mental energy you have left and distributing it accordingly, limiting distractions and engaging in high-concentration activities. Challenging activities can be equivalent to a sprint – put in everything you have for a limited amount of time, then rest and recharge for the next round.
Tips for Managing Energy
1. Be an Energizer
People see how you respond to issues.
Adding energy to your demeanor can make others around you feel more optimistic, enabling them to execute tasks with vigor and drive. Being an energizer means helping others in a way that goes beyond the position you hold.
2. Avoid Draining Activities
Be mindful of the work responsibilities that drain your energy the most.
For instance, tedious reports might make you lose concentration faster than more interactive tasks. Recognize these draining tasks so that you can manage energy efficiently.
3. Interval Training
Instead of working for hours non-stop, break up your work schedule into 45-minute intervals, followed by a 15-minute rest interval.
Taking frequent, smaller intervals of rest will help you be more productive overall. 4.
Be Authentic
It’s normal to push yourself to extremes to accomplish tasks forcefully. However, managing energy means being true to who you are and your ability to maintain a steady workflow without burning out.
Recognizing the Race You Need to Run
High performance and burnout are two things that often come hand in hand. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day marathon that we forget sometimes we need to sprint.
Balancing both things will only drive our success in the long run.
Balancing Marathon and Sprint
Sprints are great for seeing progress. The same way resting between workout sets helps with better results, small sprints in your tasks can renew your energy and give you the motivation to conquer the full marathon.
Productivity can be broken down into bite-sized sprints and big-picture marathons. By identifying frequent opportunities to energize your body and mind, you can perform better in the marathon you need to run.
Using Downtime to Prepare
Downtime happens more often than many of us think. Instead of fearing downtime, focus on utilizing it to get ahead.
Once a sprint has been completed, use the downtime to review things accomplished thus far, plan a detailed strategy, or engage in a relaxing activity to rejuvenate your energy and spirits. The race you need to run, whether sprinting or running a marathon, involves finding balance, listening to your bodys natural rhythms, and deliberate physical and emotional energy management.
In summary, managing your energy means managing the fuel that creates the foundation for your workday. Striking a balance between sprints and marathons while effectively utilizing downtime can unlock a whole new level of productivity and drive success in the long run.
Above all, authenticity and dedication are necessary to achieve the desired results.
3) Being an Energizer
Being an energizer is a key aspect of energy management. It involves motivating, inspiring and energizing others through your own positive attitude and demeanor.
As an energizer, you can help others to perform at their best, making you a higher performer and a valuable career advisor to those around you.
Energizing Others
To be an effective energizer, focus on what you can do to create a positive and energized environment around you. Positive interactions with colleagues, family members or clients can have a significant impact on their day.
Encourage and offer assistance whenever necessary, and acknowledge the contributions of others to keep motivation levels high. In a professional setting, sharing success stories can also inspire and motivate others.
By sharing your own experiences, you demonstrate what has worked for you, and others may also learn from it. Ensuring open and clear communication channels with your team can also do wonders for productivity.
It helps harness positive energy from everyone and transforms the atmosphere in which you work.
Bringing Yourself Fully into an Interaction
Being fully present in every interaction can make a dramatic difference in the outcome of that interaction. Focusing on a conversation without distractions improves the quality of the interaction, which, in turn, transcends positive energy and leaves an indelible impression.
By expressing empathy and genuinely caring about the individual, you can help to lift them up and inspire them to perform or contribute towards achieving a successful outcome. When you engage in conversations and other interactions, focus on what you can do to create an environment where people feel comfortable and excited to interact with you.
4) Knowing What Drains You and What Sustains You
Are there activities that drain your energy more than others? Do others light you up?
Knowing what activities drain your energy and what activities sustain you is critical for effective energy management.
Avoiding Energy-Draining Activities
It is essential to avoid activities that drain your energy and leave you feeling dissatisfied. For some people, it might be working on details, taking part in meetings with no clear goals, or problems with no solutions in sight.
When this happens, try to establish small intervals of rest to relax and regroup yourself. Take a walk, meditate or listen to your favorite playlist to distract feel better.
Taking breaks is essential when you feel your energy draining. It can be as simple as taking a mental break with a cup of coffee or walking outside to find new perspectives.
However, if you find your energy continuing to drain at work, consult with your superiors or workmates to arrive at the root of the problem. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of striking the right balance in your tasks that can help you focus.
Building Energizing Activities into Your Day
To sustain your energy levels, it’s important to engage in activities that refill your energy reserves. These activities operate positively, leaving a long-lasting effect and sense of satisfaction.
