Are You Headed for an Energy Crisis? Please check the statements below that are true for you.

Are You Headed for an Energy Crisis?

Please check the statements below that are true for you.

Body

__ I don’t regularly get at least seven to eight hours of sleep, and I often wake up feeling tired. __ I frequently skip breakfast, or I settle for something that isn’t nutritious.

__ I don’t work out enough (meaning cardio- vascular training at least three times a week)

__ I don’t take regular breaks during the day to truly renew and recharge, or I often eat lunch at my desk, if I eat it at all.

Mind

__ I have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time, and I am easily distracted during the day, especially by e-mail.

__ I spend much of my day reacting to immediate crises and demands rather than fo- cusing on activities with longer-term value and high leverage

__ I don’t take enough time for reflection, strategizing, and creative thinking.

__ I work in the evenings or on weekends, and I almost never take an e-mail–free vacation.

Emotions

__ I frequently find myself feeling irritable,impatient, or anxious at work, especially when work is demanding.

__ I don’t have enough time with my family and loved ones, and when I’m with them, I’m not always really with them.

__ I have too little time for the activities that I most deeply enjoy.

__ I don’t stop frequently enough to express my appreciation to others or to savor my accomplishments and blessings.

Spirit

__ I don’t spend enough time at work doing what I do best and enjoy most.

__ There are significant gaps between what say is most important to me in my life and how I actually allocate my time and energy

__ My decisions at work are more often influenced by external demands than by a strong, clear sense of my own purpose

__ I don’t invest enough time and energy in making a positive difference to others or to the world Scoring

__ Total number of statements checked:

Totals for each category (i.e. what do you need to work on?) Body __

Mind __ Emotions __ Sprit __

Guide to Overall Score Guide to Category Scores

0–3: Excellent energy management skills 0: Excellent energy management skills 4–6: Reasonable energy management skills 1: Strong energy management skills 7–10: Significant energy management deficits 2: Significant deficits

11–16: A full-fledged energy management crisis 3: Poor energy management skills 4: A full-fledged energy crisis

BODY

MIND

The Basic Idea

Working longer hours to meet the demands of our jobs/families/everything else’s won't work in the long term-- we can end up exhausted and/or burnt out. More fundamentally, time is a limited resource—there are only 24 hours in a day. But our personal energy is renewable. By creating simple rituals, we can manage and replenish our energy (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) so we can do what we need and want to do sustainably. And we will be happier too!

How to Put this Idea into Practice in my Life

Body

Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep, Rest Play

                 Emotions

Diffuse negative emotions, Cultivate positive emotions, look at situations through different points of view (reverse, long, wide)

               Mind

Tasks, E-mail, Calendars

                Spirit

Consciously allocate time to what is important to you, Live your core values

              

Developing

a

Personalized Approach

to

Energy

Management

for

Your

Demanding

Role

Elizabeth

Haney,

Wyss

Institute

at

We

are

in

an

Energy

Crisis

•

_We

_can’t

_completely

_disconnect

_from

_work

_in

_the

evenings,

on

weekends,

even

on

vacations

•

We

can’t

find

time

at

work

to

focus

in

an

absorbed

way,

without

interruption

•

We

don’t

have

a

strong

sense

of

our

priorities

•

_We

_can’t

_say

_no

_to

_taking

_on

_more

_than

_we

_can

_handle

•

We

feel

stressed,

anxious,

frustrated,

and/or

overwhelmed

at

work

•

_We

_don’t

_feel

_that

_our

_work

_serves

_a

_higher

_purpose

_in

the

world

and/or

that

our

work

gives

us

a

sense

of

We

are

in

an

Energy

Crisis

•

We

are

disengaged

from

our

jobs,

our

families,

our

friends,

our

communities

•

We

don’t

regularly

get

enough

sleep

and/or

often

wake

up

feeling

tired

•

_We

_have

_difficulty

_focusing

_on

_one

_thing

_at

_a

time

and

are

easily

distracted

during

the

day

•

There

are

significant

gaps

between

what

we

say

Energy Audit

• Please check the statements below that are true for you.

•

• Body 

• __ I don’t regularly get at least seven to eight hours of sleep, and I often wake up feeling tired. 

• __ I frequently skip breakfast, or I settle for something that isn’t nutritious. 

• __ I don’t work out enough (meaning cardio‐vascular training at least three times a week) 

• __ I don’t take regular breaks during the day to truly renew and recharge, or I often eat lunch at my desk, if I eat it at all.

