A two-week energy tracker for introverts in business who Web view · 2014-10-30A two-week...

How to Keep an Eye on your Energy Levels: Tracker

A two-week energy tracker for introverts in business who want to find out where their energy goes every day

How – and why – to track your energy levelsSometimes, understanding your energy levels isn’t as easy as it first soundsIn the main “How to Keep an Eye on your Energy Levels” guide I explained why understanding your energy levels is so freaking important. I also talked about the many and varied reasons that knowing what’s going on with them can be more complex than it sounds.

For example, if you’re a social introvert, the energy drain you experience might not be obvious until after the fact. That’s because you’re having so much fun spending time with someone that you don’t notice your energy levels slowly being eroded until you suddenly crash. Then you wonder why you “suddenly” feel so exhausted.

Plus, even if you know you’re introverted and that interaction therefore drains you, “an introvert” isn’t all you are. Introversion is just one factor in the unique, multi-thread tapestry that goes to make up your personality.

So something that energises another introvert might well drain you – and vice versa. And of course, your likes and dislikes, fears and expectations can all influence the effect any given activity has on you.

Result: the things that energise and drain you can be less intuitive and obvious than you first think.

Techniques for tracking your energy levelsIn the main guide, I talked about four key techniques for keeping an eye on your energy levels and understanding what drains and energises you.

Those techniques were:

Mindfulness / meditation practice: to help you understand exactly what energy drain feels like to you, and what activities cause it.

Feedback from someone you trust: ideal when you find it really hard to connect with your energy levels in the moment.

Keeping an energy log: this is a more structured, written way of bringing mindfulness to your energy levels.

End-of-day energy journaling: this is a slightly less time-intensive way to keep an energy log. Instead of filling it out throughout the day, you check in for 30min at the end of each day.

The document you’re reading now is a practical tool to help you with energy tracking. If you want to keep an energy log, the editable tables on pages 4-17 are designed to help you. Or, if you prefer to do energy journaling, use the questions on page 18 as prompts to help you.

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© 2014 Tanja Gardner, Conscious Introvert Success

http://consciousintrovertsuccess.com/

Don’t already have the main guide? You can download it free now!


http://consciousintrovertsuccess.com/energy-levels/


How to keep an energy logIf you’re not always sure which regular activities drain you, try filling out the energy log tables on pages 4-17 for a couple of weeks.

Suggested use: Set an alarm to go off every hour, on the hour, during the time that you’re awake. When it goes off, make a quick note of where your energy was at the moment the alarm sounded.

Use a rating scale from 1 to 10, where 1= “Dead on my feet” and 10 = “I could happily run a marathon right now”.

Then, at the end of the 1-2 weeks, look back over what you’ve written.

Do you notice any patterns?

IMPORTANT NOTE: As with EVERYTHING else I recommend, there’s no one right way to do this exercise. Feel 100% free to tweak and adjust it to fit your own life.

If the time intervals I’ve created don’t work for you (e.g. you work shifts, or are awake at unusual times), feel free to change them.

If hourly intervals feel like they’re too often, and you’d prefer to use two-hourly or three-hourly intervals, that’s fine too.

This is your tracker, so make it work for you.

As long as it helps you to get a feel for your own energy responses, you’re doing it right!



Day 1: ____________ (write date here)

Time Energy level right now (1-10)

What were you doing during the last hour? Time Energy level

right now (1-10)What were you doing during the last hour?

6am-7am 3pm-4pm

7am-8am 4pm-5pm

8am-9am 5pm-6pm

9am-10am 6pm-7pm

10am-11am 7pm-8pm

11am-midday 8pm-9pm

Midday-1pm 9pm-10pm

1pm-2pm 10pm-11pm

1pm-2pm 11pm-midnight

2pm-3pm







6am-7am 3pm-4pm

7am-8am 4pm-5pm

8am-9am 5pm-6pm

9am-10am 6pm-7pm

10am-11am 7pm-8pm

11am-midday 8pm-9pm

Midday-1pm 9pm-10pm

1pm-2pm 10pm-11pm


2pm-3pm



Energy journaling: for those who prefer a less structured approachThis is a slightly less time-intensive version of the energy log.

Instead of checking in throughout the day, set aside 30 minutes each evening to grab a journal and look back over your day.

