BMA eBook - Manual / Resource - Page 135
MANAGING YOURSELF
Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time
The Idea in Brief
The Idea in Practice
Organizations are demanding ever-higher
performance from their workforces. People
are trying to comply, but the usual
method—putting in longer hours—has
backfired. They’re getting exhausted, disengaged, and sick. And they’re defecting to
healthier job environments.
Schwartz and McCarthy recommend these
practices for renewing four dimensions of personal energy:
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Longer days at the office don’t work because
time is a limited resource. But personal
energy is renewable, say Schwartz and
McCarthy. By fostering deceptively simple
rituals that help employees regularly replenish their energy, organizations build
workers’ physical, emotional, and mental
resilience. These rituals include taking
brief breaks at specific intervals, expressing appreciation to others, reducing interruptions, and spending more time on
activities people do best and enjoy most.
Help your employees systematically rejuvenate their personal energy, and the benefits
go straight to your bottom line. Take
Wachovia Bank: Participants in an energy
renewal program produced 13 percentage
points greater year-over-year in revenues
from loans than a control group did. And
they exceeded the control group’s gains in
revenues from deposits by 20 percentage
points.
• Every night, identify the most important
challenge for the next day. Then make it
your first priority when you arrive at work
in the morning.
PHYSICAL ENERGY
• Enhance your sleep by setting an earlier
bedtime and reducing alcohol use.
• Reduce stress by engaging in cardiovascular activity at least three times a week and
strength training at least once.
• Eat small meals and light snacks every
three hours.
• Learn to notice signs of imminent energy
flagging, including restlessness, yawning,
hunger, and difficulty concentrating.
• Take brief but regular breaks, away from
your desk, at 90- to 120-minute intervals
throughout the day.
EMOTIONAL ENERGY
• Defuse negative emotions—irritability,
impatience, anxiety, insecurity—through
deep abdominal breathing.
• Fuel positive emotions in yourself and others by regularly expressing appreciation to
others in detailed, specific terms through
notes, e-mails, calls, or conversations.
• Look at upsetting situations through new
lenses. Adopt a “reverse lens” to ask, “What
would the other person in this conflict say,
and how might he be right?” Use a “long
lens” to ask, “How will I likely view this situation in six months?” Employ a “wide lens”
to ask, “How can I grow and learn from this
situation?”
SPIRITUAL ENERGY
• Identify your “sweet spot” activities—those
that give you feelings of effectiveness, effortless absorption, and fulfillment. Find
ways to do more of these. One executive
who hated doing sales reports delegated
them to someone who loved that activity.
• Allocate time and energy to what you consider most important. For example, spend
the last 20 minutes of your evening commute relaxing, so you can connect with
your family once you’re home.
• Live your core values. For instance, if consideration is important to you but you’re
perpetually late for meetings, practice intentionally showing up five minutes early
for meetings.
HOW COMPANIES CAN HELP
To support energy renewal rituals in your firm:
• Build “renewal rooms” where people can go
to relax and refuel.
• Subsidize gym memberships.
• Encourage managers to gather employees
for midday workouts.
• Suggest that people stop checking e-mails
during meetings.
MENTAL ENERGY
• Reduce interruptions by performing highconcentration tasks away from phones
and e-mail.
• Respond to voice mails and e-mails at designated times during the day.
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