Welcome to Module 4 – Part 1
The objectives for this week are to:
- Remove obstacles to better work engagement
- Increase your resilience so you can recover from stress faster and stay engaged in your work
- Build routines and habits that will help you be more optimally engaged
Summary:
- Engagement is how you express yourself through your work on a cognitive, emotional, and physical level.
- There are three types of poor engagement: (1) overly-engaged: when demands are high, control is low, and you put everything you have into doing your best work and trying to get it all done; (2) engaged-exhausted: this is associated with feeling worn out, having a low sense of control, and low self-efficacy; (3) disengaged: this is a sign of burnout and it happens when demands are so low that you feel underchallenged.
- Optimal engagement is work-related well-being.
- There are three dimensions associated with engagement: (1) activation: this ranges from exhaustion to vigor. The key is to focus on pleasant tasks; (2) identification: this ranges from cynicism to dedication and is about how inspired and challenged you feel by your work and how proud you are of your efforts; (3) absorption: this is about being immersed in your work that time passes quickly and you have difficulty detaching yourself from the task (similar to “flow”).
- Although biology plays a role in resilience, you can build up your resilience with a growth mindset, by finding meaning in things that happen, eliminating attribution errors, increasing social connectedness, setting clear and consistent boundaries, and learning life skills.
- By building up routines and habits, you build up your resilience and can bounce back from adversity more quickly as a result.
- When you are in crisis mode, focus on breathing, grounding and progressive muscle relaxation. When you can, work to reframe your thinking.
This Week’s Tasks
Continue:
- Organizing your space
- Reviewing your day and jotting down notes
- Practicing gratitude
- Eliminating energy drains
- Focusing on what you can control
Create resilience-increasing routines: Start small and build up over time
- Exercise of moderate difficulty for 30 min x 4/week. Not exercising is like taking a depressant.
- Meditate for 15 min/day x 6-7/week
- Sleep 8 hours
- Yoga: it’s a mind-body exercise that builds strength and flexibility
- Drink water throughout the day
- Prime your environment with positive and motivating influences (e.g., pictures of your family, memorability, art, quotes)
Make sure to check out the resources for this week:
Good luck!
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