Promising to help us out with this is the recent research by Charlotte Fritz, Chak Fu Lam, and Gretchen Spreitzer, titled "It's the little things that matter: An examination of knowledge worker's energy ." Science to the rescue once again.

Surveying 200 plus working professionals, the research team assessed the workers' levels of both vitality and fatigue along with strategies that people use to up their energy. What they found wasn't exactly what you would expect. These techniques were the ones that those with high vitality used:

Learn something new Focus on what gives me joy in work Set a new goal Do something that will make a colleague happy Make time to show to someone I work with Seek feedback Reflect on how I make a difference at work Reflect on the meaning of my work

These techniques are value seeking and value creating activities, looking for what is enjoyable in your job or trying to frame the work in a way that creates value. On the other hand, the list below details the activities that are connected to workers with lower vitality and higher levels of fatigue.

Drink a caffeinated beverage Talk to someone about common interests (e. ., sports) Listen to music Surf the web Check and send personal email or text messages Make plans for the evening or weekend Day dream Shop

Which of these lists do you belong to? If you are doing more of the latter, it likely means that you are chronically tired or fatigued. You need to tend to your energy levels. You have options, including getting more sleep, eating better, exercising, all the stuff you already know. But in addition to that, there is all the tactics from the vitality list. Value and energy are closely related as we always seem to have the energy to do what we like. How often did you not have the energy to write for work but were capable of novella long email messages to friends? Is shopping really less energy intensive than what you are avoiding? No, it is just more enjoyable. Here's a supporting excerpt from Chapter Eight of my book, The Equation:

Whoever we are, we are likely to put off doing whatever we find excruciatingly dull. Boredom signals that what we are doing is irrelevant, and so the mind slides off the task. It makes sense, then, that procrastinators are much more likely than non-procrastinators to perceive life's daily tasks as drudgery. Of all the boring tasks that fill the world, the one that tops most people's hate list is routine paperwork. The busywork- filling in timesheets, submitting expense reports, and supplying the data that companies and governments endlessly require-seems pointless, even when it isn't. Fortunately, however, boredom isn't inherently part of any job-anything can be made more interesting simply by the way we treat it.

It seems pretty simple, "reflect on the meaning of my work" or "do something that will make a colleague happy," but simple doesn't mean ineffective. You might get an energetic boost by reflecting on how others depend on you, by being a hero to your boss, or honing a new skill that advances your . Of course, there are other techniques for increasing the value of your work and I cover a few more in Chapter Eight of my book, like "Games and " and "Double or Nothing," but that's enough for now. Take another look at that vitality list and decide to do one thing. And in the spirit of seeking feedback myself, tell me how it worked for you. I'll bet you it does better than that second cup of coffee you were thinking of getting.

Note. Want to learn more about yourself? Take one of our online surveys on different aspects of your pesronality and get immediate feedback about yourself.

Fritz, C., Lam, C. F., & Spreitzer, G. M. (2011). It's the little things that matter: An examination of knowledge workers' energy management. Academy of Management Perspective, 25(3), 28-39.