How Well Do You Manage Your Energy?

When relentless demands of a busy life take their toll on performance, we tend to think that managing our time better will improve the situation. If we can just work faster, multitask more efficiently, things will be better, we think, as we buy the latest time management gadget or software.

However, as Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, authors of The Power of Full Engagement, explain, it is the skillful management of energy, not time, that most significantly affects high performance. Too often, we squander this valuable resource through energy-taxing habits—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual vitality drains.

Take this Quiz to identify your personal energy-enriching opportunities:

1: I rely on sugary or carbohydrate-rich snacks for bursts of energy when I need a pick-me-up. True/False

2: Life is an endless marathon to be endured; you just have to keep on running. True/False

3: I tend to do what feels immediately pressing and easier to accomplish rather than make conscious choices about how I invest my time and what matters most. True/False

4: I’m so busy I rarely have time to reflect on what I value most deeply. True/False

5: I seem to be stuck in overdrive; I feel like I’ve lost the ability to shift to any other gear. True/False

6: I do stamina, strength, flexibility and stability training irregularly, if at all. True/False

7: I regularly get less than six hours of sleep. True/False

8: I rarely take breaks; that way, I can get more done. True/False

9: When I take the time to notice, my breathing seems shallow; I seem to go a long time without taking a deep breath. True/False

10: I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. Anxiety, frustration and overwhelm are ever-present for me. True/False

11: When I’m under pressure, I easily become harsh or defensive with others. True/False

12: Personal relationships are not something I devote a lot of energy to. If they don’t work, I move on. True/False

13: I smoke, overeat or drink heavily to help lower my anxiety level. True/False

14: It’s been a long time since I’ve done something purely because it was fun or felt good. True/False

15: Downtime is wasted time. True/False

If you answered “true” to more than just a few of these statements, you’re probably not functioning or feeling as well as you could be.

Time to explore how to live in ways that enhance, rather than deplete, your energy? Would you appreciate some help getting started? If so, click here to schedule a 60-minute complimentary coaching session.

About djwlifecoach

I am retired from 40+ years of helping individuals and teams build lives and organizations they love. One of the great joys of my retirement from professional practice is having greater bandwidth to donate my professional and creative talents to support and promote animal and social welfare charities. During my 30 years as an organization transformation consultant, I served as a senior partner in four of the world’s largest, most prestigious global professional services firms. In 2005, I took a five-year sabbatical to find healing and peace because non-stop work had taken its toll. My recovery from burnout led to finding my purpose guiding others on their journeys. As a board-certified coach, author, consultant, radio host, Reiki Master and EFT/tapping practitioner, I share hope, possibilities and empowerment with the world. 111419 DJW Sid CH Pet Corner Photo ShootI help clients achieve rapid, extraordinary, sustainable results by connecting who they are with what they do, a connection often lost through stress and the sheer busy-ness of daily life. Courageous self-awareness and unconditional self-love lead to honest choices based on priorities that nurture you and those around you on a journey to wholeness. Decades in coaching, consulting, change management, organization development, human resources and mixed media artistic expression honed my business sense, professionalism, creativity, intuition, leadership and communication skills. The result? Practical tools that help you become more insightful, creative, committed, productive and fulfilled. Even the most dedicated and hard-working individuals can shift from frustration to a sense of futility when their values, passion, work, and lives become disconnected. One of the problems with not taking care of our health is that the effects of ignoring it are often slow to show up. We continue to juggle family responsibilities, work and finances until we lose ourselves, waking up one day 50 pounds heavier in body and soul—no good to ourselves or anyone else. I love working with people who are ready to take life-changing action to make their dreams a reality. At each moment, you have inside you all the wisdom you seek to choose your life and your way of showing up. Limiting thoughts, beliefs and feelings can block you from moving forward. An absence of love and concern for yourself can result in negative head talk that holds you back with discouraging messages about who you are and what you can do. By listening and caring deeply, I guide you in connecting with your own inner wisdom. We identify the way you’d like to live. We determine what’s blocking you and release you from the hold those blocks have over you—unleashing the positive energy that will fuel you forward. Together we develop a plan to move you closer to your heart’s desire. My books, blog, radio show and signature coaching programs help individuals and organizations harness the transformative energy of love to turn unexplored possibilities into fulfilling realities and step into their greatness. What’s love got to do with it? Everything! My book, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! (Hay House/ Balboa Press 2013) shares my story and the stories of 10 of my clients along with my signature Discovery Framework. For fun, I love reading, sewing, knitting, yin yoga, afternoon tea, opera and movies. I live in Williamsburg, Virginia with my spouse, Wilson Abney, and the cat who runs our life, Maisy Jane.

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