In particular, make a note of:

What your energy levels were like at the beginning of the day

Anything that feels significant that happened during the day (good or bad)

How you remember that thing affecting your energy levels at the time

What your energy levels feel like at the end of the day as you’re journaling

Again, after a week or two, look back over what you’ve written and see if you notice any patterns.



Next steps…OK, you’ve figured what affects your energy levels and how. What now?Most introverts I’ve spoken with say they've needed to use their chosen technique at least a 1-2 weeks before they really gain any insights.

By that time, they’re usually much clearer than they started off being about:

The things that most drain them (often with surprising results!)

The things that restore their energy most effectively

How they can best “check in with themselves” to know what’s truly going on for them in any given moment

Next, it’s time to put that knowledge into practiceThe best way to put what you’ve discovered about your own patterns into practice will depend on you.

Your aim shouldn’t be to avoid doing anything whatsoever that might drain your energy. Instead, you want to figure out what the activities in your life and business right now are really costing you… And, of course, to figure out whether they’re actually worth spending that energy on.

Once you know those things, you might decide to: Cut some of the more energy-draining activities out of your life and

business altogether, or just do them less often

Get help with some of the more energy-intensive tasks in your work day, or delegate them completely to someone else

Investigate ways to reduce the energy cost of some of the activities that you can’t cut out or get help with

Build more general alone-time and rest into your daily routine to help you recharge

Schedule more of the specific activities you know will replenish your energy levels

Find ways to incorporate energy-awareness and energy budgeting into your weekly, monthly and even quarterly planning

The ultimate aim is to figure out how to run your business as effectively as possible, while minimising your unnecessary energy spend.

That ensures you give your business the best possible chance of success, without letting it take over your life.



What if you need a little help making all (or any) of that happen?Building a business doesn’t need to flatten you!Look, I understand totally. You started your business to make a difference, but you can’t figure out how to do it without wrecking yourself.

You might have difficulty connecting with your perfect clients in a way that feels authentic (or you might be connecting with them, but then bleeding energy trying to look after them).

Perhaps you’re exhausting yourself trying to make it all work, then staggering to bed like a zombie at the end of the day.

And on one hand, you want to grow your business…. but on the other, you’re scared to expand. Because, let’s face it – if your business is wearing you out now… how are you going to cope when there’s more of it to manage?

It doesn’t have to be that way!It’s possible, I promise. You can run a successful business and still have time – and energy – left over for the rest of your life. You can market your offerings using introvert-friendly techniques that play to your natural strengths. You can connect with just the right number of perfect clients for you – and make it happen on your terms.

And you can get personalised, completely-individual-to-you coaching to help you figure out how.

Not sure if coaching can help you right now?

I offer a limited number of free, no-obligation 30 minute “Dip Your Toes” consultations each month to help you get the clarity you need.

Click here to make one of those FREE sessions yours.


https://consciousintrovert.satoriapp.com/offers/31421-total-clarity-session

http://consciousintrovertsuccess.com/private-introvert-coaching/



About Tanja and Conscious Introvert Success

Hi, I'm Tanja!

I'm the person behind Conscious Introvert Success: a treasure trove of introvert-friendly information and resources.

I’m a deeply introverted (but not even *slightly* shy!) heart-based entrepreneur who started my business life online as a copywriter for difference-makers over at Crystal Clarity Copywriting.

Somewhere along the lines, though, I discovered that I yearned to work with other introverts like me to help them build their businesses while honouring their introversion. That’s why I branched out and started Conscious Introvert Success!

My mission there is to help introverted difference-makers figure out how to make their conscious, heart-based businesses work… without burning out, exhausting themselves, or running rough-shod over their inner introverts.

Want to check out what I do in a totally no-pressure environment?

Try:

following me on Facebook

saying hello on Twitter

signing up for Conscious Introvert Musings (if you got this PDF from a friend, and didn’t download it directly from my website)

or check out my Awesome Introvert Musings blog!

Or, if you have a specific question about the role introversion plays in your life, I’d love to talk to you about it!

Schedule a free, no-obligation 30-minute “Dip Your Toes”: Create Perfect Clarity session with me, and let’s discuss it.



http://consciousintrovertsuccess.com/awesome-introvert-musings/

http://eepurl.com/LmGRz

http://twitter.com/ConsIntrovert

https://www.facebook.com/consciousintrovertsuccess

http://crystalclaritycopywriting.com/



A two-week energy tracker for introverts in business who Web view · 2014-10-30A two-week...

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