The Energy Crisis
Hands up… Who’s reached the end of their ‘to do list’ and has nothing left to do?
We’re only half way into the fifth month of this year so why are so many of us feeling tired and in need of a break already? The truth is, as the demands on us continue to grow, our energy continues to diminish.
Performance and Renewal
What resources are you throwing at that ‘to do’ list? I suspect more and more all the time! How’s that working out for you? Is getting up earlier or staying up later solving the problem? I doubt it!
It’s time to think energy rather than time.
Two critical questions to consider:
- Where am I putting my energy?
- How am I renewing my energy?
The Energy Quadrant model has four zones:
(1) Performance Zone
(2) Renewal Zone
(3) Survival Zone
(4) Burn out Zone
Performance Zone
We all know what’s expected of us, what we need to be doing and how many hours and days we have available. We know what we need to plan and what we need to achieve so our performance requirements are well understood. To others we look full of energy, approachable, decisive and leading the way.
Renewal Zone
We also know we need to catch a breath but how many of us actually know how to renew our energy? The reality is, if we don’t take time to recharge, our performance starts to dip, our achievements start to diminish and our belief in our own ability starts to disappear.
In next week’s blog I’ll look at the survival and burnout zones and share how you can balance your energy zones…
Survival and Burnt-out
Now let’s switch our focus to the survival and burnt-out zones.
Survival Zone
Survival mode, where we just try to squeeze in that extra hour or two of effort by making do with a little less sleep, pushes ourselves further. Survival mode sees us getting frustrated, angry, judgmental and overwhelmed by everything and our performance levels start to fluctuate as a consequence. No one wants to be around you!
What are you doing to refill your tank?
Burn out Zone
Spend enough time in the survival zone and the danger – burn out – zone becomes our reality. There’s absolutely nothing left in the tank and nothing left to give. You become empty.
We all have the same amount of hours in the day… How busy are you vs how productive?
To be able to maintain peak performance it’s vital to devote as much attention, as much planning and as much focus to your renewal zone as you do to being ‘productive’.
Elite athletes and leaders at the top of their game give just as much focus to their renewal time and fully switching off as they do to their high-level performance.
The number of hours in your day isn’t changing, so what are you going to change?