“ABO” – Always be organising.
Organising is one of the quickest ways to generate energy, because once you’re on the hook, you’re on.
The other beauty is you don’t even need an urgent project – the act of “organising” can become its own thing.
Here are seven ways to generate energy, including a few key options via organisation.
- Organise a morning group. Set up a practice (walk, meditation, breathing, ocean swim, whatever lights you up!) and meet together. Offline is always preferable, but online if need be. Set a start time and duration for the project. Learn how to enrol others by understanding the upsides.
- Organise a deep work group. For those who work at home, set up a time each day to do 90 minutes of deep work together (2 x 40 mins with 10min break). On zoom, in silence.
- Document your process in public. Document whatever it is you’re organising… Your training, your creative project, your eBook – document the journey as you go, so that others can see and understand the process. The public documentation is like a diary on steroids. The positive pressure to keep showing up is powerful.
- Set up a consume vs. create ratio. I like to shoot for 4-10X. This means for every hour you spend “consuming” (Netflix, twitter etc) you spend 4-10 hours creating. Now that you have the time allocated, what’s the project?
- Network by walking around. When I used to own my running store, this one older guy kept popping in. He’d always check out the new shoes, chat about business… then move on. He’d do it along the whole strip. Later I found out he ran a hugely successful accounting firm and this was part of his process. He wasn’t looking for business, he was building relationships. (To do this, you’ll find you need to raise your energy. And, you can do this online)
- Organise an event!. Half marathon, ocean swim, cycling race, book review, leadership learning session. Create an event, set the date. Now you’re on the hook, and there’s a start date looming. Time to get going.
- Eat frequently. I’m no nutritionist, but I’ve had many years in the health and wellness industry. I can tell you one thing, there’s a huge tendency to under-eat, and a huge number of people who say they want more energy. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Food frequency and balanced meals do wonders for cellular energy production and thyroid health.
- Speak, walk, and dress it into existence. Your posture, language and how you show up creates worlds, and gives some insight into the narrative within. Wake up early, dress for high output, put on some mantra music, practice smiling, get out for a walk, and say “Yes!” If you don’t feel like it, probably even more important. Watch out for slow, passive, or indecisive language. I don’t think it’s a matter of rigidity, but rather a realisation that you can create your new story through how you speak and how you show up.
How do you know if it’s working?
For one, your output will start climbing, and you’ll feel your energy go up.
And, as Tom Peters used to say – you can see the energy “in the eyes.”