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Years ago, I heard Roger Mellott speak about stress management and he presents the ideas of "energy pies." That has been a useful concept to me and this article is about taking care not to deplete your own "energy pie."
OK, I know that title seems funny. Picturing an "Energy Pie" (from Roger Mellott) is a visual way to think about how much energy we have on a given day or in a given week. Sometimes, we have a little bitty pie and other times a big pie.
This article is about taking care not to be depleting our own energy pies. Remember, there is much that is under your control. If you don't take control, then you are indulging in self-inflicted pie sucking.
Any one of the following may be keeping you from maintaining a sufficiently large energy pie.
- Lack of sleep. One night of fewer hours than you need won't hurt you. Many nights, many weeks, and many years of too few hours will hurt you and even kill you.
- Eating the wrong foods. There's no certain list, but you know what they are for you. Sometimes, it's the right foods, but just the wrong quantities (think Thanksgiving Day. Whew....low energy after that huge meal).
- Getting preventable illnesses. When you let yourself get run down, you are highly susceptible to everything that's going around. Guard against that and take other precautions to keep from getting colds, flu, headaches, and the like.
- Drinking too much (alcohol, milkshakes, soda, etc.) You know what takes your energy away. Be a grownup and take charge of your energy.
- Lack of exercise. Even 10 minutes each day can boost your energy. No exercise...ever....is an energy depleter, to say the least.
- Not taking the time to laugh. You can laugh alone or with others, Laughing does all kinds of things to increase your energy. Never laughing just keeps draining the energy out of you.
- Doing others' work for them. This makes you mad, it takes your time, you feel used, you fret about it, and so on...sounds like an energy drain to me.
- Solving the same problem over and over again. Solving problems is what smart people do--that's energizing. But having to deal with/solve the same problem over and over and over...well, that's horrid. Notice when it's happening. Solve it once. Really.
- Credit card debt. It's a heavy burden. Money worries of any kind take your energy. Get help to get out of credit card debt if you can't do it yourself.
- Taking responsibility for others' problems (including those of your spouse, children, family, and friends). Taking responsibility for babies, children, and the infirm...is a positive trait and is part of what good folks do. Enabling others (teenagers, spouses, partners, colleagues, extended family, etc.) by taking responsibility for their problems and issues, will sap energy every time. Pay attention to if and when you are doing this.
This is a powerful list. You probably have at least one of these ten that could use some attention. Give it (and that means yourself) the attention you deserve and watch your energy "pie" increase.
These are all under your control. Avoid self-inflicted 'pie sucking.' Your body, your mind, your colleagues, your family, and your students will all thank you.
Educators have the most influential positions in our society--and need every bit of support that can be mustered. Two resources that will help increase educators' sense of peaceful, predictable productivity are Meggin's weekly emails:
**Top Ten Productivity Tips
**Keys to Keeping Chaos at Bay
(c) 2007 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., "The Ph. D. of Productivity"(tm)
Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do via seminars, workshops, writing, coaching, and consulting.
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