1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,920 What if I told you that managing time isn't the secret to a fulfilling, high-performing 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,160 life, but managing your energy is? 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:19,440 All this time I was aiming to create more time, when maybe I've had it wrong. 4 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,760 In today's episode, we're breaking down key takeaways from the book The Power of Full 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,960 Engagement by Jim Lorre and Tony Schwartz. 6 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:34,160 We're going to explore how your energy, not your time, is your most precious resource. 7 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:41,260 How aligning your performance pyramid of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy can 8 00:00:41,260 --> 00:00:47,360 unlock performance, health, and happiness like never before. 9 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:53,680 We'll review how to prioritize activities that fuel you and how this can help you avoid 10 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,880 energy drains and add in more zest for life. 11 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:04,240 So grab your coffee or tea, lace up your walking shoes, grab onto that steering wheel, whatever 12 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:09,080 you're doing while you're listening, and let's talk about how to fuel the life you actually 13 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:18,360 want, one energized moment at a time. 14 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,800 Thank you for joining me for another episode of LifeSnacks Lesson Plan. 15 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:28,040 I'm Rachel and I started this podcast during my 29th and last year as a high school teacher. 16 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:33,040 Goal of my work with LifeSnacks Lesson Plan as well as my Live and Learn Patreon is to 17 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,440 create a connection where we are all teachers. 18 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,480 We all have lessons and stories to share that can help others. 19 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:44,360 I'm so fortunate to be able to extend the four walls of my previous classroom to an 20 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,720 unlimited audience where we can all learn from each other. 21 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:53,480 And my guests are some of the most inspirational people with the best stories and lessons I 22 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,320 know, which is why I want to share them with you. 23 00:01:57,320 --> 00:01:59,440 Their words are something everyone should hear. 24 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:04,360 It is my hope that you are able to take away something from each episode to apply to your 25 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:10,640 own life, whether that be a career search, path to a more fulfilling life, or new ideas 26 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:15,520 on current topics. 27 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:20,800 After collapsing from exhaustion in 2007, Ariana Huffington, founder of the Huffington 28 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:28,240 Post and Thrive Global, transformed her approach to work and life, focusing on sleep, mindfulness, 29 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:29,680 and purpose. 30 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,840 How many of us feel like we need a break from life? 31 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,160 A 12-hour nap? 32 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:41,240 Our hustle culture and pulls on our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy has 33 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,800 us all on a fast path to burnout. 34 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:51,400 In the book The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Lohr and Tony Schwartz and Other Research, 35 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:56,320 today I want to talk about how we can get off the hamster wheel a bit to try to replenish 36 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,520 our energy. 37 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:04,920 To start this conversation, we need to understand the difference between energy and time. 38 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:11,120 I know everyone says that time is the biggest currency, and I actually agreed with this 39 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:16,840 until I started doing the research for this episode, where I'm going to argue that energy, 40 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,640 not time, is the fundamental currency. 41 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:27,560 If you look at this in just the simplest of terms, time is finite, whereas energy can 42 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,400 be expanded and renewed. 43 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:37,160 Performance, health, and happiness depend on effectively managing energy across multiple 44 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,360 dimensions. 45 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:45,720 So we're going to look at the difference between energy management versus what we're all familiar 46 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:51,600 with, time management. 47 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:58,000 Energy management is the strategic use of your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual 48 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:04,400 energy to achieve sustained performance or health or happiness. 49 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,560 Instead of focusing solely on how many hours you have in a day, which is what I've been 50 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:17,320 doing, energy management emphasizes how you feel, think, and function throughout the hours 51 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:18,960 of your day. 52 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:26,840 So some of the key principles of energy management are that energy can be expanded and renewed, 53 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:28,880 unlike time. 54 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:37,320 High performance requires this concept called oscillation, which is cycles of intense focus 55 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:43,320 or stress followed by recovery or rest. 56 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:49,120 Learning about this makes me understand why I'm so exhausted after teaching back-to-back 57 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,320 classes with no rest. 58 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:59,640 Learning tasks with your natural energy rhythms leads to better focus and output, and your 59 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:06,280 energy levels are influenced by your lifestyle factors, which we all know like sleep, nutrition, 60 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:09,000 exercise, and your mindset. 61 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,160 We're going to contrast that for a second with time management, which we're maybe all 62 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,560 a little bit more familiar with. 63 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:23,640 That involves planning and organizing tasks to maximize productivity within a fixed period. 64 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:29,440 So controlling your schedule, setting deadlines, prioritizing tasks, how many hours in a day 65 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,680 do I have to get X, Y, and Z done? 66 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:40,080 This usually focuses on efficiency and scheduling, and it assumes that all hours of the day are 67 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:46,920 equally productive, which I definitely know for myself is not the case. 68 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:54,600 So time management emphasizes prioritizing your tasks and managing your deadlines of 69 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,080 what needs to get done. 70 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:06,480 This often leads to over-scheduling and ignores the need for energy renewal. 