Why Energy Management is the new Time Management

Time management is fast becoming an outdated concept. In this age of emails, social media, countless interruptions and a never-ending mountain of work, you can get quite dizzy micromanaging every second of the day.

Do you find yourself writing to-do lists that always remain to-be-done? It could be time to think about daily energy management instead.

Why you should manage energy instead of time

In general, we wake up refreshed. We spend energy throughout the day and go to bed tired. If this is not the way your energy cycles, you could be an insomniac, or have adrenal fatigue. No matter what, the strategies of monitoring, managing and maintaining energy can be applied to anyone, in any situation.

Most people think time management is about micromanaging every minute of the day to be as productive as possible. Focusing instead on energy management can allow us to be more productive by looking at when our energies cycle throughout the day. For example, observe what gives you energy and what drains it. conduct an energy audit and readjust your daily schedule to work with your energy cycles.

The first step is to observe

What gets you energised and excited? What drains you? Energy vampires need to be identified and staked through the heart — metaphorically of course. Do people, tasks or situations drain, or energise you? What experiences do you get a buzz out of and which ones make you groan?

Start paying attention to your energy levels as they fluctuate throughout your day.

Conduct an energy audit

An energy audit allows you to identify how you are feeling on an hourly basis, to gauge when and where you are most productive and most able to tackle difficult tasks. It can be quite revolutionary to work out that some tasks need focused energy, and others are low energy tasks, yet we tend to tackle them in the wrong order.

List the types of tasks you are regularly required to do and when you prefer to do them.

Adjust your daily schedule

Most people have higher energy levels in the morning, but until we are aware of how precious energy is, we don’t realise it needs to careful management. As a result, we drain valuable morning energy by checking emails as soon as we get to work, scheduling meetings at 10.30am, putting off difficult tasks until the end of day and allowing social media to distract us.

This is known as a reactive work flow and it whittles away the best energy of the day. It is unproductive and quite frankly, exhausting.

Schedule difficult tasks at times of the day when you know your energy levels are highest. Leave reactionary tasks, such as checking emails for when your energy is at its lowest.

Types of Energy

Along with observing when your energy levels cycle, it is also worth examining the different types of energy. We can divide our energy types into four groups: physical, mental, emotional and social. They are all related, so it might take a while to observe the different types.

Physical

Ultimately, when all other types of energy are drained, we wind up feeling physically exhausted. Maintaining a level of physical fitness, eating good food, and getting plenty of restful sleep will all contribute to sustained levels of physical energy.

Good physical energy levels will in turn benefit the other types of energy, so a daily walk or workout is just what you need.

Mental

Having the ability to focus for long periods of time requires sustained levels of mental energy. Watching a film and processing complex mathematical equations require different amounts of mental energy.

Alternating mindful and mindless tasks is a great idea throughout the day. It frees up your mental energy and periodically gives it a rest.

Emotional

Stress is something that affects more people now than ever. The ability to handle sustained levels of stress comes down to levels of emotional energy. Some supreme physical athletes suffer emotional breakdowns when events get too stressful.

Daily meditation helps build emotional energy levels.

Social

Some people derive energy from interactions with other people, whilst others can be drained by it. We often describe ourselves as introvert or extrovert. Extroverts thrive on social energy and stimulation. Balanced interaction and introspection allow for us to maintain social energy levels.

If your partner comes home tired from dealing with the general public all day, sometimes an hour of silence is all they need to restore their social energy levels.

How I replaced time management with energy management

For many years, I would write endless to-do lists and then divide the tasks up based on how long I thought each task would take. What I didn’t take into account was the energy required to do some tasks meant that a three-hour task would get done in the morning, but not in the afternoon. This was depressing and disheartening, as to-do items were forever not done.

By observing when my energy for certain types of tasks was at its highest and scheduling the corresponding tasks, I found I was much more productive on a daily basis.

These days, I am highly aware how I am feeling throughout the day. I track my physical, mental, emotional and social energy levels on a regular basis and take a break, go for a walk, hide from people in the library as necessary. My daily goal is always to check, balance, conserve and maximise my energy levels.

What ways do you boost your energy?

This post first appeared on the Everyday Creative blog.