Personal Energy Tip

Do Your Own Personal Energy Audit

As a teacher, one of the best ways to find out where you lose energy and where you gain it, is to do your own personal energy audit. Just as you would see where the energy is escaping from your house, you can identify what drains you and what energizes you during the course of your day.

For one week keep a running list of all the activities/events both at work and at home that you do. Make a note of the time and location where the activities occur. After you record the activity, rate whether it gave you energy, took energy, wasted energy, or was neutral (didn't really make a difference one way or the other). You can use a + sign for energy givers, - sign for energy takers, W=waste of time, and N=neutral. You can see this would also be a great time management strategy.

Here is an example:

Friday (morning)

I know you're thinking this is just one more thing to do in your busy day but you will be collecting some valuable data that will help you gain more energy.

The book The Energy to Teach, by Donald H. Graves gives an example of this procedure for taking stock of your energy.

You may already have a good sense of when you are most productive throughout the day, but you may not know specifically what activities give you energy and drain you of energy. There may also be time wasters that you can eliminate. You may find out just how long it takes you to read your email.

At the end of the week look at your list and try and draw some conclusions. How can you add energy givers? How can you change the energy takers? Are there people you come in contact with that take or give energy?

When I look at my energy drainers I try to visualize how the activities would ideally look so they would either be energy givers or neutral. For example, one year I was feeling like the morning routine in my classroom was not as calm or going as smoothly as I would have liked. I wrote my ideal vision for what I felt the routine should look like, feel like, and sound like, for myself and for the students. Once I had this clear for myself I was able to better communicate this to students and put procedures and activities in place for this to happen.

The strategy of visualizing the ideal situation has really helped me gain clarity in my teaching. It is the same as mapping out your curriculum. You identify the standard you need to meet and what students need to know and be able to do to meet that standard.

Be aware of how you react to events that occur throughout the day. You cannot always control what happens at work or in life. What you can control is your response to those events. (That is one reason why it is important to have systems in place.) Anger is a huge energy zapper. Complaining also drains your energy. If you need to complain do it in a way that is constructive with possible solutions and communicate your feelings to the right person - the one who has the control to change the situation.

Avoid, or limit time with people who drain you of energy. There are some people who for whatever reason focus on being negative. You know the ones; they literally suck the air out of a room. Develop a strategy for interacting with negative people you can't avoid, such as some phrases you can use to respond to them. A good one is: "Thank you for your input." It acknowledges that they have spoken to you and that you have heard them.

Most importantly remember to work from your life purpose and your life goals. A clear purpose and forward direction will keep you energized.

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