71 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:11,520 There's a great side-by-side chart of this that I'm going to share on social media, but 72 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:19,360 when you approach things from a time management standpoint, you're looking at it as a quantity 73 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:23,480 of hours and tasks that need to be completed. 74 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:29,040 But if you are approaching it from an energy management standpoint, then you're looking 75 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,920 at the quality of energy. 76 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,440 Real emotional, mental. 77 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:41,480 In other words, one approach is just power through, get as much done as quickly as you 78 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:48,000 can with no regard to how you feel or how you feel at the end, whereas the other one 79 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:55,080 is going to look at when the peaks of your day, peaks of your energy are, and align that 80 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,920 to your most difficult tasks, and then work in breaks. 81 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:07,960 So energy management is more sustained performance and sustained well-being, whereas time management 82 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:13,880 is this maximize productivity in this limited time, because everybody has the mindset that 83 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:18,200 time is money, we want to get through this as quickly as possible, even if we feel awful 84 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,760 for the rest of the day after. 85 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,720 Another way to think about this is just how we live on an everyday basis. 86 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:29,400 We have a to-do list, we have a calendar, we have a schedule. 87 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,760 And those are just kind of thrown together like, I have to do this, I have to be here, 88 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,800 this has to get done. 89 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:42,800 Whereas we're not really looking at the peak times or the best approach for where to put 90 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:47,080 certain rituals, which is what I want to talk about today. 91 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:53,200 So it's this idea of like just work continuously within the available hours that you have, 92 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:57,520 instead of working in alignment with your body and your energy. 93 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:04,520 So the key question, if you're time management follower is, how am I going to fit this task 94 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:06,160 into my day? 95 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:10,640 If you're looking at managing your energy, the question would be, how can I best manage 96 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:16,320 my energy for this task? 97 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:25,360 So the benefits of energy management for burnout prevention are that you're prioritizing recovery 98 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:31,880 instead of these long strenuous periods of work without any breaks. 99 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:39,240 And if you rearrange your schedule differently, like we'll talk about today, this can prevent 100 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:44,760 chronic stress, which we know many of us have. 101 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:52,080 It also leverages your natural energy peaks so that you can actually work more efficiently 102 00:08:52,080 --> 00:09:01,080 and effectively and at a peak level rather than maybe multitasking rushing through something. 103 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,360 So that is a completely different approach. 104 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:10,640 And it is a whole person approach, meaning you're considering the emotional and spiritual 105 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:15,240 drivers for the motivation of the tasks that you're completing. 106 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:19,360 Not just I have to do this even though I don't want to do this or this isn't the best time 107 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:24,280 to do this or I'm not in the best mind space to do this. 108 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,320 It's just a different approach, which we'll get into today. 109 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:32,560 And then lastly, it is more sustainable long term. 110 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:40,560 So it ensures that your performance over the long run is peak performance. 111 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:47,560 And so when you're dividing things up based on your energy schedule, you're not just focused 112 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:53,800 on your daily output or how fast you got something done, but how you actually feel at the end 113 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:55,080 of the day. 114 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:59,000 So let's talk about an example of this. 115 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,520 So you have to write a report. 116 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,120 You're a student or you're in the corporate world. 117 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:06,760 You have to write a report. 118 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:13,560 So if you were to approach this task from a time management approach, you would say, okay, 119 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:17,320 I think it's going to take me about three hours to write this report. 120 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:25,400 I've got a break in the afternoon or after school or before bed, I'm going to take those 121 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:30,360 three hours and write the report, then I'll be done just one block of time. 122 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:37,480 If you approach that from an energy management standpoint, what you would say to yourself 123 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:42,600 is when do I feel the most mentally sharp in my day? 124 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,600 Personally for me, that is the morning. 125 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:51,160 Knock out 90 minutes of time for deep work. 126 00:10:51,160 --> 00:11:00,200 Then take a break, schedule it in for renewal, a walk, a snack, and return refreshed for 127 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,600 another focused session. 128 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:10,800 Couple of things here that I think we would find is that perhaps what we get done is better 129 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:18,000 and takes less time because we are at our peak and we know we're going to be having 130 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,760 a renewal break in there. 131 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:28,320 And so we feel better, research shows that taking a walk activates your brain. 132 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:35,800 And so you're going to come back to the task unlike in the last 30 minutes of a three hour 133 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:42,680 block, not during a peak time of your day, you are just going to be setting yourself 134 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:50,480 up for ideal achievement and results and then not even just getting a task done, but not 135 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,800 feeling completely depleted when it's over. 136 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:59,120 Okay, so let's talk about one more example, preparing for a presentation. 