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Post date: May 12, 2013 4:27:20 PM
In GcPAR Black Belt course, I talk about the four fundamental laws of being productive.
JengMin’s Laws of Energy
Law#1. When there is interaction, energy emerges.
The universe is full of energy. To be productive, we need three types of energy: physical energy, cognitive/mental energy, and driving energy (inner strength). The JengMin’s Law of Energy is about this inner strength that either keeps us going or slows us down. This energy can be positive or negative.
The first law stated that raw energy appears when we are having interaction, regardless of human-to-human, human-to-nature, human-to-man made substance, or with one-self.
For example, some of us think well when we are walking in a garden rather than sitting in office cubicle. If we stay at workplace and do nothing, touch nothing, have no self-talk, there is no flow of energy. We tend to feel exhausted. Here are more examples to illustrate the first law:
- Great ideas generated when people chat and have fun.
- Some people are inspired by the nature; some are inspired by books, man-made substance.
- You figured out a good solution when you are having a self-talk.
- An employee is emotionally disturbed and begin to procrastinate after receiving a criticism from manager.
Law#2. Strong energy attracts us; subtle energy gets depleted. Our perception changes this energy.
Human are naturally attracted to strong raw energy. Sometimes this energy is so overwhelming and it becomes distraction to what we are currently doing.
For example, when a brilliant idea pops up, we are excited and want to convey or realize it. You read an article about a brand new smartphone, you think about it at work, at gym, at work. There is a book that you read over the weekend and plan to implement its concepts into your organization as soon as you get back to work on Monday. Had an argument with spouse. Disagreement with colleagues etc. All of these have high energy level and you are just unable to disengage.
There is also energy which is not obvious and often missed. A hug from your love ones. A smile from a random person on the street. A pat on one’s shoulder and say “good job”. This type of energy is subtle and could be missed.
We want to sense and receive these energies. The trick here is to capture and turn these energies to be the driving force that fuels us to take actions and move forward. Drive1 includes motivation, desire, ideas, curious, sadness, fun and so on.
Law#3. To be productive, we blend in, follow and redirect the flow of our drive.
About ten years ago, I conducted an Aikido night class as a senior student. I mentioned about blending in, follow and direct the flow of energy when someone pushes or pulls (physically). Stopping the flow or going against it is inefficient use of energy.
In GcPAR context, blend in means get committed. The advantage of taking 'energetic' actions is we are committed naturally. However as we constantly deal with ever expanding to-do list, we sometimes get numb or even fear looking at our list. Hence blend in is to kick start and get involved in your tasks. You find your initial motivation and reasons of getting them done. See the big picture of achieving final goal and commit yourself to the actions.
Following the flow of energy means continuing the motion.
"It's 1pm now? Where did my morning go...?" You were productive and you felt proud about it. Have you ever work on something and you were so focus that you lost track of time? You are in the ‘flow’. When we start a task, we do not stop until a major/minor milestone is hit. We don't want to break the flow. We stay in motion. Our thought is relax yet focus. To achieve this state, we need a good self-management system, such as GcPAR.
Law#3 implies that to be productive, we do not spend our resources (time and energy) to think about doing; we blend into the actions and follow the energy flow. We might deviate from time to time so we set aside a Review period to redirect the flow of energy.
Law#4. The outcome of our actions turns into life energy. This life energy and the constant flow of drive enrich us.
Examples of life energy: purpose, happiness, satisfaction, experience, being loved, spreading love, proud etc. The result of our daily actions circle back to provide us the energy to live life to the fullest.
Life energy is basic human need. Understanding this law provides insight into what that matters to us and lead us to a balance life. People who constantly fill their life with energy often possess stronger will to live. On the other hand, obsession over someone or something is due to an energy that blinds us over the other options.
We want to identify our life energies and the sources. So, what enriches you?
Regards,
J.M. Pang
Founder/Trainer, Productivity Academy.
1Drive: energy; ability to get things done
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