By Lyndsey Hall
Most people respond to the increasing demands in their day to day jobs by putting in longer hours. This takes a toll on us physically, mentally and emotionally. Over time this can lead to increasing levels of distraction, burn-out, mistakes being made (which can cost a business money) and high staff turnover rates. Most people talk about being too busy. Being too busy implies not just a shortage of time but a lack of equilibrium and wellbeing.
To effectively re-energise their teams, businesses need to shift their emphasis from getting more out of people, to investing more in them. This ensures that your people are more motivated and come to work feeling more energised and ready to succeed at whatever it is that they do. Businesses need to equip their people with the tools to re-energise and motivate themselves, to recognise energy-depleting behaviours and take responsibility for changing those behaviours in order to achieve a more positive outcome.
To ensure that your team are energised, you could ensure that they have adequate exercise, rest / sleep and nutrition. Whilst it isn’t the firm’s responsibility to police this, educating your team can help them to change their approach in order to exhibit the right behaviours on their own terms. On top of this, you could equip them with the tools to manage their emotions and focus their attention when they are working.
Many view multitasking as a necessity in the face of all the demands they juggle, but it actually undermines productivity. Distractions are costly: A temporary shift in attention from one task to another – stopping to answer an e-mail or take a phone call, for instance, increases the amount of time necessary to finish the primary task. This is known as “switching time.” It’s far more efficient to fully focus for 45 to 60 minutes, take a true break, and then fully focus on the next activity. Once people see how much they struggle to concentrate, they can make efforts to reduce the relentless interruptions that technology has introduced in their lives and focus on working more effectively rather than just putting in more hours at the office.
What are your tried and tested tips for managing your energy and avoiding burn out? We’d love to hear from you, leave a comment below or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.
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