The 4 Elements of Energy
Tips for Managing your Energy
Watch a herd of horses for any period of time and you’ll be amazed at how well they manage their energy and how effectively they go about their “business”.
In contrast, we humans frequently find ourselves overwhelmed, stressed, and exhausted. We tend to believe that we need to work harder and are trained early on to ignore our instinctual rhythms in the name of achievement and productivity. As a result, most of us end up chasing the wrong resource: hours in the day. Instead, we should focus on something entirely different: our energy.
Rather than treating life and/or business as a marathon, treat them as sprints and recovery (recovery being key here!). 
Without real restoration and rejuvenation during the day, people unknowingly hold themselves back — distributing their efforts throughout the day instead of reaching 90% output at the moments that correspond with their body’s naturally productive rhythms of alertness. Consequently, we aren’t able to do our best work (or best in general) and we aren’t getting the rest we need to rejuvenate ourselves either.
Better energy management determines true productivity. We all know we are going to have big sprints — that’s what makes pursuing a project or business so exciting. But it’s imperative that we build in equal parts recovery & self-care in order to achieve maximum productivity.
Your energy can be broken down into 4 different elements:
- Your physical energy – how healthy are you? This is the foundation of your energy.
Without a healthy body that is well-fueled & well-rested we are unable to maximize our core energetic resources. Optimal physical energy can be achieved by ensuring that we are giving priority to our nutrition, fitness level, amount of sleep and the amount of time given for renewal and self-care throughout the day. - Your emotional energy – how balanced are you? Emotions determine the quality of energy. Most people realize that they tend to perform best when they’re feeling positive energy. What they find surprising is that they’re not able to perform well or lead effectively when they’re feeling any other way. When people are able to take more control of their emotions, they can improve the quality of their energy, regardless of the external pressures they’re facing. By becoming aware of how you feel at various points during the workday you can learn how to understand and manage your emotions — keeping your emotional energy at its best.
Your mental energy – how well can you focus on something? The quality of your mental energy is determined by how focused you are. Many people view multitasking as a necessity in the face of all the demands they juggle, but it actually undermines productivity. Distractions are costly. Task-shifting, a temporary shift in attention from one task to another – stopping to answer an e-mail or take a phone call, for instance – reduces productivity and increases the amount of time necessary to finish the primary task by as much as 25%. It’s far more efficient to fully focus on one activity for up to 90 minutes, take a true break, and then fully focus on the next activity.- Your spiritual energy – why are you doing all of this?
What is your purpose? People tap into the energy of the human spirit when their everyday work and activities are consistent with what they value most and with what gives them a sense of meaning and purpose. Regrettably, most people live at such a furious pace and rarely stop to ask themselves what they stand for and who they want to be. Seeking to uncover the greater purpose of your actions goes a long way toward achieving a greater sense of alignment, satisfaction, and well-being, on and off the job. Those feelings are a source of positive energy in their own right and reinforce the desire to persist at strengthening other energy dimensions as well.
With these principles in mind here are some important tricks for managing your energy:
Identify your “power hours” – what time of day are you the most focused? When do you have the most energy and brainpower … morning, afternoon, evening? Determine when it is and block that time out for focused work on important goals. Batch less demanding tasks, such as email and returning phone calls, into other hours of the day.
Break your work into 90-minute focused sessions & take 15-minute breaks. 
Studies have shown that 90-minute cycles are in alignment with our natural circadian rhythms, which define when we’re naturally feeling awake and productive. Breaking work periods into 90-minute sessions with a 15-minute break at the end is a great way to get started with balancing energy and recovery throughout the day.
Break down your biggest goals into achievable, measurable chunks and reward yourself often! For many of us, we only take breaks or celebrate when we hit the BIG goals — but those can take months to achieve. Instead, break projects down into smaller parts and reward yourself for all of the smaller milestones you hit along the way.
Schedule & Commit to Recovery time. It’s critical to acknowledge our body’s natural rhythms and align our periods of work and relaxation with them to sustain productivity. Even if you don’t think you need a break, schedule fun or relaxing activities in advance and stick to them. If you push yourself to continue working during periods of low energy, you risk continued grogginess, performance, and potential illness. Do something fun that you enjoy, take a nap, a walk or meditate. These are all forms of recovery that will recharge your mental & physical battery. Another trick for those who have trouble committing to deserved recovery time: Enlist family and friends. If you schedule a weekend get-away with family or friends, you’ll have no excuse but to unplug.
Soul Search: Remember who you are and why you’re doing all of this in the first place! Take time to ask yourself the important questions: What type person do you want to be? What’s truly important to you in the big picture? Friends? Family? Your passion? What are your most key values? Are your actions in alignment with these values? If not, how can you shift things so they are.
By taking the time to cultivate new ways of connecting with and maximizing your energy, you’ll actually be saving time and you’ll be more productive too!
Resources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/
http://blog.bufferapp.com/the-4-elements-of-physical-energy-on-how-to-master-them
http://www.gregoryciotti.com/blog/
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