What Will Boosting Your Energy and Productivity Do for You?
Episode #2 of the course Maximize your energy and productivity to live your best life by Linda Hardenstein
Welcome back!
We will start by identifying what boosting your energy will do for you.
I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to take the next few minutes to think about it. Here we go.
“Why do you want to have more energy?”
Just think about it and write down your answers. I’ve asked many people this question, and usually, their answers fit into two categories:
• Results: I want to get more things done.
• Health: I want to feel better.
Does your answer fit into one of those two categories? Be truthful to yourself; there’s no judging here (nobody’s watching, anyway).
These answers are fine, but I’d like to explore a little deeper about what having more energy will do for you. To start, it means you have an end state in mind—a clear picture of how you want to be and feel and where you want to go from there.
Having an image or vision of what you want, or having “the end in mind,” is one of the most important principles of personal leadership, according to Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
With the busyness of life, it’s easy to get caught up in just doing things without thinking much about them or about their ultimate impact.
For example, it’s easy to stay busy and be efficient at getting things done. But have you ever noticed that you can also put forth a great deal of energy to get something done, only to end up feeling drained?
If you’re working yourself to death just to get things done, you’re being efficient. If you know what you want to get out of all that energy you’re putting forth, you can be effective. This is because you’re going to get the things done that are important to you, which will have you feeling more satisfied. Just feeling more satisfied will help boost your energy.
That’s why keeping the mental image or picture of what you want and how you want to feel is so important. Take steps to keep yourself motivated, but take steps in the right direction so you can generate energy and live your best life.
Here are a few examples of what having more energy will do for you.
“I want to have more energy to …”
• “… spend more time with my partner, family, children, and friends.”
• “… take a vacation and actually enjoy myself.”
• “… start a hobby or do something I’m truly passionate about.”
• “… finish a project or do something on my bucket list that I’ve always wanted to pursue.”
• “… make a career change or start my own business.”
Now. let’s explore what you want your “end state” to be, or what having more energy will do for you.
Let’s explore.
In your mind’s eye, imagine having more energy. See yourself waking up in the morning energized and ready to face your day, feeling vibrant and alive. You have an unlimited supply of energy throughout your day. You feel good. You are able to complete your daily tasks, those things that are important to you, with gusto. At the end of your day, you think about all you got done and you feel satisfied and proud of your accomplishments. When you finish work, there’s plenty of energy left over for what’s next.
Before you read further, take a minute to jot down your impressions from doing this visualization exercise.
Now, answer these questions:
• What will having more energy do for you?
• How will having more energy make you feel?
• What will having more energy make it possible for you to do?
• How will you look when you’re more energized and going about your activities?
By now, you should have a good idea of what having more energy will mean for you. In our next lesson, we will need to understand why maximizing your energy, not time, is so important for increasing your productivity.
To an energizing day!
Linda
Recommended book
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R Covey
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