Vedere Consulting
There's a sweet spot where fulfillment and productivity intersect. My blog is dedicated to helping leaders find it for themselves and their employees. --Plum Cluverius,Executive CoachFriday, October 31, 2008
Going to the Source: Spiritual Energy
This is the fifth post in a series on maximizing performance through managing energy based on the work of Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book, The Power of Full Engagement.
In earlier posts, I’ve discussed the physical, mental and emotional wellsprings of our energy and the importance of balancing and developing each source to maximize performance. The fourth wellspring, our spiritual energy, flows from our deepest values and purpose. This energy is the most powerful source of our motivation and perseverance. Without it, we run the risk of living expedient, dissatisfied and, paradoxically, less productive lives. To tap it, we must be connected to the things we hold most dear—giving them our time and attention, and to a purpose that extends beyond ourselves.
In his Harvard Business Review article, Tony Schwartz identified three important sources of spiritual energy: doing what you do best and enjoy most at work, allocating enough time to the areas of your life you think are most important, and living in accord with your deepest values. In each of these areas it’s important to become conscious of what matters most to you and to align your life in a way that nourishes those areas.
In the work I do with executives at the Federal Executive Institute, one of my favorite exercises is to ask participants to look at how they spend their time in a typical week and to determine if they are spending it in a way that’s consistent with what they value most. It’s a pretty sobering experience to identify something like your family as the most important thing in your life and then to see how little time you devote to them. But it’s an important realization. For some, it’s discouraging. For others, it’s life changing, because they realize that the way they spend their time matters deeply. Newly conscious of their unconscious choices, they have more control over what they do in the future.
As with the other wellsprings of energy, it is making small, incremental changes and forming new rituals that are most successful in boosting your spiritual energy and making higher performance possible. To spend more time at work on things you do well and enjoy most, you first have to find your “sweet spots”—the areas of work that are almost effortless, inspiring and productive for you. You then design ways to do more of these things and less of the work that bores and tires you. For example, a former colleague of mine enjoyed public speaking so much that he began conducting workshops for Dale Carnegie. That led to increased opportunities to do training in his regular job and finally to a role that was much more aligned with his passions.
Other rituals support connecting yourself to the things you care about most and your deepest values. One of my clients, a busy executive who wanted to devote more time to making pottery, a source of great satisfaction for him, worked two hours later one night and left work two hours early the next afternoon so he could have several hours of concentrated time in his studio at least one day during the work week. A client who deeply valued her relationship with God took 20 minutes each night to read the Bible before going to bed.
Because it is more intangible, we don’t realize what an important source of energy the spirit is to us. Even if we do, it is easy in our fast-paced lives to let external demands rather than internal callings dictate our actions. However, cutting ourselves off from this energy source is ultimately debilitating. The deep, spiritual part of our being is our connection to the Divine, to something greater than ourselves, to all life. What Schwartz and Loehr tell us is that tending to our spiritual selves is also practical. We become more productive.
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your mental energy:
contact Plum for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
or
read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, see:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
In earlier posts, I’ve discussed the physical, mental and emotional wellsprings of our energy and the importance of balancing and developing each source to maximize performance. The fourth wellspring, our spiritual energy, flows from our deepest values and purpose. This energy is the most powerful source of our motivation and perseverance. Without it, we run the risk of living expedient, dissatisfied and, paradoxically, less productive lives. To tap it, we must be connected to the things we hold most dear—giving them our time and attention, and to a purpose that extends beyond ourselves.
In his Harvard Business Review article, Tony Schwartz identified three important sources of spiritual energy: doing what you do best and enjoy most at work, allocating enough time to the areas of your life you think are most important, and living in accord with your deepest values. In each of these areas it’s important to become conscious of what matters most to you and to align your life in a way that nourishes those areas.
In the work I do with executives at the Federal Executive Institute, one of my favorite exercises is to ask participants to look at how they spend their time in a typical week and to determine if they are spending it in a way that’s consistent with what they value most. It’s a pretty sobering experience to identify something like your family as the most important thing in your life and then to see how little time you devote to them. But it’s an important realization. For some, it’s discouraging. For others, it’s life changing, because they realize that the way they spend their time matters deeply. Newly conscious of their unconscious choices, they have more control over what they do in the future.
