Weekly energy audit: what drains you and what refills you
This is not a test or a score: you mark which days of the week drained you and which added energy, then pick the one thing that drains you most and the one that refills you. You get a short plan for the week: one boundary and one recovery block in your calendar. It takes 3–5 minutes and nothing is saved.
Nothing is stored or sent: everything runs in your browser, even offline after the first visit.
What to do now
- Mark seven days: which one drained you and which added energy.
- Pick one thing that drains you and one that refills you.
- Put a 20-minute recovery block in your calendar and write the boundary where you will see it.
What not to do
- Do not change everything at once: one boundary works better than ten.
- Do not hunt for a “perfect” week: direction matters here, not a grade.
- Do not leave recovery for “when there is time”; it will not appear by itself.
After the exercise
- In a week, run the audit again and compare.
- If the boundary did not hold, make it smaller instead of giving up.
- Tell the person it affects: a colleague, a manager or people at home.
When to see a professional
- Exhaustion does not lift after a weekend and lasts for weeks.
- Interest in work and in things that used to please you fades, or indifference sets in.
- Sleep, appetite or mood has changed noticeably and does not come back.
- You have thoughts of harming yourself: get help today (lines below).
How it works
Tiredness builds up when demands (deadlines, messages, meetings) outrun resources (sleep, breaks, support) for a long time. The audit lets you see this on your own week rather than “in general”.
Recovery works when it is regular and protected: short breaks, mentally switching off from work, activities where you have a sense of choice. So the plan has two parts: take away one pressure and lock in one way to recover.
The tool does not measure burnout and does not sort you into a category. It is a way to pick, in a few minutes, one small step you can check after a week.
Sources
- Sonnentag S, Fritz C. The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. J Occup Health Psychol 2007;12(3):204–221
- Bakker AB, Demerouti E. The Job Demands-Resources model: state of the art. J Manag Psychol 2007;22(3):309–328