In this week’s episode, we are kicking off a series of mini-episodes designed to offer you quick, reflective prompts to ponder during your time off. It’s important to use this rare opportunity to gain perspective on life, asking two crucial questions today: What drains your energy, and what brings you energy? Grab a pen, some paper, and find a quiet spot, as Anna guides you through this thought-provoking exercise aimed at reducing stress and enhancing wellbeing.
00:00 Reflect on moments to understand and de-stress.
03:19 Identify energy drainers and boosters in life.
*Resources mentioned during the episode*
1:1 Coaching & Mentoring – If you’re looking for one-to-one support to help you achieve your specific life and business goals, Anna has a limited number of spots for individual coaching and mentoring. www.onestepoutside.com/coaching
Stressors and energisers
So we are well and truly into the summer period here in the UK. And after this initial period of decompression, that always comes at the beginning of a holiday when certainly I struggle to relax. It’s really hard to after, you know, weeks and months of working in an office and stressing about deadlines and school things and all these priorities and obligations to kind of allow yourself to rest and sit and do nothing. If you’ve been able to do that, then well done. And you’ve probably been busy with family, travel and so on. Right, so after that initial period, we’re settling into summer again in the northern hemisphere. So sorry for the rest of you, but this still applies when you have time off after that initial period of decompression and relaxation and maybe illness, because sometimes our body kind of rebels against the pressure we’ve put under. After that, there’s this period where I think we have an amazing, I was almost going to say once in a lifetime, but certainly rare opportunity, a fantastic opportunity to reflect on things in our lives, the meaning of life, to gain some perspective that we don’t have time to think about in the day to day busyness of life.
So, over the next few weeks, I want to do some mini episodes for you with prompts, questions to think about. My intention is to make these super short and quick to listen to, because you don’t want to be listening to me in your holidays. And I’m role modelling, you know, lightening the load for myself as well over the summer by stripping back my content creation as well. And I hope this will be useful for you to have these little prompts to think about. But in return, I do ask that you do, in fact, think about these things. So if I give you a five minute podcast episode, that doesn’t mean that you’ve listened, then, ta da. Done. Tick.
I’ve done Anna’s thing now. No, no, no. I ask you to grab a pen and paper or whatever note taking device you prefer, and journal by the beach is fine, by the bed in the evening, morning, whatever works for you with your family situation and your plans for the next few weeks. But take the time, take a moment, a few minutes at least, to reflect on the answers to the questions I’m asking you. So, I’ve written about and talk about a lot, the kind of busyness epidemic, and you don’t need me to tell you that we’re stressed, we’re overwhelmed, there’s all this mental load and so on. And I really do think that one big problem, perhaps the biggest problem is that we don’t even take the time to take a step back and ask ourselves all these questions, but particularly today, to ask ourselves, hang on, what is causing the stress? What are the things that are creating more stress, more burden, and what are the things that are helping or could help? And it’s not always obvious, it’s not necessarily what we think. So, for example, I’ve seen again and again that adding a kind of side hustle, beginning to think about another business idea while you’re in a full time job, counterintuitively, can bring a lot of energy and passion and balance into your life, feeding positively back into your day job while also bringing this new thing. So even though on paper that looks like adding more stuff to do, it actually brings you energy when perhaps you were feeling a bit stark and demotivated at work, right? So adding new stuff doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to have less energy.
Likewise, stripping things out, saying, oh, I’m not going to go to the gym anymore, I’m not going to do my choir anymore. Whatever it is, doesn’t necessarily bring you energy because those are the things possibly that are actually keeping you sane and keeping you healthy. So it’s a really powerful exercise to do. So here you go. Pen and paper. Or you can try to remember, but make a note of this, perhaps in the notes app on your phone. Two questions for you today. Number one, what are the things that drain you of energy? Number two, what are the things that bring you energy? And when I say things, this can be jobs, tasks, it can be people, environment, activities.
Think about work. Big picture. Think about the people in the office. Think about your daily interactions. Think about the tiny details of the tasks you do every day at work. At home. Think about hobbies and activities, your relationships at home, family, professionally, the work environment, the office, the study and a garden, and whatever else at home. So again, the two what are the things that drain you of energy? And what are the things that bring you energy? Now, the obvious next step after you’ve done this is to find ways to cut back on number one and do more of two.
But the first starting point, I suppose, here, is to bring your awareness to what is actually causing the situation. Now, what is draining your energy? And what is it that brings you more energy? So, hope you enjoy today’s exercise, enjoy your time off. I hope that you’re having. And I’ll see you for the next set of questions in the next mini episode. Bye for now.
WORK WITH ANNA
Let us help you design a business and a life that gives you freedom from the 9 to 5. There are several options for how you can work with us. Choose the programme that’s right for you.
The Outsiders Business Incubator
A year-long business incubator for experienced corporate professionals who want to translate their skills and passions into a profitable and fulfilling business. onestepoutside.com/9to5
The Outsiders Business Accelerator
An ongoing mastermind for service-based business owners, freelancers and online entrepreneurs who are ready to achieve success on their own terms. onestepoutside.com/accelerate
The Outsiders Business Academy
A self-paced course for you to work through in your own time, to learn – and implement – the foundations of building a profitable business that lets you escape the 9 to 5. onestepoutside.com/course
1:1 Coaching & Mentoring
If you’re looking for one-to-one support to help you achieve your specific life and business goals, Anna has a limited number of spots for individual coaching and mentoring. onestepoutside.com/coaching
Explore a broader definition of success
Download this free assessment to consider what ‘success’ means to you across different areas of your life, evaluate where you are today, and prioritise the right goals to get you to where you want to be.
