Where does my energy go?

Have you ever taken a serious look at this? The results might surprise you. When you take a comprehensive look at the things that actually give you energy and the things that take your energy, you can make conscious and intentional decisions about the way you spend your time.

In a world where we have distractions coming from every direction, it can be very hard to notice the things that take our energy. We often consider our resting time as time that gives us energy, recharges our batteries. But, what are you doing during this downtime? Are you on your phone checking email, scrolling social media? These tasks actually take our energy. So, even after "resting" we don't feel energized. 

What actually gives us energy or creates energy is accomplishing something or producing results. But notice if you use this energy boost to jump back into distracting activities that suck your energy away again. Things that give us energy can be taking a walk, exercising, completing an assignment, or cleaning the house. Notice these are all physical exertions and yet they create energy. One easy way to create energy is to plan a task and then complete it as scheduled. Our brain loves to check the task off the list. But, be prepared for not wanting to do the thing when you have it scheduled. And then do it anyway! No review or re-deciding, if it's scheduled, it's already decided. Honor your word and commitment to yourself. This has an added bonus of increasing your self confidence when you keep your commitment to yourself. 

If you're ready to look at where your energy goes, let me know. I created an Energy Audit Exercise for my summer program and I'd be happy to share it with you. It has a checklist to complete daily, for as many days as you wish, but I recommend at least 3-4 days or a full 7 for the most comprehensive results. There are questions to help identify what is giving you energy and what is draining your energy. Then you can make intentional decisions about spending more time doing things that give you energy!

If you want to take it to the next level, challenge yourself to complete the things that give you energy in even less time! So, if something that gives you energy takes you 2 hours, challenge yourself to complete it in 1 hour instead. Imagine how much energy and time you'll create if you can do the energy giving tasks in half the time!