Over the recent long weekend my 15 year old son played in the Nunawading Basketball Tournament. The schedule was punishing with 4 games on Saturday (the first started at 10.15am with the last finishing at 11pm), 3 games on Sunday and the Grand Final on Monday. Besides skills and teamwork, the ability to perform almost became survival of the fittest so refuelling, rest and recovery were critically important for the athletes.

I was thinking about how work can sometimes seem just as busy and whether we look after our bodies as well as we should be when we’re in heavy workload periods. In other words, what we eat, when we eat, the amount of alcohol we consume, how much sleep we get all impact our energy levels.

Around 18 months ago I decided to try the sugar free detox for 1 month. I felt alright on Days 1 and 2 but then headaches hit me on Day 3. On Day 4 the headaches disappeared forever and I have since followed a heavily sugar reduced diet ever since. The reason for continuing wasn’t for anything specifically, it was just that I felt my energy levels were higher than before.

Over the tournament I watched a lot of games and a familiar script tended to play out where a team ran over the other team in the last quarter to win the game. While the losing team would put up a fight, the winning team appeared to be a more cohesive unit and played with higher a level of intensity.

At work we’re generally not playing a game, but we need to be mindful of the things that deplete our energy. Whether it be:

· A specific individual

· Having to do certain activities

· Meetings that seem to achieve nothing

· Not taking a break

If you find your energy is draining, then take action to address the situation. And then try to align doing your high impact important work when your energy is high.

That way you’ll be able to make maximum impact even though you are extremely busy.