Jennifer Lyall is an Intuitive Business Mentor and Chief Energy Optimizer. Jennifer helps ambitious female entrepreneurs with expanding their energy, intuition and productivity.
Jennifer joins me on the podcast to discuss the belief that business owners don’t have the time to take care of themselves. When Jennifer started her business in 2008, she remembers asking her own coach how she could take two minutes to breathe and her coach told her to just take the time – just breathe! At that time, Jennifer felt like there was so much to do that she didn’t have any time to pause.
Are you running on fumes?
Many business owners are running on fumes from the moment they get up in the morning, especially if they’re a parent as well. Often business owners are trying to get through critical projects even though they’re completely depleted. They don’t realize that they should pause and take a break and re-energize so they can focus better later.
Our society tells us to constantly hustle hard, but many of us are the foundations of our businesses, so running on fumes doesn’t make sense. If you’re running at a 6 out of 10 then that’s the level of output you’re working with. That’s also the level of quality you’re producing. It affects your productivity, quality, and relationships – both personally and professionally.
Are you working on survival mode or are you thriving?
It wasn’t until Jennifer dived into her spiritual journey that she started to understand the importance of taking time for herself. She now does regular check-ins throughout the day. She checks in with herself in the morning as well as throughout the day, typically at lunchtime as well as between projects. Her check-ins involve taking a step outside and taking in a breath of fresh air, or taking in the aroma of a fresh cup of tea.
These check-ins make her happier and allow her to better focus on her projects. By taking breaks, she is giving her clients a better version of herself. Too many people are going through their days running on a 6 or 7 out of 10 – they are working on a survival mode rather than from a place of thriving.
It only takes a minute to do a check-in and shift yourself from that six to a nine or ten.
The Energy Check
To do a complete check-in, you need a pen and paper. This is also called an energy check. You are checking your energy level: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually: also known as PEMS.
To start, write PEMS on the piece of paper.
Then take a deep breath in and out and ask yourself on a scale of 1-10 how do you feel physically? Your first response is the truth in how you feel at that moment. So, don’t overthink it. What is the first number that comes to mind? Then write down some words associated with how you feel. Maybe you feel energized, thirsty, whatever it may be.
Once you are done, ask the same question about how you feel emotionally. Again, write down the first number that comes to mind then write a few words as to why that number came up.
And then, on a scale from 1 to 10, how do you feel mentally? If you are unsure, ask yourself, if you were to be given a question in your zone of genius, how easy, from 1-to 10 would it be to answer it at this moment? And again, also write any words around why you are giving yourself that number.
Finally, do the same with spiritually. The spirituality question may not resonate with some people and that’s fine. This question is about how you are relating to your faith, your higher self, your spirituality or even your purpose – what you’re here to do. But you don’t have to answer, but if it resonates, answer with a number from 1 to 10 as well as write down any words around that number.
If you have a low number for any of the PEMS questions then you may want to do some things to address this.
Jennifer has developed certain practices to help her and to give her the TLC she needs to get on with her day. One technique she uses to shift her numbers is breathing in a specific manner.
The 4-7-8 Breath
Dr. Andrew Weill, a holistic medical doctor, developed what is called the 4-7-8 breath. We tend to breathe shallow, but with this breath, we inhale for the count of four, hold for the count of seven, and then exhale for the count of eight. This allows us to come into a mode of relaxation and tells our brains that we don’t have to be in this state of stress. After taking the 4-7-8 breath, you then go into a regular breath… doing this should make you feel calmer.
Jennifer also uses time with her pet cat, connects with nature for a moment by stepping outside and normal deep breathing to shift her numbers and to calm any stress she may be feeling. Choose things you can do for a minute up to 30 minutes, depending on how much time you have and how much you need it. No matter where you are you can always take a nice deep breath to connect back to yourself and feel grounded again.
Taking time for oneself doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming. It is about slowing down and knowing that you won’t be doing your best work if you don’t recognize that you need a break.
Our brains are only designed to work well for 45 minutes and then you need a break – you will get more done in a day if you work in 45 minutes chunk than plowing through eight straight hours of work. Energy boosts will increase your mood, quality of work and productivity. Give yourself permission to slow down so you can improve your work and feel better about your day.
For more information on Jennifer Lyall and how she can help you boost your energy through her My Energy CheckTM system, visit https://jlyall.com/energy.
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Podcast editing done by Eric Wellman