Energy Management
Energy Management
Getting the best mileage out of yourself...
Energy management is key to boosting your productivity. Productivity and self-improvement books focus on time management and goal setting. Goals, priorities, and time management are important to getting things done. However, having prioritized goals tracked in your calendar gets you nowhere unless you have the energy and will to do the work.
I love Aikido. The challenge never gets old… but I did. Just a few months ago, I retired from my Aikido practice. I’d been telling myself that I could still do anything the “kids” could do, it just took me longer to recover. So, I limited myself to one kid’s (8 to 12) class and one light practice adult class per week.
At 72, a torn tendon forced me to face the fact that even though I still have lots to give, my body limits me. I don’t have the stamina or recovery capacity.
I’ve also learned to pay attention to what my body is telling me and stop writing checks my body can’t cash.
Energy at work
As my career advanced, I gained the freedom to have my work judged by the projects I delivered and not by how “busy” I was or how many hours I put in at the office. Once results mattered more than appearances, I was free to succeed or fail based on my own efforts. That let me manage my personal energy budget and focus my efforts to be effective.
Here are some of the things I learned that I’d like to share:
Make sure that you’re digging in the right hole before you try to get more efficient. Working hard on the wrong things is worse than doing nothing at all.
Most people’s energy is highest at the start of the day. Pick the most important thing you can be doing right now, the one that will make your life easier when it’s done and is probably the hardest and most unpleasant. Do it first with a serious focus. Rinse and repeat every day.
Sprint or jog? If you determine that your current task is something that can be dealt with in one or two concentrated sessions, go into sprint mode. This is fine for a one-off or for dealing with an emergency. But if you have too much to deal with in a short sprint, you need to slow down and settle in for some LSD - Long, Slow Distance.
Think of it this way, just one page a day would produce a 365-page book in a year. One brick a day will build a substantial wall. Make time into your friend and match the work to your energy level throughout the day. When new things come in prioritize them and get them onto your schedule while keeping your own energy budget in mind.
The Legs of the Energy Management Triad:
1. Prioritized Goal (aligned with your purpose). Make certain you’re doing the work that will be most effective rather than the most efficient. Dig in the right place and only then worry about being efficient.
2. Time management. Your time is your most important non-renewable resource. Make it count for more. Do the most important and impactful work first.
3. Energy management. Know what works best for you. I’m a night person who starts slowly but I can sprint if needed. By making it a practice to do the primary task first, I have the energy and the will. Handling the routine stuff later in the day lets me jog or even walk so I can cover a lot more ground.
Resources:
Allen, David. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Penguin Books, 2001
Keller, Gary, and Jay Papasan. The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. Bard Press, 20132
That’s my perspective…