Unsurprisingly energy levels and resilience often become part of my coaching work. I am noticing it arising more this year as clients are working through varying challenging periods. Work volumes, new and changing urgent priorities, interpersonal sensitivities, customer, stakeholder, colleague pressures all accumulate and significantly affect how they feel and ultimately their sense of progress and overall well-being.
At times when it feels like ploughing-on is the only option, no time to stop, there are actually things you can do to boost your energy and avoid these seemingly overwhelming drains.
Do you notice the distinction between a good week and a bad week, in terms of your energy and happiness?
How do you pick yourself up for tomorrow or the next week following a tough one previously? Does a bad week put pressure on your weekend to be restorative (and maybe it isn’t!)? Or do you metaphorically cross your fingers and hope the next phase will be better?
Let me simply make the distinction between boosters and drains.
Boosters are people, events, activities that make you feel good, recharged, rejuvenated maybe – when you are involved in Boosters you have a greater access to your faculties; your mental acuity is heightened; you are oriented to optimistic; weekends are fun; you may even smile more (and find your smile with ease).
Drains are people, events, activities that deplete your mental and physical reserves – when you are involved in Drains you feel tired; you are more aware of your aches and pains; your temper may be shorter; your thoughts become dark; smiling takes effort; weekends aren’t long enough; you are oriented to the feeling of overwhelm (and with it can come doubt and disappointment).
(NOTE: some people, events and activities may fall between these two descriptions – i.e. having no negative or positive charge)
When bluntly laid out as I have here it seems obvious and perhaps it is?
Look back at last week – how many boosters and how many drains filled your week? Boosters are plus 1, drains are minus 1. What was your net score? Now consider how you felt on your ‘journey home’ on Friday evening. There will be correlation.
So, what to do?
First, PAY ATTENTION! To what triggers a boost and what fills your drain; to how you feel at the end of the week.
Second, build a clear and unambiguous list of your Boosters, stay open to adding and upgrading this list as it will become your ‘go-to’ when days and weeks become heavy.
A client this week listed exercise; sleep; time to think (away from work noise); informal time with team members; interacting with inspiring material (people, audios, literature); good food; working on top three tasks (see “3-4-3” from “The ‘Keep It Simple’ Book”) and suddenly noticed how all of them were in short supply in their previous few weeks as they wrestled with the urgencies of organisational transition and transformation challenges.
Third step, crucially, is to assertively include your Boosters in your week’s schedule. Thereafter the blocked drains have less of an affect on your mood and energy, and they may even begin clearing on their own.
No one will do it for you, nothing changes until something changes!
Keep it simple! And make today, tomorrow, this week great (it is, after all, up to you).
Simon