Living ROI chief catalyst, Barbara Fagan-Smith, shares a model for how to manage your energy. A model that changed her life. Barbara used to push herself to do more and more, in her work and life, until she would eventually burn out and come to a screeching halt. It would take her several days to recover before she could get her engines revved again.
Barbara learned how to stop that miserable cycle, and truly live a more balanced life, while being even more effective, and wants to share that lesson with you.
Living ROI Transcript - Managing your energy
Life comes down to how you feel every moment of the day. Your energy. Without positive, healthy energy, it’s hard to have a happy and soulful life.
I was introduced to a model about managing energy several years ago, and it changed my life. I used to run a hundred miles an hour in work and life, for as long as I could, until I just burned out and came to a screeching halt. It would take me anywhere from three to seven days to recover before I could get my engines revved again. It was really painful for me and those around me. I wasn’t sure when I would burn out, but the cycle was very predictable.
Then I read the power of Full engagement: by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. I’ve altered the model slightly with my own words, but the spirit is the same. It’s based on four dimensions of energy: High, low, negative and positive.
Within that framework, there are four zones that you can be in at any time – The performance Zone (high positive energy), which we all want to be in all the time. The Stress Zone (high negative energy), The Burnout Zone (low negative energy) and the Renewal Zone (low positive energy).
I used to think you had to experience all four of those zones as a course of life. That the performance zone naturally leads to the stress zone which naturally leads to the burnout zone, which then requires the renewal zone before you can get back to performance. That is the way I experienced life.
The truth is, you can only stay in the performance zone for a certain amount of time before you start heading over to the stress zone. And once you are in the stress zone, the negative cycle starts, and you must go through some version of burnout before heading to renewal and then back to performance.
The way to stop this negative cycle is to make sure you dip down into the renewal zone regularly. You can actually live between the performance and renewal zone. During an average day, we can usually go for up to two hours without a break. For some people, it’s closer to 90 minutes. But at that point, our attention begins to wane, we get distracted more easily, we’re less efficient. The mind needs a break. And the break can be as simple as standing up and walking around for a few minutes. Go get something to drink, chat with your co-workers, step outside to take a few deep breaths of fresh air, you get the idea. We just need to step away, and then we can get back into the zone. This is a mini renewal period, which many of us ignore and just try to push through.
In addition to those mini renewal sessions during the day, we also need to rest every day in the form of downtime and sleep. After about eight hours of work, even with renewal breaks, we begin to experience those signs of stress. As we all know, some people can hold out longer than others. All of us can usually keep up a crazy schedule during a busy time for a while, maybe even a week or two, but then the stress kicks in.
I can tell when I’m heading towards the stress zone when I sense an increase in cortisol in my system. Now, because I’m tuned into my own rhythm, I can actually taste stress. Ideally, I never get there, but when I do, I stop. Even if that means canceling the day so I can rest. Because I know that if I get into that stress zone, the only way back to the performance is through burnout and then renewal. But if I am in the performance zone and I go down into renewal before I get into the stress zone, it saves me a ton of time. It’s just smart. It’s not only the best thing to for my own wellness, and the people around me, it is also the best thing for my business.
The key is to continue to go to the renewal zone regularly, and not push through signs of stress. You can actually avoid the stress zone, and therefore the burnout zone, entirely. You need to get to know your own rhythm and needs intimately. How long can you work flat out before you need a break? How much sleep do you need? And, when you begin to experience stress, how does it show up for you? Maybe you get grumpy? Maybe you start to eat, or stop eating? Have trouble sleeping? When you really tune into your own rhythm you can begin to pick up the very early signs of stress, and then commit to dropping into renewal immediately.
So, start today by becoming aware of your energy and your rhythm. And over time, you can learn to balance your periods of high positive energy with periods of low positive energy. When you find yourself getting stress, stop, and figure out how you can take care of yourself.
In the next video I’m going to talk about our cultural addiction to overworking and stress, and how we can break that destructive cycle. Don’t miss it, your life is waiting!
