Thanks to a bout of Covid-19, I’ve recently spent a few days out of sorts, having my cat for company. Despite feeling quite rubbish for a large part of that time, it did give me lots of space to think about rest and especially how I’m going to manage my energy as I recover.
Despite so much focus on wellbeing over the last few years, there is still a feeling for many folk that they need to push hard not to get sick in the first place and if they do, that they NEED to recover quickly. But life doesn’t work like that. If we keep pushing hard and don’t give ourselves permission to slow down, then our bodies could well do it for us.
As the pace of change around us keeps accelerating with feelings of uncertainty still on the rise, it’s becoming even more important to understand how we can better manage ourselves and support others around us. Improving how we manage our own energy is a vital part of this.
Image: Alexandra Kock, Pixabay
Time management isn’t the only answer
There are so many books out there on how we can improve our productivity and a lot of the focus in them is on time management . When you think about it, time management is quite linear. In essence, it’s a process of organising and prioritising tasks across the straight line of your day so you can squeeze in as much as possible.
But, if we think about energy and how we manage that, it’s a very different story. You can’t shuffle it around like you can with tasks. Once you’ve used up energy, you need to reboot and refill your energy bucket to be able to put yourself into an energy ‘credit’. As a result, energy management is much more cyclical than time management. What we’re aiming for is a cycle of feeling fully engaged, using our resources well and then having a space for reboot and recovery. Then, we can start again.
But if you don’t find the time and space to do that reboot, you’ll start to put yourself into an energy deficit. You can end up feeling tired, irritable and stressed. If you continue on that same path, you’ll deplete all your energy resources and eventually, you’ll crash.
Listening to ourselves and learning more about how our own energy cycles work is vital if we’re to better support our wellbeing and build our resilience. And each of us is different.
What is energy?
When we think about ‘energy’ our focus often goes to physical energy. However, according to authors Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr (The Power of Full Engagement), there are three additional levels of energy that are equally important – mental, emotional and spiritual. Here’s a quick to all four elements:
Physical – this is the energy source we think of most often. It’s regulated by a well-balanced diet, exercise and sleep and is drawn on whether the task we’re working on is physical or not.
Mental – this is all about the focus of energy, how we concentrate. This gives us a greater ability to be creative, analyse and concentrate - especially if we want to have higher quality, clear thinking. Having focused thinking time is key here.
Emotional – if we have more control over our emotions – understanding what triggers our negative emotions or fuels our positivity - it follows that the quality of our overall energy will improve. Connecting with others is important here - especially with more positive folk (think radiators, not drains!) - and showing our appreciation for them. Another idea proposed by the authors is thinking about the stories we tell ourselves about events in our lives. If we can look at these through a different lens, taking another perspective and so shaping a different story, it can help.
Spiritual – associated with purpose which seems to be an essential ingredient for a happy and successful life. A strong sense of purpose appears to bring energy and is particularly useful when we have limited amounts of physical, mental or emotional capacity. Understanding our values is important here, too. When our work and activities are consistent with what we value most, we get a real sense of meaning.
Understanding our own energy
When we have better insights into our own energy and how it impacts our wellbeing and resilience, it can help us draw on our strengths to optimise our energy and work on those aspects that need more development.
A tool that I use to help clients with this is the Wraw (Workplace Resilience and Wellbeing) psychometric. The Wraw Index measures our resilient thoughts and behaviours and their impact on our wellbeing using the five pillars of resilience. These pillars incorporate and address many of the key energy areas I’ve already outlined.
An individual Wraw feedback report can provide insights and guidance to help to build greater self-awareness, giving us ways to better develop and improve our own energy management. This can also be applied at a team level too.
By having a better understanding of how energy management works, including our own individual energy cycles, then we’ll be in a better position to navigate change and feel more balanced. And from my own experience, I’m much less likely to push myself too hard, especially when I’m under the weather.
It’s very unlikely that the pace of change we’re all experiencing is going to slow any time soon. But if we put people – including ourselves as leaders – at the heart of our thinking and humanise the change approach, it’s more likely that everyone will emerge better from it.
To find out more about wellbeing and resilience through change and the Wraw psychometric, visit https://www.twistconsultants.co.uk/resilience-wellbeing or get in touch at jo@twistconsultants.co.uk. As always, I’d love to chat about this!