Energy Levels Check-In Template

The Energy Levels Check-In is a quick, visual team activity that uses a battery metaphor to gauge how team members are feeling at the start of a meeting. This easy-to-facilitate ice breaker provides immediate insight into your team's mental and emotional state, helping you adjust your meeting approach for maximum productivity and engagement.

What Is the Energy Levels Check-In?

The Energy Levels Check-In is a battery-themed check-in activity that creates a safe space for team members to share their current energy state. Using a visual battery indicator with five levels, participants place tokens along the battery to represent their energy level, from "Completely flat" to "Feeling great!" This simple metaphor makes it easy for everyone to quickly communicate their capacity for engagement without lengthy explanations.

The battery metaphor works perfectly for remote teams because it:

  • Provides a universally understood visual scale
  • Allows for quick, non-verbal communication
  • Creates a non-judgmental way to share personal state
  • Offers a snapshot of the team's collective energy

Benefits & When to Use

This template is especially valuable:

  • At the start of sprint meetings, retrospectives, or planning sessions
  • When team members are working across time zones with different energy patterns
  • During high-pressure project phases when burnout risk is elevated
  • After intense work periods to check how the team is recovering
  • When you notice potential disengagement or fatigue affecting productivity

Benefits include:

  • Quick identification of team members who may need additional support
  • Ability to adjust meeting pace and structure based on collective energy
  • Creates psychological safety by normalizing energy fluctuations
  • Provides a baseline that can be tracked over time to identify patterns
  • Enables facilitators to pair high-energy and low-energy team members for balanced collaboration

How to Run an Energy Levels Check-In Session

Time required: 5-10 minutes

  1. Introduce the activity (1 minute)

    • Share the battery visualization and explain the five energy levels
    • Clarify that there are no "wrong" energy levels—just honest ones

  2. Individual reflection (1 minute)

    • Ask each team member to quietly reflect on their current energy state
    • Remind them to consider both physical and mental energy

  3. Place tokens on the battery (2-3 minutes)

    • Have each team member add a token to the battery level that represents their energy
    • Encourage optional use of sticky notes to provide context if desired
    • Possible levels include:
      • "Feeling great!" (Full battery)
      • "Feeling good" (Three-quarter battery)
      • "Feeling OK" (Half battery)
      • "Running out of energy" (Low battery)
      • "Completely flat" (Empty battery)

  4. Brief sharing round (2-4 minutes)

    • Invite voluntary sharing of reasons behind energy levels
    • Keep this quick—one sentence per person is sufficient

  5. Adjust meeting approach (1 minute)

    • Based on the results, discuss whether to:
      • Modify the meeting agenda or pace
      • Shorten certain sections
      • Add energizing activities
      • Plan for follow-up with team members showing very low energy

Tips for a Successful Energy Levels Check-In

  • Create psychological safety: Make it clear that low energy isn't a sign of poor performance—it's valuable data
  • Lead by example: Facilitators should go first and be honest about their own energy level
  • Track patterns: Consider capturing screenshots of the results over time to identify trends
  • Follow up individually: If someone consistently shows very low energy, check in privately after the meeting
  • Pair strategically: For breakout activities, consider pairing high-energy people with those showing lower levels
  • Adapt your facilitation: With mostly low energy, use more interactive techniques; with high energy, capitalize on enthusiasm for complex tasks
  • Don't overuse: While valuable, using this check-in too frequently (more than weekly) might reduce its effectiveness

Remember that energy levels are influenced by many factors—some work-related, some personal. The goal isn't to force everyone into high-energy states, but to acknowledge reality and adapt accordingly.

Use this template