As with the other wellsprings of energy, it is making small, incremental changes and forming new rituals that are most successful in boosting your spiritual energy and making higher performance possible. To spend more time at work on things you do well and enjoy most, you first have to find your “sweet spots”—the areas of work that are almost effortless, inspiring and productive for you. You then design ways to do more of these things and less of the work that bores and tires you. For example, a former colleague of mine enjoyed public speaking so much that he began conducting workshops for Dale Carnegie. That led to increased opportunities to do training in his regular job and finally to a role that was much more aligned with his passions.
Other rituals support connecting yourself to the things you care about most and your deepest values. One of my clients, a busy executive who wanted to devote more time to making pottery, a source of great satisfaction for him, worked two hours later one night and left work two hours early the next afternoon so he could have several hours of concentrated time in his studio at least one day during the work week. A client who deeply valued her relationship with God took 20 minutes each night to read the Bible before going to bed.
Because it is more intangible, we don’t realize what an important source of energy the spirit is to us. Even if we do, it is easy in our fast-paced lives to let external demands rather than internal callings dictate our actions. However, cutting ourselves off from this energy source is ultimately debilitating. The deep, spiritual part of our being is our connection to the Divine, to something greater than ourselves, to all life. What Schwartz and Loehr tell us is that tending to our spiritual selves is also practical. We become more productive.
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your mental energy:
contact Plum for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
or
read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, see:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
Labels: Work and Life Balance
Click for more information on executive coaching with Vedere Consulting. You can also follow Plum on Twitter.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Mental Energy: Focus on Focusing
This is the fourth post in a series on maximizing performance through managing energy based on the work of Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book, The Power of Full Engagement.
If there’s one thing that gets my clients (and most of the rest of us) in trouble, it’s the myth of multi-tasking. We believe that if we do several things at once, we’ll get more done. It simply isn’t true. Our brains are wired to focus on one thing at a time. When we switch from task to task, for example when we interrupt writing a report to answer the telephone or read an e-mail, it takes time for the brain to refocus and we lose concentration. Tasks take up to 25% longer to complete.
Concentration and focus are the key components of mental energy, the third energy wellspring Loehr and Schwartz describe in The Power of Full Engagement. Like physical and emotional energy, mental energy relies on exercise mixed with intermittent recovery. We are better off concentrating on one task at a time, taking a break when we complete it and then switching to the next task. Following this strategy allows us to get far more done in less time.
If that seems impossible in today’s world, think again. Tony Schwartz, in a Harvard Business Review article, talked about a group in a national accounting consulting firm, whose boss, Michael Henke, announced at the beginning of the winter busy season that he was turning off his instant messaging system for periods of time during the day so he could concentrate on his work. During those times he would be unavailable to his staff, unless it was a true emergency.
He also encouraged his staff to take regular breaks throughout the day and eat more regularly. According to Schwartz, the group finished the busy season, “under budget and more profitable” than other teams who didn’t follow the same program. They got more done in less time.
Many people begin the work day checking phone messages and answering e-mail. That’s a recipe for inefficiency because it’s so easy to get caught up in other people’s deadlines and emergencies. Julie Morgenstern, in Making Work Work, tells clients to block off the first hour of the day to concentrate on the most important thing they need to get done. Making progress on or completing that task produces a feeling of accomplishment that powers the rest of the day. Morgenstern also recommends setting aside regular, concentrated times to do e-mail, maybe 2-3 times during the day. The duration depends on the volume and urgency of one’s inbox, but clients find that they can empty their in-box at each session.
Mental energy is also impacted by oscillation. As I stated in an earlier post, we can concentrate fully for up to 90-120 minutes. After that point, we begin to lose focus and tasks take longer. Regular breaks, even if they are brief, can do much to restore our mental energy. A brisk walk, listening to music, deep breathing, stretching, eating away from your desk, a conversation with a friend—anything you find refreshing—will restore your mental energy and concentration.
Physical, emotional and mental energy all impact each other. Research shows that exercise sends more blood to the brain, which enhances our capacity to think. Negative emotions can interfere with concentration. Eating small, healthy meals at regular intervals fuels the brain’s capacity to work.
If you want to get more done in less time, it pays to focus on how you’re focusing! Take a break. Eat right. Do the most important thing first. Resist being sucked in by e-mail. You’ll be glad you did.
