If you’ve experienced the rejuvenating effects of a physical detox or decluttering, you understand the concept of energy.

All people, objects, and spaces hold energy, giving off vibrational frequencies that can either inspire us or drain us. 

When this draining energy comes from your career, it leads to stress, burnout, and negative behaviors, such as complaining and poor decision-making. And now you’re giving off negative energy and it’s starting to affect those around you.

If you’re stuck in this negative energy cycle, it’s time for a career cleanse.

Just as a physical cleanse rids our bodies of toxins or a decluttering session clears out stagnant energy, a career cleanse declutters your professional life, creates space for new ideas and insights, and infuses your worklife with renewed energy.  

Need help getting started? Here’s how to cleanse your career so you can begin cultivating a flourishing work-life aligned with your HEART-based aspirations. 

The Four Five Dimensions Of Energy

Understanding the different dimensions of energy is vital before you can begin cleansing the energy within your career. 

In his book, The Power of Full Engagement, Dr. Jim Loehr declares that energy is not a singular notion. Instead, each person’s energy can be divided into four dimensions:

• Physical (the quantity of our energy)
• Emotional (the quality of our energy)
• Mental (the focus of our energy)
• Spiritual (the force of our energy)

According to Dr. Loehr, each dimension is interconnected with the others, and all are important to performing well and feeling happy in our careers. 

If even one is under-stressed or over-stressed, our general well-being suffers. 

• If we are constantly dehydrated, guzzling espresso, and running off four hours of sleep, we will burn out. 
• If we feel undervalued and overcriticized at work, our negative emotions and mental health will deplete our other energy stores. 
• If we feel no purpose in our work, our spirit wanes, and you guessed it, energy lags. 

Additionally, with all due respect to  Dr. Loehr, I would add that there is another very important type of energy that cannot be discounted for its effect on our ability to have a happy, flourishing career:

• Environmental (the space that holds our energy) 

While you may not be able to control certain aspects of your career, you can control your space. Just like living beings, inanimate objects emit energetic vibrations. When you feel stagnant or drained in your workspace, it’s often due to the energy emitted by your environment. 

A proper career cleanse requires a holistic approach that supports mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being and refreshes the work environment.  

How To Follow Your Body’s Natural Rhythm For An Impactful Worklife  

Physical energy includes the three major components you know you need to get control of to feel happy and healthy— sleep, nutrition, and exercise—but I won’t be yet another person beating you over the head, telling you how important these three are. You already know. #nourishtoflourish

Instead, let’s talk about circadian rhythms and chronotypes.  

Circadian rhythms are your body’s internal clock, but this clock doesn’t just cycle through the hours of the day—it cycles through your energy stores—with its natural ebb and flow— throughout the day. 

Circadian rhythms vary from person to person, and external factors like light exposure, sleep patterns, hormonal changes, meal timings, and temperature variations can all influence them.  As a result of your genetic makeup and lived experience, you adopt a specific type of circadian rhythm (i.e., “night owl” or “early bird”), which is your body’s natural preference for wakefulness, activity, and sleep. 

Chronotypes, on the other hand, are a productivity tool that incorporates your unique circadian rhythm as a guide. For instance, I know I’m at my best in the morning, so I schedule any tasks that require creativity or being “on” during that time. However, from observing my energy cycles, I’ve learned that I’m usually not as sharp by 3 p.m. Using that knowledge, I typically reserve the afternoons for administrative work and similar tasks. 

For job seekers, I recommend doing your job search when you’re at your best. It will feel much better, and the people you’re engaging with—whether in interviews or emails—will receive that good energy.

Reserve administrative and menial tasks for when your energy naturally ebbs. 

Identify your chronotype. (I’m a lion.)

Manage your energy, not your time.

Quit fighting against your body’s natural rhythm and start flowing with it. 

Schedule deep work for times when your energy naturally flows.

How To Uplift Your Emotional Energy When You Feel Drained

If you have found yourself hiding out at your desk to avoid your coworkers or if every change in the new workplace makes you feel stressed or anxious, your emotional energy is drained. 

Low emotional energy can trap you in a vicious cycle of avoidance, leading to more feelings of fear, anxiety, and sadness. Fortunately, we can all take charge of our emotions and increase our energy levels, but it will take considerable effort. 

