Nonprofit leaders face 3 energy drainers. Use these tips to boost your energy!

Do you wish you had more time or energy? Or perhaps both?

I've been talking to several clients lately who are struggling to fit everything into their days, and they are finding it draining. Yet the truth is, if we look at the slots in our calendar and match that up with our to-do list, we will never fit it all in. There's just no way.

Focus on energy rather than time
But instead, if we look at our energy levels and what's draining and boosting our energy, we may find some hope.

We all start each day with a battery level of energy. Sometimes our batteries are full. Sometimes not so much. Some things happen in our day that drains our battery. Other things boost our power back up.

Consider these examples
Nancy told me about a meeting she attended that sucked the life out of her!
But, Nancy also talked about a meeting she attended where she felt very excited for the next steps when she left.

Olivia finds her one-to-one conversation with one employee draining, and her conversation with another employee tends to lift her up.

What's the difference between one meeting to another? Or from one relationship to the other?

Why is it that one drains us and the other boosts us?

There are a lot of factors! However, many of us believe we can't control the factors when in truth is we can control some of them.

Here's how they've regained energy
For example, Rebecca knows that if she's had a draining meeting, she needs to make sure she schedules some buffer time to recharge after. So she plans to go for a 15-minute walk after to increase her battery level. 

Anjali has realized that many of her employees find value in 20 minutes touch base meetings rather than a full hour and that it's less draining for both of them. They use an ongoing document for creating the agenda ahead of time. This document also allows them to cover as much content outside of those meetings as possible, such as program updates. As a result, the meetings are less draining and much more efficient!

The 3 energy drainers and how to recharge

What drains us falls into three main categories: People projects and problems. Below you'll find tips to help keep, maintain or recharge your energy level.

PEOPLE
While you can't get rid of everyone in your workspace that drives you nuts, you can change how you engage in a relationship with them.

DO THIS:  Consider which might work to shift the energy drain you experience from some relationships.

• Reduce the amount of time that you spend with them. If you are at in-person meetings with them, it would even help to sit as far away from them as possible!

 

• Reduce the impact they have by shifting your mindset. We allow others to impact us by our thoughts. When you change your thoughts from "I hate the way she....." to "I'm letting go of her toxicity!" You'll reduce the amount of drain on your battery.

 

• Reset yourself after a draining encounter. Create time to "shake it off" with some music, journaling to release, or deep breathing to regain your composure. 

PROJECTS
We often find projects very overwhelming, and many of them have time constraints around them. 

DO THIS: Break the projects down into smaller pieces, so you're not as overwhelmed. 

Rather than write the big project on your to-do list as one gigantic, overwhelming item, create tasks from the smaller project pieces. Seeing smaller parts makes a shift in your mind that engages you to get them done rather than pushing away. 

Time management guru David Allen reminds us that projects and tasks are different. Tasks belong on our to-do list. Projects belong on a weekly strategic review list. 

PROBLEMS
Many problems are energy drainers because we spend so much time worrying, fretting, and wishing them away. It's like we have open tabs in our minds that continue to draw power and energy on us all day long! No wonder you feel drained physically, emotionally and mentally at the end of the day! 

DO THIS: Schedule time for strategic thinking. Taking time to intentionally do some critical thinking, weigh the evidence, and consider other perspectives helps you to make a decisive decision. One of my clients does this at her kitchen table, another on the run. 

A tip here is that we rarely do good strategic thinking with our hands on the mouse. It requires a different way of thinking, which happens in the shower, cutting vegetables or tending to the garden! So schedule that time in as WORK TIME!!!! I bet you'll feel reenergized, clearer and liberated from that stuck place you've been in!

Put yourself back in control of your energy. First, be conscious of what drains you and how to regain your energy. Then, monitor it regularly and do what you need to keep your battery at a level that allows you to lead with impact AND have energy left for the rest of your life