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your mental energy:
contact Plum for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
or
read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, see:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
If there’s one thing that gets my clients (and most of the rest of us) in trouble, it’s the myth of multi-tasking. We believe that if we do several things at once, we’ll get more done. It simply isn’t true. Our brains are wired to focus on one thing at a time. When we switch from task to task, for example when we interrupt writing a report to answer the telephone or read an e-mail, it takes time for the brain to refocus and we lose concentration. Tasks take up to 25% longer to complete.
Concentration and focus are the key components of mental energy, the third energy wellspring Loehr and Schwartz describe in The Power of Full Engagement. Like physical and emotional energy, mental energy relies on exercise mixed with intermittent recovery. We are better off concentrating on one task at a time, taking a break when we complete it and then switching to the next task. Following this strategy allows us to get far more done in less time.
If that seems impossible in today’s world, think again. Tony Schwartz, in a Harvard Business Review article, talked about a group in a national accounting consulting firm, whose boss, Michael Henke, announced at the beginning of the winter busy season that he was turning off his instant messaging system for periods of time during the day so he could concentrate on his work. During those times he would be unavailable to his staff, unless it was a true emergency.
He also encouraged his staff to take regular breaks throughout the day and eat more regularly. According to Schwartz, the group finished the busy season, “under budget and more profitable” than other teams who didn’t follow the same program. They got more done in less time.
Many people begin the work day checking phone messages and answering e-mail. That’s a recipe for inefficiency because it’s so easy to get caught up in other people’s deadlines and emergencies. Julie Morgenstern, in Making Work Work, tells clients to block off the first hour of the day to concentrate on the most important thing they need to get done. Making progress on or completing that task produces a feeling of accomplishment that powers the rest of the day. Morgenstern also recommends setting aside regular, concentrated times to do e-mail, maybe 2-3 times during the day. The duration depends on the volume and urgency of one’s inbox, but clients find that they can empty their in-box at each session.
Mental energy is also impacted by oscillation. As I stated in an earlier post, we can concentrate fully for up to 90-120 minutes. After that point, we begin to lose focus and tasks take longer. Regular breaks, even if they are brief, can do much to restore our mental energy. A brisk walk, listening to music, deep breathing, stretching, eating away from your desk, a conversation with a friend—anything you find refreshing—will restore your mental energy and concentration.
Physical, emotional and mental energy all impact each other. Research shows that exercise sends more blood to the brain, which enhances our capacity to think. Negative emotions can interfere with concentration. Eating small, healthy meals at regular intervals fuels the brain’s capacity to work.
If you want to get more done in less time, it pays to focus on how you’re focusing! Take a break. Eat right. Do the most important thing first. Resist being sucked in by e-mail. You’ll be glad you did.
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your mental energy:
contact Plum for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
or
read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, see:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
Labels: Work and Life Balance
Click for more information on executive coaching with Vedere Consulting. You can also follow Plum on Twitter.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Emotional Energy: It's the Quality That Counts
This is the third post in a series on maximizing performance through managing energy based on the work of Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz in their book, The Power of Full Engagement.
You’ve got an important deadline. You try to work on it but you keep getting interrupted. You’re finding it hard to concentrate. The pressure is starting to build. You’re getting anxious. You may not be aware of it, but your breathing is getting shallower, your muscles are starting to contract. Your system is getting flooded with adrenaline and cortisol. Blood is being diverted from your brain and you no longer can think clearly. You are under too much stress.
Ladies and gentlemen, your negative emotions have taken over and your performance will suffer. Emotions are the key to the quality of our energy just as our physical state is key to the quantity of our energy. If we are to manage energy to maximize performance, we must learn to manage our emotions—to turn from negative emotions like fear, depression, anger and impatience to positive emotions like joy, excitement and challenge.
According to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, optimum performance requires high amounts of positive energy. This is not about being naïve or unrealistic, it is about recognizing we have more control over our emotions than we realize. It means looking at any reality—even a harsh one—honestly, and then choosing your reaction to it. A successful sales manager I know didn’t get a job promotion he wanted. He was given a training assignment instead. He found an aspect of the new job that played to his passions and strengths and turned it into an award winning program. He looked for the hidden opportunity in the hand he’d been dealt, found it and then exploited it. That's realistic optimism.
Schwartz and Loehr point out that we can run down our emotional energy just like we can exhaust ourselves physically if we constantly spend emotional energy without recovery. Negative emotions are more costly to our energy levels than positive ones just as a gas guzzling car uses more gas than a hybrid.
