Managing Stress – Part 2

There is definitely no shortage of stress in America. In fact, in Part 1, we talked about two areas that could be causing us stress–unfocused time and unleveraged energy. We learned that not all time is equal. The key is finding which hours of the day you feel most energized (Green Zone) and then work to plug the most important things you need to get done into that zone. (Be sure to read Part 1 if you have not.)

In Part 2, I want to dive a little deeper into the three zones of our day that Carey Nieuwhof shares and how they can help us focus our time and leverage our energy. These zones come from his book At Your Best. The tools in his book are excellent. He also has a survey at atyourbesttoday.com that helps you begin to identify your best hours of the day.

Green Zone

This zone is 3-5 hours when you find yourself at peak energy. Yes, I said only 3-5 hours. That’s not to say you can’t be productive in your Yellow and Red Zones, but the Green Zone is when you are the sharpest. Once you identify it, then you should plug your top priorities into that Green Zone. “At the end of the week, I must have these 4 to 5 things done.” Here are some things that your Green Zone should include:

• Things that only you can do
• Things that you must get done before the end of the day or week (mission critical)
• Things you are gifted at

Yellow Zone

In this Zone, you will have moderate energy, so this is where you should plug moderately-important tasks.

Red Zone

As you can guess, during the Red Zone, you will have less energy. During this time, you should avoid doing critical tasks or making critical decisions.

I am sure as you review these three zones, you are probably very aware of the times that you should plug into each zone based on how you feel each day. I would encourage you to make the space to do a time audit. Review your day and begin to work toward best leveraging your energy, focusing on doing those things that only you can do–during the hours that you are at your best. Nieuwhof says, “Do what you’re best at when you’re at your best.”

Gifting Versus Passion

Before I close, I want to talk about your gifting versus passion. As you review your schedule, you may see things that really shouldn’t be on there. You may find that much of the stress you are experiencing is because a lot of your time is spent on things you’re passionate about but not necessarily gifted at.

Gifting and passion are two completely different things. Just because you are passionate about something doesn’t mean you are good at it. (There are many uncomfortable videos of someone singing on a competition show because their mom told them they were good at it, but it is clear there is no gifting involved.)

That’s not to say you can’t do things you are passionate about. There’s still room for those things in your yellow and red zones.

We often do the opposite. We put things in the Red Zone that we’re really good at because we lean into our skillset and “phone it in.” If you will put those gifted areas into your Green Zone instead, you’ll feel less stress and make more of an impact.

In order to discern a gifting versus a passion, you can ask yourself these questions:

Gifting v. Passion – Questions to Ask

• What was I put on this planet to do?
• Do people (not my relatives) give me regular, positive feedback that I am good at this?
• When I am doing this, do I feel energized and alive?
• Does this come easy to me with little effort, but it’s not easy for others?

If we will take the steps needed to best leverage our energy each day, we will feel more at peace and less stressed. Life will be an adventure once again.

If you would like to continue the conversation about this topic, be sure to listen to The Breakthrough Podcast, Episodes 34 and 35, where I unpack having a breakthrough with stress.