We live in a fast-paced world, constantly attending to one distraction after another while trying to get real work done. Trying to keep up can be exhausting. When we don’t pay attention to our energy levels and take the time to recharge, our productivity, health, and relationships suffer.

When I talk with people about managing their stress and energy, it is common to hear them say that they understand the benefits of taking breaks, but they can’t afford the time. They fear that if they take a break, their performance will suffer. In an effort to get the maximum ROI from their time, they bankrupt their energy and their performance suffers anyway, because we need both time and energy to be productive.

If that rings true for you, microbreaks could be the best solution. Microbreaks are periodic 30-second to five minute breaks that give you small boosts of energy. Much like plugging in your phone for 5 minutes gives it a small boost but not a full charge, microbreaks will replenish your energy enough to get through another 60-90 minutes. They don’t take the place of longer breaks like lunch, but throughout the day they provide a cumulative effect that will improve your energy, attention, and memory without the anxiety of feeling you’re falling behind.

It is important to remember that not all breaks are created equal. Spending time with people who drain your energy will not recharge you. Taking a break to scroll through social media could actually deplete your energy because you’re not getting a break from screen time. Don’t be fooled into thinking you are recharging just because you are doing something unrelated to work. If your brain is being taxed, you are still using energy.

If you truly want to have a positive impact on your energy level and mood, it is important to take breaks that will provide those benefits. The ideal microbreak involves physical activity and mentally disconnecting from work and technology.

Five easy microbreaks you can easily incorporate into your day:

1. Get Moving

   When we sit for long periods of time, everything – including our ability to think – slows down. Get up every hour and move. Movement gets blood flowing and improves both energy and mental clarity. This can be as simple as walking over to a colleague’s desk to talk rather than sending an email, taking the stairs, a walking meeting, stretching, squats or toe raises. Even five minutes each hour will get your blood flowing and increase your energy and productivity. Make a list of the things you can do given your specific work situation and choose something from that list every hour.

2. Unplug

   We spend the vast majority of our day in front of one screen or another. Whether it is a computer, TV, phone, or a tablet, it takes a physical, emotional, and psychological toll. We tend to fill even the tiniest window of time with a check of our technology. Although many see a chance to watch a video clip or scroll through social media as entertaining or even relaxing, research suggests it might actually be depleting our mental energy rather than recharging us. So what is the solution in a world where we need to be connected? Make time to unplug whenever you can and give your brain a rest so you can boost your energy. Resist the temptation to fill every spare minute you have and, instead, just be. The next time you’re waiting, don’t reach for your device, simply stay present. Focus on what’s going on around you. What do you see, hear, and smell? Maybe even strike up a conversation with someone else who’s waiting. Remember, every opportunity you have to unplug is an opportunity to allow your brain to rest and recharge.

3. Take a Mental break

   Meditation has gotten a lot of attention recently, and for good reason. In the short term, meditation can calm nerves and recenter focus. Over a longer term (6-8 weeks) regular meditation rewires the brain’s response to stress. It increases your self-awareness and enables you to respond more effectively to stress so you can use your energy in more productive ways.

   Meditation doesn’t have to be long or complicated. According to Mark Williams and Danny Penman in their book Mindfulness, even a 3-minute meditation will give you a meaningful mental break. We can all find time for that.

4. Go outside

   A short walk outside where you completely detach from technology combines all three of these strategies into one power microbreak.

5. Breathe

   In the event you’re stuck in a meeting or at your desk for prolonged periods, you can still reduce your stress and recharge. Taking deep, slow breaths can rapidly decrease stress and clear your mind. Just relax your belly, deepen your inhale, and exhale for a count of 5 or 6. The extended exhale sends your brain calming signals that dampen the fight-or-flight response.

One key to effective microbreaks is to take them before you need them. Schedule them throughout your day to get ahead of energy crashes and keep productivity high. To maximize the benefit of a microbreak, disconnect from work and technology and incorporate movement to get the blood flowing.

Recharging doesn’t happen naturally for most people anymore. We are constantly connected and reacting to one stimulus or another. That means we need to be more purposeful in how we recharge and manage our energy. The above strategies are proven ways for you to improve your focus and attention and to enhance your memory and learning. Pay attention to what works best for you and schedule regular microbreaks into your day.

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Dr. Heather Johnson is a nationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-322-7821.

Consider your top employee, that person you’d hate to see leave. What would the impact of losing that person have on productivity, customers, and revenue? While some people quit and leave a company, others quit and stay. In other words, they disengage.

According to Gallup, about 70% of American workers are disengaged. Can you prevent your top employees from joining that group?

