Want More Energy in Your Day?

So many busy leaders tend to focus on time management. While that can be helpful, what is even more helpful is when you focus on managing your energy.

While time is fixed, your energy is variable. This means you can do things each day to increase your energy or actually drain your energy.

How many of us do things that flex our energy in the wrong way?

Without energy, everything is way harder!

If the demands of your job and life require you to focus, learn fast, deal with stress, be alert, pay attention, remember important things, be patient and keep a positive mood, you must take managing your energy more seriously.

One of the most effective ways to not lose and, actually, increase energy is to better manage small transitions during your day.

From home to work, from one meeting to the next meeting, from presentation to coffee break, from work to picking kids up, from supper time to homework time, etc.

You can lose a lot of energy throughout the day by carrying over negative tension from one activity to the next. Instead, make a point to reset every time.

Here's one of my favorite strategies from the book High Performance Habits. My clients and I use it to be focused, happier and have more energy throughout our day.

This has come up in several coaching sessions lately with clients and so I wanted to share it here again with you!

Answer these questions first:

• Think about all the transitions you experience each day. Take a moment to write a few of them down.

• Do you ever carry over negative energy from one activity to the next?

• Do you ever feel depleted, but plough into your next activity without a break, even though you know you should take a breather?

•  Are you losing a sense of appreciation and presence as you go along in your day?

If so, tweaking the way you shift from one activity to the next can make a huge difference in more effectively managing your energy . . . and making you feel a whole lot better.

Experiment with this strategy as you transition from one activity to the next, especially when you are feeling frustrated or feel tension - this can take 2 minutes!

1. Close your eyes for one minute and take a few deep breaths

2. Repeat the word LET GO or RELEASE (or whatever word works for you to remind you to release any tension)

3. SET an intention for how you want to be and feel for the next activity: What energy do you want to bring? How can you enjoy the next activity? What do you want others to feel around you? How do you want to show up?

4. Bonus points if you get up and move your body while you do this!

This simple strategy, practiced deliberately throughout the day can help you manage stress, be present and give you more energy throughout your day. It’s powerful. See for yourself!

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.