When does expending effort energise you?

Have you ever noticed that when you are doing something you love, no matter how physically demanding it is, you often feel like you could keep it up all day? Yet, when you are doing something mind-numbingly dull you find it tiring to the point where you could very easily fall asleep?

I’ve been on week-long residential workshops where we’ve been learning 9-7pm and not lost concentration at all. Similarly, I’ve been in meetings which last only an hour and struggled to stay awake. Why is that and how can we find ways to get more of that energised feeling?

Let me share with you an something thing I noticed after work one day

I had just finished a tough day at work. Tricky projects, demanding stakeholders, a constant stream of hurdles to overcome and physically rushing from meeting to meeting. I was exhausted mentally and physically but even when 5pm came there was no time to rest. I had agreed to go to a meeting with a charity I volunteer for. It was the last thing I needed and I seriously considered not going but guilt kicked in, I had agreed to go after all, so I dashed off to the meeting.

I was feeling spent when I walked in and probably wasn’t mentally present at first. However, all of this soon melted away as we got stuck into the introductions. I learnt a little about the other volunteers, what role they had in the charity and why they joined. Over the course of the meeting, it became clear that I was in a room with people who shared my values. I was with people who had a similar worldview to me and who were passionate about all the things that I am passionate about. I felt inspired by the stories being shared, it felt amazing to be part of that meeting.

Far from arriving home late ready to drop, I was absolutely buzzing. My wife could barely get a word in edgeways with me telling her about all the people I’d met

So what happened?

When I left work I was ready to drop. I was convinced that I needed a nice lie down in a dark room. Yet after that meeting, I could have stayed up chatting all night.

I find activities rarely have a neutral effect on us. They tend to fall into two categories, those that are:

Energising

Those that leave you feeling energised and inspired. Anything important, humorous, novel, stimulating or enjoyable will do the job.

Energy draining

Those that leave you with less energy than when you started. You might be perfectly competent at these but over the course of the day they will use up your mental, if not your physical, energy. Anything you find difficult, boring, annoying or of low importance will have this effect.

Surely activities require a set amount of energy that doesn’t change?

Not necessarily. There are a few explanations for this:

Tough stuff: your brain uses about 10-20% of the calories your bodies burns when you’re at rest. Some studies show that if an activity requires a lot of cognitive effort our blood glucose levels drop. Not by a huge amount but possibly enough to at least make us feel more fatigued.

Personal priorities: relatively little is known about our unconscious mind but it is believed to be responsible for generating, storing and distributing energy around the body. If we are applying ourselves to something we really enjoy or value, such as our need for creativity, connection, to solve a problem or take an opportunity we really want for example, then you can bet your brain will find a way to direct more energy to it.

Playing to strengths: doing things that you are good at takes much less effort than anything that is new to you. When neuroscientist David Eagleman took on 10-year-old Austin Naber,  a world record-holding champion cup stacker, as you can guess, the 10-year-old absolutely thrashed him. Both Eagleman and Naber had their brain activity monitored during the task. Eagleman’s brain was working ten to the dozen, but Naber’s brain activity levels barely changed at all  – despite the speed at which he was completing the task. His brain was much calmer than Eagleman's because he had automised his behaviour through hours and hours of practice every day. Meanwhile, Eagleman was consciously working out how to complete the exercise.

So when does expending effort energise you?

When it’s on something important to you, that plays to your strengths and importantly is something you enjoy.

Think about how you spend your time each week:

• How much time is spent undertaking activities that align with your values and things that are really important to you?
• How many of your weekly activities play to your strengths?
• How much of your time is spent doing things you really enjoy?
• If you could spend your time doing absolutely anything, what would you choose? How closely does this match your life currently?

Let me know your opinion

• Do you find that some activities just leave you buzzing?
• Is the balance in your life just right? 
• Was this something you consciously set out to achieve?
• How did you do it?

Let me know your experiences below in the comments section or on the Facebook page. 

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