It has been a couple of interesting months. A lot is happening and my work has led me in all kind of directions. One of the projects I have just finalised, was a series of workshops for a company in Belgium. Main topic: “How to increase your Mental Resilience”.
Many participants were struggling with their work/life balance but also with the fact that they did not find the energy anymore to muster motivation for the job. Those are serious situations, both for the employees as the company.
These workshops were very intense and when you want participants to get as much out of it as possible, as facilitator you need to give at least your 200% effort.
Energy Management has been a topic therefore not only for the participants, but also for me.
Our professional and personal calenders are often fully booked and sometimes even over-booked. How do we deal with our daily energy management will determine how well we can coop with pressure, disappointments and even happy events. In the workshops there were plenty of participants who could not even enjoy the pleasant moments, due to stress.
There are some things you should know and can do to start at least to manage your energy. All these things I know and use, but I need to remind myself every now and again to keep up the good behavior. This blog-post is therefor also my own reminder in these busy times.
1. Move that Body: “Body and mind are one”. It has often been said and believed to be true. If you are short in energy and feel you could use a boost for a task ahead, move your body energetically for not more than two minutes and feel the energy flow through your body and mind.
Try the following exercise and feel for yourself: start clapping your hands. First slowly, then speed up the tempo and energy. After only 30 seconds, count till three and upon three, throw up one arm in the air and shout as loud as you can: YEAH!. Feel the energy rush through you…..
2. Know your Energy Benefit/Cost Plan: What activities and situations give you energy and which ones cost you energy and how much? There are many things you need to do on one day. All things cost energy, but some things also give energy. Know which activities cost much, but give little and the other way around.
Make a list of activities and situations that are recurrent in your day-to-day and give them a rating on the Benefit/Cost axes. It is easy to see how your day runs and ends if you count them all up.
3. Order your Activities according to your Energy Benefit/Cost Plan: If you know what activities and situations bring more energy than they cost, make sure to plan these wisely during the day. Need some extra energy for a task that feels though?
Do something first that brings energy and after as well to bring you back to an OK level. Not always possible to end the day or begin the new day balanced? Be prepared and accept it, but not for too long. Do not wait for the holidays to make up for it. You and the people around you, deserve you at your best at all times.
4. How do you Recharge your Battery? Know yourself! When you come home after a long day, what helps you most to recharge your personal battery? Maybe it is being on your own for 10 minutes, maybe it is doing something active. If you know what works best for you and you feel you are in need of some balance, protect yourself and make sure you get your battery recharged in time.
Make sure you fill up your battery to the 100% level every couple of days. This means you may have to change your plan to make sure your preferred charging method is included. Do so and explain to the people around why you need to be alone or doing something. Every body is unique also in energy management.
There are two more points that can help you, that I will not elaborate on now:
5. Let go of Matters you cannot Control anyway
6. “Musturbation”, a habit to loose (No, it’s not a spelling mistake)
These two items have been recurring topics during the workshops as well. Next time I will write some more about these two tools that can help you to analyse when you need to take action and what kind of action or when to let go.
What does your energy management look like? Share your method and approach and let us know what works for you to renew your energy level. Knowing my schedule for the next weeks, I could use some more tips.
If you want to know more on increasing your Mental Resilience, you can always contact me. Otherwise, join the readers group of this blog post by subscribing via the button. You will automatically receive a two-weekly update.
Esther Celosse
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