Imagine 70% of your team or your company made up of some combination of these disengaged employees. Actively disengaged employees alone are estimated to cost US companies up to $500 billion annually.

That’s a lot of disengagement and a lot of money, but there is hope because 95% of turnover and disengagement avoidable. In addition, engaged workforces outperform others by 147% in earnings per share. The key to taking advantage of this opportunity is knowing why employees are disengaged and how to reengage them before it’s too late.

Let’s look at eight reasons employees disengage and even quit their job that you can do something about.

1. Their Boss

The single biggest factor leading to disengagement and turnover is an employee’s relationship with his or her boss. Spending 40-50 hours each week with someone you don’t like or respect is stressful and takes a toll. Eventually, people withdraw for self-preservation.

2. Disconnection from co-workers

Co-workers are another critical factor impacting employee engagement. They influence how an employee feels every day. Millennial workers value the social aspect of work even more than other generations. Their blending of personal and work lives mean that the relationships at work are more important than they’ve ever been.

Managers can influence this by providing opportunities for team members to get to know each other. This not only facilitates the connection they want, it also improves communication and teamwork, providing a nice return on the effort invested. This can be accomplished in small ways such as adding a bit of time for informal interaction at the beginning of a meeting, team development, occasional after hours gatherings, pot lucks, etc. There are a lot of little ways managers can do this, and, given the cost of disengaged workers, it is worth the effort.

3. Lack of developmental opportunities

In one survey, 80% of employees hadn’t had training in the previous five years. That is not only a disengagement risk, it is also a productivity risk. Development can come in many forms. Formal training is certainly one of them, and the one people think of most often. Some of the others include shadowing, mentoring, sharing best practices at team meetings, and coaching. One of the things that distinguishes Millennials from other generations is the amount of development they want. Are you providing it?

Managers can provide development easily and inexpensively by combining various approaches. Make sure that you encourage people to attend quality, relevant training. In addition to that, take advantage of daily informal opportunities through coaching, reading, leveraging internal mentors, sharing best practices, and so on.

For anyone concerned that if you invest in developing people, they’ll leave, keep this in mind from Richard Branson…

Train people well enough so they can leave, but treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

4. They aren’t challenged

No one wants to be bored and unchallenged by his or her work. Uninteresting work without the opportunity for growth can certainly lead to disengagement, especially for your most talented and motivated employees. Challenging employees doesn’t mean simply giving them more work; it means giving them new tasks that enable them to learn and grow.

Find out where employees’ interests lie, what skills they would like to develop, and find opportunities to challenge them in those areas. For example, you may have someone who wants to improve his ability to influence so you have him present at an all-hands meeting. The best managers challenge people to stretch themselves in a variety of ways. If you fail to challenge your employees, you risk boredom and disengagement.

5. Limited opportunities to pursue their passion

The opportunity to apply one’s unique strengths on the job is another important key to long-term engagement. When employees get a chance to do what they do best every day, they experience pride and a sense of accomplishment, which boosts self-confidence.

I worked as a supervisor in a group home for 3 years after college. I had a brief conversation with the president of that company as she visited the house and I mentioned that I enjoyed training. The following month, she asked me to be part of developing superviors in all 12 houses. It was a huge success and beneficial for both of us. She never would have had the opportunity to leverage that strength if she hadn’t taken the time to uncover my passion. It’s no surprise that this company has grown to 65 homes with over 1,000 employees and was rated the top workplace in MN for 2016.

Pursuing one’s passion energizes people and improves productivity and job satisfaction. Mangers must get to know the employees on a more personal, individual level to find opportunities to tap into an employee’s strengths and passions. Are you making the effort to do so?

6. Feeling overworked and overwhelmed

Doing more with less has become a common refrain in companies across the country and people are feeling the effects. Dr. Tiffany Sanders reports, “approximately 40% of all workers today feel overworked, pressured and squeezed to the point of anxiety, depression and disease.” Overworked employees who have a choice will leave. Those who don’t will quit and stay.

Companies that understand the cost of overworked employees are taking steps to help. What they cannot fix through increased efficiencies, they are creatively addressing by offering things like flex time, dry cleaning, gift cards for family dinners, etc. What are you doing to provide some relief for employees feeling overwhelmed?

7. They don’t see a purpose in their work

Employees today don’t just want a job, they want to feel connected to a worthwhile purpose. Those who don’t see a connection between their daily tasks and a greater purpose will disengage and soon look for different opportunities.