137 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:05,600 I mean, this is something teachers have to do, you know, we do three to four presentations 138 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,560 every day, five days a week, right? 139 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:12,080 Many jobs, you have to prepare for a presentation. 140 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,360 So students have to do this as well. 141 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:21,440 Time management approach, say, okay, I'm going to allocate two, three, four consecutive hours 142 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:28,320 the day before the presentation to finalize my slides, rehearse and review my notes. 143 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:34,200 Regardless of energy levels or how we're feeling, I'm just getting over a terrible 144 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:35,560 sickness. 145 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:40,200 If I would have left this something like this to the last minute and I got ill, it would 146 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,360 have been a nightmare, right? 147 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:51,240 The energy management approach is to break the preparation into focused sessions aligned 148 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,560 with your personal energy peaks. 149 00:12:54,560 --> 00:13:01,760 So if morning is when your highest mental energy like me spend 90 minutes refining your key 150 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:07,000 points and structuring the presentation while your focus is still sharp, you know, do the 151 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:14,280 most mentally tasking activities when your mental energy is highest. 152 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:21,560 I have an energy dip after school, 230 at that time. 153 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:31,200 So I'm going to have to take a walk, take a break, do some breathing, get outside, change 154 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,480 gears right before I can come back to this. 155 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:41,480 And then when my energy is back up a little bit, I can rehearse out loud for a certain 156 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:48,720 amount of time, 45 minutes, let's say, focusing on my delivery and my pacing. 157 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:57,000 And then when I'm winding down and I'm feeling reflective and calm, I should relax myself, 158 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:04,720 not go over the slides again, build in a relaxing activity, ensure for proper rest, get off 159 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:13,040 screens to ensure good sleep, hygiene, and prepare for optimal performance the next day. 160 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:18,800 You know, in a perfect world because this doesn't always work this way. But if you try 161 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:26,120 this approach with something that you have coming up and again, I'm just speaking from 162 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:31,720 my job standpoint, this doesn't work great with teaching, although I know there are a 163 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:39,600 lot of teachers who work walk breaks or when it's nice enough time outside breaks for the 164 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:45,000 kids and for themselves. And I think that's great. But if you can even just try this on 165 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:51,840 a small scale, or I've been trying this on the weekend, kind of like I know, right when 166 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:57,040 I get up is the best time to tackle grading for the weekend. Because if I leave it till 167 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:02,800 Sunday night, there's no way I'll just be upset and angry and tired. And that's no way 168 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:09,000 to unwind. I've done that to myself many times. And so think about how you structure this 169 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:16,440 on a weekend, or in an evening or just a day during the week, focusing from a time management 170 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:23,320 perspective versus an energy management perspective. Now that we kind of understand just like 171 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:30,120 this concept and the differences between these two approaches, I want to dig into some more 172 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:37,880 terminology of the book, the power of full engagement. So there's this idea of the performance 173 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:43,360 pyramid, or the four dimensions of energy. And I've mentioned them already, but I'll 174 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:51,840 repeat them physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. And each level builds on the one 175 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:58,400 below it. Meaning you need a strong foundation at each stage in order to achieve long term 176 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:05,280 success and fulfillment. So I'm just going to break down each of the four categories 177 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:13,000 and we can kind of look at, you know, grade ourselves maybe with how we take care of these 178 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:20,160 in our daily lives. And then we'll get into again, some more reflection and application. 179 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:26,960 Okay, so we'll start with physical energy, which is kind of the foundation of your performance, 180 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:32,280 right? If you're sick, if you didn't get enough sleep, you know, physical energy can 181 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:38,680 affect everything else. It affects your emotional resilience, your mental focus, your spiritual 182 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:45,880 connection. You know, it all becomes more difficult if you are depleted physically. 183 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:51,640 So we are already know we're supposed to be getting seven to eight hours of good sleep, 184 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:58,320 right? We know that we're supposed to be fueling our bodies with whole foods, and drinking 185 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:07,240 a lot of water, getting movement to reduce fatigue, resting and recovering. This isn't 186 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:15,240 just after exercise, but this is actually incorporating in your day as much as possible. 187 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:27,200 Short breaks of five to 10 minutes after every 90 to 120 minutes of focused work. And sometimes 188 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:33,040 easier said than done, right? But I'm going to talk about with this a new concept that 189 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:39,520 I learned as well. We've all heard of circadian rhythms, right? With like your natural waking 190 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:45,360 cycles and your natural sleep cycles and how sunlight can affect that. I learned about 191 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:53,920 ultradian rhythms and the importance of taking breaks to rejuvenate. So we're going to get 192 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:59,320 back to that later. But that's something else new in my research for this episode that I 193 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:04,320 think is fascinating. Let's move on to the second pillar, which is emotional energy. 