BUSINESS & LIFE: Energy vs. Time Management II

This week, we continue our focus on Energy Management and take an Energy Audit designed by Schwartz and McCarthy, to determine how effectively we are managing our energy and creating balance in our lives.

Please check the questions that are true for you:

Body

1.    I don’t regularly get at least seven to eight hours of sleep, and I often wake up feeling tired
2.    I frequently skip breakfast, or I settle for something that isn’t nutritious
3.    I don’t work out enough (meaning cardiovascular training at least three times a week and strength training at least once a week)
4.    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

Emotions

5.    I frequently find myself feeling irritable, impatient or anxious at work, especially when work is demanding
6.    I don’t have enough time for my family and loved ones, and when I am with them, I am not always really with them
7.    I have too little time for the activities that I most deeply enjoy
8.    I don’t stop frequently enough to express my appreciation to others or to savour my accomplishments and blessings

Mind

9.    I have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time, and I am easily distracted during the day, especially by email
10.    I spend much of my day reacting to immediate crisis and demands rather than focusing on activities with longer term value and high leverage
11.    I don’t take enough time for reflection, strategising and creative thinking
12.    I work in the evenings or on weekends and I almost never take an email free vacation

Spirit

13.    I don’t spend enough time at work doing what I do best and enjoy most
14.    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
15.    My decisions at work are more often influenced by external demands than by a strong, clear sense of my own purpose
16.    I don’t invest enough time and energy in making a positive difference to others or to the world

How many ticks do you have?  The guide below explain your results:

0-3 – Excellent energy management skills
4-6 – Reasonable energy management skills
7-10 – Significant energy management deficit
11 – 16 – A full-fledged energy management crisis

Which areas do you need to work?  The following is the guide for the categories

0 – Excellent energy management skills
1 – Strong energy management skills
2 – Significant energy management deficits
3 – Poor energy management skills
4 – A full-fledged energy crisis

I got an overall score of 8, with my key area of weakness being the “body”.  I have to sleep more, eat breakfast, exercise more consistently and eat lunch at more regular hours.   I started last week Wednesday ensuring I got a minimum of 6 hours of sleep, eating breakfast and lunch and I have been swimming.  Already I see and feel the difference.  A bonus is a younger looking and brighter face, giving truth to the “beauty nap!”

My strongest area is my “Spirit,” and it is the love for what I do and the opportunity to live my vocation and God’s purpose in my life, that sustains me through it all.  Therein lies the answer to the question often posed to me, “Valda, how do you do all you do?”

My continued quest, as I am acutely aware of the need, is to find balance between all four dimensions of my energy source.  Can you imagine how much more we can all accomplish if we get that right balance?  This would give meaning to the words, “Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard nor has the heart comprehended what God has in store for us…” (1 Cor 2:9).

Until we meet again, May God Continue to Keep Us in the Palm of His Hands.