Help them feel connected by talking regularly about the company vision, mission, and values and how they impact the company’s strategic initiatives. What is clear to leadership may not be readily apparent a few levels down. Learn your company’s story and tell it passionately and frequently.

8. They don’t feel valued

Smart leaders make certain their managers know how to balance the business side of their job with the people side. Managers who only focus on the business side generally see short-term success because people will stay engaged only so long when they don’t feel valued. Managers who fail to really care will always have high turnover rates. There is little motivation to put in one’s best effort when that effort isn’t appreciated or valued.

One of the most effective things leaders can do is hire managers who understand how important it is to balance the business and people side of their job. These are approachable managers who are likely to make people feel valued and engaged. People need to hear that they are valued and appreciated. Are you telling them?

Disengagement is prevalent and costly. It is difficult to determine the exact cost to your company because it doesn’t show up as a line item on a balance sheet. With 70% of US workers disengaged, it is safe to assume you have some disengaged employees on your team. Each of these eight reasons people disengage is preventable. With actively disengaged employees costing US companies $500 billion per year and engaged workforces outperforming them by 147%, can you afford to do nothing?

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Dr. Heather Johnson is an internationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-210-6021.

Imagine putting hours into preparing for a presentation, managing your nerves so you could deliver your message, and then getting the following feedback:

• “You sucked!”
• “You can’t do this.”
• “That was awful!”

Most of us would be horrified if that happened and can’t imagine hearing those comments from their audience. The thing is, people I coach regularly make some version of these comments to themselves after practicing a presentation. These thoughts and comments are often automatic. When people aren’t aware that they say them, they certainly aren’t aware of how they hold themselves back.

We’ve been teaching Influence for over 30 years, and there are multiple opportunities every session to point out something negative someone said about their presentation that they didn’t even realize they said. The typical response is surprise, followed by a sheepish grin when they understand what they did.

Pay attention to the “feedback” you give yourself. Comments like this are detrimental regardless of whether they come from you or someone else. Most of us would never let anyone talk to us the way we speak to ourselves. Why tolerate it just because it came from you?

I find that most people need help seeing how they create obstacles that keep them from presenting effectively. Once they see them, they can use strategies learned to remove them and get the results they need.

Three common self-imposed obstacles I see when working with clients:

1. An inner dialogue that sets people up for failure.
What we say to ourselves directly impacts our emotions and our performance. Even subconscious thoughts affect performance. We help people hear that dialogue and change the script, so it helps rather than hurts performance.

2. Overpreparation that wastes time, increases stress, and locks people into a rigid delivery.
Stress typically drives people to overprepare for presentations. What they don’t understand is that overpreparation is another obstacle that prevents them from influencing effectively. We help them see the negative impact overpreparation has and teach them a proven way to prepare that cuts their preparation time down by up to 75% while building their confidence, so they can deliver effectively and ultimately achieve their purpose.

3. Getting stuck in their head.
There is a tendency for people to get so wrapped up in their thoughts and saying the right thing that they miss the opportunity to connect with their listeners. They miss the subtle signs of piqued interest, disengagement, or disagreement, and then wonder why they weren’t effective. We help people get out of their heads and into the heads of their listeners so they can better understand and connect with them.

Imagine the impact you could have if the obstacles between your intended purpose and achieving your purpose were removed. People who think they can’t influence have created obstacles for themselves that slow or derail their ability to influence effectively.

We’ve been helping people remove obstacles and maximize their influence for over 30 years, and we’d love the opportunity to help you too. We will help you identify what is holding you back and give you specific, practical ways to become the influencer you need to be to succeed.

Take the first step and schedule a free consultation with Dr. Heather Johnson to determine how to maximize your influence.

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Dr. Heather Johnson is a nationally recognized speaker with extensive experience developing leaders.  With a doctorate in Psychology and over 20 years of business experience, she works with leaders to quickly identify individual and team performance obstacles and develops customized solutions that lead to rapid change and lasting results. Heather facilitates public and in-house workshops that deliver personalized, practical, and immediate results.  Some of her most requested topics are: Influence, Emotional Intelligence, Team Building, Communication, and Strategic Planning. For more information call contact us here or call 651-322-7821.

What was your last big goal that caused significant growth in you?

Big goals force us to venture into new territory, and we often learn something about ourselves and our teams along the way.

My big goal for this summer was to climb a mountain 14,000 feet or higher, known as a “14-er” in Colorado. My family and I chose Quandary Peak as our climb, which tops out at 14,265 feet.
Coming from Minnesota at 965 feet elevation, I was well aware that in addition the physical demands of the hike, getting enough oxygen at high altitude would be another significant challenge.