194 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:10,280 And this is the quality of your energy. So your emotional energy fuels your performance 195 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:16,160 by influencing how well you handle pressure and stress. So if you have a lot of positive 196 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:23,480 emotions like gratitude, compassion, optimism, these things expand your energy, which is 197 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,000 why now there's all of this research coming out about gratitude journals and practicing 198 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:36,640 compassion and positive thinking. Well, negative emotions like frustration or anger or anxiety 199 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:44,040 drain your energy. Been there, done that. So just having self-awareness and recognizing 200 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:53,200 your emotions and their triggers. Step one, regulating your emotions. So recognizing, oh, 201 00:18:53,200 --> 00:19:01,600 here's a feeling. What is the best way for me to confront it, not repress it, and then 202 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:09,120 work with it. So whether that's deep breathing or mindfulness or a walk, a snack, you know, 203 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:17,000 whatever the case might be, how can you deal with those emotions? And then having positive 204 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:24,680 connections. So leaning into supportive relationships, having people, you know, if I find myself 205 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:33,080 in a funk, I have to change that by seeking someone out, changing my surroundings or environment, 206 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:39,200 and then, you know, kind of rewiring where my brain was going. Gratitude, obviously, we 207 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:45,320 mentioned is a big part of this for people as well, reflecting on just positives to boost 208 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:53,560 your mood. And then, you know, tuning into your emotional intelligence. So paying more 209 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:58,800 attention to just the messaging that's going through your brain, how are you processing 210 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:06,920 messages, being aware of like, do you hear a lot of internal negative messaging, and 211 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:13,040 then reframing that. I've had to catch myself in this recently, I was like doing really 212 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:18,280 well. And then I go through spurts where it just, I don't know if it's the dark days in 213 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:27,200 Wisconsin and the cold or what, but so let's just do a really quick example here. So there's 214 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:34,280 a co your co parenting, and you're managing a challenging conversation with an ex partner. 215 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:41,360 All right, some people have been here with me. And you know that it could be potentially 216 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:47,200 triggering any difficult conversation, right? This is just one example, but there are many 217 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:54,440 triggering conversations. And if you know that is a possibility, you can say to yourself, 218 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:59,440 hey, I'm aware, I'm going to take some deep breaths, I'm going to go for a walk, I'm going 219 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:07,200 to use some, you know, positive messaging about the good things that I have to come 220 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:14,680 out of this situation, and just be aware that it could happen and be patient with yourself 221 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:23,680 and try to approach it head on. Okay, so that kind of feeds directly into your mental energy. 222 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:31,120 And that definitely determines your ability to concentrate, to be creative, to solve problems, 223 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:39,560 you know, to do any sort of focused, sustained mental task takes mental energy. And a lot 224 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:47,720 of us have very mentally taxing days, right? I used to love saying that I was, you know, 225 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:53,160 the queen of multitasking, but I have a lot of balls in the air with, you know, especially 226 00:21:53,160 --> 00:22:01,120 what I have going on in my life right now. It is actually best to avoid multitasking and 227 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:06,240 focusing on one task at a time. So if you go back to what we've already talked about 228 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:13,880 in the episode, like doing one thing well, and then replenishing and moving on. And I 229 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:19,120 think, you know, for being honest, we would say that if we did more of that, we would 230 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:26,240 get done quicker, and probably our work quality would go up. And then just looking at again, 231 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:32,440 how we prioritize when we're doing our most difficult tasks. And if we could in any way 232 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:39,760 align them to our most favorable times of the day, we would be doing ourselves a favor. 233 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:46,120 So we'd have more mental flexibility, we would be able to adapt to challenges better. We 234 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:52,760 would, if we worked in breaks, we would probably be more calm during this, which makes us more 235 00:22:52,760 --> 00:23:00,120 productive, right? It increases our mental energy. So this is also where people would 236 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:08,440 suggest things like meditation, setting clear boundaries or timelines to minimize distractions. 237 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:16,040 And creating rituals and doing, you know, setting your schedule so that it is good for 238 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:22,280 you as much as possible. And when you are fresh, freshest, you know, having your to-do 239 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:27,200 list, these are the things that must get done today. These are the hardest things. And so 240 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:33,000 I'm going to do the hardest things when I have the best mental energy. Another example 241 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:41,520 here for this, if we're talking about, let's say, oh, like a content creator who needs to 242 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:48,200 record podcasts in a distraction-free environment. So I've already had to move where I was recording 243 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:54,960 once because of loud noises in the background during today's episode. So you have to black 244 00:23:54,960 --> 00:24:02,480 out time as a creator, you know, when the lighting is good or when the environment is 245 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:15,160 quiet, and I can concentrate, you know, it's interesting when I'm either writing or recording, 246 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:21,120 when I am learning that, you know, those timeframes are best depending on what I'm doing. If it's 247 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:26,840 a lot of research, then I need more mental focus. If I feel like I want to be more calm, 248 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:33,320 I've been recording podcasts more at night, sort of as a reflective thing. So it's just 249 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:40,360 a reflection for me personally. So think about that for yourself as well. All right. Spiritual 250 00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:47,680 energy is the last component. And this comes from having a sense of purpose and aligning 251 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:52,400 your daily actions with your core values, just something we talk a lot about on Life's 252 00:24:52,400 --> 00:25:00,040 Next Lesson Plan. This is our deepest source of motivation and sustains our energy when 253 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:09,760 we hit challenges. Okay. So our core values are what truly matter to us and why. We try 254 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:19,120 as much as possible to make value-driven decisions and have value-driven actions. So this is 255 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:24,120 an alignment with my values. So I am going to do this. This is not