Tag: energy

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Energy Management Impact Managing You Upstartist MBA

The 4 Dimensions of Energy: Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual

So we’ve figured out our biological prime times (BPTs).  But how can we be fully engaged during those BPTs?  After all, even though I’m a morning person, I’ll waste away some mornings distracted and disengaged.  Why do we give more of ourselves to certain tasks then to others?

According to Dr. Jim Loehr, we have four types of energy that feed off each other:

  • Physical (the quantity of our energy)
  • Emotional (the quality of our energy)
  • Mental (the focus of our energy)
  • Spiritual (the force of our energy)

If any of these dimensions is under-stressed or over-stressed our performance suffers. For example, if we don’t get enough sleep or eat poorly, our energy store is depleted.  If our energy is constantly precipitated by perception of threat, fear or survival, we’ll quickly burn out.  And if we are constantly distracted or feel that our work lacks purpose, well, we know how that turns out… half-a-head or half-a-heart never produces our best work.

The most fundamental source of energy is physical; the most significant is spiritual. 

Loehr proposes that our best energy is pleasant and positive energy – meaning that it flows from the perception of opportunity, adventure and challenge.

What does this mean for each energy dimension?

  • For greatest quantity of energy (physical), it means that our diet, exercise and sleep habits are paramount.
  • For highest quality of energy (emotional), it means experiencing the positive emotions of approach (enjoyment, challenge and opportunity), NOT the negative emotions of avoidance (perception of threat, danger, or fear of survival).
  • For clearest focus of energy (mental), it means bringing the appropriate focus and a realistic optimism to the work at hand.
  • For maximum force of energy (spiritual), it means connection to deeply held values and purpose beyond our self interest.

Loehr points out that most workers are understressed physically and spiritually, and overstressed emotionally and mentally.  In other words, most of us need to be train harder physically (eat, exercise and sleep better) and spiritually (align our work with our deepest values) and make a point to renew (rest!) ourselves emotionally and mentally for peak performance.

As a competitive tennis player, I would be super conscious of when and what I ate before an important match (no more than 2 fistfuls of simple carbohydrates and proteins at least 1.5 hours before the match).  Yet when I joined the corporate world I ate every lunch on impulse.  Why don’t we think the same way about eating for our best work?

What are your top work-related performance barriers and their energy/performance consequences?  Are they physical, emotional, mental or spiritual? What positive energy rituals (based on your deepest values) will support the desired change?

Loehr recommends a Purpose – Truth – Action framework for improving our work performance.  First, start with your personal and career vision (purpose).  Second, list out your performance barriers and their energy consequences (truth).  Finally, write the positive energy rituals you’ll use to improve your performance and track your progress (action).

Below you can find a list of common performance barriers and deepest values to help you with this exercise.

Common Performance Barriers

Low Energy
Impatience
Defensiveness
Negative Attitude
Critical of Others
Low Stress Tolerance
Moody / Irritable
Poor Team Player
Inflexible / Rigid
Unfocused
High Anxiety
Poor Time Management
Lack of Trust in Others
Lack of integrity
Indecisive
Poor Communication Skills
Poor Listening Skills
Lack of Passion
Low Self-Confidence
Lack of Empathy
Overly Dependent
Poor Work-Life Balance
Negative / Pessimistic Thinking

Deepest Values Checklist

Authenticity
Balance
Commitment
Compassion
Concern for Others
Courage
Creativity
Empathy
Excellence
Fairness
Faith
Family
Freedom
Friendship
Generosity
Genuineness
Happiness
Harmony
Health
Honesty
Humor
Integrity
Kindness
Knowledge
Loyalty
Openness
Perseverance
Respect for Others
Responsibility
Security
Serenity
Service to Others

Reading List

Dr. James Loehr, The Power of Full Engagement

Categories
Energy Management Impact Managing You Upstartist MBA

Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance

“The ultimate measure of our lives is not how much time we spend on the planet, but rather how much energy we invest in the time we have. “

– Jim Loehr

Today’s business culture is obsessed with time efficiency.  We hear it all the time: “Time is money.”  Our computers, mobile phones, and 24/7 wired culture are all designed to save us time.

