Tips for preserving your energy

Juggling responsibilities is a part of life. It takes a lot of energy to balance work, relationships and personal commitments, so it’s no surprise that many people often feel drained and exhausted. This makes preserving energy highly important for the maintenance of our overall wellbeing. When we prioritise our energy, we're better equipped to handle life's challenges, think clearly and succeed at work.

1. Set boundaries

Learning to say "no" is a powerful skill. Set boundaries with others to protect your time and energy. Be clear about what you're willing and not willing to do. This will help you avoid overcommitting and reduce any feelings of resentment.

2. Prioritise self-care

Self-care is not selfish; it's essential. Make time for activities that nourish your mind, body and soul. This could be reading, meditation, yoga or simply spending time in nature. Making time for self-care will give you the chance to recharge and refuel.

3. Identify energy vampires

Pay attention to people, activities and situations that drain your energy. Limit your exposure to these energy vampires and replace them with positive friends and experiences.

4. Practise time management

Poor time management can lead to stress, anxiety and energy depletion. Use tools like calendars, to-do lists and apps to stay organised and focused. Break down hefty tasks into more manageable chunks and make sure you take regular breaks.

5. Learn to delegate

You don't have to do everything alone. Learn to delegate tasks to others when possible. This could be at work, at home or in your personal life. Delegation can help reduce stress and free up energy for more important or enjoyable things.

6. Take breaks

Taking regular breaks can help you recharge and reduce burnout. Take short breaks throughout the day and longer breaks when needed. Use this time to relax or enjoy a favourite hobby.

7. Stay hydrated

Dehydration can lead to fatigue, headaches and decreased productivity. Drink plenty of water throughout the day and avoid sugary drinks that ultimately lead to energy crashes.

8. Get enough sleep

Sleep is essential for energy production and overall wellbeing. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night and establish a consistent sleep routine to improve the quality of your sleep.

9. Exercise wisely

Exercise is a great way to boost energy levels but overdoing it can lead to exhaustion. Find a balance that works for you and undertake activities that bring you pleasure and relaxation.

10. Practise mindfulness

Mindfulness practices like meditation and deep breathing can help reduce stress and increase energy levels. Take a few minutes each day to focus on your breath, body and surroundings.

11. Limit social media

Social media can be a significant energy drain on our brain. Try to limit your social media use and focus more on real-life connections and experiences. According to an article published by Medium, "social media can silently sap our mental and emotional energy, leaving us feeling drained, unmotivated, and overwhelmed".

12. Connect with nature

Spending time in nature can be incredibly rejuvenating. Take walks, go for hikes or simply sit in a park or garden. Nature can help reduce stress and increase feelings of calm and relaxation.

13. Learn to forgive

Did you know that holding onto grudges and negative emotions can drain your energy? Practise forgiveness and let go of emotions that no longer serve you.

14. Pursue activities you love

Engage in activities that bring you joy and fulfilment. These could be hobbies, creative pursuits or spending time with loved ones. Do things that make you feel alive and energised.

15. Practise gratitude

Focusing on what you're grateful for can help shift your energy and perspective. Take time each day to reflect on the things you're thankful for, no matter how small they may seem.

How to Perfect the Art of Delegating

Are you inundated with tasks at work? Do you find your to-do list growing quicker than you can cross off tasks? Is your workload causing you anxiety and stress? If the answer is yes to these questions, then it’s time for you to perfect the art of delegating.

What is delegating?

Delegation is the distribution of certain tasks to the relevant people or departments rather than trying to complete them all yourself. Doing this ensures the tasks are completed on time and in the appropriate fashion. Allowing tasks to pile high because you don’t want or trust others to complete can often result in burn out and mental health issues.

How to delegate as an employee

If you aren’t in a managerial position, delegation can become tricky when superiors expect you to take on extra tasks. 

When you are given tasks in addition to your 'business as usual' expectations:

• Compile a list of the tasks you currently have with deadlines attributed to them. Send this list to your boss and ask them which one or ones they would like you to postpone in order to do any extra tasks they have asked you to do. This allows your manager to see just how much you have on your plate and to understand that if they present new priority tasks then other tasks won’t get done on time.
• Block out time in your calendar to complete tasks. If your calendar can be viewed by colleagues and management block out an hour or so as 'busy' so others know not to disturb you during this time. You can also let your manager know that you’ll be doing this to ensure you can complete tasks on time.

How to delegate as a manager

It’s important not to take your employees for granted but allocating tasks to employees can mean allowing them to learn new skills which will benefit them in future. It also shows that you trust them with certain levels of responsibility, which can boost their confidence and increase their levels of motivation.

When delegating tasks as a manager:

• You don’t have to do it all. The first step for many managers is acknowledging that you can’t do everything, even if you want to. There is nothing wrong with delegating tasks, in fact, doing so gives you the opportunity to be a great manager to employees who want to learn new skills or have more responsibility.
• Make sure the employee you select has time to complete the tasks. Go through any current responsibilities they have to ascertain if other tasks can be sidelined and if they have the time to complete new tasks.
• Choose the right person for the job. If an employee is an excellent problem solver or loves research, then give them tasks to suit these skills. Likewise, if an employee is great with admin, or known for being a spreadsheet whizz, allocate these types of tasks to them.
• Be very clear about your expectations and what the task entails. Provide examples of similar tasks and their results if possible. It’s also important to let your employees know to communicate with you if they need any additional information or are uncertain about any elements of the task, or if they are having any difficulties completing the task. 
• Don’t micro-manage. Once you’ve delegated tasks, trust your employee to do the job. Don’t be tempted to continuously check in on progress. If you’ve given a deadline, trust they will deliver by this time.