an alignment with 256 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:29,360 my values. And so it is not a priority for me. And I know that's not always possible, 257 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:39,360 but to think more along those lines. And there's a component here too called legacy thinking, 258 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:46,560 which is reflecting on how you want to be remembered. And this is very, during my existential 259 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:55,000 crisis here of leaving the classroom after 29 years. This is really interesting, especially 260 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,760 after reaching out to former students and former colleagues and especially the colleagues 261 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:07,440 who are in retirement now and their identities have kind of changed. Really interesting that 262 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:14,080 you only start engaging in activities that align with these values and this purpose and 263 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:21,560 your legacy. I've been doing a lot of thinking about that. So in this component, you explore 264 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:27,960 the importance of your purpose and how you only say yes to things that align with your 265 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:39,360 purpose and you draw energy from those things, right? Like recording a podcast after a long 266 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:49,000 day of teaching and then driving home for an hour. It's another thing. But I actually 267 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:54,800 enjoy the act of researching and learning about new things and sharing them when I'm 268 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:59,880 not dealing with people who aren't listening and I have to grade and I have to worry about 269 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:07,680 them taking a test on this. And especially when I'm interviewing someone who is teaching 270 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:15,240 me something, I get energy even though normally as an introvert, I get drained from that. 271 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:20,840 These are deep meaningful conversations and those give me energy. So because it fits my 272 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:26,720 purpose and my values, even though it could be considered work, although it's really 273 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:33,520 a hobby at this point, it's aligning with my values and so I'm drawing energy from that, 274 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:39,960 which is interesting. So an example here, we have an entrepreneur who left a corporate 275 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:48,080 job to create resources for educators who feels energized by the mission of making teachers 276 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:55,000 lives easier and more fulfilling. I see these people on LinkedIn all the time, right? There's 277 00:27:55,000 --> 00:28:01,360 so many transitioning teacher sites now, like we can get you a job doing this, that and 278 00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:08,760 the other thing and sign of our times, I guess, but it's kind of what I'm saying with this 279 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:18,280 podcasting venture is just if it is aligned with your core values, then you should be 280 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:25,800 able to draw energy from it, not to say that it's not taxing or work or takes time, but 281 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:35,440 it is fulfilling and it helps serve your purpose. So these four levels need to be balanced 282 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:43,080 and in harmony. And if you neglect one area, it's going to affect all the others like we've 283 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:49,080 talked about. So if you're not feeling well, it drains your emotional resilience. If you 284 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:54,800 have unmanaged emotions, you know, you've got something going on personally, we all 285 00:28:54,800 --> 00:29:00,760 know this disrupts our mental focus, right? And if we have a lack of mental focus, it 286 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:06,880 prevents us from prioritizing our purpose and our values, right? So keeping all of these 287 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:14,600 things aligned are what help us from becoming drained. So that's a lot to process. And I 288 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:20,200 want to get us to a break here in a second, but I just want to kind of show you how this 289 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:25,840 might look in a day. And there are a lot of iterations of this, but a daily routine that 290 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:31,120 supports all four facets of the performance pyramid, like if we just break it up morning, 291 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:36,840 middle of the day evening. So in the morning, if you are able to start your day with some 292 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:43,880 sort of exercise or movement to hit the physical component, then you do a little bit of gratitude 293 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:49,880 journaling, which hits your emotional component or meditation, mindfulness. And then you 294 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:56,720 plan your top tasks for the day. That's your mental component. And then you reflect on 295 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:02,120 your goals as your spiritual component, you have a balanced morning, and you can pick 296 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:07,000 and choose what you put in there. But you're paying attention to each of the four areas 297 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:15,520 of the pyramid. Midday, for example, you have a healthy meal that's physical, you connect 298 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:23,280 with a colleague that's emotional, you have a focused work session that's mental, and 299 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:31,120 then you can again have a reflection, maybe a reset for spiritual renewal. In the evening, 300 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:37,840 you have some sort of wind down routine for physical. I love to get my foam roller out. 301 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:43,920 That seems to really help or go for a walk. Reflect on your wins from the day, which is 302 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:52,080 emotional. You can do some reading or learning, which is mental, and then spend some time 303 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:57,760 with a loved one or speak to them on the phone or something, which is spiritual. So if you 304 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:04,200 think about the different facets of your day, and how you can balance out so that you have 305 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:12,160 each of those four components, you're managing your energy, not just your time, which is going 306 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,680 to enhance your productivity and your overall personal well-being. 