Energy Management tips

Sleep Better
Make getting 7-8 hours of sleep your highest priority. After breathing, sleep is our most
fundamental need. Its also the first thing were willing to give up in an effort to get
more done. The fact is that even small amounts of sleep deprivation make us vastly less
efficient.

Walk the Talk

Take 30-60 minutes to reflect on the qualities you can't stand when you see them in
others or in yourself. The opposite of these qualities is a reflection of what you stand
for. Choose the one that you believe you embody least well. What specific activity
could you build into your life to close this gap? When our behaviors are aligned
with our deeply held values, we feel better about ourselves and more connected
with others.

Take All of Your Vacation Days

Frequent vacationers are healthier and happier than infrequent vacationers. Try to make
your vacations work-free. Leave your laptop at home. Dont check your BlackBerry. If
you need to do work, designate an hour or two in the morning to devote to it, and spend
the rest of the day relaxing and renewing.

Plan Your Meals

Decide in advance what youre going to eat, in what portions, and at what intervals. Its
the best way to avoid endless temptations, unconscious cues, and that-looks-good!
surprises that override our self-discipline and cause us to go off track.

Focus on the Positive

Concentrating on a positive outcome rather than avoiding a negative one leads to greater
persistence, flexibility, creativity, motivation, and satisfaction. In short, expecting
success makes us more likely to succeed.

Do One Thing at a Time

Research shows that when we multitask, we retain less and have more difficulty
applying what we learn. It also increases the time it takes for us to finish any given task
by 25%.

Feel Your Feet, Hold Your Fire

Become aware of what youre feeling physically when your emotions turn negative.
That may mean noticing your heart beating faster, tightness in your chest, or butterflies
in your stomach. When you sense youre getting frustrated, annoyed, or anxious, apply
The Golden Rule of Triggers: whatever you feel compelled to do, don't. Instead, take
a deep breath in to a count of 3, out to a count of 6. Feel your feet to ground yourself.
This will decrease your physiological arousal and return you to a relaxed state. Then
you can make a choice about how to respond.

Control Your Anger

Pay close attention to how long you stay angry because that feeling is poisonous to the
body. The physiological feeling of anger moves through you in under a minute. After
that, its your choice whether to stay upset.

Surround Yourself with Creativity

Begin any creative project by immersing yourself in the known. The best ideas tend to
emerge by extending, deepening, rethinking, and reframing existing knowledge.

Do the Right Thing

The next time you find yourself in a difficult or challenging situation, ask yourself:
What is the right thing to do here? Under pressure, we sometimes take the expedient
route and then rationalize the choices we've made, but most of us instinctively know the
difference between right and wrong if we stop to think about it.

Slide Towards Sleep

Begin powering down at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep. Avoid anything
stimulating, such as the Internet, mystery novels, and intense conversations. Instead,
look for ways to relax and quiet down.

Stay Active and Moving

Make sure that you get up and move around periodically throughout the day. Too much
inactivity can cause weight gain and other health problems, as well as decreased focus.

Show More Appreciation

Were far quicker to notice whats wrong than to celebrate whats right in others. It takes
five positive comments to offset the impact of a single negative one. Write a note of
appreciation once a week to someone in your life and send it by snail mail. Small
gestures go a long way. Studies show that even a small gift of candy to medical
residents improved the speed and accuracy of their diagnoses.

Make Boundaries Between Home and Work

Define clear stopping points at the end of each day so that when you're with your family
or friends, you're truly with them. If you need to work when you're home, set aside
designated times to do it.

Practice Random Acts of Kindness

Find small ways to make the people around you feel better. Nothing is more important
to us than feeling valued and appreciated by others.

Exercise Regularly
Set specific days and times to do at least three 30-minute cardio sessions and two 30-45
minute strength-training sessions. How much we move influences our health, our
energy, our mood, our focus, and our productivity.

The Benefits of Meditation

Try to incorporate meditation into your life, starting with just a couple of minutes at a
time. At the most basic level, meditation is simply a means of relaxation and an antidote
to stress.

Use a Pedometer to Track Your Steps

If youre struggling to find the time or motivation to start an exercise routine, buy a
pedometer and record the number of steps you take every day. Shoot for 10,000the
recommended amount to ensure you are fit and getting enough movement in your day.

Rev It Up Mid-Week
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, your energy is at its peak. Tackle the most
challenging work. That means addressing the most difficult problems, taking on writing
assignments, and having strategic discussions.

Reflect on How You Make People Feel

After a conversation, ask yourself whether the person you were talking to walked away
feeling better or worse. If its the latter, what could you have done differently?

Change Channels on Friday

By the end of the week, your energy levels are usually ebbing. This can be a good day
for more open-ended work such as brainstorming, long-range planning, and relationship
building.

Park Your Worries

If you struggle to fall asleep because youre ruminating, put a pad of paper and a pen
beside your bed. Whatever youre worrying about before you go to sleep, write it down.
Do the same if you tend to wake up in the middle of the night. This is a powerful way to
calm your mind and get a better nights sleep.

