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Energy Management Is The New Time Management
I have a feeling that you wouldn’t have gotten to where you are without the drive and ambition that comes from having those types of goals. Most often though, I see that drive drive women right into the ground. If you’ve heard me speak before you know I think that we are all too darn valuable to society, the economy and our families to be living life burned out.
The number one answer I hear when I ask women how they are is “tired”. Of course you are! You are so good at what you do both inside and outside the office that you keep getting more responsibility. With that responsibility comes more choices and more stakeholders tugging at your time. As we progress, many of us start attending time management trainings or listen to podcasts to help streamline our calendars and “make it all work”, but I’m calling BS. In order to thrive in our lives, we have to make a fundamental shift in our approach. We must move from time management to energy management.
Y
ou have big goals.
6
Self-Discovery
In this edition’s coaching exercise, I’ll walk you through the foundational change of shifting from time management to energy management and give you an exercise that will help you reclaim your calendar.
Grab a journal and a pen, get comfortable, and gift yourself by answering these questions:
1) When was the last time you had an “in the
flow” moment? What were you doing? What
skills were you using?
There are two primary types of energy, catabolic and anabolic energy. Anabolic energy is fueling and expansive and when we have it we want more of it. Catabolic energy is the opposite. It is draining and feels constrictive in your body. We experience both types of energy throughout our day.
2) How many hours of the day would you say
you spend in catabolic energy (irritation,
anxiety, doubt, pessimism etc…)?
I’ll never forget coming home from work at 10:30pm one night after a long day locked in a conference room, negotiating a new agreement for my company. My mother-in-law looked at me and said “you must be so tired”. I replied back, “My brain is tired, but my body feels really alive”. It was true. Though we had been at it for hours, because I found my work so exciting and enjoyed the people I worked alongside, it was an extremely soul-fueling experience. It was the same thing when I ran my ultra-marathon last fall. It was exhausting in the moment, but a few hours after crossing that finish line, I was thinking about the next one.
Have you ever had an experience like that, where you felt totally in the flow? “Flow moments” happen when we are so aligned with the work we are doing that our whole body can’t help but be present with that activity. Flow moments help remind us who we are. When we remember who we are, we do the work that matters, and change the world. If it’s been awhile since you’ve had a flow moment, or spend most of your time feeling overwhelmed and tired, I want to invite you to spend time with the exercises that follow.