Your Personal Energy Audit

This exercise is a way to gather intelligence about which daily activities tend to energise you - and which tend to deplete your energy. It useful to have an idea about how the balance rests - and to try to include one or more activities that energise - especially if it is a depleting kind of day ahead.

Deliberating counteracting something that can be depleting is an act of self care: ensuring that you are resourced for everything you need to tackle. It’s not a luxury you have to wait to have.

5 Areas of Energy Balance

For each of the 5 areas below, there are examples of activity that energise - and examples of those that deplete.

Have a look through and then construct your own list of at least 3 ideas for each ‘energizing’ area.

These should be small, daily tasks that don’t require lots of resource or time. Instead, we are looking at micro shifts of balance towards feeling more energised.

You could also draw up a list of things you tend to find draining. Watch out for them, or ensure you refill your cup if needed.

It may be particularly important on gloomy days, difficult anniversaries, a particular moment in your cycle, or when lack of sleep dictates. Having this list ready can provide a quick reminder for a simple way to take care of yourself.

Physical

Energizing

• Calming the Nervous System

• Movement

• Nourishing food

• Fresh air/ nature

• A special calming place with low stimulation

• Taking a warm/hot bath

Draining/Stressful

• Fight/Flight triggers

• Noises

• Too much visual stimulation

• Not enough exercise

• Draining foods

• “Super stimulants” such as excess sugar, processed food or video games that are designed to create a spike in energy and leave you depleted when you are done, which makes you crave more.

  Emotional

  Energizing

  • Things that make you feel brave

  • Conversation with a good friend

  • Time in nature

  • Journaling

  • Mindfulness/meditation

  • Physical exertion

  Draining/Stressful

  • Things that bring feelings of anxiety, shame, fear and/or apprehension

  • Strong emotions both positive (over-excited) & Negative (anger, fear)

  • New and confusing emotions

  • Emotional entanglements

  • Hormone imbalance

Mental

Energizing

• Things that bring you pleasure

• Whatever inspires and excites you

• Creativity

• Play

• Finding meaning in what you do

• Affirmations

Draining/Stressful

• Things we do out of “duty” rather than pleasure

• Certain kinds of information that is difficult to process

• Mental work that is too difficult

• Work that is too mentally easy or boring

• Worries about what other people think

• Things we think we “should” be doing

Social

Energizing

• Being around people who energize you

• People you communicate well with

• When you can “read” people

• Creating a safe space or privacy

• Internal motivation – comfortable to “do you”

Draining/Stressful

• Trouble predicting the behavior of others

• External motivation/approval seeking 

• Being around draining people

• Always putting others first

• Feeling socially “unsafe”

• Crowds/too many people

• Trouble “reading” people

Spiritual/Connection

Energizing

• Things that make you feel powerful

• Feeling connected 

• “Me time” – time to connect with yourself 

• “We time” – time to connect with someone else

• Setting clear boundaries

• Having a sense of purpose and direction

Draining/Stressful

• Things that make you feel powerless

• Feeling disconnected 

• Social media, TV, other electronic entertainment

• Processed food, which can disconnect us with our bodies

• Things that make you feel enmeshed in other people’s stress

• Lack of sense of “meaning” and direction