How Energy Management Affects Your Time Efficiency
Time and energy are both things we really cannot get more of at any given point. They can be restarted (next day etc.), but we can only manage the current stores of them. How we use our energy may be the best way to determine and control how effectively we utilize the time we do have.Doing something that requires a lot of energy, when we do not have it will always take more time - it is ‘time’ inefficient. Doing something where one’s energy levels match what they are doing is most productive. Doing tasks that do not require a lot of energy when we have an abundance is a waste of that precious resource. It would be an inefficient use of time. We are unlikely to make up enough ground on those tasks to outweigh doing more important tasks that require an abundance of energy. For example, if email is a low energy activity, completing that first thing in the morning with your fresh reserve of energy will not allow you to get that plus another critical item completed. The more plausible situation is that you will end up doing more email and no additional projects. When you are finally caught up, you will no longer have the energy to get started on another more meaningful activity.
Match energy levels with activity urgency
Matching your energy patterns with your working activities is the subject of Daniel Pink’s most recent book, ‘When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing’. In this book, Pink discusses knowing whether you are a ‘night’ person or a ‘morning’ person. Then match your activities to what works best for your body’s timing. There is scientific evidence that points to understanding how this really works and not just myth. Avoid trying to force yourself into being a morning person if you are physiologically wired to be a night owl.Establishing your energy levels will allow you to connect that knowledge to the tasks you have on your plate. Build your daily plan around the combination of those two things. For activities you know will require more energy, plan to complete those when you are at your peak energy levels. There are steps you can take to maximize your energy level periods. In the article, How Successful Leaders Manage Their Energy Not Their Time, author and leadership expert Lolly Daskal shares some ideas on how you can maximize your energy levels.
Create a plan, not a hack
Too often today we read articles that give you life hacks to work through challenging situations. The problem with trying to ‘hack’ your system is that it is not sustainable. Short-term band-aids are rarely the solutions to most people’s biggest challenges. Understanding how to manage your time and energy for your specific needs is far too important to try to ‘hack.’ During the Focused #77 podcast, the hosts work through this subject of managing your energy levels to your activities. These are practical ideas that can become life-long habits and not a short-term fix for the moments.Time management and energy management are directly connected. Understanding how to work with both in harmony with the other will lead to more effective and efficient work habits. It will allow you to get your best work completed when you need it most. By matching your energy levels to the activity, you can feel more productive. Don’t try to force everything to be the same as someone else, follow your own patterns, and then schedule accordingly as best you can. Rarely do these types of things work exactly as we’d like, but if we can find even minor improvements, we are likely to see tremendous upside in all that we do.How will you work on understanding your energy levels throughout the day so you can match your activities accordingly?Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills all at no cost. JOIN NOW!No spam ever - just leadership goodness.Photo by Federico Beccari on Unsplash