Examples may include workout routines, spending time with people that uplift you, valuable family events such as game nights, or establishing habits like reading that bring you a sense of fulfillment. Build habits and activities that sustain your energy levels and slot them into the routine.
Finding these acts can sometimes be challenging, but once established, they can create a significant difference in leading a healthy and energized lifestyle.
Conclusion
Managing your energy levels is the key to optimizing your productivity and maintaining motivation. Being an energizer involves influencing and motivating others to achieve their best through your optimistic and positive attitude.
This positivity extends from our interactions with others to the activities we engage with daily. Avoiding draining activities while actively participating in energizing activities is a major step towards attaining fulfilling work-life goals.
All these are crucial components in optimizing ourselves to our full potential, leading us towards our goals and desired outcomes.
5) Pacing Yourself Like an Elite Performer
To maximize productivity and achieve high-performance results, it is vital to pace yourself like an elite performer. One of the most effective ways to increase productivity is to practice interval training.
This involves working in 90-minute bursts followed by a period of recovery time.
Maximizing Productivity with Interval Training
Elite performers like athletes, musicians, and businesspeople know that they cannot operate at maximum productivity levels consistently. Interval training helps them balance the high-intensity work with periods of rest to maximize efficiency.
One way to implement this method is to set a timer for 90 minutes and completely focus on the task at hand. When the timer expires, take a 20-minute break to rest and recharge.
During the break, take a walk, eat lunch or do something that relaxes your mind – anything to help you reset and prepare for the next 90-minute cycle. Another technique involves setting a shorter timer for 25 minutes and working during that time, followed by a five-minute break.
Repeat this cycle four times, then take a more extended break of 20 minutes.
Taking Physical and Mental Breaks
In addition to interval training, taking physical and mental breaks throughout the day is vital for maintaining energy levels and sustaining productivity. Physical breaks can involve taking a brisk walk or practicing quick, refreshing exercises.
Mental breaks, on the other hand, can involve anything that allows you to relax. For some people, simply closing their eyes and taking deep breaths can do wonders.
It’s just as important to mental breaks as it is to physical breaks. Stepping away from work to take a walk or do anything that relaxes your brain can help generate fresh ideas and regain clarity of mind.
When you take breaks, make sure to remain present and mindful. Focusing on each activity will help you remain engaged in the moment, which aids in relaxation and revitalization.
6) Don’t Be a Professional Pretzel
The phrase “professional pretzel” refers to people who change or suppress their natural character at work to conform to corporate standards. Pretzels are not authentic – their whole existence is twisted, bent, and coiled up to fit a shape that they were never meant to be.
Trying to become someone, we are not is emotionally draining, entirely unsustainable, and can negatively affect our performance.
Being Authentic at Work
It is essential to bring your whole self to every interaction, conversation, and meeting, regardless of where you find yourself. Authenticity involves learning and accepting your strengths, the things you enjoy, and what you want to communicate.
Your signature instincts and values should show up in everyday interactions, directly or indirectly. When you’re true to yourself, people will realize and appreciate your uniqueness.
Since everyone has strengths and weaknesses, identifying and embracing your strengths can boost productivity levels and fulfill your sense of purpose.
Encouraging Authenticity in Others
As a leader or even a teammate, encourage those around you to stop pretending and start being their real selves. Inculcating a culture where everybody can bring their whole selves to work is one way to improve the performance and well-being of a team.
To encourage authenticity, try to surround yourself with open and unpretentious individuals who prioritize sincerity and empathy over a faade. Create an open workplace that enables everyone to work towards shared goals without the pretension of conforming.
Acknowledge the unique qualities that others bring to the table and enable them to share their talents and strengths. Celebrating each other’s differences and strengths fosters an engaging environment that sustains high levels of energy and productivity.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, high-performing individuals manage their energy levels effectively and learn to pace themselves through interval training. By taking physical and mental breaks, we can sustain our energy levels and increase productivity levels.
At the same time, it’s important to remain authentic in the workplace, which also sustains energy and uplifts team members towards shared goals. In conclusion, managing energy is a key aspect of productivity and success.
By prioritizing energy management over time management, individuals can achieve superior results. This involves recognizing the importance of physical, emotional, and mental energy, and implementing strategies such as interval training and taking breaks to maximize productivity.
Being an energizer, bringing authenticity to interactions, and avoiding energy-draining activities while engaging in energizing activities are vital for sustainable energy levels. By pacing ourselves like elite performers and encouraging authenticity in ourselves and others, we can create a positive and productive work environment.
Remember, managing energy is about working smarter, not harder, and embracing authenticity leads to fulfilling and successful outcomes.