Have you ever come home feeling completely flat and exhausted and on other days buzzing and energised and wondered why that is? What you do, who you see, who you interact with and the feedback you are given within that day could give you all the clues that you need.
Once this information is known we can tweak our positions accordingly to include more of the things that satisfy, motivate and energise you.
Recording how you feel from 1 to 10 at the end of the day for a couple of weeks and analysing what you did that day could provide a barometer.
Here are my top tips on what to look for:
- Who did you interact with today and how did you interact with them? Was it face to face or over email? Who were you dealing with? Was it internal, external or both? Which people in particular were you dealing with? Some people as we know are drainers and others more inspiring, encouraging and energising. Work out which kind of interaction works best for you, how much of it suits you and with which types of people. All jobs have tricky characters to deal with but can you have more of what makes you feel good? This may be that you need less interaction and more quiet focused time, it could also be that you need more – both client interaction and with others internally.
- Do you need recognition? Is it one of your key values? Who gives you this? If you are not getting it can you highlight this as something that motivates you? An honest conversation with your boss and colleagues on what they and you need and value could be a starting point if everyone is open and willing to share. If not recognise what you need and what is important to you to feel energised.
- What are your Values? What is important to you? Working out your true values (key 5 or 6 core values) and making sure your work is aligned to those values will result in you being happier, more fulfilled and having work satisfaction. Once you have worked out what yours are go through each of them and indicate whether they are being honoured in your current role then think about how you can tweak your role to be more authentic.
- Strengths; Identify your strengths. In addition to you identifying yours ask others to identify them too as we are often blind to our own strengths. Once you have done this go through the list and ask yourself which ones do I enjoy. Sometimes we are good at lots of different things but there are a few within that group that you don’t enjoy doing. Also, identify those that you do enjoy using and try and increase the work that allows you to use them.
- Goals – Do you have them? Think through what you want to get involved in and what you would like to achieve. Only you are in complete control of your career and stopping and evaluating where you want to go is key to moving forward it the right direction.
- Are you learning? Developing? Challenging yourself? Have you been in a role where you are doing the same thing day in day out. Is there room for development or to tweak or change the job in some way. This may be to volunteer internally, to take on an additional project, getting involved with a new client. Stretching and learning and enhancing your skills could be an ideal way to refresh your energy supply. If your current company can finance and support you with this ideal, if not perhaps consider a course outside of work.
- Look at your job spec – or if you don’t have one document what your daily/monthly responsibilities are. Look down the list and recognise which you enjoy doing more than others. Being aware of this is the first step and perhaps if possible do more of the things you love and delegate or set up a system or process that assists you to do the things you don’t like quicker or more efficiently.
- What gives you a buzz? Think about everything you have done in the last year, all the achievements, highs and lows and think about what energised you the most. Can you involve more of that in your role?
- Which areas of the business are you interested in? What extra responsibilities could you possibly take on or offer to do.
- Exercise, sleep, diet and drink. This is often mentioned but adding exercise, decent sleep, a good balanced diet and limiting the alcohol if you are feeling drained can also add to your energy levels.
Working out what charges and energises you as a unique individual is the first step to controlling your happiness and energy levels moving forward. Once we are self-aware and knowledgeable on ourselves we can tweak our job accordingly. Whether this be your current role or one outside of it.
About the author: Charlotte Billington is a career coach who helps individuals at a crossroads. She has recently written a practical exercise book What to do Next? (available on Amazon) that can assist and guide you through the process of changing jobs, understanding and maximising your own potential.
