Sean Butner covers the second pillar of his framework: intentional energy management. Sleep, hydration, movement, and nutrition form the foundation, while two-minute desk meditations and breathing cycles boost focus without relying on caffeine. His demanding schedule at Apple plus travel showed him how disciplined energy habits prevent burnout.
Hey, good morning everyone. Welcome to start your day. Great. Start your day with the coach. I am your host, Sean Butner, certified high performance coach. And we got a good show for you today. So this week we're talking about the five pillars of high performance. Yesterday we talked about how to find more clarity in your life and why that's important. Today we are talking about the energy that you create. And yes, I mean it in that particular phrasing because so many of us leave our energy up to caffeine, to our environments, to the whims of our day, how well we slept. And there's a better way. Like what if you could summon the energy, either the boosted energy or calm, quiet energy, to get you to create better, to focus more, to be present with your family and friends whenever you're talking with them, you know, how would that feel in your life? And it's such an important thing because, you know, as someone that used to travel for work, you know, 20 hours a week, so it'd be two hours each way, sometimes worse with traffic, sometimes better. But mostly that was the average was working a full time job, you know, 40, 60 hour weeks at Apple and then running a business on the side. So I had another 20 hours to that. How do you manage all of that commitment? And for me it came down to being really serious about my energy. Was I sleeping right? Was I eating right? Was I, you know, had the nutrition dialed in, was I hydrating enough? I was like moving my body enough. And over the course of the probably three to four years I did that, I was okay, right? I had times where I was more dialed in and not. But I would have burned out had I not had strategies to manage my energy. So whether you are working from home, since that's been a big focus from a lot of the folks I've been talking to, or you're going back to the office, wherever you're working from, wherever you're living, you know, how are you managing your energy and are you doing it in a way that is giving you that spark, that vibrancy to that you feel connected to your life, you feel connected to your work, to your family, to your friends and is giving you the quality of life that you want because really at the end of the day that is. And you know, if you use caffeine to get that burst of energy and focus that you need, you know, if you're overdoing it, you're slowly grinding the system down because you're going to need more coffee to get the same effect. And to get more hydrated. But I love caffeine, so don't. I'm not saying don't drink coffee or energy drinks or that stuff, but you have to be mindful of it because it will make you jittery to the point where you can't function. And I've had that part in my career also. So what can we do about energy other than the basics that I mentioned? Are you sleeping at least seven hours a night? Are you getting enough water? Are you moving your body enough each day? And do you have your nutrition dial in? So on top of that, you know, I find that daily meditation is really good to get centered for the day. So especially if you're dealing with a lot of anxiety, just like a quick two minute release, meditation is what we teach in high performance. You close your eyes, take some deep breaths and just repeat the mantra release over and over again. To release tension, to release thoughts is a really good way to get grounded and get ready for an important meeting when you have to create at your desk. It's really helpful and it served me really well. So we talk about that a lot in high performance. Also, you know, just doing some deep breathing, you know, taking 10 deep breaths in through your nose, up through your mouth, just, you know, can really, you know, get some oxygen to the blood and can help you settle in and increase your focus for a short period of time. So those are two habits. Quick meditation, deep breathing, you can always do some like at desk stretching, you know, some arm sweeps, you know, arm like this kind of thing, just hit the chair, you know, so kind of silly stuff. But when done consistently throughout the day, the reliance you you'll have on, on coffee can be decreased. Right? I tried to give up coffee and these exercises helped me deal with a little bit of the withdrawal. It's still grumpy, so that'll still happen, but I felt a little bit more energized and it can help you sustain energy throughout the day. So you're vibrant, you're connected, you're present when you need to be. So that said, guys, if you have any questions, make sure you post it below where you're watching this video on YouTube or Facebook. And you know, I'd love to answer any questions you have. And as always, you can go to SeanButner.com ask to present a question if you don't want to comment. And on Friday I'll answer all your questions on the Ask a Coach a Question show. So with that, guys, take care. Tomorrow we're going to be talking about courage, the next pillar in high performance. And I know you guys are going to love this. It's one of my favorite topics in high performance because we don't really think about courage in the modern world. And it's not charging into a hail of bullets, maybe like a lot of people think, but it could just be having tough conversations or stop stopping the process of avoiding things that you know you need to do. So it's a really good topic. I know a lot of my clients really love it. I know you'll love it. Can't wait to talk to you about it tomorrow. So see you then. Until then, live with more joy, personal growth, and impact to your communities. This is Sean Butner signing off.