Do the Most Important Thing First

Most of us have the highest energy and the fewest distractions at the beginning of the
day. Decide the night before on the most important task for the following day. Try to do
it first thing, for 60-90 minutes without interruption.

Do Interval Training
At least once a week, do an interval workout. Buy a heart rate monitor to better gauge
your efforts and push past your comfort zone for an interval of 30 to 60 seconds. Then
take 30 to 60 seconds to allow your heart to drop 30-40 heartbeats per minute. Interval
training burns more calories than continuous training, more effectively lowers the
resting heart rate, and increases immune response.

Give Others Your Undivided Attention

In meetings at work or conversations at home, give people your full focus. Try to listen
without interrupting. Make sure that if you were asked to, you could repeat back what
you just heard.

Reflect on Your Missteps

At the end of the workday or before you go to sleep, take a few minutes to ponder this
question: Was there a situation in which I behaved badly today? Next, ask yourself,
How would I have behaved at my best?

Take More Breaks During the day

Taking a break every 90 minutes throughout your day keeps your body in alignment
with its natural rhythms. Just as we cycle through stages of sleep at night, so we go
through similar cycles every 90 minutes throughout the day, moving between periods of
high energy, and then dipping down into lower energy.

Make Boundaries Between Home and Work

Define clear stopping points at the end of each day so that when you're with your family
or friends, you're truly with them. If you need to work when you're home, set aside
designated times to do it.

Create a Transition Ritual

Find an activity that allows you to make a transition from work to home. Take a few
minutes to stop at a park, listen to music, or make a call on your way home to connect
with someone you love. The key is that by the time you get home, you're not still at
work.

Daydream on Purpose
Schedule at least one hour a week to brainstorm or strategize around some issue at
work. You can help access your right hemisphere by doodling, daydreaming, or going
for a long walkanything that lets your mind wander. That's when breakthroughs and
spontaneous connections are most likely to occur.

The Benefits of Time Management

Set specific times during the day to perform certain tasks (e.g., I will work from 9 a.m.
to 10 a.m. on the most important task of the day). This will help ensure that you address
the most important tasks rather than simply reacting to external demands.

Practice Realistic Optimism

We cant change what happens to us, but we can make a choice about how to respond.
Challenge the story youre telling yourself when something happens that makes you feel
bad. Is there a more hopeful and empowering story you can tell without denying the
facts?

Take a Power Nap

Especially in periods of high demand, try to find time for a 10 or 20-minute catnap in
the middle of the day on weekdays. Taking a short nap between 1 and 3 p.m., especially
on days when youve worked intensely in the morning, will have a remarkable impact
on your ability to focus later in the afternoon. Alternatively, simply lean back in your
chair with your eyes closed for 5 to 10 minutes.

Take Back Your Lunch

While periodic breaks at work are critical, it is also extremely beneficial to take an
extended break in the middle of the day to eat lunch. By getting away from your desk,
and preferably out of your office altogether, you will come back to your desk more
focused and fueled to face the rest of the day.

Put Yourself in Someone Else's Shoes

When youre feeling righteous, try applying the Reverse Lens. Put yourself in the
shoes of the other person and try to imagine what he or she is feeling. Empathy allows
you to value others which reconnects you to them and makes you feel better.

Keep an Emotional Journal

Start a journal to build your awareness about how you are feeling at different points
during the day. Choose one or two specific times to check in with yourself. Observing
our emotions allows us to be more intentional about our behaviors and more effective
with others.

Practice Deconstructive Criticism

When you feel the need to criticize constructively, dont assume that youre right. Be
curious and open-ended rather than making declarations and coming to conclusions.

Turn Off Email Once a Day

Try shutting off your email completely for at least one hour a day. Use that hour to
devote all your attention to a significant task or larger challenge before you. Resist
interruptions.

Accentuate the Positive

Make a list of activities that you enjoy most and which make you feel best. Intentionally
schedule at least one of these activities into your life each week. For example, attend a
concert, go bike riding with family members, or take a class. We all bring more energy
to the activities we enjoy, and pleasure itself can sustain our energy.

Start Slow on Monday

If possible, as you gear up for the week, focus on low-demand administrative tasks,
including setting goals, organizing, and planning.

Eat Slowly
Take more time to eat your meals. It helps to put your fork down or take a sip of water
between bites. Your body doesnt recognize that its full for 20 minutes.

Chase Your Passion

Think of the aspects of your job that you find most challenging, enjoyable, and
meaningful. What specific steps could you take to spend more time engaged in these
activities?

Track How Much You Eat

If you find youre eating too much or you are skipping meals too often, log your eating
habits for a week. Tracking what, how much, and when you eat is the first step to
changing your eating habits.

Practice Mindfulness
Once in the morning and once in the afternoon, stop and take a few moments to focus
on your breathing. Simply be aware of what's arising and then let it pass. You may
notice physical sensations, emotions, or thoughts. Learning to observe yourself helps to
free you from the compulsion to act on every feeling that arises.