Energize

Time - we never have enough of it.  Everyone is in a hurry these days, juggling work, family, play... life. We pride ourselves on our ability to multitask. We use email, cell phones, and a multitude of other devices to keep in touch so we don't miss anything. About the only thing that seems to be slowing us down is traffic, and then we use that to catch up on phone calls and messages.

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."             C.S. Lewis

And we say there is never enough time!  We need more time to do more, accomplish more, be more. But the reality is - there is no more time than that which we have been given.  There are only 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day.  No more.  No less. 

The real issue isn't time-or time management. It's energy - and energy management, and this requires us to rethink much of what we've believed about organizing our lives.  Managing time efficiently is important, but no guarantee we'll bring sufficient energy to whatever it is we're doing. We need to learn two new rules:

• 1. Energy is the fundamental currency of high performance.
• 2. Performance, health and happiness are grounded in the skillful management of energy.

Energy is the key. 

According to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, in their book, The Power of Full Engagement (Free Press, 2003), the skillful management of energy-individually and organizationally-makes full engagement possible.

To be fully engaged in our lives, we must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest.

"Energy and persistence alter all things."  Benjamin Franklin

Everything we do requires energy. As obvious as this is, we fail to take into account the importance of energy at work and in our personal lives. Without the right quantity and quality of energy, we are compromised in any activity we undertake.

We take energy for granted, assuming we have unlimited amounts. We don't take time for recovery or renewal. We get angry when we get tired or forgetful. We don't appreciate the impact focus and energy have on our successful interactions with others. The ultimate measure of our lives is not how much time we spend on the planet, nor how much we get done, but rather it is in the quality of our moments. And the quality of those moments is all about the energy we invest.  Performance, health and happiness are the result of a skillful management of energy.

Research by the Gallup Organization reports less than 30 percent of employed people are fully engaged at work. Over half are not-engaged, and 17 percent are actively disengaged. That means over two-thirds of people at work are not enthusiastic about what they are doing.  It's hard to fully engage when your energy is depleted.

"Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it."   Leonardo Da Vinci

Four principles put forth by Loehr and Schwartz in their book:

1. Full engagement requires drawing on four separate but related sources of energy: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

2. Because energy capacity diminishes with both overuse and under-use, we must balance energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal.

3. To build capacity, we must push beyond our normal limits, training in the same systematic way elite athletes do.

4. Positive energy rituals - highly specific routines for managing energy - are the key to full engagement and sustained high performance.

We cannot increase time, but we can learn to increase and improve the quality of our energy. The key to living a life more fully engaged-one leading to more health and happiness-is not in the quantity of things you do but rather in the quality of crucial moments.  Attaining full engagement in life involves doing things that will help you connect with your deep sense of purpose - your life vision.

Work toward increasing energy - write in a journal, create a regular workout routine, read or simply plan for some quiet time to think and reflect on what you're trying to achieve in your life. Create rituals of those things that will help you connect to your purpose - and to your energy.

Roxanne Kaufman, COSE MindSpring Editor Principal/Coach                                                                                        rkaufman@prolaureate.com

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