Nova Nicole took the FICP Canadian Seminar audience on a journey of workplace wellness to help identify how we were performing, to name it, and take steps to improve as needed. The core of her content focuses on the Performance matrix, where she encourages staying as much as possible in the Performance + Recovery zones, and pivot with coping tools when you find yourself moving into the burnout or survival mode. Consider ‘who shows up, when you show up’ and how can you bring your best self to work and home.
Practical tools you can use to manage your workplace wellness to improve performance:
1. Acknowledging what state you’re in and feelings you are experiencing.
When we have a shared language and clarity around how we’re feeling, others can empathize with us better, and we open ourselves up to share the positive energy or shift the negative. Using the Feelings Wheel can help you better articulate your feelings, dig deeper into causes, and notice what state you’re in.
www.feelingswheel.com
2. Managing your energy may be more important than managing your time. Your two positive energy quadrants are in performance or recovery.
Your two negative energy states are when you’re in survival or burnout mode. Start noticing when you’re experiencing the feelings that match each state and move towards the positive states by taking time for recovery or finding your state of flow.
Tony Schwartz Energy Quadrants
3. Be intentional about your day.
Set rituals to help you transition from one part of your day to another. It’s not about adding something else to your day, it’s about taking something you already do at four key times of the day and making it special; wake, work, eat, sleep. Eg if you start your day with a) coffee, could you b) enjoy it outside, and c) with a walk. Now you’re not being reactive gulping it down while standing at your countertop stressing about your day, but rather you’re being intentional and responsive to your body’s needs.
4. Take breaks.
Many people think taking a break means taking time ‘instead of doing the work,’ but consider a mindset shift: take a break ‘in order to do the work.’ Just like a great athlete, time in the recovery zone helps you get back into performance zone. Often it can be in short 2-minute intervals, where you’re consciously present and noticing your breath, in order to move forward.
5. Prioritize self-care.
Do you ever feel like a rechargeable battery that’s lost its charge? Identify which of your four energy types need a recharge: mental, physical, emotional, spiritual. Think of the self-care techniques that work for you to recharge; eg walk in nature, exercise, giving to others.
Not sure what works for you?
Consider this fill in the blank: “I never feel worse after I ___________”
6. Set boundaries & prioritize the important vs the urgent.
Come from a place of service and ‘what does success look like’ for the client or your team. Ask or clarify what’s most important if it’s not clear or there are competing priorities.
None of us have been through a global pandemic before. We’re all still learning and adjusting. Recognize that because you, or someone else, carries it well, it doesn’t mean it isn’t heavy. Give yourself permission to use these coping tools and acknowledge your intention: ‘Because of XYZ stressor, I have permission to use XYZ coping mechanism, in order to do XYZ objective.’
Nova Nicole is a Leadership Development Facilitator at one of the world’s largest tech + ecommerce companies, Shopify. She focuses on leadership development and bringing humanity to work via self-awareness & self-management. Her efforts are to improve mental health and self-leadership skills, with an emphasis on social and emotional intelligence in organizations.
Article contributed by Theresa Beenken, CEO, Global Speakers Agency/National Speakers Bureau