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How energy management changed my conference experience

2014-07-11 20.22.17Do you have the kind of life that can’t afford you returning home from a conference exhausted?

Whether from fun or straight up overload, there are practices you can take with you to minimize the negative impacts.

I’m still coming down from the high that is the World Domination Summit (WDS)…

After two years of attending this conference–a gathering centered around living a remarkable life in a conventional world–I decided to “unconference” this year. This means that I didn’t have a ticket—I just went for the connecting, networking, and socializing. Fun!

One of the themes that I got to talk about again and again (sometimes a great opportunity to try out different slants and sometimes a drag to feel like I’m repeating myself over and over) was energy management.

2014-07-11 19.48.53And since this is currently the topic near and dear to my heart, I’ll share highlights of the weekend through that lens. By the way, it’s also the topic for this month’s Authentic Success podcast episode, as you will see below.

So that we’re on the same page… I’m defining Energy management as learning how to manage your energy in order to design your life.

The five components that I’ve identified are:

Setting your baseline

On the plane to Portland, I set this intention: to connect with the right people (for the highest good), to have the right conversations, to stay grounded and present, to have fun, to stay in my heart-space. Sure there were a few lapses here and there, but when that happened, I knew where I wanted to come back to. Yay!

Stopping the drains

This one really came into play in conversations. Knowing when to move on in a networking situation can mean the difference between feeling trapped for half an hour or having a great conversation with a like-minded person. Staying in a heart-based place, I did my best to graciously conclude conversations that didn’t sit well with me.

Filling the well

Each morning I meditated in the hotel room for 20 minutes. My roomie, awesome understanding woman that she is, took it in stride. Each afternoon I returned to the hotel room for a 20-30 minute nap. Wow, I can’t tell you what a lifesaver that was.

Recognizing Patterns and cycles

Knowing myself… I knew that if I had to pay for each leg of public transportation, then I’d be likely to deliberate each potential ride. Should I be “frugal” and walk (and get more tired)? or not hop on to go back to the hotel for the afternoon nap?

As inconsequential as a $2.50 ticket is, I knew that it’d be an issue for me. To avoid this, I bought a 7-day unlimited pass. Good for bus, Max, and streetcar– I felt liberated to go anywhere at anytime, deliberations totally avoided. In fact, I wanted to ride to get my money’s worth. Perfect!

Anticipating future needs

Knowing that I wanted to engage in evening social activities, I put the afternoon nap on the agenda. Knowing I wanted to be fresh the next day, alcohol consumption was kept low-moderate. These two things alone did wonders for stabilizing my energy levels.

2014-07-13 13.48.27I’m so grateful that such a fun weekend was so good for biz!!

In addition to the networking, I also tried a delicious flight of three liquid chocolates and watched the World Cup finals with a couple thousand others in downtown Portland’s Pioneer Square.

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