The world of gadgets has compressed space and time into one point. The physical barriers that separate our self from the rest are no longer apparent. It is difficult for us to draw a line between work and leisure. Corporate chats, planning meetings, meetings… There is no end to all this. We are like our smartphones: a night of recharging in order to put the battery to zero in a day. Where to draw strength in energy-intensive everyday life?
Read the instructions for your phone. It is recommended to fully discharge the battery only during the first use. Then it is recommended not to lower the charge level to critical and connect it to an energy source as soon as it is less than half. Otherwise, the battery will quickly fail. Its energy intensity will become low: fully charge it, but it will only last for an hour.
The same thing happens with our internal resource. Recovering and connecting to energy sources in time is necessary in order to stay healthy and efficient in the very work for which we are depleted, often unnoticed by ourselves. If you work hard every day, in a year there will not be enough weeks to cope with the volume of tasks that you perform today in just a few hours.
Much has been written about the symptoms of chronic fatigue and burnout. Their main essential consequence is the loss of oneself. We simply do not have the energy to live and be ourselves.
To be successful, you need to be full of energy. To be full of energy, you need to rest. Everyone understands this. Perform units.
Why is it hard to find time for yourself?
A busy schedule creates the illusion that if we don’t answer a message right now, don’t call a partner, but allow ourselves a cup of coffee without a screen in front of our eyes, the world will forever plunge into hopeless darkness.
It is characteristic of most people whose work is connected with constant communication. But the people “at the other end of the line” are not interested in the very fact of our presence, but in the ability to communicate constructively and achieve their goals.
Connecting to an energy source in time and filling up is a professional skill, not an indulgence for yourself, your loved one.
Consultants, coaches, psychologists, business coaches, executives — being helpful to clients, employees and partners, being emotionally devastated, is basically impossible for these people. When consultations follow one after another, without interruptions, it is unlikely that any of them can be truly effective.
Vacation planning should be treated as systematically as the schedule of work projects. Connecting to a source of energy in time and filling up is a professional skill, not an indulgence for yourself, your loved one.
How to recover
Even incorrigible workaholics from time to time think about how and where to gain strength. Everyone has their own ways: some smoke, others go to a bar with friends, others play sports. Often these actions occur spontaneously — «everything is tired, I’ll go and unwind.» They are able to relieve stress for a short time, but cannot maintain the internal resource at the proper level all the time.
To achieve emotional balance, a more systematic approach is needed. It helps a lot to follow the cycle during the working day: work — cleansing — rest — filling.
Work is an activity that requires a lot of resources from us. Even if, for example, after the meeting you did not feel tired, it will catch up during the day. Divide the day into segments. Each new block of work tasks is the beginning of a new cycle. After each meeting, clear yourself of accumulated tension. Water helps a lot. You can wash your face with cool water, wash your hands thoroughly, look at a pond, a fountain or the inhabitants of an office aquarium. Silently watching a burning candle or a fire in a fireplace will have the same effect. You can also go outside for a few minutes on the street or balcony and expose your face to the wind.
Take a few minutes to rest. It can be any short activity that can relax you. You can meditate by straightening your back, closing your eyes and observing your deep breathing. Some help a little warm-up, self-massage, drawing in a notebook, a walk. A good life hack is to pick up a highlight and study it closely. This practice pushes the limits of conventional notions: in one highlight, you can see the whole world if you concentrate on it for several minutes.
After a short reboot, the cycle can be started again and taken to the next block of tasks
Releasing tension, you need to connect to the source of energy, fill up. There are no universal tips: we are filled with what inspires us. Talking with a friend or loved one, music, viewing photos, reading your favorite channel on the network. Determining whether action fills you or takes away strength is simple. It selects if you want to continue it: further click on the pages, listen to other tracks. Fills if new thoughts and ideas appear from action. Here is how Richard Branson describes this process in the book “To hell with everything! Take it and do it”: “Salvador Dali had his own way of enjoying the moment. He went to his garden, plucked a beautiful peach, heated by the sun, held it in his palm, admiring the golden skin of the fruit. I inhaled the aroma, then bit off a small piece, felt the sweet juice, enjoyed it slowly. And then he would spit out the juice and throw the peach into the sea. Dali said that it was a moment of perfection, and such moments gave him much more pleasure than if he had eaten a whole basket of peaches.
After a short reboot, the cycle can be started again and taken to the next block of tasks. Such a system allows you to feel emotionally filled all the time, to live, and not to meet deadlines. Yes, in any job there are emergency situations when it is simply impossible to slam the door, saying: “I have a legal day off!” But even in this mode, it is important to observe the cycle «work — cleansing — rest — filling.»
Staying late at the office, coming home late at night and seeing the compassionate glances of household members, sacrificing days off to demonstrate dedication to a cause was until recently fashionable, approved and commendable. Fortunately, attitudes are changing. Today, the trend is “full person”, and not “driven person”. A balance between work, family, travel and hobbies is the key to a fulfilling life that brings joy to ourselves and others.