Shift your motivation from avoidance to approach (which allows you to find enjoyment and view each challenge as an opportunity) by following these steps:

Express appreciation to others with words and notes.

Become aware of your avoidance patterns. 

Notice how you respond to stressful situations.

Practice breathwork to get out of fight-or-flight mode.

Track your gratitude daily in a journal.

How To Renew Your Mental Energy And Reset Your Focus

If you constantly feel overwhelmed and have trouble thinking clearly about your daily challenges, you may be experiencing mental exhaustion. 

Low mental energy can hold you back from taking inspired action, feeling creative, and maintaining appropriate focus at work. To experience a boost of optimism and mental energy, it’s essential to:

Follow strategies for adopting a growth mindset that will help you move forward.

How To Revitalize Your Spirit For A Flourishing Career

If you feel uninspired, unmotivated, or apathetic about your work, your spiritual energy may lag. 

Connecting deeply held values to worklife increases spiritual energy. It gives you a sense of purpose and meaning beyond self-interest. To achieve a greater sense of alignment, satisfaction, and well-being in your career and overall life, you might consider:  

Living out your core values in your daily work.

Doing what you do best for work.

Doing what you enjoy most for work. 

Consciously managing your energy, not your time.

Bonus: How To Curate A Workspace Filled With Good Vibes

There is no need to remodel or renovate. With minor changes, you can invite good vibes back into your environment. 

Let in energy-boosting natural light.

There’s a reason we feel good in the sunshine. Scientists have found that sunlight exposure stimulates our serotonin production (a neurotransmitter associated with happiness and well-being). 

So, open the window blinds and let the sunshine in. No window? Try taking short breaks outside to soak in the vitamin D. 

Remove energy-blocking clutter. 

Most of us can accumulate a good amount of unnecessary clutter on or around our desks over time, but that clutter blocks and drains our energy. Recent research provides plenty of proof that a cluttered environment increases anxiety and stress. All that untouched and unneeded clutter that sits stagnant on your desk day after day is blocking the flow of good energy in your space. 

Try removing the things you no longer use or need, purging your desktop files, and deep-cleaning your workspace. Then, note the energy shift that follows.

Play energy-elevating music. 

Music is a personal choice. Some people can rock their workload with 80s power ballads blasting in the background; others find their focus improves with soft acoustic sounds. But whether you vibe with high- or low-tempo tunes, scientists have found that music generally triggers the release of endorphins that relieve stress. It even lowers your blood pressure! Talk about an environmental/physical connection… 

Here’s a playlist that’s been my go-to background music this season.

So, if your worklife has been particularly stressful, try adding music to energize and stimulate your environment. 

Add some energy-detoxing plants.

With its slow pace and time spent in nature, gardening holds a special place in my life and work. In this space, I often share the parallels between cultivating a beautiful garden and creating a flourishing career. I’ve experienced firsthand how plant life improves my energy and lifts my spirit. Fortunately, these benefits aren’t limited to the outdoors. 

Indoor plants offer many of the same benefits. Placing a living plant in your office or workspace has many science-backed benefits, including reducing stress, boosting productivity, and even producing oxygen! Plants even clean the air of toxins such as mold, carbon monoxide, dust mites, and cleaning agents—a surefire way to cleanse a space’s energy. 

Choose 2 or 3 easy-to-care-for indoor plants to add to your workspace. My favorite low-maintenance, low-light plants are philodendrons, pothos, prayer plants, and money trees. 

If you’re not into plants, there’s something special about fresh flowers—they effortlessly add charm, color, and a breath of fresh air!

How Flourish Careers Can Help

You deserve a career filled with positive energy—doing what you love and excel at—alongside people who genuinely understand you. At Flourish Careers, we specialize in assisting job seekers —who feel stuck and uncertain—in transitioning to heart-based, fulfilling careers. 

While it’s true that everyone can search for jobs on their own, partnering with a professional is a wise investment. A professional can help you clarify your search and supercharge your efforts so you can go from fried to flourishing. 

Check out the Fried to Flourishing Group Coaching Experience to learn more. 

Want More Career Wisdom? Keep Reading

+ Spring Cleaning Your Career — Declutter, Simplify, and Energize
+ If Productivity Is A Tree, It’s Rooted In Rest
+ Spring into Heart-Based Leadership

Connect with Me

For more insider stories, quick tips, and #CareerTalk, I invite you to connect with me on Instagram @flourish.careers.