Have you seen an energy addict? They walk with eyes aimed low, tablet or phone in hand, scanning walls one foot off the ground looking for an outlet. The ultimate energy opportunists, they plug in as soon as a power source is available, even with a battery at 95%. We find them hanging out by the power stations in airports, sitting on the floors in the food court, cable attached to the wall like a leech, face aglow as batteries recover another percentage of power.
You never know when you will need a full tank of power, so it’s best to be prepared. A full day between recharges could be disastrous. Pity the person on the train with a dead device. Lost time. Lost opportunities. The answer is to keep our devices charged every chance we can.
Our bodies work in the same way.
When rechargeable devices first appeared we were taught to let batteries fully discharge from time to time to preserve the overall capacity of the battery. Today, the lithium-ion batteries in your phone, tablet and laptop do not require a full discharge to maintain health. In fact, a full discharge decreases the life of the battery. To prevent damage, batteries shut down prior to a full depletion.
Early in my career I pulled all-nighters and went with very little sleep for days. It felt good to stretch myself and accomplish a major goal, but I paid for it with days of sluggishness. Fully draining my battery did no good at all, requiring exponentially more time to recharge than if I had rested when I was down to 20%. The call of sleep is the early warning system that are in the red zone. Heed the voice or face shutdowns at the worst possible times.
Like the energy addict, we can keep ourselves ‘charged up’. Sufficient sleep recharges the battery. Top it up with breakfast fuel. Coffee may take you to 110% for a time. Short breaks during the day do wonders for restoring power. A change of scenery, brief walk, meditation breaks and other activities (or lack of such) can substantially restore our batteries. Everyone’s energy source is a little different, but always varied.
Managing your energy is a critical predictor of your personal effectiveness every day. It’s the mark of a Thoughtfully Ruthless approach to excellence. You can’t afford to ignore it.
Do you know how to sustain peak performance by keeping your battery fully charged?
Let’s find your personal power supply together.
Thoughtfully Yours,
Jeff
