Measuring and maximizing energy
How to bring and receive energy from your work
Overview
Bringing energy to your work and having it return energy to you is essential for creativity, productivity, and well-being. Energy is one of the four factors for targeting a unique opportunity that enables us to experience our true potential.
I first became self-aware of measuring my energy and feeling meaning and happiness after reading the book Mojo by Marshall Goldsmith in 2009. I was lucky to meet Coach Goldsmith at a Microsoft event, where I also asked him to sign my Mojo book! His operational definition is:
Mojo is that positive spirit toward what we are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside.
He then describes two forms of Mojo:
Professional Mojo – a measure of the skills and attitudes we bring to any activity. The five qualities we need to bring to an activity to do it well are:
Motivation – you want to do a great job in this activity; you are not going through the motions!
Knowledge – you understand what to do and how to do it.
Ability – you have the skills needed to do the task well.
Confidence – you are sure of yourself when performing this activity.
Authenticity – you are genuine in your level of enthusiasm for engaging in this activity.
Personal Mojo – is measured by the benefits a particular activity gives back to us. The five benefits we may receive from the activity after doing a job well are:
Happiness – being engaged in this activity makes you happy.
Reward – this activity provides material or emotional rewards that are important to you.
Meaning – the results of this activity are meaningful for you.
Learning – this activity helps you learn and grow.
Gratitude – overall, you feel grateful for being able to do this activity and believe that it is a great use of your time.
Every job likely has an aspect of the work we must do and aren’t exactly excited about. Becoming deeply self-aware of the specific work activities that we bring energy to and exhaust energy from is key to finding the career path and job where you can experience your true potential. Measuring energy and mojo in the moment throughout the day is the signal that will guide you.
Exercises
If I could do any job, what would it be and why?
Why have you not made the big leap? [Read this article]
Looking at my calendar for the last week, what activities created energy? What activities depleted energy? How many hours created energy and depleted energy?
Is my physical exercise routine creating the stamina and chemicals to power my day?
Are there boundary issues that are sucking my energy?
What problems or challenges in my personal life are draining energy and preventing me from growing and performing?
Do I say “yes” too often and not “no” to activities that deplete energy or do not align with my goals?
Does my manager create an environment and culture that is energy-producing?
Thinking back to times throughout my career, when was I operating at my best?
Summary
We can maximize energy by actively managing our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. I have found over many years that maintaining a daily habit of physical exercise generates a positive spirit to perform throughout the day. Exercising before the start of the business day ensures you invest in yourself first before giving it your all at work and to others.
Adopt a daily check-in to evaluate the energy moments of your day.
What work or habits can be eliminated to increase energy?
Record your notes in a daily journal.
Using the ten factors above to measure mojo, record your results in a spreadsheet on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) for important activities of a day or week.