Take a break for a minute from whatever it is you are working on and describe in a few words your current working environment:

• How would you rate the quality of the air you are breathing?
• What is the temperature in your space?  Is the air conditioning blasting or the lack thereof making it unbearable to think about anything else but a cold beverage?
• Are you seated, standing up, or required to constantly walking around?
• What type of technology are you utilizing? Is it the latest and greatest? What is your level of comfort in using technology? 
• What type of background noise are you tolerating? Do you have to share a space with many co-workers without any privacy? Is construction in or outside your building making it hard for you to concentrate on the task?
• Are you a road warrior and constantly on the go via planes, trains, and automobiles? You do not have a regular office space, or have to adjust to whatever space is available?

 How are all of these things affecting you?

These factors are environmental influencers that, unless optimized, will drain you of energy and negatively impact your productivity and job satisfaction.

This article is the sixth and final one in a series I created to help you optimize your environment, achieve a higher quality of life, and reach peak performance. The Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) identified six major stressors, a.k.a. influencers, that can rob us of energy: 

1. Spiritual
2. Mental
3. Emotional
4. Physical
5. Social
6. Environmental

I have worked in various environments throughout my career. In my mid-twenties, I was a flight attendant with many variables in the circumstances of my daily work, inclusive of a smoker section on the airplane! Then I worked throughout Europe in duty-free stores on airports and on ferries literally weathering storms, until I became more used to traditional corporate spaces. I remember my level of excitement when I was promoted to Director and moved from a cubicle to a corner office! While working in the medical device industry, I traveled worldwide and visited doctors in hospital settings. And finally, my home became my workspace with all its conveniences and potential distractions like my dog barking to get my attention. 

I have seen a wide variety of work surroundings and know under which I achieve peak performance. Do you know under which circumstances you perform best? Since we cannot always control the external conditions of our environment, we need to optimize them to reach and maintain an optimal level of productivity. For example, if the air conditioning is set at a level that is freezing your bones and making your teeth chatter, make sure to bring some extra layers to work, or set up a space heater. 

Once you have exhausted all external factors you can optimize, you can work on your mindset. In the last article, I wrote about your choices in dealing with challenging relationships. The same options apply to how you approach a challenging work environment:

1)     Remain a victim of it

2)     Leave it

3)     Accept it as is

4)     Change it

5)     Change your perspective on it

You now have all the knowledge you need to tackle all six stressors in your life that can drain you of energy. Additionally, if you refer to my series on the ten practices to unleash the career of your dreams, you know what to do to refill your proverbial cup and achieve peak performance as a leader. 

Knowledge is power, but it is not reliable enough to know how to change. To achieve lasting improvements and put your career on a different trajectory, you need to listen to your “why” of what is making this important to you and put a plan in place. 

As a professional coach, I can help you not only figure out your “why,” but I can support you with my experience, wisdom, and tools to help you unleash the career of your dreams. Contact me at angela@belladonnacareercoach.com to schedule a discovery call