The power of Focus & Energy

Buddy & Xiaomeimei left today. I'm missing them already. So much to do, so little time, so many distractions, all rolled up in a period of bad/tight timing. I need to focus so badly. A holiday should be a rather simple affair; it can be so draining when it ends up being a list of justifications and plenty of moving parts. Speaking of which, I read this article in the Harvard Business Review on "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time" which I thought was pretty interesting.

The core problem with working longer hours is that time is a finite resource. Energy is a different story. Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four main wellsprings in human beings: the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. In each, energy can be systematically expanded and regularly renewed by establishing specific behaviors that are intentionally practiced and precisely scheduled, with the goal of making them unconscious and automatic. I was reminded of a time in the past when I experienced how interacting with someone really drained the energy out of me even though our conversation hardly lasted 5 minutes. It was so unbelievable, I made it a point to reflect on that. So I really believe in this, we have to learn to manage our energy, not our time. :)

On an aside note, I've been appreciating how God creates opportunities for us in every day life. The way in which things we think are less than ideal do work out beautifully fine like a clockwork mechanism in His time. Really amazing when we get to reflect upon His blessings in retrospect and go "Uh-huh! NOW I know why it happened!" :p