The Necessity of People's Energy

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Businesses run because of productivity. Productivity on different departments creates a smooth flow of operation. Productivity on different levels of organization creates harmony towards directions and commands that leads to better - best people performance. Productivity doesn't rely on machines, it rely on people. So what are the most essential commodity towards productivity? It is TIME and ENERGY.


TIME - for the longest time managers/ business owners/ leaders say that it is the most important substance towards success, time. Time is infinite, it will never end, even if the world cease to exist, time will still be there. Timing, on the other hand, is the preparedness of grasping an opportunity when it present itself. Most people believe that if it isn't the right time, regardless how ready you are, success won't be achieved. This is always a case-to-case basis.


I would like to give emphasis more on ENERGY - the capacity to do work or exert power. Like what has stated above, time is either finite or infinite but energy is renewable. Once the opportunity present itself but the person doesn't have enough to grab it, opportunity was usually wasted. Energy creates activities, performing activities (work/ duty /responsibility/ task-whichever you like) pushes you further up towards accomplishing a goal. Finishing your tasks creates preparedness, and being prepared creates opportunity upon reaching your goal and even the company's goal. It most of the time generate opportunities. So the question is, do you still have energy?


It is vital for the management and even the employees to know the importance of energy. Machines have routine maintenance. People, most especially, is in dire need of rest and relaxation. It is the key to attain renewable energy. Here are the essential sources of energy:




1. Physical energy

We can achieve this through:  Quality and quantity of sleep Appropriate nutrition to ensure balanced blood sugar levels thought the day. It isn’t possible to be productive and perform well with low blood sugar. It is also impossible to even think with very low blood sugar levels as it literally leaves you feeling ‘brain-dead’. Appropriate nutrition refers to managing your insulin spikes and choosing fresh, enzyme-rich foods as the best fuel for your physical body (your engine).

The right exercise (this does not mean excessive cardio!). In fact, short, intense exercise if far more beneficial and achievable.
Short bursts of rest in between rushing around or performing endless tasks around the house or work is also far more productive. Think of yourself as a ‘corporate athlete’ where you sprint and recover instead of working all day long without regular breaks. Power rests can be anywhere from one to five minutes, provided you totally disengage from your activity.

2. Emotional energy (emotional connection)

In order to perform at our best, we need to access our positive and uplifting emotions such as enjoyment, adventure, opportunity, challenge and inspiration. Appreciating others and, in turn, feeling appreciated is the key here.
When we dwell on negative emotions, such as hostility, resentment or anxiety, the quality of our energy is hugely diminished. Over time, running on negative emotional energy at work or in any other area of life is a huge energy drain, which leads to chronic tiredness, perhaps even Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

This is because emotions that arise out of fear or deficit or which threaten our survival in any way, produce an extremely toxic effect by stimulating the adrenal glands to release cortisol (the stress hormone). In small amounts, cortisol is beneficial but when it pumps into the bloodstream for too long, it leaves a trail of destruction and eats away at muscle tissue.

3. Mental energy (mental focus)

Any way of quietening the mind and its constant chitchat, such as ‘effortless’ meditation technique or activities that focus on the breath like Qi Gong, allows us to renew our mental energy. Renewing our mental energy makes us far more intelligent and productive in the long run.

To perform at our best, we also need to sustain concentration and be flexible in our thinking, with appropriate focus and realistic optimism. Regularly engaging in creative visualisations enhances the mental flow of energy.

Mental capacity is also derived from expending and renewing energy. In practical terms, if we spend too much time in overthinking, over-analysing or focusing heavily on practical outcomes, we are not allowing for creative possibilities and new ways of thinking or experiencing to occur. And, of course, if we adopt this approach habitually, it can lead to boredom, which can create a very destructive outcome.

4. Spiritual energy (knowing your purpose/path)

Spiritual energy aligns our actions, motivations and ambitions and as a result we feel more alive, engaged, connected and able to judge our next step more clearly. At this level, we are also able to access and use our innate gifts and talents creating an awesome sense of having ‘energy on tap’.

