Mindful June 2017

PRACTICES | work–life balance
Running on Empty?
Every workplace harbors potential drains to
creative energy. Do you recognize yours?
A little quiz: What gives you energy at work?
Odds are strong that an answer quickly sprang
to mind. Maybe it’s collaboration, a new creative
challenge, or an uninterrupted chunk of time to
focus. Now consider, what drains your energy?
Likely a mix of people, places, and scenarios
come to mind, since there are so many things that
sap our energy at work. Why does this matter?
Because our creative and productive energy
is what fuels our best thinking and makes us
feel connected to our jobs. When that energy is
diverted, blocked, or drained away, not only are
we far less effective, we’re usually not very happy.
Here are five common energy zappers in the
workplace:
1 Drama
You might be attracted to it
or you might create it—either
way its purpose is to distract
from and avoid unpleasant
issues. As a way of dealing
with fear or uncertainty (or
putting off dealing with it), it’s
common for people to invent
“stories” to fill in missing
details. For example, people
create their own theories
about why changes are happening
in business strategy
or personnel. The next time a
little melodrama comes your
way, try to see the story and
return to the facts. Ask yourself,
or the people involved,
“Is this true?” This question
can interrupt the downward
drama spiral that can kill productivity
and morale.
2 Perfection
This is the belief that there’s
no room for mistakes. When
people feel they’re working in
an environment where their
best is not good enough, it’s
not only demoralizing, but it
also limits innovation: no one
wants to take a risk for fear of
“doing it wrong.”
The way to redirect this
energy is to be honest
about both what you know
and don’t know and what
your strengths and weaknesses
are. For example,
“I’m great with content, but
I need help with images to
communicate my words for
presentations.” Letting go of
the idea of perfection
and being open to failure is
how we learn.
3 Glass-Half-
Empty Outlook
When your focus is always
on what’s going wrong, it’s
downright exhausting. And
if you linger in that mindset
for too long, it can cause
hypervigilance (and trust me,
this is not a productive use of
your energy!). Instead, make
a daily effort to recognize and
celebrate what is working.
This doesn’t mean avoiding
or ignoring the issues and
challenges that need to be
addressed. It means starting
with the wins first.
4 No Boundaries
Without clear boundaries
about what’s acceptable,
comfortable, and tolerable in
your worklife, there’s always
going to be confusion (for you
and for the people dealing
with you). If you have a family
commitment on a given day
of the week, let the people
you work with know, so they
have context for why you’re
not free that day. Setting and
communicating boundaries—for
yourself and for your
team—lets everyone know
what is and isn’t expected and
permitted. It keeps the energy
flowing in a positive direction.
5 Control
This shows up as a compulsive
desire to know
everything and control
outcomes. (Hello, micromanaging!)
When we rely on
controlling behaviors, we are
likely fearful—either of the
outcome not going our way
or of being “exposed” as not
good enough—both of which
can deplete your energy
by focusing on incomplete
or false data (aka drama).
You can avoid this drain by
allowing the action to occur
as it would naturally, without
your interference. Take a step
back and reflect when you
notice the urge to force an
outcome to be what you want
it to be. Releasing control
doesn’t mean you stop caring.
It means you are able to
see things from many points
of view and assume everyone
means well and is acting with
the best of intentions. ●
Jae Ellard is the founder of
Simple Intentions and author of
a series of books on developing
awareness in the workplace.
36 mindful June 2017 Illustration by Jason Lee