Human beings are designed to pulse between spending and renewing energy. (Tony Schwartz)
The week before last I noticed a real slump in my energy, I felt constantly tired and knew my patience was running thin. I was intrigued about why that was happening then and what might be going on. When I’m coaching, I often use a timeline approach to walk people through their positive and more challenging experiences, out of interest I decided to try it out to map my lockdown energy.
In many ways it was no real surprise. In the first couple of weeks there were some real ups and downs. Initial shock and confusion – ‘how has this happened, how has it happened so fast, what does it all mean?’ Then Susan and I decided to get blogging and sharing resources and there was lots of initial support needed so it was full on and busy, keeping me occupied.
Initially, the tech was helpful, and it was good to keep connected but back to back video conferencing is exhausting and more intense than meeting face to face. I also realised how much I used my travel time in the past as punctuation and renewal points in my day.
Being hyper productive and hypervigilant (which is necessary in an uncertain possibly dangerous world) is not sustainable and we need time to refresh. I have found I’m painting more, usually in the mornings and I have also enjoyed seeing people in their home environments and meeting pets, children and partners. I have kept my routines going, I have been freelancing for a long time so that was not a big issue, but they have had to be reviewed because now my partner is here 24/7 too and that took a bit of negotiating!
Talking to another freelancer the thing that has surprised us is that there is more of a sense of repetition in the day and that is unfamiliar, and I find it pretty wearing. This is what was going on in the week that I have felt most tired to date, it is almost easier to navigate the big troughs and peaks, although I suspect the cumulative effect is having an impact now. New connections and catching up with friends and colleagues I haven’t been in touch with for a while has helped and I am being much more mindful of how I replenish myself.
I found this a useful exercise and it has reminded me that I need to attend to my energy flows and know what picks me up and what slows me down. It has also helped me recognise that if I overdo some of the energy giving activity it can easily tip over into energy draining. Following on from yesterday’s blog it has also given a new dimension to being empathetic and being more alert to the energy levels of others.
Since my reflective activity I came across this video by Tony Schwartz that really captures the need to think more about our energy levels. Interestingly, he also touches on paradoxical thinking (to be covered in another blog) and handling uncertainty.
It seems to me that it is not time management so much as energy that needs our attention if we want to be more effective.