Imagine your time and energy fall into one of two buckets; drains or fills. Time is so precious, but it isn’t neutral.
Why does this matter?
If we can recognize whether activities, environments, relationships and tasks drain or fill us we can plan accordingly.
The goal isn’t to get rid of all the drains- of course not. God designed us to serve others and create meaning in the world. We need to love others well, to bless, to serve, to give, to invest. All of these require energy.
But if we’re pouring out ALL the time and never refilling our tank burnout is coming for us. It’s a simple, but hard equation; we need to refill our tanks or we’ll run on empty.
Why is this crucial right now?
Summer is a space for reevaluation. We’re tired. We have more space in the summer.We tend to get creative and see new possibilities in the summer. If we don’t we’ll see more burnout in the fall.
A simple way to do this…
- Take out two pieces of paper or two halves of your journal pages
- Draw two buckets; DRAINS and FILLS
- Make a list on each of the activities, environments, people and tasks that drain you and fill you. Get specific
- Evaluate how much of your time you are spending on both
- Take at least one drain away from this season and add at least one fill
Alan Briggs
Founder, Lead Creative, Coach
Alan is a mountain guide for the leadership journey. He loves outdoor adventures, but the greatest adventure of his being a father and husband. Alan is crazy about helping hungry leaders conquer overwhelm and navigate with courage. He serves leaders and organizations around the country through coaching, speaking, consulting, designing experiences, hosting mastermind groups, writing his own books and ghostwriting for others. He co-hosts Right Side up Leadership Podcast and regularly writes for Outreach and Field Notes .