Becoming Fully Engaged Part 1: Managing Energy, Not Time
Patsi Krakoff
Just about everyone is in a hurry these days, juggling work,
family and play like so many balls in the air. We pride
ourselves on our ability to multitask. We use email, cell
phones, and other devices to keep in touch so that we don't
miss anything. However, the more time-saving devices at our
disposition, the more we cram in extra tasks. Instead of saving
time, we are creating more possibilities. We are wired up but
melting down.
Faced with relentless demands at work, we return home exhausted,
only to face children and spouses with less than a cheerful
disposition. Instead of experiencing our families as a source
of joy and renewal, they are one more demand in an overburdened
life. We say we need more time, but time isn't really the key
issue in the first place.
Energy is the Key
The issue isn't time-or time management. It's energy. And
this requires us to rethink much of what we've believed about
organizing our lives. Managing time efficiently is no guarantee
that we'll bring sufficient energy to whatever it is we're doing.
We need to learn two new rules:
1. Energy is the fundamental currency of high performance.
2. Performance, health and happiness are grounded in the
skillful management of energy.
According to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, in their recent book,
The Power of Full Engagement (Free Press, 2003), the skillful
management of energy-individually and organizationally-makes
full engagement possible. To be fully engaged in our lives we
must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally
focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our
immediate self-interest. This is a phenomenal insight that
most of us ignore.
The Quality of our Moments
When you think about it, the ultimate measure of our lives is
not how much time we spend on the planet, neither how much we
get done, but rather in the quality of our moments. We can't
have memorable moments without investing energy.
Most approaches to the problems of time and stress management
deal with it from the neck up, addressing cognitive capacity and
skills. Now a growing body of research points to managing our
emotions and connecting with our spiritual sense of true values
and higher purpose as the keys to sustaining optimal performance.
To Be Continued...
One of the ways to improve your energy capacity is to explore
these issues with your coach: the ways in which you expend
energy and how you renew it. The four domains of physical,
emotional mental and spiritual all need to be explored. In
some cases, you may need to stretch yourself to expand your
capacities. In others, you may need to build in renewal and
recovery rituals.
These rituals may include writing in a journal, meditation, a
regular workout routine, praying, reading something inspirational
or looking daily at your vision statement of what you're trying
to achieve in your life. They help connect you to your purpose,
and complement the changes you make to help improve physical
energy. Together, they can help you to manage your energy,
achieve high performance, and create more quality moments in
your work and life.
The is the first article in a four article series on "Becoming
Fully Engaged." A four article series to provoke thinking and
action to living life fully:
Part 1: Managing Energy, Not Time
Part 2: Defining Purpose: What's it Really All About, Anyway?
Part 3: Facing the Truth: Let's Get Real Here
Part 4: The Power of Positive Rituals
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Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., CBC, is a psychologist, executive coach, and writer. She customizes newsletters for life and executive coaches, providing both content and PDF and HTML ezines for busy professionals. Patsi lives and works from Ajijic, Mexico where she plays tennis daily, and enjoys other creative activities with her husband Rob and two Maine Coon cats, Huey and Dewey. Email: mailto:Patsi@customizednewsletters.com
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