Tracking Energy Bubbles

Building and depleting your energy is like blowing bubbles. When you’ve got a slow, steady stream of breath behind them, you end up with bigger bubbles. They also float longer before they pop. When you try to push bubbles out with a big, quick burst of breath, you get lots of tiny bubbles. A good many of them burst before they fully form.

Go ahead and blow some bubbles to see this phenomenon in action.

The point of this visual comparison is to consider which type of energy (bubble) will serve you better throughout the day: one small bubble of energy at a time that may explode before putting it to use versus a great big reserve of energy that lingers.

You most likely want to start with more energy and make it last longer into the day, right? After all, those little bursts of energy are incredibly unpredictable!

Do you know what happens to YOUR energy level over the course of a day? Time to track it and look for patterns.

Self-Awareness Challenge of the Day

Grab a notebook and a pencil or pen to keep handy. Sketch out several energy tracker diagrams like the one below. Fill in, outline, X out, or otherwise mark your energy level in the bubbles on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) at least three times today, more often if possible. Do you notice a slow decline throughout the day or erratic ups and downs?

If you track your energy over multiple days, weeks, or even months you’ll see additional patterns develop. Energy peaks indicate great times to take risks, embark on a new life adventure, or tackle demanding projects or goals.

During energy dips, you might want to find a pick-me-up or settle into creative tasks like brainstorming. Yup, creativity actually flourishes when energy starts to dwindle.