Have you ever felt physically and mentally exhausted that your emotions are all over the place, and you wonder what you are still doing at your job? Working with others can sometimes be challenging, especially if you have difficult coworkers or, worse, an over demanding boss. The challenges you often encounter in the workplace can be so draining that it creates the need to protect your energy at all times.
In this article, you will discover a step-by-step guide to help you protect your energy from others at work. So, just before you think you might be losing it, keep reading to find out these practical steps.
What is personal energy?
Personal energy is your individual ability to do work or engage in other relevant activities. It is your mental, emotional and physical capacity to plow through any given action and is usually inert. Generally, personal energy is difficult to measure directly because of how relative it can be.
Essentially, our energy levels fluctuate and vary with different situations, which also influences our level of creativity per time. However, you can always know when your personal energy is drained or depleted, when you seek steps to protect your energy.
Types of personal energy
We can only group personal power according to the various levels of operation. That is to say that we have physical, mental, and emotional stamina. While physical energy deals with our ability to execute physical tasks, mental energy deals with cognition, reasoning, and focus.
Finally, emotional energy deals with our capacity for compassion and empathy, essentially governing our feelings at any given time. Therefore, protecting one’s energy at all times is necessary for optimal and holistic functionality. Here are a few steps to achieve the protection and conservation of personal power in the workplace.
What does it mean to safeguard your energy?
Working sustainably and removing negativity and distractions from your life is the practice of protecting your energy. It’s a long-term strategy for preserving your mental and emotional reserves, allowing you to pace yourself and stay motivated over time.
Why is it critical to safeguard your energy?
Burnout is viewed as an unavoidable aspect of success by 40% of all workers. But we’re not robots; we’re humans. Nobody can work nonstop for the rest of their lives; we all need breaks or we’ll crash and burn.
Taking preemptive actions to protect your energy allows you to work more sustainably, which allows you to accomplish more over time. Instead of getting caught up in a cycle of overwork (and dreading going to work every day), it’s best to pace yourself and stay enthusiastic about the projects and initiatives you’re in charge of.
How to protect your energy from others at work
Always be in the present to protect yourself at all times
Being in the present moment is not exclusive to meditative sessions or the sages of India. Every mentally cognitive being should practice mindfulness and endeavor to stay present at the moment, especially at work. The reason is that you require more mental awareness when at work than when at home. Additionally, staying present will help you better analyze energy-draining situations and keep you mentally and emotionally safe.
Deal with the oversized ego to protect your energy
According to Ryan Holiday, “Ego is the enemy.” We all tend to feel self-important. As a result, we become reactive rather than responsive to situations around us. Therefore one primary way to protect your energy, especially at work, is to deal with the ego. Essentially, it would help if we gave less thought to ourselves and the attitudes of those around us.
Protect your energy by surrounding yourself with like minds
Never underestimate the power of association. Sometimes, you feel drained because you are surrounded by toxic and emotionally exhausting people. Even in the workplace, the group of people with which you mingle or even have lunch can largely influence your energy level throughout the day.
Recognize what saps your energy
Understanding what drains your energy is a significant part of how to protect your energy. Everyone is different; for example, an introverted person may feel mentally fatigued after meeting many new people, whereas an extroverted person may feel drained after spending the day alone. Regardless, understanding what drains your energy might assist you in taking the necessary time to reset and recharge. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t accomplish anything that feels exhausting. It just means you should pace yourself and relax when necessary.
Consider the following scenario: you are concerned about a large presentation. Instead of immediately beginning work on a complex project after the presentation, take some time to have lunch, go for a stroll, or do something enjoyable.
Clean your home
Our physical surroundings have an impact on how we feel and behave. According to research, congested environments reduce our stress and anxiety levels, as well as our capacity to focus. In fact, one Princeton study found that individuals who eliminated clutter from their work surroundings were able to focus and process information more effectively.
Don’t let the negative energy of clutter and disarray overpower you.
