Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time
In this crazy, maxed out world, your energy counts. Where is yours going? Are you dolling it out to Facebook or Instagram, or saving it for what matters most—your business, your family, your pet project? How exactly can you manage your energy?
One place to start
According to high performance coach Brendon Burchard, people lose most of their energy in transitions by carrying over negative energy, staying on autopilot, or not taking a break to recharge.
We all spend about 50% of the day not consciously in control of the things we pay attention to—notably during those transition periods. Bringing more awareness to our wandering mind at those moments could save us energy.
However, don’t beat yourself up over aimless thoughts. Unfocus can stimulate cognitive calmness, jumpstart productivity, enhance innovation, inspire creativity, improve long-term memory. So think about not thinking. It’s a fantastic renewal practice.
The demands keep coming in, disruption and interruption transpire relentlessly. We stand on the precipice of overload. In the end, we have little control over what keeps coming at us, but total dominion over how I react to it. For that, we need to horde our energy, to coddle it, to grow it, and to honor it.
The world belongs to the energetic.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
How to manage your energy
Energy is something we generate. So managing our energy means creating the right conditions to allow ourselves to engender more energy when we need it. Furthermore, we are responsible for the kind of energy we create—i.e. positive or negative.
We have leverage in three areas:
Our body. Food, sleep, physical activity, and recovery all impact our energy levels.
Our mind. Mindset, emotions, stamina, core purpose and vision also influence just how dynamic we are.
Our environment. Light exposure and circadian rhythms, people who drain or pump us up, distractions that suck up our vitality, and the boundaries we set to protect our space all play into the energy equation.
I recommend taking a systematic approach to making more energy. It will lead to more engagement and satisfaction in life as a whole, and greater creativity and productivity.
The principle is simple: Do less of what drains you and more of what makes you strong. Here are four steps to follow:
Analyze your current practices
Identify specific challenges
Learn change strategies
Implement them