Your energy management matters more than you think

How's your energy this week?

It's a question I've been pondering a lot lately, especially after spending last week bouncing from event to event, room to room, conversation to conversation.

You've probably heard the buzzy quotes: "Your vibe attracts your tribe" or "Your emotions are contagious – make yours worth catching." Dr Andy Cope from the Art of Brilliance used to tell a brilliant story about a former colleague who "could light up a room... by leaving it."

Ouch!

You already know that how you show up affects how you are remembered. Your personal brand is what people say about you behind your back. But the common thread running through all these statements isn't really about your impact on others.

It's about energy. The energy you leave on the table. But what about the energy you pick up from the table too?

Energy, like time, is a precious resource

How, where (and with whom) you spend it counts for way more than you sometimes realise. Unlike time though, energy can be replenished.

How, where (and with whom) you top your tank back up is something that is easily overlooked.

In my last post I talked about giving yourself 'permission to be selfish'. Energy management is a prime example of where that selfishness is well spent.

Last week, I was out from silly o'clock to silly o'clock every day, walking into rooms that mattered hugely to me and my business. I knew it would take a huge amount of energy to ensure the conversations that continued after I left would count.

I tried to be the most interested person in the room. I tried to give a little more than I received. I tried to listen more and talk less.

Time will tell if I did good deeds (some early responses suggest I did), but the most crucial element of my week's plans came on Saturday, when I set aside a deliberate chunk of time... to do f*ck all.

Not all day (my brain won't allow that), but enough to let my body recognise what I had received from those adventures and how my soul has been nourished by those people and places.

I'm an introvert, so whilst I am okay walking into new spaces, I have to build in time to recover from 'giving myself to others'. And that's what I hope to encourage you to contemplate today.

(BTW I've been to conferences where I got it wrong – I 'just couldn't' past lunchtime, so I hid in the loos and checked my phone as that felt safest. We've all been there, right?)

Confidence attracts confidence

I was chatting to a new business owner recently about how confidence attracts confidence. Who you are, how you work and what you offer becomes infinitely more attractive to others if you genuinely believe in it yourself.

Confidence is generated from well-managed energy. Low energy equals low confidence. It's that simple.

My three top tips for energy management

1. Notice and cherish what you receive from each room (as well as what you hope to give). Turn that reciprocal energy into fuel. Every interaction is a two-way street, and sometimes the rooms that drain us also fill us up in unexpected ways.

2. Take stock of your energy diary before you even leave the house (or turn on the Zoom camera). Is your week full of appointments that take much more than they give? Are these appointments ones that you could delegate, decline or avoid?

3. PLEASE... make time for 'f*ck all'. Schedule it. Protect it. Your body and brain need recovery time to process, integrate and recharge. This isn't lazy – it's strategic.

Take care of yourself so you can better take care of others.

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P.S. Because you're probably wondering what happened last week...

• Smashed my speaker showcase to rave reviews (so I have a new keynote to share)

• Yep, I won an award – highly-commended at the National Coaching Awards

• Got offered a killer series of gigs for 2027 (more on that to follow)

But honestly? The best bit was Saturday morning when I did absolutely nothing. That's when the real magic happened.