But what use is time if our energy is lacking?  If I can free up one more hour, but I’m bored, distracted, or can barely keep my eyes open, what’s the point?  Results don’t come from the hour we set aside, but rather the energy and focus we give to each hour.

Performance is grounded in the skilful management of energy, not time.  

Entrepreneurs seeking peak performance must manage their energy the same way professional athletes do.  They must build rest and recovery into their work schedules and identify the conditions that lead to peak performance.  Like athletes, entrepreneurs must train to maximize the quantity, quality, focus and force of their energy.

Think of your greatest work accomplishments and insights.  Did they come after working continually for days on end or in bursts of focused energy?

Prioritizing how we spend our time is important. But prioritizing how we spend our energy is even more critical.  The first step is figuring out at what time of day we are functioning at our maximum effectiveness.

Sam Carpenter, in his book Work the System, calls this our “Biological Prime Time” or “BPT.”

Think of the times during the day that your energy level peaks and your thinking is most clear.  My peak period is from 9am – 12pm.  I am usually okay from 2-4pm but am pretty much worthless from 4-6pm.  Usually I’ll have one last mini-kick where I can work after dinner from 8-11pm (if I haven’t been drinking!).  The downturns in energy are the easiest to identify – they hit you like a hammer.   Our days and hours each have a cycle of activity and rest (circadian and ultradian rhythms, respectively).

For the population as a whole, a general surge of energy occurs during two periods of the day.  The first is in the morning around 8am and extends 4-5 hours.  The early-to mid-afternoon hours are low key (hence siestas, it’s been proven that humans are generally sleepiest between 3-4pm) and around 5pm energy picks up again. At around 10pm mental sharpness begins to decline…

As entrepreneurs we have the luxury to make our own schedules.  When is your BPT, when focus comes easier?  Zealously guard those hours from distraction and save them for your most important work.

Reading List

Sam Carpenter, Work the System

Categories
Energy Management Impact Managing You Upstartist MBA

Manage Your Energy and Attention

“Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.”

– Jim Loehr

This week we attack a topic that is critically important yet rarely – if ever – taught in business schools: managing your energy and attention for peak performance.  Most of my source material comes from Dr. Jim Loehr’s pioneering book, The Power of Full Engagement.  For over 30 years as a sports psychologist, he has worked with world-class athletes to help them perform consistently at the highest levels under intense pressure.  Many of these insights on performance can be applied to our working life.

Is energy management really more important than time management?  When does peak performance occur?  What must we do to achieve it?

Lessons:

1. Managing Energy, NOT Time, is the Key to High Performance

2. The 4 Dimensions of Energy: Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual

3. Riding Oscillation: How to Build Stress and Recovery into your Work Schedule

4. Achieving Flow

Conclusions & Actions:

1. Performance is grounded in the skillful management of energy, not time.

2. Zealously guard your Biological Prime Time (BPT) and save it for your most important work.

3. Identify your top work-related performance barriers.  What positive energy rituals (habits) – grounded in your deepest values – can help you improve your performance?

4. Our time off – and what we do during it – is just as important as our working time.  Scheduling and guarding our recovery time is crucial to peak performance.

5. Schedule your work day into “ultradian sprints” of 50-80 minutes, with recovery periods of 10-20 minutes.

6. The hardest part of achieving flow is starting.  Use attention dashes – shorter sprints of 10-25 minutes – to overcome the initial inertia of getting into the zone.

Reading List:

Dr. James Loehr, The Power of Full Engagement
Neil Fiore, The Now Habit
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Daniel Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What  Motivates Us
Josh Kaufman, The Personal MBA

Web:

Paul Graham, Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule