"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you." - Anne Lamott
In the past month I have spoken with many people who have returned to work, returned to office based work or started a new job.
One thing that has struck me is the mental fatigue that has swarmed them progressively throughout this month.
We often see this within our career transition mentoring. When you become used to not needing to be somewhere, not being accountable for something or not having any structure to your day, you drift in to a renewable state which may not always be good to be in for too long.
I want to share with you a visual that I hope helps you manage your energy if you are feeling like you cannot wait for your next day off already.
On the model above, there are four states of energy. These are Burnout, Renewable, Survival and Performance.
To perform at our best we need to be really good at managing our own energy. We need to be good at recognising where our energy state currently is and where we want it to be.
For example, we can be performing at a very high standard for a number of weeks (Performance Quadrant), however, we may be taking on too much or situations out of our control may be effecting us. We begin to show our own signs of the Survival Quadrant. We may be annoyed and critical of the situation rather than being motivated and energised to push on through the challenge.
Depending on how well we identify this quadrant change and our skills to move to a more desirable quadrant, we could see ourselves drifting into the Burnout Quadrant.
When in burnout, we have low quality and low energy intensity. People may not want to engage with us or not fully understand our situation. They may associate our energy state with their own interpretations like, "They are lazy", "They don't care", "I wouldn't trust them". These types of opinions lead to dysfunctional teams and poor relationships.
An effective way to reduce our chances of burnout is to recognise where we are and plan interventions that move us to the renewable quadrant. This is our time where we can still have high quality, just on a smaller intensity scale.
This isn't an opportunity to go couch potato and binge watch a series on a Sunday to 'recharge'.
This is more a time where you can be active, take your pit stop to then move back into the performance zone when you need to be full of energy and intensity.
How you do this is fully in your control, however here are some examples and reasons why they have helped others.
Donor activities - This is an activity that you do that has similar stimuluses to what you would do when you perform at your best, just with reduced intensity.
Bill Gates takes a seven day ‘Think Week’ twice a year. He cuts himself off from civilisation and reads, thinks, walks. This is someone who is so constant in his approach and is in so much regular demand. He travels the world, he goes from meeting to meeting and is often working on multiple projects. His 'Think Week' allows his energy to go into the renewable quadrant however he is still using his brain, still mentally active however just on a lower intensity.
Mindfulness activities - People may add this to their routine when they feel themselves drifting out of performance. It can also be used effectively in the moment as Lebron James recalls.
During game 3 of the 2012 NBA Finals, timeout before going back into the game. He wasn't doing any physical preparation, he sat for 30 seconds and he meditated. He said he was gathering his thoughts and checking his emotions so that he could approach the moment with a clear mind. Calm under pressure.
Puttering and scheduling
Jeff Bezos; Founder, CEO Amazon, claims that Puttering in the morning helps him set himself up for success each day.
“I like to putter in the mornings, I like to read the newspaper, I like to have coffee, I like to have breakfast with my kids before they go to school, My puttering time is very important to me.”
A study by the university of California suggested spending time on mindless tasks allowed the mind to wander and be more creative.
Bezos also understands his regular energy states and plans accordingly to be in performance when it matters.
“I like to do my high IQ meetings before lunch, like anything that’s going to be really mentally challenging, that’s a 10:00 a.m. meeting,”. He goes on to say “By 5:00 p.m., I’m like ‘I can’t think about this today, let’s try that again tomorrow at 10:00 a.m."
To read the full article click the link. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/14/billionaire-jeff-bezos-shares-the-daily-routine-he-uses-to-succeed.html
Hopefully this has been useful for you and provides some clarity in ways that you can improve your energy state.
If you want to explore more of the ways to improve and manage your energy we have a number of mentors who can support you.
Get in touch with us today to see how a mentor can help you perform and renew better.
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