The Power of Full Engagement

Tony Schwartz' The Power of Full Engagement is aenforced.
transformational book, especially with for anyoneAccording to the author, we should limit ourselves to
concerned with time management as the key toestablishing only one or, at most, two rituals at a
enhanced productivity. Instead of managing time totime. Once we accept that willpower is more finite
become more productive and fulfilled, The Power ofthan we would like to believe, it becomes clear that
Full Engagement focuses on managing energy, basedtrying to add more than a couple of rituals to our
on co-author Jim Loehr's work with the world-classlives at once is guaranteed to spread ourselves too
athletes.thin.
While time is a limited resource, with 24 hours in aEmotional energy involves emotional renewal. Many of
day, we can always take our energy reserves to theus work in what Schwartz calls the grey zone, where
next level. We do this by building capacity and bywe're preoccupied with work issues during periods of
building in periods of recovery. We have four typesrest and recreation, or we're consumed by personal
of energy to work on and with:issues when trying to be productive at work.
- Physical energy. This includes cardiovascular fitness,To get out of the gray zone, we need to
muscular strength, and proper nutritionacknowledge our emotional needs and commit to
- Emotional energy. Healthy relationships andaddressing them with the same discipline we apply to
enjoyable activities that often get suppressed byour work tasks, scheduling in rituals to satisfy these
constant busynessneeds. This might be committing to coming home at
- Mental energy. The ability to maintain singular focus6 p.m. to spend time with family as reliably as getting
on an activity and avoid distractioninto the office at 7 a.m.; or it might be committing to
- Spiritual energy. The commitment that comes fromgardening three times a week, taking dance classes,
having a clear purpose in lifetaking day trips on the weekend, or any other
Let's look at each of these types in detail.activity we find personally gratifying.
First is the physical. Instead of thinking of ourselvesMental energy is largely built by removing distractions
as machines capable of working indefinitely, Schwartzand working within our ultradian cycles. During sprints,
maintains that humans are cyclical, periodic beings,we need to shut off any potential disruptions like cell
requiring periods of recovery in order to be fullyphones, email notifiers and browsers. The biggest
engaged during periods of work. Instead of doingdistractions are negative thoughts, since they tend to
slow, steady work like a marathoner, we shouldhave a cascading effect. Though it might be
work in short, high-energy bursts, like a sprinter. Thenconsidered a platitude, positive thinking is the key to
we take a break to recover, then engage in anotherincreasing focus.
work sprint, and continue to alternate between restAs with the physical realm, recovery periods are vital
and reengagement. Breaks can be anything fromto maintaining mental energy. We often tend to
20-minute naps to 1-minute deep breathing exercises.forget that the mind - the brain - is a physical organ
This is based on the counterpart to our circidianthat expends energy with use, so spending extended
rhythm (physiological sleep cycle), the ultradianperiods devoted to a single tasks can hit a point of
rhythm - our natural energy ("wake") cycle. Accordingdiminishing returns. There's a critical threshold where
to Schwartz, our energy waxes and wanes in cyclesour single-minded focus becomes diffused, at which
of 90 to 120 minutes. Constantly working on a taskpoint our output begins to flatline. The best way to
past this length of time is suboptimal. We start tomaintain peak concentration is by limiting our work
glaze over, losing concentration, momentum andsessions to two hours at a time at most, then doing
motivation.a recovery activity.
By segmenting work to fit these cycles, stagingSpiritual energy is the power of purpose. Schwartz
short recovery periods in between, we can get muchdoesn't necessarily mean confrontation with a deity -
more done in less time. Towards the end of thein fact, most of his case studies are fairly secular
book, Schwartz provides a dramatic example ofexamples. The point is to clarity why we live. To
much faster we was able to write the book within awhat end are we applying our life energy? Are we
few weeks, working only four hours a day, byspending our work lives doing things that we know
splitting his writing periods into short, intense workwill have a positive impact on the world, our families
sprints.or communities? Are we challenging ourselves to
Through exercise we increase the supply the reserveachieve something beyond ourselves?
of energy we have to feed into our work. To makeSometimes this transpersonal focus is suddenly thrust
exercise a habit (as well as anything we want toupon us, like the book's example of the Cantor
make habitual), Schwartz recommends creating whatFitzgerald executive to whose responsibilities
he calls positive rituals, consciously scheduled routinesincreased dramatically after the Word Trade Center
which, over the course of three or four weeks,attacks of 9/11. But it can also take the form of
become ingrained in the fabric of our lives to theanother executive in the book becoming a basketball
point where they no longer have to be consciouslycoach for kids, experiencing the joy of mentorship.