Personal Energy
Below you find a short introduction on personal energy. This is not a scientific article but an outline on the importance of managing your energy, the various types of energy and the relation with some trends in our society. The core message is that maintaining a well balanced personal energy level is of the utmost importance and therefore needs to be professionally managed.
In literature many writers distinguish four types of energy: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional energy. There are many other types of energy, like sexual energy, however since we focus on managing our energy in a professional environment these four types are correct.
Spiritual energy indicate whether our professional goals resonate with our preferred direction and internal values. Physical energy deals with our ability to actually achieve these goals and our Mental energy is the power to steer our energy, even when there are distractions and obstacles. We see Emotional energy different than many others as we do not see this next to the other types, but as an outcome of the underlying energy statuses.
Energy is probably the most important asset in our live, yet this is the asset we seldom manage. Jerry Seinfeld once said that: “Money is great. But energy is the greatest riches”. This is in line with the view of Tony Schwartz and Catherin McCarthy who wrote the bestseller: ‘Manage your energy, not your time”. An interesting message, but not correct as we need to manage our energy AND our time.
Energy types are not isolated. All types of energy influence each other. Managing your energy therefore is not always easy. If you feel sad is this because you did not sleep wel (low physical energy), or it is a troublesome morning (lowering your mental energy) or because you have to do something you hate (draining spiritual energy). Nevertheless, one can state that some energy types have a bigger impact on some of the current business challenges than others. The table below gives a simplified overview.
Challenge | Main Energy Type | Comment |
Sickness | Physical | Next to illness there are many other factors that can influence your physical energy level like sleep, food and exercises. |
Burn-Out | Mental | Burn-out is extremely complex and there are many scientific debates on the root causes. Our view is that a long-term mental energy drain is a main contributor to burn-out. |
Staff Turnover | Spiritual | Professionals start looking for other jobs when the reason for staying is fading, either because they do not feel rewarded or the culture or job conflicts with the life values. The spiritual wants are not fulfilled. |
This blog shows how important it is to manage your energy. Together with time management these are the two components of self-management; the ability to manage both your time and energy at the same time. This is not easy so at ForeF we continuously are working on tools to help you, to give you clear insight how well you spend your time and how well your energy is balanced. Insights lead to knowledge, and knowledge will lead to action. Without insight no action and therefore no improvements.
Personal Energy
Below you find a short introduction on personal energy. This is not a scientific article but an outline on the importance of managing your energy, the various types of energy and the relation with some trends in our society. The core message is that maintaining a well balanced personal energy level is of the utmost importance and therefore needs to be professionally managed.
In literature many writers distinguish four types of energy: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional energy. There are many other types of energy, like sexual energy, however since we focus on managing our energy in a professional environment these four types are correct.
Spiritual energy indicate whether our professional goals resonate with our preferred direction and internal values. Physical energy deals with our ability to actually achieve these goals and our Mental energy is the power to steer our energy, even when there are distractions and obstacles. We see Emotional energy different than many others as we do not see this next to the other types, but as an outcome of the underlying energy statuses.
Energy is probably the most important asset in our live, yet this is the asset we seldom manage. Jerry Seinfeld once said that: “Money is great. But energy is the greatest riches”. This is in line with the view of Tony Schwartz and Catherin McCarthy who wrote the bestseller: ‘Manage your energy, not your time”. An interesting message, but not correct as we need to manage our energy AND our time.
Energy types are not isolated. All types of energy influence each other. Managing your energy therefore is not always easy. If you feel sad is this because you did not sleep wel (low physical energy), or it is a troublesome morning (lowering your mental energy) or because you have to do something you hate (draining spiritual energy). Nevertheless, one can state that some energy types have a bigger impact on some of the current business challenges than others. The table below gives a simplified overview.
Challenge | Main Energy Type | Comment |
Sickness | Physical | Next to illness there are many other factors that can influence your physical energy level like sleep, food and exercises. |
Burn-Out | Mental | Burn-out is extremely complex and there are many scientific debates on the root causes. Our view is that a long-term mental energy drain is a main contributor to burn-out. |
Staff Turnover | Spiritual | Professionals start looking for other jobs when the reason for staying is fading, either because they do not feel rewarded or the culture or job conflicts with the life values. The spiritual wants are not fulfilled. |
This blog shows how important it is to manage your energy. Together with time management these are the two components of self-management; the ability to manage both your time and energy at the same time. This is not easy so at ForeF we continuously are working on tools to help you, to give you clear insight how well you spend your time and how well your energy is balanced. Insights lead to knowledge, and knowledge will lead to action. Without insight no action and therefore no improvements.
