You at your full potential? I think we can always do better. This is at the heart of my own personal belief in myself. To always be better. That there’s always this little bit more I can aspire to. I learned by not squeezing more into the 24 hours a day I get, but focusing my energy during that time was the best way to get to more. To get closer to my optimal peaks consistently.
Just come into the realization that there will never be enough time for everything. The sooner you get there, the better things will start to get with intentional use of what you have. Where you can finally fit your purpose.
We need to take more breaks. Seems counterintuitive, but it’s absolutely essential. We saw our parents work those long hours and just grind out those really long stints on projects. We also saw them come home completely wiped out. We thought that was how it was done.
Working longer doesn’t equal quality or happiness. Or, even success. Short sprints are best. Spreads out our energy levels versus pouring them all into a few concentrated hours that leave us depleted at the end of the grind. In-between the sprints, breaks or pauses. Breaks recharge you for more.
I’ve been learning in my studies that all energy is not the same as we spend it in our work lives. We engage different kinds of energies through out the day. The three most common ones that I’ve come to read the most consistently about are:
- Emotional Flexibility – this energy demonstrates our flexibility with our emotions as we respond to stimuli. Emotional flexibility allows me to be angry, while at the same time be able to be curious enough to find out why I’m angry or what is causing it.
- Mental Endurance – This is what keeps you locked in with focus over periods of time. This comes in handy when you really want to quit, but you have a deadline you’ve committed to.
- Spiritual Strength – Not always what you think it is, because spirit can be all over the spectrum. The best way to describe this energy is the energy connected to our deepest values or morals. Your spiritual energy is tapped into when you are trying to figure out if a decision is morally right or not, before you make it.
These three when balanced or executed for the right reasons at the right intersections of our work can help us win. Physical and emotional are the most common ones that we expend. But knowing about the energies is not enough. We have to put them to good and right use.
I keep going back to recovery or breaks. This is where we get our best opportunities to replenish expended energies. Why planning those breaks are important as key habits. They say as humans we have to rest every 1.5 hours to 2 hours. Explains why most jobs give a 15 minute break after 2 hours worked, an hour after 4 hours worked, and so on.
These breaks help to preserve and even fill our reserves. These breaks can be spent taking a walk, reading a book, and just getting away from the intensity for a bit. I have several employees that will just go for a walk to their cars in the parking lot and take a nap or listen to a podcast for their breaks. A break means, a break. Just getting up and completely disconnecting from the task.
We can build our energy reserves by making sure we reward ourselves with something we enjoy. There are so many times a day or week we choose essential functions over ones that we really enjoy. These small enjoyments deserve to be planned into our calendars as much as the work ones. We get huge amounts of positive emotional energy when we give ourselves time to do what we really enjoy.
I have a set time every day through out the week that is Shawn’s time. I get to do whatever I feel like I would enjoy during these times. I don’t even label it specifically. Just, “Shawn’s Me Time” on the calendar. Nothing interrupts it just like nothing would interrupt my work focus times. We need the emotional renewal for the next big thing!
I’m going to be back later this week to share with you part two of this post. Thanks always for reading the post. Love for you to share in the comments below any ideas you have for the above breaks for our readers. You never know what someone else could find joy in taking a break to try.
Talk to you later this week!
✌🏻 Shawn
Welcome to In-Between the Pages 