A number of years ago, I used to come home from work feeling like I had been turned upside down and emptied out. Feeling completely drained of my energy, all I wanted to do was slump on the sofa and stare at the TV. It was so bad that sometimes I was barely able to bother with dinner, unless it was a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream. I don’t recommend following this example.
After a few too many years of total exhaustion, I knew something had to change. Exercise, a good night’s sleep, plenty of water and paying attention to what I ate were all habits that helped me with this. I also began to schedule activities to help me disconnect from my work each evening, for example, learning a new language, taking a yoga class, going for a hike with friends, or just having a relaxed dinner with a close friend. I found myself motived to leave work at work when I had a commitment to be somewhere or meet someone at a certain time, and when I had something fun to look forward to. While my energy levels have improved significantly since then, from time to time I’ve had the feeling there is still something else I could do.
This week I attended a Wisdom University class called Energy Works, taught by Hans Andeweg of the Centre for Ecotherapy. Energy Works is about perceiving, interpreting and enhancing energy in homes, organizations and ecosystems. I learned very quickly that the first step in this work is to manage my own energy.
Any work we do and any interaction we have with other people requires us to expend some energy. Quite often, people walk away from an interaction, such as a meeting, and they are still thinking or talking about it. In fact, it’s easy to take work home with us in our heads. I learned from Hans that when we do this, when we keep thinking about a meeting after it has ended, our energy is basically still tied up in the meeting and thus still draining away from us. It’s as though we made a phone call into the meeting and then didn’t hang up the call, so we keep spending minutes on the meeting. If this goes on long enough, we’re going to have a big phone bill to pay.
I realize now that whenever I feel overly drained at the end of day, then I probably haven’t ”hung up the phone” on some interaction or event. Hans suggests that we be very intentional about disconnecting ourselves from interactions when they end. A simple way to do that is to wash my hands and, while washing them, make it clear to myself that I’m cleaning away the connection that had been there. I may also imagine the phone clicking off as I shake hands, exit a room or close a door behind me. A couple of deep breaths and lightly clapping or rubbing my hands together may also do the trick. Or I might imagine a strong wind or a rain shower sweeping over me and clearing out everything I don’t need to take with me from that meeting. Any of these techniques cost barely a minute, and pay me back with more energy at the end of the day.
What techniques do you use to disconnect your energy from meetings and interactions every day? The next time you walk out of a meeting or social event, try one of the above techniques and see how it feels to really hang up the phone.
