How To Conserve Your Energy As You Level Up In Your Work And Life

‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away’ Henry David Thoreau

Now you may think this quote should be for eccentric people but I believe that it’s important for everyone. You can apply natural time to your health, work schedule or any domain in your life. The solution is to listen to your body - what do I need right now? Do I need to speed up? Do I need to slow down? How might I need to tweak, adjust or adapt the timing to best suit me?  This is one of the ways that you can prevent burnout.

Listen to your body and when you feel your body’s needs are in conflict with the stressors in your life, try looking for new ways to negotiate. Trust your body. 

Think about this. We all have our own natural sense of pace, though many of us have forgotten how to listen to it. In a busy workplace, it's easy to absorb messages about how quickly you should be moving. Rushing through life and work, not having lunch, not going to the toilet because you are soo stressed. Yet this pace may not jive with what’s actually most effective for you. 

When we tune in again to our natural pace and tune out of the stressors around us and others pace and behaviour we often find our natural pace is more efficient.  And we can also find that we are getting more done in less time at our own pace.

Have you noticed this in yourself?  Maybe you have seen that stress levels you thought you needed to get a good day’s work done are not actually necessary.

Once we are taken out of that addicted, guilt ridden stressful environment, we realise that our bodies are the best judges of our natural pace and the pace which is most effective and productive for us. What happens if you don’t operate at your natural pace? 

It leads to: 

• Buildup of stress
• Impaired decision making
• Reactive action instead of expert action
• A drain in your energy
•  A High risk of Burnout

It’s like running your home electricity on an emergency generator consistently. I don’t have to tell you how expensive that would be!

So please stop saying ‘there’s nothing I can do about it…..’ as an excuse to turn a deaf ear towards your own needs and really start listening. Time is more malleable than you think.

Why not try the following:

• Think about your energy levels like a battery and ask yourself first thing in the morning, where do I want to use my energy today?
• Consciously slow your pace down for a week. You could walk slower from your car to your desk for example and monitor how the energy shifts
• Experiment with your pace to establish what is your natural pace

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