GUEST POST: The Genius of ‘Low Power Mode’

Introducing my better half and co-habitator in life, Mark Conner, who wrote this post, which I love. 

Whoever thought of ‘Low Power Mode’ is a genius. When this option pops up on my phone, I always hit ‘Continue’, never ‘Cancel’. It’s super helpful.

Phone battery life is a precious resource. If you don’t manage it carefully, you might find yourself unable to make calls or take photos … just when you really need to. And once your phone battery has died, your phone is useless … until you can find a charging point.

To extend your phone’s battery capacity, many phones have a special battery-saving mode that helps your smartphone last a little longer. It’s often referred to as ‘Low Power Mode’ and it reduces the amount of power that your phone uses when the battery gets low. When Low Power Mode is ON, your phone will last longer before you need to charge it, but some features might take longer to update or complete. Low Power Mode reduces screen brightness (a big battery drain!) and shortens the time your phone waits before going to sleep. It also does less regular checks and refreshes of background tasks like checking for incoming emails or updated news stories, for example.

I was in a training event this last week via ZOOM and one of the participants mentioned ‘Low Power Mode’ as a good metaphor for this time of pandemic lockdown. How helpful is that. I knew I had to give this concept some more thought and reflection.

These are stressful times and it’s easy to find ourselves running on empty or depleted in our energy. Our capacity has taken a hit and we find ourselves unable to keep going at the pace we have become accustomed to or produce the outcomes we have always expected of ourselves.

Choosing to only focus on the most important aspects of our lives and putting everything else on hold until our energy reserves have been built up again sure makes a lot of sense. After all, conserving our energy a little bit now is a much better short-term strategy than having to shut down completely.

Here are a few questions to reflect on about entering ‘Low Power Mode’:

  1. Who are the important people in my world who need to know that I am low on energy at the moment? This takes courage but it helps people adjust their expectations and provide support to you.
  2. How could I choose more realistic expectations of myself?
  3. Do I need to affirm the belief that it’s ‘okay’ to be in Low Power Mode? After all, it is NOT a sign of weakness, failure, or inadequacy.
  4. Are there ways I can slow down the pace of my day, maybe by scheduling fewer appointments and allowing adequate gaps of time between engagements?
  5. Could I postpone any tasks or projects that are not critical right now?
  6. Could I re-negotiate any agreements or commitments that would reduce any pressure I currently feel?
  7. What are the few things that are vital for my energy use right now?
  8. Who are some ‘safe people’ I could have a meaningful conversation with about how I am feeling right now?
  9. What fun activities do I enjoy that I could do more of this week? All work and no play take their toll.

Low Power Mode is a temporary setting but it is far better than going completely ‘off the grid’ indefinitely. Use it to your advantage. Choose the genius of Low Power Mode.

Mark Conner

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