BMA eBook - Manual / Resource - Page 139
Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time •• •M ANAGING Y OURSELF
20-minute walk in the afternoons. Lang’s
walk not only gives him a mental and emotional breather and some exercise but also has
become the time when he gets his best creative ideas. That’s because when he walks he
is not actively thinking, which allows the
dominant left hemisphere of his brain to give
way to the right hemisphere with its greater
capacity to see the big picture and make
imaginative leaps.
The Emotions: Quality of Energy
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. To do this, they first must
become more aware of how they feel at various
points during the workday and of the impact
these emotions have on their effectiveness.
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 to lead effectively
when they’re feeling any other way.
Unfortunately, without intermittent recovery, we’re not physiologically capable of sustaining highly positive emotions for long
periods. Confronted with relentless demands
and unexpected challenges, people tend to
slip into negative emotions—the fight-orflight mode—often multiple times in a day.
They become irritable and impatient, or anxious and insecure. Such states of mind drain
people’s energy and cause friction in their
relationships. Fight-or-flight emotions also
make it impossible to think clearly, logically,
and reflectively. When executives learn to recognize what kinds of events trigger their negative emotions, they gain greater capacity to
take control of their reactions.
One simple but powerful ritual for defusing
negative emotions is what we call “buying
time.” Deep abdominal breathing is one way
to do that. Exhaling slowly for five or six seconds induces relaxation and recovery, and
turns off the fight-or-flight response. When we
began working with Fujio Nishida, president
of Sony Europe, he had a habit of lighting up
Are You Headed for an Energy Crisis?
Please check the statements below that are
true for you.
my appreciation to others or to savor my
accomplishments and blessings.
Body
Mind
__ I don’t regularly get at least seven to eight
hours of sleep, and I often wake up feeling
tired.
__ I frequently skip breakfast, or I settle for
something that isn’t nutritious.
__ I don’t work out enough (meaning cardiovascular training at least three times a week
and strength training at least once a week).
__ I don’t take regular breaks during the day
to truly renew and recharge, or I often eat
lunch at my desk, if I eat it at all.
__ I have difficulty focusing on one thing at a
time, and I am easily distracted during the
day, especially by e-mail.
__ I spend much of my day reacting to immediate crises and demands rather than focusing on activities with longer-term value
and high leverage.
__ I don’t take enough time for reflection,
strategizing, and creative thinking.
__ I work in the evenings or on weekends,
and I almost never take an e-mail–free vacation.
Emotions
Spirit
__ I frequently find myself feeling irritable,
impatient, or anxious at work, especially
when work is demanding.
__ I don’t have enough time with my family
and loved ones, and when I’m with them, I’m
not always really with them.
__ I have too little time for the activities that I
most deeply enjoy.
__ I don’t stop frequently enough to express
__ I don’t spend enough time at work doing
what I do best and enjoy most.
__ There are significant gaps between what I
say is most important to me in my life and
how I actually allocate my time and energy.
__ My decisions at work are more often influenced by external demands than by a
strong, clear sense of my own purpose.
__ I don’t invest enough time and energy in
harvard business review • october 2007
making a positive difference to others or to
the world.
•••
How is your overall energy?
Total number of statements checked: __
Guide to scores
0–3: Excellent energy management skills
4–6: Reasonable energy management skills
7–10: Significant energy management
deficits
11–16: A full-fledged energy management
crisis
What do you need to work on?
Number of checks in each category:
Body __
Mind __
Emotions __
Spirit __
Guide to category scores
0: Excellent energy management skills
1: Strong energy management skills
2: Significant deficits
3: Poor energy management skills
4: A full-fledged energy crisis
page 5
This document is authorized for use only by Michelle Sales (MICHELLESALES@MKHCONSULTING.COM.AU). Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Please contact
customerservice@harvardbusiness.org or 800-988-0886 for additional copies.
