One important contributor many of us may not have thought about or focused on, is that it is a persons energy level which is a leading element in achieving positive and sustained results. Closely linked to energy is the impact of stamina. Possessing the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort is the key to achieving continuing results. It is knowing about the science of stamina and using the required interventions to boost ones stamina which can contribute to increasing the capacity to get things done and produce results.

The majority of employees respond to the increasing demands of the workplace by working longer hours. Pushing oneself harder to meet deadlines inevitably starts to take a toll on employees both physically and mentally. The impact of this is shown by the decreasing levels of job engagement, higher turnover and increasing medical leave and expenses.

Time is a finite resource, so working longer hours at the cost of other activities is not the solution. But on the other hand, energy is another story. It can be renewed and also expanded by practicing and establishing certain behaviours. In order to re-energize their employees and increase their job engagement, organizations need to invest more in motivating them. A motivated employee will return to work everyday, recharged and ready to face the demands put on them. In fact, having greater levels of capacity can help employees get more done in less time. With it, they also work at a higher level of engagement as well as are more ready to put in a sustained effort.

Employees need to recognize their energy reducing behaviours and change them as required. Some ENERGY RENEWAL ACTIONS we can consider starting and the benefits we can reap from them are :

PHYSICAL ENERGY : This is the foundation of energy management and practicing healthy behaviours are a key requirement for increasing our level of physical energy. These include some very basic requirements such as rest, adequate sleep, exercise and good eating habits. Inadequate nutrition is key to reducing basic energy levels. Along with this adequate sleep and rest diminishes a persons basic energy levels, as well as their ability to be focused and pay attention to the job at hand. Physical activities and exercise helps to increase stamina enabling us to put in the extra effort and time required to complete the jobs at hand.

The average person who works in an office spends 9.3 hours a day in sedentary activities like sitting in meetings, participating in conference calls and staring at a computer screen or phone, according to research published in the Harvard Business Review. To reset and recharge your energy reserves, HPI recommends “microbursts,” which are 5- to 10-minute breaks you should take throughout the day. The more you move , the more energy you can generate throughout the day. Intermittent breaks for renewal, were found to result in higher and more sustainable performance. The length of renewal is less important than the quality. It is possible to greatly recover in a short time, if it involves an activity that allows you to disengage from work and come back refreshed.

EMOTIONAL ENERGY : If a person can be in control of their emotions and how they react to any situation, irrespective of any pressures they maybe facing, they are able to improve their emotional energy. To do so a person needs to be aware of their feelings and the impact it is creating on their performance. Most people realize that their performance level increases when they are feeling and acting positively. Positive energy inspires confidence and also promotes resilience within us and encourages us to perform at higher and sustained levels.

When a person is confronted with constant demands and challenges they have a tendency to slip into generating negative energy and depict negative behaviour in terms of the ‘fight or flight’ mode. They become anxious and insecure and begin to display irritable and impatient behaviour. Being in such a state of mind can drain a persons energy and also be a cause of friction and stress in their relationships, We tend to loose our capacity to think logically and clearly and are unable to reflect upon our behaviour patterns. A simple way to defuse our tensions is by taking a few moments to reflect and relax. A very simple exercise like ‘Deep breathing’ is a very effective method and by breathing deep and then exhaling slowly for five to six seconds a number of times we can recover our equilibrium, relax and recover.

MENTAL ENERGY : This form of energy is concerned with the internal mental processes including our perception, thinking, analyzing, problem solving and decision making. Learning is also a key component since it guides us in implementing our knowledge. The amount of information that we have access to, and are receiving daily is way beyond our capacity to process and consume. Even top performers are facing a constant struggle to keep up the pace and in the end become overwhelmed and tend to face burnout. Being faced with the struggle to keep up with the increasing workplace demands on them, which at times they are unable to fulfill, employees are frustrated by their lack of progress and inability to succeed. In such a situation, it is the role of the manager to coach and guide employees and help them to remove the obstacles they are facing and succeed in achieving their goals.

The inability to keep up, may force employees to start multitasking, which also contributes to undermining their productivity. Shifting one’s attention from one task to another actually increases the amount of time we require to finish the first job at hand. This could increase time consumed by upto 25% in some cases. Fully focusing on one activity and finishing it before moving on to the next is much more efficient.

INCREASE PERSONAL ENERGY

Being self aware is the key to developing your energy management skills. It is necessary to first understand our personal requirements and then develop a plan to addressing the deficits. In order to develop an energy mindset into our lives its important to develop a plan and address all identified deficits. It is only by increasing our energy that we can elevate our own individual performance, our teams performance and the organizations results as a whole.

REMEMBER – ” The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results. ” – Anthony Robbins