•

• Mind

• __ I have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time, and I am easily distracted during the day, especially by e‐mail.

• __ I spend much of my day reacting to immediate crises and demands rather than focusing on activities with longer‐term value and high 

leverage

• __ I don’t take enough time for reflection, strategizing, and creative thinking.

• __ I work in the evenings or on weekends, and I almost never take an e‐mail–free vacation.

•

• Emotions

• __ I frequently find myself feeling irritable, impatient, or anxious at work, especially when work is demanding.

• __ I don’t have enough time with my family and loved ones, and when I’m with them, I’m not always really with them.

• __ I have too little time for the activities that I most deeply enjoy.

• __ I don’t stop frequently enough to express my appreciation to others or to savor my accomplishments and blessings.

•

• Spirit

• __ I don’t spend enough time at work doing what I do best and enjoy most. 

• __ There are significant gaps between what say is most important to me in my life and how I actually allocate my time and energy

• __ My decisions at work are more often influenced by external demands than by a strong, clear sense of my own purpose

The

Body:

Physical

Energy

•

Nutrition

•

Exercise

•

_Sleep

•

_Rest

•

_Play

The

Emotions:

Quality

of

Energy

•

Defuse

negative

emotions—irritability,

impatience,

anxiety,

insecurity—through

deep

abdominal

breathing

•

Cultivate

positive

emotions

in

yourself

and

others

–

Express appreciation

–

Build affiliation

–

Find areas of autonomy

–

Define fulfilling roles 

•

Look

at

situations

through

different

points

of

view

–

Reverse: “What would the other person in this 

situation say, and how might s/he be right?” 

–

Long: “How will I likely view this situation in six 

months?” 

–

Wide: “How can I grow and learn from this 

situation?”

The Focus Energy  Matrix

Fo

cu

s

Energy

Disengagement

Purposefulness

Procrastination

Distraction

Circles of Concern and Influence

Circle

of

Concern:

what

we

care

about

and

feel

responsible

for;

what

we

must

do

Circle

of

Influence:

what

we

can

control

The

Mind:

Focus

of

Energy

•

Do

ONE

THING

at

a

time

•

Reduce

interruptions

•

Define

goals

•

Make

accurate

time

estimates

of

how

long

a

The

Mind:

Focus

of

Energy

•

Calendar

–

Do

on

versus

Due

by

–

Schedule

time

for

our

most

challenging

work

when

we

can

be

free

of

interruptions

•

Email

–

Check

less

frequently

–

Use

David

Allen’s

Getting

Things

Done

approach

to

manage

•

Tasks

–

Slow

down

The

Human

Spirit:

Energy

of

Meaning

The

Human

Spirit:

Energy

of

Meaning

and

Purpose

•

Identify

your

“sweet

spot”

activities—those

that

give

you

feelings

of

effectiveness,

effortless

absorption,

and

fulfillment— and

find

ways

to

do

more

of

these.

•

Allocate

time

and

energy

to

what

you consider

most

important.

Building

rituals

is

the

key

to

change

that

lasts

–

Bedtime/relaxation

ritual

at

night

–

Set

a

time

for

exercise,

yoga

–

Eat

a

meal

with

loved

ones

on

a

regular

basis

–

Take

a

walk

outside

–

When

you

get

home,

take

time

to

connect

with

loved

ones

–

Metta Meditation

–

Express

appreciation

to

someone

at

least

once

a

day

–

Have

a

face

to

face

conversation

with

someone

you

like

at

work

at

least

once

a

day

–

Practice

deep

breathing

Take Home Message

•

We’re

at

our

best

when

we

move

between

expending

energy

and

intermittently

renewing

our

four

energy

needs:

physical,

emotional,

mental,

and

spiritual.

•

Building

rituals

is

the

key

to

change

that

lasts.

•

When

we

do

this,

we're

making

ourselves

Thank you!

•

For

your

time

Acknowledgments

•

State of the American Workplace: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. 

Business Leaders. Gallup. 2013

•

Schwartz, Tony and McCarthy, Catherine. Manage Your Energy, Not Your 

Time. Harvard Business Review. 2007. 

•

http://theenergyproject.com

•

Hallowell, Edward M. Overloaded Circuits: Why Smart People Underperform. 

Harvard Business Review. 2004. 

•

Bruch, Heike and Ghoshal, Sumantra. Beware the Busy Manager. Harvard 

Business Review. 2002.