Just as nature has its own natural pulses and rhythms, such as the daily rising and setting of the sun, we also experience wave-like movements between activity and rest. Daily rest and renewal is the key to balancing all four sources of energy. If we can achieve a balance of being physically energised, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned, we are well on the way to optimal health and inner happiness.

OLD PARADIGM	NEW PARADIGM
Time management	Energy management
Avoid stress	Seek stress and train for recovery
Life is a marathon	Life is a series of sprints
The power of positive thinking	The power of full Engagement (by using the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual sources of energy combined)
Downtime is a waste of time	Downtime is productive time
Time is finite	Energy is renewable
Time is outside of us	Energy is inside of us

So if you are an employee who doesn't value your energy, you became a liability in your company, a thin string that will break sooner without you knowing it. Worst is if you are a manager who pushes your employees towards the limits of their health, creating a hazardous working environment, like a corporate terrorist working inside while planting bombs of weary employees inside the company because of a fanatic, crooked view of efficiency and productivity, a hindrance towards success. Everybody needs a time off. It heals physical, intellectual and emotional pains and helps regenerate energy. Vacation is still a quality time.

(4 key sources of energy and the paradigm table from addicted2success.com)

A True Office Story

(from http://beyondlean.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/dilbert-jan71997-sunday-strip.gif)

Want to boost your people's productivity? Here are some of the words a manager can say:

"How can you all be so productive when you are all slacking? You, yes you, you are always late, it is like you've took a half day off. While you are always absent, either you're not feeling well or there's an emergency. You are here, yes, but we are not paying just your body to be here, we need you and your thoughts intact. Don't make any excuses."

"We need concepts and activities to meet our targets. You haven't done a proposal yet, we need it to be done by weekend. Everything must go through me so everything's checked and that nothing can go wrong. No slacking, and also no overspending."

Lastly...

"Everyone, may I have your attention please. I think you are abusing me. Abusing me is also abusing our company. Do not go easy on work because the company doesn't have an "easy time" finding money to pay for your salaries. This is not a picnic. This is a very competitive office within a competitive company."

So okay... now we have just read some of the words that may comes out of a "manager's" mouth.

So here are some "possible" actual facts:

1) They are late because they were asked to stay late the night before.
2) They are absent (body and mind or mind only) because the work is physically tolling and they were not being pushed to the limit but being stretched out to their breaking point.
3) Yes, they have emergencies, a positive way to look at it is that those are personal emergency, do not wait for their emergency to happen because of you.
4) Slacking? Oh well, maybe they aren't slacking, they might be exhausted. Have you checked? When is the last time these people have breathe and taken care of their responsibilities to their selves? I bet the company payed for their skills, talents, and dedication, but definitely not for their life.
5) It is their issue when they do not have anything good for the company, but it will be of the manager's if they submitted but keep on putting your stuff instead because of the great idea you have, shoving aside whatever juice that they squeezes from their mind. If that's what's happening, you are just wasting your time and your employees time.
6) What activities can they do if you keep on hacking the budget? You have approved the proposal, it is assumed you have checked it, so why not give what it's due? Anyways, they were audited and the result would be more money for the company. You buy cheap, you get cheap, what would you expect?
7) There are managers who were abused, but that is not always the case. If so, there are managers that repeatedly abuse their employees. Dig deep inside you and ask which one are you?
8) Managers are not the company. The company has it's core values. Sadly, most people who manages the company lacks them. For example, most companies are family-oriented, sadly most of their employees rarely talked, spent time or even see their families.
9) If the company has a day off, the employees should have one too? Even God asks for an hour a week, how come a manager don't consider that to the mere mortals?
10) Yes an office is not a place for picnic, it is a competitive and productive place, but it isn't hell.