307 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:21,960 Okay, so we're going to take a little break. And then when we come back, I'm going to talk 308 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:28,360 about these cool, ultra-dean rhythms that I learned about. We're going to make a little 309 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:33,720 list, things that invigorate us, things that drain us. I'm going to give you some more 310 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:39,720 real life examples from research, and then we're going to get you out of here with some 311 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,920 action steps. So I'll be back in a bit. 312 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:55,920 100% of men and women have hormones. And with the increased presence of processed foods 313 00:31:55,920 --> 00:32:01,320 and environmental toxins, it's more important than ever to make mindful choices in the products 314 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:07,520 we use every day. That's why I trust Q&G. High-performing, clean products designed to 315 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:14,280 support hormone health while reducing exposure to harmful chemicals. Because this topic has 316 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:20,920 been my primary focus since ending birth control in 2024, in an attempt to regulate my changing 317 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:27,640 midlife hormones, after making healthy swaps in my diet, personal care products, and exercise 318 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:33,280 routine, I've been able to lower my dose of anxiety medication I once relied very heavily 319 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:38,520 on and have restored balance to my nervous system and cleared up the brain fog I was 320 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:45,360 experiencing in perimenopause. Q&G has played a key role in this transformation, offering 321 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:51,760 safe, effective, non-toxic solutions that support my wellness journey. If you listened 322 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:58,280 to episode 16 with certified Mayo Clinic health and wellness coach Tracy Danielson-Mitchell, 323 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:02,520 you heard our talk about the importance of hormone health. Coming in March, I'll be 324 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:08,040 doing a deep dive into heart and hormone health on my Live and Learn Patreon, where 325 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:13,040 I'll list all the tests, supplements, and product swaps that have helped me balance 326 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:18,400 my hormones in my 50s. Plus, Tracy will be back to answer all your heart and hormone 327 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:23,160 health questions at the end of the month. If you're on this journey with me and are 328 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:29,480 interested in exploring Hew and Grace's trusted, non-toxic products, visit my link at Hew 329 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:37,080 and Grace.com slash lesson plan to receive 10% off and free shipping. You can also reach 330 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:44,480 out to me at any time with questions at nextlessonplan.com. Live and learn with me as we focus on living 331 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:50,960 fully and feeling our best. Visit Hew and Grace.com slash lesson plan to see how easy 332 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:57,880 it is to start making some healthy swaps on the way to non-toxic living. 333 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:02,680 To those of you who have followed me for a while, you know that I value mental and physical 334 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:07,040 wellness. Personally, I've worked with a few different coaches over the years and even 335 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:12,800 been one myself. If you are looking for education and support in your own wellness journey, 336 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:16,960 I would love to invite you to the wellness community I am currently in that keeps me 337 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:22,400 accountable daily with my nutrition and movement. If you are a Facebook user, you can search 338 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:29,560 for our free group called TeamMG. This group is led by my coach Megan Grimord, who is a 339 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:34,720 certified trainer and nutrition coach. She offers lots of education and support for your 340 00:34:34,720 --> 00:34:40,480 wellness journey. If you want to get to know Coach Megan more, you can follow her on Instagram 341 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:51,160 at all lowercase MeganMGAN underscore Grimord G-R-I-M-O-R-D or even listen to her on episode 342 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:56,960 10 of the podcast. She has also created a discount code for my listeners. Just go to 343 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:08,000 her website www.team-mg.com and enter code LESSENPLAN10 to get $10 off any of her premium 344 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:13,600 coaching packages for the first month. Coach Megan is a busy mom like me who works full 345 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:21,800 time so I appreciate her practicality mixed with some tough love to keep me going. 346 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:28,800 So before we come back from break, I'm going to answer two Ask the Teacher Anything questions. 347 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:33,560 The first question was, how do you balance personal growth with the demands of creating 348 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:45,760 content for your podcast? Can I answer that with not well? It's been a challenge just 349 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:51,320 because I'm learning so many new things at one time while I'm still teaching full time 350 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:59,000 and trying to wind down a career. If I take my own advice from this episode, there's a 351 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:06,920 lot of emotion that comes with that. There's a lot of physical demands. It's just a lot 352 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:13,480 of extra workload. So I've been doing my best. I'll just say I have been trying to prioritize 353 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:19,560 things. That's why I was so interested in this episode because I always operated from 354 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:25,360 a time management perspective and now I can see that that's not the best way to do things. 355 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:30,160 As I look at whatever I'm going to be doing next and how I'm going to be structuring my 356 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:36,240 days, I would like to have more freedom in how I can structure my days because living 357 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:41,840 by bells that tell you when you can eat and go to the bathroom and go outside is difficult 358 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:50,640 after 29 years and every job has some aspect of that I know. But just thinking about how 359 00:36:50,640 --> 00:37:01,360 to design things better. If you know more, you can do better. So we're in progress there. 360 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:08,320 Second question, how do you hope Life's Next Lesson Plan impacts your listeners? I'm a 361 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:15,400 journalism teacher. I'm an English teacher. I love stories. I love connecting. I love 362 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:22,960 reading and storytelling can help connect us and help us become more empathetic. I think 363 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:29,160 the more we can get out of our own experiences and hear other people's experiences is good 364 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:38,120 for us. We need more connection. We need more empathy. We need to feel less alone in our 365 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:45,800 journeys. I just hope that there's a lot of professional podcasts that I listen to and 366 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:52,800 books that we all read and we all hear the same stories. It's my hope that all of these 367 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:58,440 tremendous lives that I've been able to be a part of, bringing awareness to the stories 368 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:07,000 that wouldn't normally be heard, that's what keeps me going. I don't know for how long. 369 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:15,880 I think that remains to be seen how impactful it is, I guess, but that's at the heart of 370 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:22,880 it. I kind of go back to the very first lesson that I teach in beginning journalism with 371 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:28,800 Humans of Homestead and Brandon Stanton, just going up to people in Central Park and asking 372 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:34,320 them questions about their lives and how people gravitated toward that. These are strangers. 