3 routines every leader needs now more than ever!

If you are in business or entrepreneurship, the first thing to see the journey as not a single 100-meter sprint but one of a marathon, which requires many 100 meter sprints.

To run this marathon, with many 100-meter sprints in between and taking, what is required is our ability to have high energy as well as being relaxed and keep our awareness levels high. The way to achieve this is by developing strong routines that help us!

If we take the metaphor of a car, to drive at top gear, and keep the energy high, we need all the 4 cylinders of the physical, mental, emotional, and conscious level to be operating at 100%.

In this blog, I talk about the 5 routines that help manage mental and emotional energy levels.

But to really achieve the peak performance, what is needed is to practice routines that boost our conscious level energy.

The 3 rituals of the highest form that all great leaders, entrepreneurs, coaches recommend being focused on breathing, practicing awareness, or being mindful and meditation.

Let’s cover each of these,

1. Practicing breathing: For ages, the practice of yoga is about increasing our Prana Shakthi (Pranic Energy). Improving oxygen intake in the body combined with 15-30 minutes of deep inhalation & exhalation (pranayama) is a proven way to keep our energy levels high. Even simple techniques of breathing help to feel light and free from negative emotions. Practicing 5-minute deep breathing of inhalation and exhalation at regular intervals of 90 minutes brings our focus to the present. The whole idea is to consciously practice the breathing from diaphragm instead of shallow breathing. Most of us unconsciously breathe at the rate of 18-20 cycles (1 cycle is inhale+exhale) per minute. Even for a few minutes a day, if the cycle is reduced to 5-6 times (10 seconds for one inhale+exhale vs 3 seconds for one inhale+exhale), then our body starts feeling more calm and energetic. There is a good app called Breathing App developed to practice this. Those interested can download from here
2. Being Mindful: We are confronted with too many choices which can cause paralysis of decision making. To prevent distractions and hijack your focus, use a simple ABC technique. This is like applying a brake pedal to the constant activity of the brain. The ABC – Aware, Breathe, Choose. Though we choose our activities, our distractions take us to activities that aren’t what we want to do. So, every 60-90 minutes, stop and become aware. Take a few deep breaths and then choose thoughtfully the action you want to be doing now. Ask yourself, do you want STOP what you are doing or GO with it? If STOP, what is that you want to be doing? Choose and start working. This small awareness exercise will get you out of distractions and help you gain focus and be mindful.
3. Daily Meditation: Again this is something which gives extraordinary benefit, provided you are willing to learn and practice diligently. There are various meditation techniques available, but what is required to learn one method and develop a habit to sit and practice.

Why I don’t see the results?

I am sure some of you might have tried what I mentioned above or some have not tried. But a common question is would any of these really work? Or for how long should I be doing to see, some meaningful change in me?

I had these same questions earlier when I started practicing breathing as well as meditation. It really does take time to see the results but ones you experience the results, it is very impactful.

The below chart gives an idea.

The energy gained is exponentially higher in spending 30 minutes towards conscious level practices (doing meditation, breathing) vs spending 30 minutes towards physical practices (doing exercise, sound sleep) or emotional & mental practices.

The caveat though, experiencing the energy from practicing conscious level actions has a higher lag effect.

Initially, you may not see any change externally but just like a Chinese bamboo tree, continuous practice of these builds internal strength.

And over time, the tremendous energy is built inside shows up by giving you courage and energy to take on bigger challenges, riskier projects, and handle complex situations seamlessly.

Conclusion

Being aware and keeping energy levels high needs habits. Our energy levels are not finite, it can be renewed and strengthened throughout the day.

For this one needs to develop high-performance energy routines multiple times a day. The 3 routines described above are no more choice but are a necessity in today’s chaotic world.

It is now a matter of commitment to practice, so it becomes a ritual or habit. I hope you found the article useful and if you like it, do share, like or comment. Thanks for reading