Over 10 years ago, I attended a business training focused on work-life balance. That’s what we called it back then; now, it’s simply referred to as ‘finding balance in life.’ One activity from that training stands out vividly in my memory: we had a glass bottle, full at the start, and several empty glasses. We labeled each glass with a different ‘energy sucker’ from our lives and poured water into them to represent their draining effect. After distributing the water, it became clear how little remained in our bottle. The lesson was clear: beware of the energy suckers in your life.

Last week, I participated in a Leadership Talks session on Personal Readiness featuring Scott Peltin. Scott addressed the real-world challenges of maintaining our impact at work and home amidst numerous distractions. He highlighted three critical elements: Time, Energy, and Focus. Discussing energy, he mentioned an exercise similar to the one from years ago—identifying what energizes us and what depletes us.

This prompted me to ask myself when I actually become aware of my energy levels. “Is it at the right time, or is it too late? How close am I to depleting my ‘bottle’ before I take notice? And once I’m aware, what do I do with that knowledge?“

Scott emphasized the importance of recovery, posing the question, ‘How would you rate your current approach to recovery?‘ In other words, are we proactive, or do we neglect it entirely? Then he described recovery in terms of cognitive, physical, and emotional aspects, noting that emotional recovery is often overlooked.

I realized that I hadn’t given much thought to the types of recovery. Another concept that resonated with me was ‘macro recovery‘ and ‘micro recovery.’ Macro recovery periods occur every 8-12 weeks (which coincide with my desire for long weekends), while micro recoveries are recommended to be integrated into our daily, weekly, and monthly routines—something I already practice but am eager to understand better.

If you’re intrigued, I encourage you to explore TIGNUM and Scott Peltin‘s work. We in the business world still have a lot to learn about rest and recovery while we’re trying to make an impact and maintain our productivity.