373 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:41,440 Again, these are stories that people would not typically hear. Everybody has a story 374 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:49,680 and everybody's story should be appreciated on some level. To me, I just feel really lucky 375 00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:56,080 to be able to share the stories of the people that I know. I would love, I just had somebody 376 00:38:56,080 --> 00:39:02,120 reach out and say, hey, you should interview my friend, here's his name, reach out to him. 377 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:08,400 Awesome, because if you think someone has a fascinating story, I would love to be able 378 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:19,240 to share and connect with them and just spread more stories. Hopefully, that's what the impact 379 00:39:19,240 --> 00:39:35,240 has been and will continue to be. We are back from break and ready to do some work on identifying 380 00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:42,000 our own personal energy sources and drains and learning about all trade in rhythms, this 381 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:49,600 cool new thing that I'm learning about. We are going to make a list. If you need to pause 382 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:54,680 and get paper or pull up a doc or you can always come back and do this later, but we're 383 00:39:54,680 --> 00:40:00,960 just going to have two columns. I'm going to do this also. This is our personal energy 384 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:08,440 audit. On our list, we're going to have on the left things that invigorate us and then 385 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:14,160 on the right things that drain us. For the purposes of time, I'm just going to take the 386 00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:20,560 ones that are at the top of my head. I might not have an exhaustive list here. Again, you 387 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:26,560 can work on your list over time. Things that invigorate me for sure are exercise, fresh 388 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:35,840 air, walks, kayaking, boating, meditating, podcast interviews, good music. If I have 389 00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:42,440 those, those things invigorate me, make me happy, give me energy. Things that drain me, 390 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:49,800 grading, sitting inside all day, answering countless emails, small talk, listening to 391 00:40:49,800 --> 00:41:04,660 whining or excuses. Okay, so it says a lot, right? I'm sure your list will be eye opening 392 00:41:04,660 --> 00:41:10,400 or maybe not too surprising for you. All right, so this is where we want to talk about aligning 393 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:15,640 our tasks with our natural energy peaks and troughs and where we put things that drain 394 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:24,040 us and how to break that up with things that invigorate us, right? So this is the key to 395 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:30,840 managing your energy for peak performance are these ultradian rhythms, which are natural 396 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:40,240 cycles that occur in our bodies every 90 to 120 minutes. These rhythms influence our energy 397 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:48,040 levels, our focus and our performance. So unlike circadian rhythms, which are on a 24 398 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:55,760 hour cycle, the sleep wake cycle, ultradian rhythms happen multiple times throughout the 399 00:41:55,760 --> 00:42:03,640 day and affect how long we can stay mentally and physically sharp. So for 90 to 120 minutes, 400 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:10,000 your body and brain are in a period of high energy and focus, making that the ideal window 401 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:18,080 for deep work, problem solving and creative tasks. After that peak, you naturally experience 402 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:26,600 a 20 minute dip where energy and concentration decline. This is your body's signal to rest, 403 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:34,840 recover, rejuvenate, relax. If you ignore this dip, which we often have to, we push through 404 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:42,080 it with caffeine or sheer willpower. This leads to fatigue, irritability and reduced 405 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:50,640 performance over time. Yeah, you can say that again. Okay, so the authors, Jim Loran, Tony 406 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:56,280 Schwartz highlight that understanding and aligning with these rhythms can dramatically 407 00:42:56,280 --> 00:43:02,800 improve your productivity and well being. So instead of forcing ourselves to power through 408 00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:09,040 an eight hour work day, try as much as you can to work with your body's natural energy 409 00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:18,040 cycles. Okay, again, in an ideal world, right, we would be able to schedule our lives this 410 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:23,600 way, but as much as possible, just to think about it, bring an awareness to it and work 411 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:31,360 on blocks of time. So working in a 90 minute focused block, where you schedule your most 412 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:38,080 important tasks like writing or strategic thinking or recording podcasts, grading, you know, 413 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:45,480 your draining activities, try to minimize your distractions during this brain peak time 414 00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:52,920 and give it your all. But you must take a 15 to 20 minute renewal break after each 90 415 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:59,040 to 120 minute session. You must go for a walk, you must take something off your invigorating 416 00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:04,920 list, stretch, do a light exercise, meditate, deep breathe, have a healthy snack, hydrate, 417 00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:13,400 connect with a loved one. You must do that. And then match your tasks to your energy levels. 418 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:20,760 So your high focused tasks should occur during your peak energy periods and take your routine 419 00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:26,360 or administrative tasks, those that don't take a lot of brain power. They're not as 420 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:37,320 draining during your lower energy times again, as much as possible. So if I'm going to apply 421 00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:45,120 my ultradian aligned approach to podcast recording in the morning when I have peak energy is 422 00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:51,320 when I should be doing my research and writing or scripting my episode, which requires more 423 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:58,600 deep focus, then in mid morning, I would have a 20 minute break in an ideal world to step 424 00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:05,480 outside for fresh air or light movement. Late morning for renewed focus, I could record 425 00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:13,240 the episode when my mental energy is rebounding. And then when my energy dips in the afternoon, 426 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:21,120 I could edit or respond to listener comments, any tasks are requiring less intense focus, 427 00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:27,880 like sometimes this is when I'll just craft a couple social media posts or something, you 428 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:32,840 know, using the scripts that I already have to then, you know, just kind of wordsmiths 429 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:41,320 some things. You could share how understanding ultradian rhythms helps you in other areas 430 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:47,080 like we've talked about co-parenting, this could be managing family dynamics or dating. 