Don’t strive for perfection to protect your energy
It’s natural to crave perfection, yet in reality, perfection is unattainable. In fact, striving for perfection consumes a lot of energy over time. Perfectionism makes it difficult to complete tasks, particularly if you feel the need to do everything oneself or continually double-check your work. Furthermore, research shows that extreme perfectionism is detrimental to your mental health, increasing your chances of burnout, job discontent, and depression.
Our flaws are what make us interesting, and making mistakes at work is how we learn and grow over time. Instead of striving for perfection, devise techniques that allow you to iterate on work over time, such as soliciting input on an initial draft or constructing a prototype.
Elevate the energy level of your workspace
To keep yourself in high spirits is to elevate your energy level internally. Generally, energy functions according to the law of diffusion. As a result, energy moves from an area of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration. Therefore, if the negative energy at work is higher than your energy, you will feel drained. It can be terrible, especially if you have to deal with manipulative people in the workplace. However, if your inner positive energy is higher, you will, by all means, influence the energy of your workspace.
Here are a few strategies to keep up the energy around you while at work.
- dress up because you will feel good about yourself when you are well dressed
- Be punctual to work.
- Have a good breakfast
- Keep your workspace tidy and organized
- Spice up your workspace with some additions like flowers, perfume, or music.
In general, the whole idea of elevating the energy around your workspace is to protect your energy and keep you going all through the day at work.
Establish boundaries
Set boundaries and establish what you will and will not do to protect your energy. Job stress is by far the top source of worry for American people, according to studies, and one of the main reasons is that technology keeps us connected to work around the clock. Instead of answering “yes” to every request, boundaries let you stand up for yourself, recover your spare time, and avoid overtime work.
Here’s how to establish firm boundaries:
- Experiment with saying no. Saying no at work is difficult, but it is sometimes necessary. Instead of automatically responding “yes” to every request, take a moment to analyze whether you have enough bandwidth and energy to accomplish a decent job.
- Set specific start and end timings for your workday. Instead of working around the clock, establish a regular time to complete duties and sign off for the evening. It may sound contradictory, but having set start and finish times allows you to get more done by avoiding Parkinson’s Law, which states that work expands to fill the time given for completion.
- Sending and responding to messages after hours is discouraged. Create the expectation that when you’re offline, you’re truly offline. Messages can usually wait till you log in the next day.
- Make lengthier response times the norm. Fifty-two percent of managers and 42% of independent contractors believe they must respond to notifications immediately. Set more realistic expectations for response times—tell your team that if you don’t answer right away, it’s because you’re working on something else.
Be as financially organized and strategic as possible to protect your energy
Financial disorganization is a major contributing factor to low energy levels at work, especially as an entrepreneur. Therefore being organized is an excellent and practical step to protecting your energy at your workplace. The lack of accurate financial records and documentation can throw the entire enterprise into great confusion leading to acute depletion of personal power. As a result, most entrepreneurs subscribe to online pay stub generators like Paystubsnow to generate free online invoices for customers and paystubs for their employees to easily organize financial records. That way, there is more accountability and financial organization to keep your energy up. You can also make 1099 and have all financial documents in your email where they are safe for later use.
Final thoughts
As a working-class individual, the workplace is where you spend a more significant percentage of your time. Therefore, you must take steps to make it as conducive as possible or protect your energy from being drained. That way, when you get home, you have good positive vibes for your family and loved ones.
FAQS:
How do you stop harmful energy from coworkers?
When you allow the negative energy from coworkers to influence you, you essentially give them power over you. You can take control of your work life by prioritizing your inner peace and giving more attention to your thoughts, and being responsive to their attitudes rather than being reactive.
How can you tell if a coworker is toxic?
People exhibit toxic behavior, especially at work, both verbally and nonverbally, which can lead to further problems at work, like dirty work politics. However, telling when a coworker is toxic can help you overcome by being observant at work and not engaging in workplace gossip or rumors.
How do you stay positive at work to protect your energy?
Staying positive at work is an essential step to protect your energy from others at work. Among other ways to maintain a positive attitude is to adopt a growth mindset that is always ready to learn and improve. Also, you should practice gratitude and try being friends with your boss and coworkers.
