Energy vs. Effort
The Paradox of Productivity: Less Effort, More Energy
What’s up what’s up!
Rosh here with your weekly Morning Round ☀️! We’ve had a pretty big inflow of subscribers with the Morning Rounds and Practitionet over the past week, so we have a lot of new peeps joining us on our Round. Small update, your boy is on his LAST clinical rotation with OBGYN!
You read the title, energy vs effort 🔥. Same thing essentially, no? No. This might take a sec to grasp here so just hang on there. Of course in med school, us students are often busy, drained of energy, drained of sleep, and all that usual stuff. One thing I see often is that because we’re often drained, that we take on the mindset of let me dial it back. Let me just chill out for a bit, do less work, tone it down. Which, yes, it is important. In respects to work vs rest, rest 💤 is essential. Trust me. I know. But more on the mindset, is where this whole energy vs effort thing comes into play.
We think that by working less hard, and toning it down, that we inherently build more energy, by putting in less effort. When in reality, this mindset might actually be more draining 😩 then anything. How? The difference between energy and effort, is that energy is related to action, while effort is related to willpower. Putting energy into something simple means putting certain action out into the world. Putting effort into something means forcing ourselves to do something. The more effort it takes to force yourself to go down one path, the less you are able to force yourself to go down another path. Effort comes with an inherent need to overcome our natural tendencies. Now THAT is DRAINING.
What often happens with feeling like you need to do less work because you are drained, is that you end up channeling all of your willpower into focusing on that 🤔. Rather than just simply doing, or focusing on putting action to what you may actually feel more engaged with, we spend more time watching the clock, and evaluating how much we are doing. Being so intentional about doing less is what drains us of our energy. When in reality if we focused out intention on to what we desire or what we want, we actually feel more energized from it.
That right there is the major difference, intentionality. It is making a conscious decision as to what to focus on. When our intentions don’t align with our desires, is where our effort becomes draining.
Think about your hobbies. When you put energy into one of your hobbies, something you’re so devoted too, that’s when you feel fired up 🔥. You feel alive. You feel pumped up. Whether it is dancing 💃, sports 🏒, music 🎶, or even your careers, when you actually go out an expend your energy on it, and really get engaged, we often leave that action feeling even more energized. Now don’t get me wrong, doing anything for 10 hours straight will get you exhausted, but you know what I mean.
So that is the underlying thought of this whole concept. When we are intentional about doing things we are more engaged in, the willpower needed to do so is less. All of a sudden it is less draining, it takes less effort, and we feel more energized from it. THAT RIGHT THERE turns into positive reinforcement. The more you engage, the less willpower needed, less forcing yourself to do, the more energizing it is, and the greater you feel.
So if your mind is in a blender right now, your probably thinking of either swiping out of this email, or screaming what the fuck are you talking about Rosh. What I am talking about is yes, your life is busy. You are drained and tired. But instead of thinking of doing less work, why not reflect a bit on what you are actually doing on a day to day? Are the events through out your days ones that you are actually engaged in? If not, how can you make it so that you are more engaged? Are you focusing too much on all that you have to do rather than just doing?
Remember, intentionality isn't about doing more or less, it's about doing what truly matters to you. Channel your energy into the things that spark your fire 🔥, and watch how your efforts transform from draining to exhilarating. Cheers!
Roshan Uruthirakumar
3rd Year Medical Student
COO & Co-Founder, Practitionet
PS. I have seen this topic debated online before and I’ve seen the opposite take actually…I disagree :) What are your thoughts? Reach out, and let’s chat.
☕️ Weekly Coffee Count: 22 cups of coffee this past week…enough said.
📲 A Note on Practitionet
As you all know, I am working tirelessly with my team to bring Practitionet to life. As I have been working on building a community of us like-minded medical nerds, I am hoping that Practitionet will one day pose as a safe and dedicated space for individuals like us. Join our waitlist today to be part of a platform where we can come together to support each other in our journeys!
🗞 Here are some recent news that I think you may find interesting!
Gene Editing Improves Vision in Some People With Inherited Blindness
First Person to Receive a Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Transplant Dies Nearly 2 Months Later
Correct answer from last week: Laryngeal Cancer
🩺 Our Patient Assignment For This Morning’s Round
A 50-year-old man with a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension presents to the clinic for a routine follow-up appointment. He reports feeling generally well but mentions occasional episodes of blurry vision, especially after meals. He denies any eye pain, redness, or flashes of light. On examination, his visual acuity is slightly decreased bilaterally.
I will drop the correct answer at next weeks round!