Our team of five faced many challenges and learned powerful lessons along the way that will guide us in the years to come. Here are just a few lessons I took away from Quandary Peak.

Identify your peak, but focus on manageable milestones

When we drove to the trailhead of Quandary Peak, I was in awe of the giant mountain in front of us. It was so high, and the air was already thin as we got out of the car! The summit was four steep miles up a very rocky trail. I was instantly overwhelmed and couldn’t help but wonder what I was thinking when I decided to do this.

I learned early on that focusing on one section at a time – getting to the top of the tree line, climbing up a steep rocky section, a very welcome moderate section, and the final push up the last punishing mile – instead of focusing on the whole mountain was the best way to keep from feeling overwhelmed. I looked at the peak occasionally to check my progress, but the majority of the time, I focused on the immediate objective. This was critical to effectively managing my emotions so I didn’t get so overwhelmed I’d give up.

Big goals at work can feel just as overwhelming. Once overwhelmed, people can procrastinate or even avoid challenges altogether because they don’t know where to start and have difficulty believing they can achieve the goal. Breaking those goals down into manageable chunks in terms of time or milestones is essential. As soon as you do so, you’ll find that your confidence and motivation increase, and you’ll be ready to move forward.

Don’t allow perfection to delay your launch

I knew when I set the goal that this was going to be a physically demanding climb. Online comments from other hikers made me question whether I was physically ready. Luckily, I had a few months to get in shape after setting the goal.

Unfortunately, when the time came to climb, I still didn’t have the strength and endurance I thought I needed to make it to the top. I had two choices. I could either postpone the climb or give it my best shot. It would have been easy to postpone and wait until I was in “perfect” shape, but there is also a good chance that I would never achieve what I considered perfect. I decided that 80% was good enough and that I would give the mountain everything I had. If I didn’t summit, I could always try again.

It’s common in business for people to delay a launch, a change, or a big project until everything is just right. I’ve worked with several people recently who delayed starting a business until they had the perfect website, product, or process in place, wasting valuable time and money. Don’t wait until everything is perfect. Take action when you’re 80% ready, and the rest will fall into place.

Surround yourself with supportive people

There were many times during my climb when exhaustion, physical pain, or difficulty breathing had me wondering how I was going to make it. It seemed like just when I needed it most, one of the four people I climbed with that day said something encouraging that pushed me forward. We leaned on each other throughout the five-and-a-half-hour hike.

As someone who tends to be very self-reliant, it struck me how beneficial it was to tap into the strength of others. There were even a couple of people who passed us as they came down who offered words of encouragement. One woman said, “I’m not going to lie to you, you have a long way to go, but it’s worth it. You can do it.” Whether it came from strangers or our group, each offer of encouragement was like a shot of adrenaline.

We all encounter times when we wonder how we’ll find the energy to keep going. It may be after a significant setback or after spending weeks or even months on a project that seems to be going nowhere. It’s times like that when it’s invaluable to have people around you to encourage and support you. People with whom you can openly share challenges and struggles are a valuable asset when things get tough. Do you have a robust support system around you who will help you stay focused on your goal when the going gets tough?

Enjoy the journey

I often find myself so results-focused that I fail to appreciate the journey. I was determined not to let that happen climbing this 14er. A five-and-a-half-mile hike offers many rewarding opportunities in addition to the final summit, and I focused on finding them. Those efforts paid off in the form of beautiful wildflowers, noticing a mountain goat that others missed, and unique rock formations. Each thing I noticed and appreciated gave me a little burst of energy that helped me continue up the mountain.

It’s not an either-or when it comes to results and appreciation of the journey; you can have both. Some people naturally notice the “sights” along the way, and others need to make more of a conscious effort to do so. As someone who needs to make an effort, I can tell you it’s worth it. Pay attention to the people you meet, the progress you make, and the surprises along the way. When you do, you’ll have more to celebrate than the accomplishment of the goal.

Don’t avoid discomfort and adversity. Most growth requires it.

I encourage you to set a big goal for yourself and use it as an opportunity for growth and self-mastery. Break it into manageable chunks, then launch quickly toward the first milestone. Celebrate your smaller victories and build momentum toward the next milestone. Not only will you increase your chances of following through on your goal, you will also quickly gain valuable insights into yourself and how you respond to challenges.

If influence is your goal, join us for Maximum Influence. If improving your leadership skills is a goal of yours, join us for Superior Leadership. If you want to understand yourself and others better so you can lead and influence more effectively, join us for Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence. Remember, nothing accelerates growth like setting and pursuing a big goal!