The October 2007 Harvard Business Review article by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy starts with a story of Steve Wanner (http://bit.ly/2bSnBSq)
Steve Wanner is a highly respected 37-year-old partner at Ernst & Young, married with four young children.
He’s working 12- to 14-hour days, feels perpetually exhausted, and finds it difficult to fully engage with his family in the evenings, which leaves him feeling guilty and dissatisfied. He sleeps poorly, makes no time to exercise, and seldom eats healthy meals, instead grabbing a bite to eat on the run or while working at his desk.
The authors then reveal how they solve similar situations for executives around the world through their own Energy Project.
Now Sets In The City is on a similar mission and the story of Steve Wanner reminds me of some of my own clients’ stories.
The workload and lifestyle in The City are demanding and this is often manifested in one’s physical, mental and emotional states.
A lot of people I talk to can manage their time, but often can’t manage their energy effectively which makes their time less productive and engaging, and devalues the quality of their life.
However through some training and lifestyle alteration they are normally able to change that.
So what has fitness got to do with this and what can you do today to improve yourself?
There’s a few points I need to make.
First of all, both exercise and healthy eating can make a lot of difference in your hormonal balance and energy levels.
If you have a big lunch and are struggling to keep your eyes open at your desk 30 minutes after you don’t need to drink coffee to fix it.
This normally happens as a result of fluctuations of your insulin levels in response to eating fast releasing carbohydrates.
So you can change that by making better choices with your foods. (check Don’t Miss These Fantastic Places To Eat Fit Around Aldgate East)
Second, if you can’t fall asleep at night because you’ve got a lot of leftover energy having been powered by caffeine all day, simply add a good workout programme to stabilise your energy levels during the day.
Your testosterone, growth hormone, cortisol, adrenalin, insulin, glucagon and other hormones will be in balance leaving you in control of your energy.
Next, if your neck and back pain are constantly demanding your attention and taking your energy away from you, systematic exercise focused on re-balancing your muscle will help you make your neck and back pain go away and so save you a lot of energy.
Then your higher fitness level makes it generally much easier to get through the day as your heart is working as it should and not being overworked.
And lastly also remember the psychological advantage you get by taking your mind off of work to restore some mental energy and perhaps give way to some creativity you don’t normally get by managing your micro tasks.
So fitness has got a big say in managing your energy and is one of the keys to peak performance. And while most people know and understand this, there is something stopping them from benefiting from better energy management.
Which raises the inevitable question: What’s stopping you, and how long are you willing to sell yourself short for?
