Reduce your stress by doing this…
Measure & manage mental exertion like you do physical exertion
One way we measure physical exertion is by calculating its MET or metabolic equivalent of task. This is a measure of the ratio at which you expend energy relative to your physical mass while performing some kind of activity. Sitting quietly produces a MET of 1.0 while walking at a 3.0 MPH pace is equivalent to a MET level of 3. Running at a quick pace results in a MET over 10. We all have bands, watches, straps, and phones that measure our pace, miles, steps, heart rate, sleep, and more.
But what about the mental exertion produced by thinking, and working? Have you noticed that, all other things being equal such as the number of hours you work in one day, there are just some days you are more mentally fatigued at the end? What is happening on those days? A couple of years ago I started giving myself a “mental MET” score every day so I could track what was happening on days I felt worn out vs. days I felt great. I used a 20 point scale where anything below a five was an “easy” mental day. And a score above 15 was considered a grind.
Here is the scale I used:
0 to 5 — -EASY MENTAL DAY, VERY LITTLE STRESS
6 to 10 — - SOME CHALLENGES DURING THE DAY
11 to 15 — - I NOTICED I WAS “ON” A LOT, WAS TIRED AT END OF DAY
16 to 20 — - ROUGH, EXHAUSTED AT END OF DAY
After tracking my mental MET for a month, I compared my scores against my calendar. I started looking for patterns and themes. I noticed those meetings, conversations, activities, projects, or conversations that produced a higher MET score. I started to assign a MET score to specific activities. I used this information to “budget” my calendar. If I knew that a particular kind of meeting was very likely to produce a MET of 15 or higher, I made sure I did not have more than one high MET activity in a day.
I literally budgeted my mental energy. There were days when things got away from me, and I ended up with multiple high MET challenges. But, I had much fewer of those kinds of days when I started to budget my mental exertion. There were several positive outcomes from tracking and managing my calendar in this way. I felt like I had more control over my days, and how much energy I needed to invest. I started to limit how many “high MET” days I experienced in a row. This also led to feeling more in control of the pace of the day. I had a rule of no more than three high MET days in a row or knew that I risked high and persistent stress that could lead to burnout. I rescheduled meetings or extended project deadlines in order to manage my mental exertion.
I noticed my days were overall less stressful. I had more energy at the end of the day to invest in other things I was interested in. Being able to spend quality time with family, paint, read, and cook were mentally restorative, and thus helped me reduce stress even more. It was a cycle- a positive one.
Try recording your mental MET every day for a week, and see what you notice. I think it will reveal some insights into how you are managing your days and hopefully you can more effectively “budget” your mental exertion to reduce your stress.
