49. "Does Work Energise You?"
- Bianca Blanch
- Feb 26, 2021
- 3 min read
Work can be exhausting, but do you ever get energised by work? Finding out what energises you can be a great way to figure out what you like about your job, and focus on in the future.
My Experience of Work Energising Me
I have had many jobs in my life.
All the good ones have the same thing in common, I worked there for a long time, but it never felt as long as it was. There are periods of time in those jobs that just seemed to fly past. That's because I loved my job for that period of time. It was usually due to a specific project, or stage of project that just made getting out of bed easier each day.
Do you have moments like that in your job?
Where you are working super hard, but it's like you can tap into extra energy levels because you actually like the work?
If so, beware as this is a blessing and a curse.
The blessing is you being able to tap into that energy level. It makes you productive and more easily meet your deadlines. The curse, if you stay in that zone too long it could lead to burn out. No matter how much you love your job, you need to practice self-care.
Have you found a pattern of when you feel energised?
Does it happen when you are doing a certain task? A certain project? Or a certain stage in a project?
Upon self-reflection, I find these are the aspects of my job that energise me:
solving problems
interacting with stakeholders
finding creative solutions
analysis (when you finally find out the answer)
organising processes for a project/study and working out the kinks
planning a new project
The Lessons of Work Energising You
What energises you?
Ask yourself the question, what tasks in your job do you gravitate towards? What tasks seem to make the day go quicker? These are likely the tasks that will energise you. If possible, see if you can maximise the amount of time you spend doing these tasks in your job.
Enjoy the energised phase
When you feel energised, let it power you. Enjoy it! As there will also be periods when the job feels draining. Work will seem less draining if you can maximise your time doing energising tasks.
Practice self-care
When you do feel energised, you will likely have the energy to work 10 hour days. But don't do it consistently. The more energy you put into work during this time, the quicker you will burn through it. See 'How Do You Switch Off?' for ideas on self-care.
Meditate
During my energised moments I find it hard to sleep. My mind races after I have left work and if I wake up in the early hours, it's like opening my eyes starts my brain and I start thinking of what I have to do that day. Then there is no getting back to sleep.
Meditating before bed slows my mind down, and allows me to get the sleep through the night. If you don't get enough sleep, you will also burn through your energy levels faster.
What aspects of your job energise you? o yo have strategies to prolong the energised phase without feeling burnt out? Tell me by leaving a comment below or emailing me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com
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Photo by Ainsley Myles on Unsplash
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