Have you ever heard of the straw that broke the camel’s back? It’s an English idiom; a turn of phrase. And as you’ve probably guessed, the idea is that while a piece of straw is practically weightless, if you have enough of it them, then the total weight can be too much for a camel to carry; and straw is one of their common loads.

That’s a perfect metaphor for managing yourself. No matter how flexible or resilient you are, if you take on too much – even if it’s only a little bit too much – you will pay dearly for it.

Small business owners are particularly good at doing too much. There’s so much that must be done and so little time to do it in. You read about – maybe you’re one of them – those who never take a holiday. They work seven days a week for years. Some are even proud of it; and yet these are often the ones who experience catastrophic health issues.

Years ago, one comedian said that “Death is nature’s way of telling you to slow down.” If you manager yourself well, then it shouldn’t come to that.

How can you work as much as you need to without losing what matters most? How can you do what is required without forfeiting the reasons for doing it?

There are three areas where you must manage yourself effectively: Physical, mental, and emotional. Here are some suggestions on what to do in each.

Physical

The measure of stamina is that you have the physical fitness to cope comfortably with your hardest day. That’s the principle.

Think about an athlete. How often do you see the winner so exhausted at the conclusion of an event that he or she can’t function? It does happen. Some runners, especially after a marathon, will lie down on the track . . . temporarily. If the race finishes in a stadium, such as at the Olympics, then most will pause for a few seconds, and then run a victory lap. Some footballers will do a back flip or another gymnastic stunt after scoring a goal. What does that tell you? That they still have more juice left. They haven’t spent it all.

If you need a holiday after your hardest day, then you’re “out of shape”. See your doctor just to make sure there isn’t a medical reason for your fatigue. If you’re given the “all clear”, then get a personal trainer so that you can get back to where you need to be.

Mental

Mental energy comes from at least three sources. If you neglect any of them, then it will be harder for you to think clearly.

The first one is physical fitness. When you’re fit, every stroke of your heart carries more oxygen than it would if you weren’t. To give you an idea of the significance of this, think back to a time when you found yourself getting sleepy in a room that was too warm. (Maybe it was death-by-PowerPoint.) Do you remember how your head cleared when someone opened the window? That’s because you got more oxygen. Imagine getting that much benefit every time your heart beat.

The second is diet. Some people try to get through the day on coffee alone. Some smoke. Some do both. They nearly always say that they’re too busy to eat, or that they’re not hungry (which is often because they’ve resisted the cravings).

It doesn’t matter whether you like it or not: You have to eat. Plan for it. Take things that you like and that are nutritional with you every day. You don’t have to stop everything for an hour to get some good food. And make sure that you eat enough calories. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s easy to not get enough.

The third is rest. Scientists are finding out that this is an indispensable part of healthy living. Some are recommending daily naps for increased effectiveness throughout the day. Burning the candle at both ends doesn’t work. When you’re tired, or only a little under-rested, it takes you much longer to do the same task as if you had slept more. Make this a priority.

Emotional

The third area is emotional. Many people (men in particular) believe that emotions are something that only weak people have to contend with. But the truth is that you use emotional energy every day. And when you’ve used it up, your job performance suffers.

One way that you use up emotional energy is in the number of decisions you make. If the decisions are easy, meaning that there are no distractions and they are uncomplicated, then you can make more than if you have to hold a lot of facts in your head at once and then choose solutions that are less than ideal.

You have a limited – that means fixed - amount of physical, mental, and emotional energy for each day. Your effectiveness and efficiency drops markedly before you use it all up. Your goal is not to finish the day drained. Instead, it’s to reach the end with energy to spare.

You’re a lead-acid battery. If you can recharge overnight, then you’re managing yourself; but if you feel the juice draining out of you, then to get fully recharged, you’ll probably need a holiday.

If you'd like to discuss how to manage yourself further, get in contact with us today.