New Year is the perfect occasion for updating your mindset and resetting your life into something that makes you feel more comfortable and happier.
Do you ever feel like you spend most of your time working, rushing and stressing out? Like the day goes by with you running around trying to get stuff done and ending up exhausted?
This is the case of a new client of mine, who showed up and told me that she needed help finding out ways to tone it down a little bit, and to also dedicate some time for herself.
On our first coaching session she told me, “I have so much to do that some days I even wake up feeling tired, and the only way that I can make it through the day is by chugging a bunch of coffee.”
This comment stayed with me, since the fact of waking up tired tells me a lot about how it’s going with your human battery.
We spoke about her working schedule, and she pointed out that she had multiple jobs in order to make an income that satisfied the lifestyle that she was used to.
She explained that during quarantine she lost her full-time job and started working as a freelancer. “In the beginning it felt amazing having a lot of free time, but it came to a point when I started getting bored, plus I was making barely enough money to go grocery shopping, so it sucked big time.”
I asked her “How do you get bored of having free time?” She explained that she spent most of her time on social media or distracted, which made her feel that she was not being productive.
“What do you mean by not being productive?”
She replied, “I was basically wasting time and not making money, for me being productive means getting things done and making enough money.”
This insight helped us discover that she had a low tolerance for financial instability, which is the reason why she decided to look for a new full-time job, and adding more clients than she already had as a freelancer.
No wonder why she was feeling exhausted, she was dealing with an overflow of work, plus malnutrition and insomnia.
She explained, “It’s ridiculous because I went from feeling bored and tired of free time, to feeling drained and with no energy nor time to cook or sometimes even to shower.”
It was clear that she needed some time for herself, so that she could disconnect a bit from work, but the thing is that she couldn’t slide it into her tight schedule.
This is when I presented to her the technique of
“Treating yourself like a client.”
I told her to literally block in her Google Calendar a two-hour slot for every morning, which she would call “Quality ME time.” During this period of time, she was supposed to be as present and as engaged as she used to be on any other meeting with one of her clients. But instead of a client, it would be a period of time that she would listen to her own needs.
Together we did an assessment on her energetic dimensions, and with that we built a list of activities that she enjoyed and that would help her stay energized.
We have been doing this for a month now, and she says that this new routine has definitely changed her mood and that it makes her feel fueled up and ready to go every single morning.
Before, she was using energy, but not doing anything to gain it back and recharge. Now with this new strategy, she has plenty of energy and a positive attitude to overcome the obstacles that she must face at work every single day. Plus, she knows how to read the signs and listen to her body in order to not burn out and feel drained.
If you feel identified with her story, I invite you to schedule a call with me, so that we can check on how you can improve your personal “Quality ME time.” First call is always on me.
Staying Energized is a challenge for many of us corporate athletes out there. Finding the right work-life balance is a skill you can train, and knowing what helps you gain energy is the first step towards sustainable performance.