IGX

The subtitle of the book sums the book well: "Managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal." One author is a professional sports high performance coach and the other an executive business coach. Their basic theory is we need to periodize (yes, they actually use the word) our sources of energy -- spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical -- so that we balance expending energy with renewing it, and so that when we're expending energy we push harder or more openly so as to build our strength, capacity and reach in each energy source.

I've read countless self-help books and listened to countless tape series. It's hard to say something new. I took a lot from this book, though, because I hadn't thought about maximizing energy as an overall concept other than to constantly tell myself I need more sleep. I believe in pushing hard at most everything I do, but the book stresses the need to oscillate -- push, then rest, in all spheres of life -- if you want to be most successful in the exertion phase of life. And it introduces the notion of positive rituals for attacking things that hold you back. The idea is to identify self-defeating behaviors and to develop ritualized action to overcome it like atheletes use ritualized behavior (visualization, anchoring, affirmations, whatever) to focus themselves on being fully engaged in what they'll be doing. One great thought is to work in sprints of, say, 90 minutes and then to schedule a break of ten minutes or whatever. Then another sprint of work, etc.

If you haven't read much in the self-help field, the book covers all the basics like developing a vision for your life that's consistent with your values and writing it out and planning your actions to be consistent with it.

This is a good book and one I've learned from. It's almost ten o'clock and I'm going to sleep. I can't remember when I went to bed this early other than when I was sick or exhausted.

Hebrew Hammer wrote:I've read countless self-help books

Imagine that.

What we have here is "failure to communicate".

The customer reviews for this at Amazon are impressive. If I can't find a copy at the library, I'll be ordering.