How To Manage Your Energy
I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling the energy from others as I normally would at the beginning of a new year. I’m talking with so many, and even after the holidays people are feeling overwhelmed, demotivated, and can’t figure out why they don’t have that “new year, new goals, dreams, hopes, exciting!” feeling.
It's more burnout, overwhelm, and not really knowing how to manage all the uncertainty and social discord.
It’s also good to remember that many of us have been running sprint — through the marathon that COVID has brought to everyone’s lives.
It isn’t working.
Even as we move toward an endemic phase, the universe will continue to deliver chaos, uncertainty and change.
But it’s critical to remember that there is yin and yang. Darkness and light. I believe there are many silver linings to what we’ve all been forced to reckon with these last two years.
It’s all about perspective and learning how to manage your energy.
The first steps may have a lot to do with unlearning old behaviours and coping mechanisms that are no longer serving you.
In order to start trying out new approaches to see what will allow us to thrive in this brave new world, it’s important to step back and get a better understanding of where we’re spending our time—and energy.
If you were planning to run your first marathon, would you not have a training plan? Same goes for the massive mindset shift that is required right now.
Allow me to play out this analogy with a little help from Runner’s World.
According to them, typical marathon training plans are 16 to 20 weeks long. During this time, you’ll typically run three to five times a week, increasing your mileage as you get nearer to race day.
On the other days, you can cross train, do some low intensity exercise (think yoga or Pilates) and, most importantly, rest your legs, allowing them to fully recover.
However, if you’re a beginner, experts advise to devise a plan to successfully complete the race, and worry less about your time and more about your energy.
Ever heard of periodization?
It is a scientific theory that elite athletes apply to build up and maintain their reserves to ensure they optimize performance and compete in the long game. It is the science of measuring work:rest ratios for optimal performance and ensures reduced risk of injury, fatigue, and staleness over the long term. It considers managing factors such as workload, intensity and recovery.
The energy management tips below are based on this science. And you may have read, or heard, or even said these things yourself. But really, and be honest, are you following some of it? None of it?
Today I want you to think about ONE thing you can change. You don’t need to sprint to some imaginary finish line. It’s all in the baby steps.
1. Create a refuge. This can be a physical space in your home – a cozy chair where you can read a book, do a crossword puzzle, or have cup of tea. Perhaps you have a small room where you can roll out a yoga mat and simply lay down. Even if you can retreat to this refuge for 10-15 minutes a day, you’ll feel the benefits. If you have children and they’re past napping age, consider teaching them to do the same thing. Kids need a break too.
2. Budget your energy. Coaching Out of the Box®, Personal Groundwork for Coaching™ suggests you create an energy budget, as you would a financial budget. What gives you energy, motivates you, brings you joy (attribute positive dollars) and what takes it away (attribute negative dollars being “spent”). Think about what feeds you in a physical, spiritual, emotional and mental way. Then develop a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly plan to ensure you refuel. It could be telling your family that you need 15 minutes once you finish your workday to sit by yourself, go for a walk, or take a bath and indulge in your favourite magazine.
3. Understand your natural energy cycles. When do you feel you have the most energy? When are you the most productive? Leverage that and manage your schedule and activities around that. Look back at your energy budget and incorporate those high energy needs into your plan.
4. What’s your WHY? Ideally in life, but in this case write 1-2 sentences describing positive reasons why you want to manage your energy better.
5. Learn something new. It may seem counterintuitive to bring more into your life, but if you’re like me and you get energized by learning, variety, and novel things, this can work wonders. Have you always wanted to take boxing or karate lessons, learn Spanish, or learn how to cook amazing Italian food? I bet there’s something you’ve always dreamed of doing, but haven’t stretched outside your comfort zone.
Sometimes it comes down to what you need to say “no” to in order to say “yes” to this new thing.
6. Build a strong community. We know that community bonds are important to resilience, and many people are feeling isolated. The first step here is awareness. Who is in your community? Who are those people you trust implicitly, can be yourself around, and feed you good vibes? Who are those people that are simply fun to be with?
And on the other side of the continuum, who are those that suck the energy out of you? You know how you always feel “wiped” after a conversation with them. Consider spending more time with the former, and none —or less (if you can’t ditch them completely)— with the latter. Making an effort in this department can feel very freeing.
7. Unlearn behaviours. This is a difficult one, but at least you can reflect and think about your expectations of yourself, your family, and others. How is your relationship to the work you do? What patterns have you learned? What isn’t working? What needs to change? The first step is building that awareness. The next step is to determine solutions to make the first baby step towards change. An experienced coach can help guide and keep you accountable.
8. Identify emotional triggers. Identify your big triggers and begin to replace them with other feel good things. Again, coaching can really help here, but things that you can start doing now are putting pen to paper and journaling out your feelings around a specific trigger. The act of writing gets it out of your head and can be extremely cathartic.
Find a podcast that speaks to your particular issues and start gaining insight that can help you move through the blocks. The poet Rumi wrote, “We are in touch with our souls when we build a bridge between the human self and the higher self. Spend some time there.”
9. Take action. It doesn’t have to be grand. Just speaking to a friend, smiling at a stranger, meditating, going for a walk, or having a good work out, can go a long way to balancing your nervous system.
10. Seek support. It’s ok to ask for help. Some of us have a tough time doing so. Once you take that step, and you get the support that’s right for you, new portals open and opportunities present themselves.
“There are always two paths before us”, Scott Swanson writes in Burnout: Journeying from the Shadows to a Brighter Path. Knowing that there are alternatives within the kind of life we’re living can pull us out of feeling stuck on the hamster wheel.
So many of us have taught ourselves to “do”— and have been rewarded for it. Taking the time to stop and think, quietly, even for a few minutes can work wonders.
If you’re looking for resources, the Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto currently has online courses on managing burnout.
