We all consume energy to operate our home or workplace. Similarly, we need it to operate. In fact we are all made up essentially of energy in different forms so it makes sense to optimise its use.
Everything you do - indeed everything you think - is an allocation of energy. Therefore just as you monitor energy usage and make sensible decisions about how to allocate it, you can also do the same with your personal energy.
A common claim among clients I work with is that they ‘don’t have enough time’. But we all have the same amount of time each day. So, with time fixed, how do we make the most of each day? And therefore our lives.
Energy can be considered in four different forms – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. To optimise our energy, we can look across its value chain - how it is harnessed to produce value.
A. Energy Sources: We can create energy or provide the fuel to ensure we have good reserves of energy.
B. Optimise energy: Examine your entire day. When are you creative? When do you feel tired? When do you think optimally? When do you feel like exercising, writing, admin or housework? How can you create and tweak rituals so that energy is optimised by matching activities with your energy levels?
C. Minimise leakage: What can you do during the day to prevent energy being drained, or to top it up? For example, decisions drain energy and yet we labour over the same decisions every day when we could create rituals to pre-determine them.
Finally, enjoy the fruits of your optimal energy use. Invest in a good mix of pleasure and purpose to ensure you are energised. This, in turn, will boost your energy levels for the next day!
Ireland has a Building Energy Rating (BER) to quantify the energy efficiency of buildings. The 36 questions below span the four types of energy and the three value chain areas. What is your Body Energy Rating? If the answer is not a clear 'Yes!' then it’s a 'No".
James Parnell is the founder of TheWellBeingGym which provides corporate performance training to businesses, and personal life design coaching to individuals. He blogs at james-parnell.com and we are delighted to have him as our guest blogger this week...