431 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:54,520 So again, with co-parenting, you can use high energy times for emotionally demanding conversations 432 00:45:54,520 --> 00:46:04,000 or even scripting how to approach those conversations. So one gave me the suggestion for dating in 433 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:10,640 your fifties to plan meaningful dates or connections when you feel most energized, right? And if 434 00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:16,360 you really want to get down to the nitty gritty of, you know, 50 year old woman is recognizing 435 00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:23,080 how your hormonal shifts interact with your ultradian dips and plan your rest accordingly, 436 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:29,880 if only, right? So, you know, lesson planning or grading, these things that take maybe more 437 00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:35,360 sustained focus would be best for me to do in the morning and then schedule like a short 438 00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:42,200 dog walk or something. And then, you know, come back at it. But really interesting to 439 00:46:42,200 --> 00:46:48,760 think about your day in terms of these 90 to 100 minute chunks of time, isn't it? 440 00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:55,360 I wanted to share a couple of real life success stories of this in action and then leave you 441 00:46:55,360 --> 00:47:01,320 with some action steps today to wrap this up. So I wanted to give you another individual 442 00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:07,240 example and then a couple of group examples of what this looks like. I had talked about 443 00:47:07,240 --> 00:47:14,720 Ariana Huffington at the beginning of the episode, but another individual Serena Williams, 444 00:47:14,720 --> 00:47:21,180 who, you know, I'm sure all of you are familiar with the professional tennis player, she uses 445 00:47:21,180 --> 00:47:27,680 energy management with her training and her rest in order to, you know, balance all these 446 00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:35,040 four areas. So she prioritizes sleep, practices mindfulness, leans on her support system. 447 00:47:35,040 --> 00:47:41,720 And this shows how her physical preparation and emotional well-being obviously operate 448 00:47:41,720 --> 00:47:48,200 at peak performance. So she creates rituals for recovery with her sleep routines and her 449 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:54,160 mindfulness practices to avoid burnout. And Ariana Huffington, who I mentioned earlier 450 00:47:54,160 --> 00:48:02,840 in the episode who crashed and burned her new venture is actually organized around this 451 00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:10,600 idea of optimizing your peak performance times and then building in breaks for yourself. 452 00:48:10,600 --> 00:48:18,840 Two organizations that operate this way as well are Google. So they want to emphasize 453 00:48:18,840 --> 00:48:25,320 energy renewal at the workplace. And their workplace culture is known for encouraging 454 00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:33,840 this. So their campus has nap pods, meditation rooms, fitness centers, and they acknowledge 455 00:48:33,840 --> 00:48:41,440 that employees who can rest and recharge perform better by prioritizing physical and mental 456 00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:48,200 energy, Google fosters innovation and sustained productivity. You know, now I've also heard 457 00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:53,280 that they have like on site dry cleaners and all the conveniences to make you not ever 458 00:48:53,280 --> 00:49:01,080 want to leave the workplace. But to their credit, they do have these recharge stations 459 00:49:01,080 --> 00:49:05,320 and they definitely are putting their money where their mouths are that they feel it is 460 00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:17,520 important to have these breaks. The Navy SEALs, obviously an intense group and huge need for 461 00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:25,800 focus and balancing high stress missions with recovery. So they teach controlled breathing. 462 00:49:25,800 --> 00:49:32,840 They do mental resilience exercises. They structure downtime after peak performance 463 00:49:32,840 --> 00:49:40,720 times. And obviously they have very positive outcomes in their training programs and the 464 00:49:40,720 --> 00:49:48,480 caliber of the recruits that they have their increased productivity and improved well being. 465 00:49:48,480 --> 00:49:56,200 I mean, if that isn't a place where you could easily run yourself into the ground physically, 466 00:49:56,200 --> 00:50:02,960 emotionally, mentally, right, you have to balance that out and keep those four foundational 467 00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:13,400 areas all in play, right? So here are our takeaways for this episode. I want you to 468 00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:20,120 perform a personal energy audit over the next week. Look at each day, you know, might be 469 00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:29,160 Groundhog Day for you, it feels like, but start with one energy enhancing habit, like 470 00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:35,400 a daily walk or a mindfulness or gratitude journal practice, something like that. Set 471 00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:43,000 aside time for an activity that brings you joy invigorates you, right, aligns with your 472 00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:49,920 personal values, especially if you can build it in after a sustained period of focus and 473 00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:57,520 just really think about how, you know, these 90 to 100 minute chunks of time can be broken 474 00:50:57,520 --> 00:51:03,360 up rather than I'm going to work on this for four hours without a break. Okay, and then 475 00:51:03,360 --> 00:51:08,640 pay attention to the work quality that comes out of that and then also how you feel when 476 00:51:08,640 --> 00:51:15,280 you're done and then how you feel about approaching the next task the next time you have to do 477 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:23,320 it, right, when you're maybe restructuring it in a little bit of a different way. So 478 00:51:23,320 --> 00:51:29,880 these practical strategies, a lot of them were newer to me and again, sometimes, you 479 00:51:29,880 --> 00:51:35,520 know, they're easier to implement than others, but I thought a lot of it was new and interesting 480 00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:43,880 to me. And I really thought that, you know, I had my time management down, which apparently 481 00:51:43,880 --> 00:51:50,520 was maybe not the right focus. And I do think that there is something to be said for how 482 00:51:50,520 --> 00:51:57,240 a task makes you feel the time of day, definitely that you approach a task makes a difference. 483 00:51:57,240 --> 00:52:05,960 And so I hope that this was helpful for you today. Thank you again for joining me today. 484 00:52:05,960 --> 00:52:11,960 I want to remind you that if you are looking for additional content, I do have my live 485 00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:18,720 and learn Patreon that you can subscribe to for $5 a month, or you can explore individual 486 00:52:18,720 --> 00:52:23,960 episodes and collections tailored to your interests. You can also gift someone in your 487 00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:29,920 life a membership who enjoys the podcast or who might benefit from one of my series. 488 00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:35,280 My hope is that by hearing these lessons woven in with the real stories of my life, you'll 489 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:41,680 want deeper connection to the human experience. You can also find me counting down my last 490 00:52:41,680 --> 00:52:47,760 days in the classroom on the Life's Next Lesson Plan YouTube. And you can join us on 491 00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:54,480 my website at Life'sNextLessonPlan.com for a lot of freebies that are attached to past 492 00:52:54,480 --> 00:53:01,680 episodes, as well as all of the podcasts and a place to enter your Ask the Teacher Anything 493 00:53:01,680 --> 00:53:18,720 questions. We'll see you back here next week with another new guest.