🐟 Fish don’t manipulate the water they swim in.
🦅 Birds don’t control the weather they fly in.
🐜 Animals don’t construct the earth they forage in (except maybe beavers) .
🕺🏾 And humans don’t manage TIME.
Attempting to manage time would be like trying to contain sand in a sieve.
It can’t be done. But we CAN …
…manage our ENERGY. ⚡ Energy is our superpower. It is a renewable resource. Even though it runs low at times we have the power to refuel our energy reserves.
In a previous article, I talked about ‘priming’. The act of intentionally fueling your body with air and filling your heart with gratitude and transforming your thoughts with optimism. It’s a 15-minute daily exercise that works for me.
Did you try it? If you did, did it stay with you throughout the day or did it wear off? Once you got into a project, task or conversation, did your energy fade?
Here are a few tips as a reminder to support your physical energy:
- Take yourself for a walk. Outside is best, but anywhere you can stretch your gaze and raise your heartrate.
- Give your body, especially your brain, food that energizes you, rather than makes you sluggish.
- Drink water. This does not come naturally to me, so I use an app on my phone to remind me to drink at least 8 oz 2 to 3 times during the workday.
As for quality of energy, I am referring to the tone of your inner thoughts. Are they frustrated, anxious, restless, angry?
Negative energy leads to poor outcomes, low productivity. Negative emotions can fuel your energy in the short term, but it performs like a wrecking ball.
There are some simple things you can do to get your positive energy back:
- Notice the quality and quantity of your energy. The simple act of noticing is the first step in returning to a positive state.
- Physically remove yourself. Step back, actually take a backward step in your office, the plant floor, in the meeting room and especially if you are in a difficult conversation. The physical act of stepping back widens your perspective.
- Pause and breathe. Rather than rushing into failure or responding, allow a few moments to pass without trying to control anything or anyone.
- Reframe. Take the time to notice more options or sides in a discussion. Remind yourself to be curious. What else is going on and how can you reframe the situation and shift to positive, or at least neutral.
Forget this idea of ‘time management’. It is a fool’s errand. I even think saying these words raises stress level. I have many people contacting me to help them with time management. It comes from a place of desperation and shame. They think they are ‘bad’ with their time and need to fix themselves.
I pose a different term and target… ‘energy refueling’. You have energy. Your task is to protect it, increase it, improve it and be creative and fun with your energy. Sound easier than ‘time management’?