Friends,
Hey there and happy FRIDAY. We hope your to-do list isn’t too long today.
Have you noticed your energy to perform your job swings from day to day or week to week or month to month? How do you make sense of it?
Emily here. I’m talking about the energy needed to do the work at the job that pays you money, not so much emotional labor, household work, or the passion project on the side. In my own work, I’ve noticed three primary buckets of energy types:
The worker ant: These are the days when you’re super motivated to get capital W work done for the whole day. Perhaps a deadline is quickly approaching, or you want to impress your boss or colleagues, or you’re just REALLY into whatever you’re doing and can reach that flow state.
The lion: These are the mixed days, when you might have a slower morning or afternoon, but then opportunity or energy strikes, and you pounce on the opportunity to get something done. An example day could be: a coffee-powered early morning email flurry that seeps into a slow string of Zooms and breaks.
The sloth: The slower days, maybe a day with less meetings, when your brain wanders to questions like, what does my work really mean? Instead of tackling a high-brainpower task, you turn to making an elaborate lunch or organizing your toiletries bin (the benefit of remote work), or let’s be honest, binge-watching reality TV.
Some days, I’m fully the worker ant. Then without warning, the sloth appears. It’s unpredictable and sometimes happens no matter the lifestyle choices before or during the day. I don’t think it’s burnout; these energy shifts are more micro, hour to hour or day to day.
Here’s my take: It’s all about being able to identify your own energy buckets, and then embracing them when you can. My prediction is that burnout happens when you cannot ride your own energy cycle. When your work persistently expects you to be in worker ant mode, or if the amount of work requires worker ant mode with little lion or sloth flexibility, then that leads to burnout. For more on burnout and its connection to capitalism, see Anne Helen Petersen.
Carrie, what’s your take?
Emily, I love this “pre-burnout” concept about work energy. It seems like a lot of attention is placed on structural burnout (which is important), but there’s this other reality too: The day-in, day-out shifting of our energy. It makes a lot of sense to me, and it reminds me of this idea I learned from Erica Chidi (author of this great book) about thinking about time/energy in a cyclical way, rather than in a ceaseless, linear progression.
Water Cooler Convo
Emily: Carrie, I read this ProPublica article yesterday that explains some of the COVID-era themes we’ve discussed in previous editions: We’re Losing Our Humanity, and the Pandemic Is to Blame.
Carrie: This quote is on-point: “When people feel that their attitudes reflect strong moral convictions, that gives them permission to dehumanize those who oppose them,” said Linda Skitka, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who’s researching ideological divides.
Carrie: Hard pivot here … as the weekend is upon us and it is October, this 2021 fall foliage prediction map seems germane. Also, this is a critical question: What’s your take on the pumpkin spice latte?
Emily: I’ve been WAITING for this question! My take is: step aside PSL, there’s a new pumpkin drink in town.
Emily: Dear readers and Carrie, do you have any favorite Halloween or October-friendly movies or books?
Carrie: Good call, Emily Roseman! Hmm...I’m reading my first Agatha Christie at the moment in honor of the season. Stay tuned for a verdict. Also, a Hocus Pocus sequel is headed our way. Emily, what’s YOUR favorite?
Emily: A friend of mine was talking about re-watching Stranger Things for the fall vibes, which I might also do…
Alright friends, that’s a wrap for today. Hope you’re able to be whatever energy animal you want to be today. Have a great weekend!
Your pals,
Carrie and Emily