We build our capacity to respond optimistically and confidently to challenges when we seek out and maintain sources of emotional renewal. Spending time with people who are important to us, building friendships that are truly give and take, and engaging in activities that are enjoyable, affirming and/or fulfilling are important sources of emotional renewal. Because they are more that a pleasant activity, we must treat the time we devote to them as sacrosanct if we are to perform at our best.
Another way to build our emotional capacity is to develop ways to build optimism. Tony Schwartz, in an article in the Harvard Business Review, suggests developing rituals such as taking time to express gratitude for what you have, taking time to express appreciation to others, and reframing. Reframing means examining your interpretation of an event and determining if another interpretation is plausible and more “hopeful and personally empowering.” For example, if I contact a client and they don’t call me back I can easily interpret their silence to mean they are uninterested in my services. I get discouraged and maybe write them off. On the other hand, it is just as plausible and more empowering to interpret their silence as they are busy and/or out of town. If I wait, they will probably call me back, or I may choose to follow up in a week or two. In either case, I’m going to be more confident when I talk with them and if I’m more confident, I’m more likely to respond in a way that will win business now or in the future.
As always, the key to building emotional capacity is to make small incremental changes. For example, one client of Loehr and Schwartz’s decided to call his parents at least one time a week during his commute home. Another client made it a habit to take a bike ride with his son every Saturday. Another took a report to lunch once a week and told them something about them she appreciated. Still another asked himself when faced with a tough situation “how will I see this in 6 months?” Another started taking a dance class once a week.
Take a look at your emotional energy. Do you need to build it?
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your emotional energy:
contact me for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
or
read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, go to these websites:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
You’ve got an important deadline. You try to work on it but you keep getting interrupted. You’re finding it hard to concentrate. The pressure is starting to build. You’re getting anxious. You may not be aware of it, but your breathing is getting shallower, your muscles are starting to contract. Your system is getting flooded with adrenaline and cortisol. Blood is being diverted from your brain and you no longer can think clearly. You are under too much stress.
Ladies and gentlemen, your negative emotions have taken over and your performance will suffer. Emotions are the key to the quality of our energy just as our physical state is key to the quantity of our energy. If we are to manage energy to maximize performance, we must learn to manage our emotions—to turn from negative emotions like fear, depression, anger and impatience to positive emotions like joy, excitement and challenge.
According to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, optimum performance requires high amounts of positive energy. This is not about being naïve or unrealistic, it is about recognizing we have more control over our emotions than we realize. It means looking at any reality—even a harsh one—honestly, and then choosing your reaction to it. A successful sales manager I know didn’t get a job promotion he wanted. He was given a training assignment instead. He found an aspect of the new job that played to his passions and strengths and turned it into an award winning program. He looked for the hidden opportunity in the hand he’d been dealt, found it and then exploited it. That's realistic optimism.
Schwartz and Loehr point out that we can run down our emotional energy just like we can exhaust ourselves physically if we constantly spend emotional energy without recovery. Negative emotions are more costly to our energy levels than positive ones just as a gas guzzling car uses more gas than a hybrid.
We build our capacity to respond optimistically and confidently to challenges when we seek out and maintain sources of emotional renewal. Spending time with people who are important to us, building friendships that are truly give and take, and engaging in activities that are enjoyable, affirming and/or fulfilling are important sources of emotional renewal. Because they are more that a pleasant activity, we must treat the time we devote to them as sacrosanct if we are to perform at our best.
Another way to build our emotional capacity is to develop ways to build optimism. Tony Schwartz, in an article in the Harvard Business Review, suggests developing rituals such as taking time to express gratitude for what you have, taking time to express appreciation to others, and reframing. Reframing means examining your interpretation of an event and determining if another interpretation is plausible and more “hopeful and personally empowering.” For example, if I contact a client and they don’t call me back I can easily interpret their silence to mean they are uninterested in my services. I get discouraged and maybe write them off. On the other hand, it is just as plausible and more empowering to interpret their silence as they are busy and/or out of town. If I wait, they will probably call me back, or I may choose to follow up in a week or two. In either case, I’m going to be more confident when I talk with them and if I’m more confident, I’m more likely to respond in a way that will win business now or in the future.