Sometimes the best way is not to speak of condemnation or promises. The mere fact that a manger reaches down to he's employees, listening about their office condition and how they fare in work will let enable you to repair the damages while on it's early stage. Glasses break, so did the employees, everybody needs a break. They also needed to be well acquainted with each other, feel comfortable, not just they knew each other because they were working on the same office. We know that employees' productivity reflect on the manager. Instead of asking what are they not doing, ask yourself "what am I not doing FOR THEM?" A glass half-filled with water is not just half filled glass of water, it is also half empty.

The Seven of Spades

The Holy Week is a season of time out and reflection. Some uses this week for enjoyment and family reunions. Being able to experience church life for almost fifteen years, I usually uses this time to reconnect with God, to mend some broken lines that I have caused. No one is to blame, like a favorite break up quote, "it is not you, it's me." Actually, I didn't want to neglect my blogging and I would even like to focus on some religious themes but an opportunity showed. I have this college feasibility that is known as EGGCHEFLAN, the leche flan inside an egg. Our group won the feasibility of the year award that made us leave a legacy into our campus. I also continue making that everytime someone ordered. It is Holy Week, so therefore, for me its a time for God. But an event asked for EGGCHEFLAN to be used as an Easter Egg and be given away. My girlfriend helped me out in making three hundred seventy five pieces of EGGCHEFLAN and forty five pieces of standard leche flan. It took us Thursday midnight until Saturday lunch to finish all of our products. It is needed by Saturday afternoon. Thank God for He help us beat the time. While working, we also took time to reflect on things that have come to us, may it good or bad experiences. We never felt that we can do nothing, we also know that we can do something for God has let it be given to us. We reflect while working. While others weren't reflecting and even using this solemn time to have a good time (drinking liquor non-stop, even making loud noises that counters the sound of pasyon). It is okay to enjoy as long as it is worthwhile. As long as it replenishes our energies and our spirit. As long as it doesn't hinder anyone to have their time for themselves. As long as we do what is right. I admit, I worked and took advantage of that time to have some extra income, that also helps me excel more in my craft. While working silently, I am also reflecting. God is so good that He always helps me see the opportunities not seen by others. That He makes me aware that WASTE YOUR MONEY AND YOU'RE ONLY OUT OF MONEY BUT WASTE YOUR TIME, YOU'VE LOST A PART OF YOUR LIFE.

The Thirty Second Card

Do you think there is a similarity between a person with no dream and a person with so many things that wanted to be done. Actually it depends. If the person with so much things wanted to be accomplish wants those goals to be done all at once or he he didn't even know what to accomplish first, so definitely he is the same with the person with no goal at all. There is no problem wanting to be someone or wanted to accomplish something. But if a person doesn't know which one to start and accomplish first or he even started something leaving something unfinished, then he will definitely have things undone or half-baked. Let's take things one at a time.

I wanted to have a very dynamic business. Meaning a business that has different industries under it. So I am currently starting Juan Pinoy, an events organizing business that is capable to be his own supplier for any kind of giveaways. Since it is human resource based business, meaning it doesn't rely on any raw materials but the manpower itself, my business can also handle real estates brokerage. It seems that it has too many things that needs to be done but I see to it that I take each steps one at a time. For example, since that it is not everyday that I have an event to work on, I used this time to finish some orders in the corporate giveaways side of my business. If there is a time that I accomplish ahead of my deadlines and just do my marketing, I see to it that I learn something about real estates. So later on, as time passes by I know that my knowledge regarding real estate will grow as my business do, I will be later qualified to be a licensed broker and can also be able to do real estate brokerage. One at a time. But always keep myself occupied. I also try to learn many other things but I see to it that nothing will hinder me from achieving my goals in their own proper time. If you have many things to do, plot your destination, plan ahead and be sure to make it realistic and achievable in each time frame. Provide some allowances in time management because anything that cannot be foreseen or the so called fortuitous events may happen so that you will still have time to solve it and still proceed to your next step. Always remember what the seven of hearts states: "WHEN YOU HAVE NO GOAL OT TOO MANY GOALS, YOU GO NOWHERE."