Did you notice the energy shift this week?
Clearing withering ferns from my Japanese Garden this week got me thinking about energy shifts. Unlike North America which has been frozen stiff, spring is shooting forth in the UK with budding signs aplenty. Fresh replaces stale.
Politics aside, from a pattern perspective, in my view this week marks a material shift in global energy – capped by Canadian PM Carney’s Davos awakening, the US dollar dropping through the floor, more sadness in Minnesota, and middle powers Canada and UK purposefully announcing partnerships with China.
👉 Does any of this affect your or your team’s energy?
Energy doesn’t drain randomly. It drains in patterns. And noticing those patterns is critical to understanding your real energy reservoir.
Some familiar ones 👇
⚡ Energy Drains (Recurring) 🔋 Energy Gains (Recurring) Alarm → grab phone, what have I missed? → emails / news → instant threat mode Clear boundaries around the start/end of the week Monday morning “organise-the-world” meeting 2–3 hrs, behind already A timely podcast/post that re-energises thinking with a forceful insight Friday late-afternoon fire drill (work dump drive-by) Fitness routines holding, nearly there (Dry Jan, Burns Night exempt) Annual reviews suddenly due Fresh dump of snow at a pending ski destination
Such events can be external or internal. The real question isn’t what drained energy though, it’s why the pattern persists, why does it trigger you/team energy?
Is it:
- personal?
- a team norm?
- or something baked into the system?
It’s important to flesh out the most energy draining/boosting things that happened each week.
But how do you actually work with this? You have to intentionally redesign your routines. Here’s a simple checklist to start:
⬜ Who drains you the most? What triggers that?
⬜ Who on your team or in your life provides the biggest boost? When?
⬜ Which colleague or competitor operates with better energy? How?
⬜ When did this drain/boost start?
⬜ What’s one small pattern you could tweak this week and review next week?
Don’t forget to focus on gains as well as drains (Negativity Bias we see you).
I enjoy sandboxing this work with teams – celebrating gains, spotting hidden energy drains, redesigning routines, and improving performance without burnout. If taht’s useful right now, feel free to reach out.