As always, the key to building emotional capacity is to make small incremental changes. For example, one client of Loehr and Schwartz’s decided to call his parents at least one time a week during his commute home. Another client made it a habit to take a bike ride with his son every Saturday. Another took a report to lunch once a week and told them something about them she appreciated. Still another asked himself when faced with a tough situation “how will I see this in 6 months?” Another started taking a dance class once a week.
Take a look at your emotional energy. Do you need to build it?
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your emotional energy:
contact me for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
or
read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, go to these websites:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
Labels: Work and Life Balance
Click for more information on executive coaching with Vedere Consulting. You can also follow Plum on Twitter.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Physical Energy: The Foundation of Energy Management
Physical energy is the foundational energy source. Without it, we have difficulty maintaining focus, positive emotional energy, creativity or even a sense of mission. It literally fuels everything we do. Because we work primarily in sedentary jobs that require mental capacity, we forget that our capacity to think and act is rooted in our bodies—in our brains and circulatory systems, our muscles and our respiratory systems. How we care for our physical selves either creates or depletes the energy we depend on.
We don’t have to be marathoners to work at our best, but we do have to bear in mind the principles of full engagement discussed in last week’s post (and based on Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr’s book, The Power of Full Engagement): oscillation, overuse and underuse, change in one energy source produces change in all, and small changes produce the best results. The point of paying attention to our energy sources (of which physical energy is one) is that we ultimately can do more in less time—much more so than if we focus solely on managing our time.
The first challenge in developing our physical energy is to pay attention to our bodies’ physical needs:
· A steady source of high quality energy
· Oxygen
· Sufficient balance between work and rest
· A sufficient level of cardiovascular fitness
· A sufficient level of strength
A steady energy supply comes from eating several small meals a day (i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner with a small, 100-150 calorie snack between each meal) and from eating foods low in simple sugars and with high nutritional value like proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
The idea is to keep your blood sugar at a steady level and to avoid the spike and drop pattern that comes from eating sugary foods and skipping meals. Another important factor is eating the right amount—to little and we are starving ourselves, too much and we are sluggish.
We all take oxygen for granted. Who goes about their day thinking about breathing? Yet controlling our breath helps us calm ourselves in tense situations and brings us energy when we exert ourselves. A yoga practice first begins with a focus on the breath-- learning to pay attention to this life force and use different breathing to serve different purposes.
The balance between work and recovery encompasses two key dimensions. We are rhythmic beings—that is our bodies have several rhythms we must support if we are to perform at our best. The first is our circadian rhythm—the balance between the time we sleep and the time we are awake. Research shows that most adults need between seven and eight hours of sleep a night, although many of us don’t get anywhere near that much. Over time, sleep deprivation affects our moods, our ability to concentrate, etc. The best habit is to go to bed early and wake up early. However, we can increase our performance with a short nap (10-20 minutes) or two when a full night’s sleep is impossible.
A second rhythm is the ultradian rhythm, where our energy level oscillates every 1 ½ to 2 hours from high to low. If we try to work longer than 2 hours without some form of recovery, our energy level suffers. That’s why those 3 and 4 hour meetings are such a challenge. It’s impossible for people to retain a high level of concentration over such a long period of time. However, a short break, even if it’s only 5-10 minutes, will produce sufficient recovery to restore energy if one truly disengages from the work at hand. It doesn’t do any good to take a walk around the block if you’re still thinking about the problem you need to solve!
Put these dimensions together and you see the need to balance work with recovery—working long hours with no time for rest ultimately reduces productivity and effectiveness. In addition, our fitness level impacts our ability to manage stress. Our bodies need exercise to handle daily and long term pressures—both cardiovascular and strength training. Again, at least 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 days a week and 2 days of strength training are optimal, but research has shown that any exercise improves our capacity to handle stress, even if it is a short amounts of exercise spread throughout the day.
The second challenge is to increase our physical energy if this is one area we tend to under use. Fortunately, small, incremental changes work best and if we develop new habits that enhance our physical energy, we will see enhanced capacity in the other energy sources (emotional, mental and spiritual) as well. The important thing is to make a small change that you enjoy. For example, if you normally skip lunch or eat at your desk, think of something simple you’d enjoy doing that would get you out of the office for a few minutes. You might bring your lunch and eat it at a nearby park, you might bring a protein smoothie and sip it while you window shop for half an hour, you might take a half hour at lunch to read a favorite book. The idea is to do something enjoyable that allows you to completely disengage from work for a little while. Instead of reducing the amount of work you get done, you’ll actually increase it because you can be more focused.