Managing groups and recognising team personalities

Being able to identify your key strengths and core skills are central to setting and achieving your goals. And as a manger, knowing exactly what your team is capable of, will make the difference between success and failure.

If you ask people where their skills lie, chances are they will be able to give you a long list of their qualifications and work-based achievements. What sets the great managers aside from average managers is their ability to see through what is written on paper and gain an appreciation of people’s soft skills too. Having an understanding of what each team member brings to the table will enable you to not only bring out the best in your people, but also achieve your collective goals.

We’ve outlined a few of the common personality types you may find in your team to help you with this – go ahead, see if you can find a match in your own talent pool and do whatever you can to play to people's strengths to get results!

Leaders

These people are great for mediating conflicts and keeping everyone on track. Your leaders guide meetings and keep them on track, as well as helping to delegate tasks within the team. Leaders are often good communicators, focus on the end results and are able to motivate and bring out the best in others.

Team players

Not everyone can lead and having some real team players on your side are key to getting things done. You can tell the team players by their enthusiasm when working with others towards a common goal. They’re usually eager to help, willing to compromise and diplomatic. They might not the greatest self-starters, but once they’ve been briefed you can guarantee they’ll see tasks through to a successful conclusion.

Questioners

Always probing and seeking more information, questioners are great at finding gaps or inaccuracies in plans and projects. As well as asking the questions, they are often more than happy to find their own answers or conduct the research necessary to make sure that no stone has been left unturned when it comes to planning. Questioning types within your team – if you don’t take their constant probing personally – are usually great at testing new concepts and ideas before the planning phase.

Experts

Every team need a subject expert. These are the people who know all there is to know about the specific area of the business. Not only that, if they don’t have the information they will go out of their way to find it.

Planners

Thriving on rules and regulations, planners are essential to keep the more creative members of your team on task, organising everyone so they’re set up for success. Creating order and cutting through chaos is what planners do best, so if you have a natural planner on your team, use them wisely. They’re great at improving efficiency and thinking projects through from concept to completion.

Creative thinkers

Yes, we know that sometimes creative types can drift away into their own little world of concepts and ideas, but when you can actually ground what they have in their heads, creative thinkers are the ones who excel at problem solving, delivering fresh ideas that can reinvigorate business development and build the concepts many businesses need to stand out from the crowd. Creative thinkers can be frustrating to work with but if you place them in the right team, their input usually adds real value to a business.


This article: How To Manage Personalities To Get The Most Out Of Your Teams breaks down team personalities into three different groups – have a read and find out how to propel your team’s performance from OK to outstanding…

Dare to delegate: maximising efficiency in the workplace

Returning to work after the summer break can be a little overwhelming and it’s easy to slip back into old habits – taking too much on and struggling to maintain the work/life balance we all crave.

For many of us, delegation is the one thing that we really struggle with. How many times have we agreed to more work than we can realistically handle? How many times do we do things ourselves, rather than spread the workload with others within our team or seeking freelance help from outside?

Doing everything ourselves might seem like the right thing to do, but the reality is that not only is it bad for business, it’s also not conducive to optimal wellbeing.

Here are our three tips to help you manage your workload and delegate effectively to maximise your effectiveness and efficiency in the workplace.

Start small and work up

For many of us, delegation marks a loss of control. We fear that other people won’t complete the task in the same way or to the same standard as we would and that makes us reluctant to let go. Delegation is a skill. And, as with most new skills, the key is to start small. To begin with, delegate only the smallest of tasks – then as your ability to let go grows, so too can the tasks you are willing to pass over to someone else.

Prioritise your workload

In order for you to successfully delegate, you need to be clear about your own workload. As work comes in, categorise it. Does it have a deadline? What is the expected outcome? Is there anyone else with the skills needed to complete the task? Anything with a less urgent deadline or a lower skill requirement, can be delegated, freeing up your time to the value-adding tasks. Keeping hold of tasks that could be easily or more quickly done by someone else doesn’t make good business sense – you should recognise your own strengths, and those of others. That’s the way to ensure efficiency at work.

Include instructions

This article from Psychology Today's blog suggests that the real reason we find it hard to delegate is not that we don’t want someone to share the burden, but that we are often dissatisfied with the results that come back to us. This can be easily overcome with the use of detailed instructions. These serve two purposes: to outline your expectations with regards to outcomes and to make it easier for you to let go of certain tasks. Even if the task is straightforward, the act of writing up instructions for whoever you delegate to, will avoid any misunderstandings in communication when handing over the task and help ensure that standards are maintained.


Still not convinced? Remember, delegation is not an indication that you are unable to manage your time effectively, it’s the opportunity for you to help others to grow, to strengthen collaboration skills and to develop trust / confidence within your team.

Delegating the tasks you haven’t had time to do could actually lead to greater creativity in the workplace – helping to identify efficiencies and finding better ways of doing things. So by delegating, you’re actually doing someone a favour!