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your physical energy, read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
or
Contact me for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, see:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
We don’t have to be marathoners to work at our best, but we do have to bear in mind the principles of full engagement discussed in last week’s post (and based on Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr’s book, The Power of Full Engagement): oscillation, overuse and underuse, change in one energy source produces change in all, and small changes produce the best results. The point of paying attention to our energy sources (of which physical energy is one) is that we ultimately can do more in less time—much more so than if we focus solely on managing our time.
The first challenge in developing our physical energy is to pay attention to our bodies’ physical needs:
· A steady source of high quality energy
· Oxygen
· Sufficient balance between work and rest
· A sufficient level of cardiovascular fitness
· A sufficient level of strength
A steady energy supply comes from eating several small meals a day (i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner with a small, 100-150 calorie snack between each meal) and from eating foods low in simple sugars and with high nutritional value like proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
The idea is to keep your blood sugar at a steady level and to avoid the spike and drop pattern that comes from eating sugary foods and skipping meals. Another important factor is eating the right amount—to little and we are starving ourselves, too much and we are sluggish.
We all take oxygen for granted. Who goes about their day thinking about breathing? Yet controlling our breath helps us calm ourselves in tense situations and brings us energy when we exert ourselves. A yoga practice first begins with a focus on the breath-- learning to pay attention to this life force and use different breathing to serve different purposes.
The balance between work and recovery encompasses two key dimensions. We are rhythmic beings—that is our bodies have several rhythms we must support if we are to perform at our best. The first is our circadian rhythm—the balance between the time we sleep and the time we are awake. Research shows that most adults need between seven and eight hours of sleep a night, although many of us don’t get anywhere near that much. Over time, sleep deprivation affects our moods, our ability to concentrate, etc. The best habit is to go to bed early and wake up early. However, we can increase our performance with a short nap (10-20 minutes) or two when a full night’s sleep is impossible.
A second rhythm is the ultradian rhythm, where our energy level oscillates every 1 ½ to 2 hours from high to low. If we try to work longer than 2 hours without some form of recovery, our energy level suffers. That’s why those 3 and 4 hour meetings are such a challenge. It’s impossible for people to retain a high level of concentration over such a long period of time. However, a short break, even if it’s only 5-10 minutes, will produce sufficient recovery to restore energy if one truly disengages from the work at hand. It doesn’t do any good to take a walk around the block if you’re still thinking about the problem you need to solve!
Put these dimensions together and you see the need to balance work with recovery—working long hours with no time for rest ultimately reduces productivity and effectiveness. In addition, our fitness level impacts our ability to manage stress. Our bodies need exercise to handle daily and long term pressures—both cardiovascular and strength training. Again, at least 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 days a week and 2 days of strength training are optimal, but research has shown that any exercise improves our capacity to handle stress, even if it is a short amounts of exercise spread throughout the day.
The second challenge is to increase our physical energy if this is one area we tend to under use. Fortunately, small, incremental changes work best and if we develop new habits that enhance our physical energy, we will see enhanced capacity in the other energy sources (emotional, mental and spiritual) as well. The important thing is to make a small change that you enjoy. For example, if you normally skip lunch or eat at your desk, think of something simple you’d enjoy doing that would get you out of the office for a few minutes. You might bring your lunch and eat it at a nearby park, you might bring a protein smoothie and sip it while you window shop for half an hour, you might take a half hour at lunch to read a favorite book. The idea is to do something enjoyable that allows you to completely disengage from work for a little while. Instead of reducing the amount of work you get done, you’ll actually increase it because you can be more focused.
For more ideas on small changes you can make to increase your physical energy, read The Power of Full Engagement, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+power+of+full+engagement+
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Contact me for a free brainstorming session: plum@vedereconsulting.com or 804-261-6483.
For a free or an inexpensive Full Engagement Profile, see: http://www.lgeperformance.com/assessment_diagnostic.html
For more information about the authors of The Power of Full Engagement and their work, see:
Jim Loehr is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, http://www.lgeperformance.com/index.html .
Tony Schwartz is Founder and President of The Energy Project, http://www.theenergyproject.com/home.html .
Labels: Work and Life Balance
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