Why You Should Manage Your Energy, Not Your Hours.

How would you rate your energy levels out of 10? One means your battery is red and depleted, and ten means you are revved up and ready to go.

If you're anything below a seven, you should press pause and ask yourself why considering it's not even the end of January.

Instead of figuring out how to get more done in a day, you should consider increasing your energy because time management is energy management.

When my clients complain about their stress levels and exhaustion, I first ask them about their energy management because energy is not just about the physical side but mental alertness and positive emotion.

Your level of productivity is directly proportional to the amount and type of energy you bring to it. Here are some ways to use time to save energy:

Conduct an energy audit.

Time management and energy management go hand in hand. You can plan a perfect day, but have you considered if they are suitable activities? In the words of Stephen R. Covey:

"If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster."

Schedule some time to journal so you can pause, reflect and course correct. You need to know your energy sources and drainers to make good decisions on how to spend your time effectively. Here are some questions to ponder from coach and author Rich Litvin:

· What drains you?

· What energises you?

· What people, places and habits fill you with energy?

· What people, places and habits drain you of energy?

· What is the thing that when you are doing it, you totally forget about time? Are you scheduling this into your calendar regularly or at all?

· When was the time in your life that you felt most alive? What were you doing? Can you bring it back?

· What are you tolerating?

· What times of the day are you energised or drained of energy?

· When in the month or year are you energised or drained of energy?

· What do you take on that you should leave to others?

When you see a clear pattern, start adding more things that fill your tank and eliminate the ones that cause energy leaks.

Discipline is freedom.

Planning your time is the key to managing your energy. You can't wake up and intend to go for a walk that day because the day runs away with you, and you inevitably fall to the bottom of your to-do list.

Clarity creates action because when you know you are meeting your friend from 7 am to 8 am in the park, you are likelier to show up and succeed.

The real energy drainer is when you break the agreement with yourself. Never mind the impact physically, but the emotional drain is more severe because breaking the promise dents your self-esteem while when you keep the promise, you create confidence capital.

When your self-care is scheduled, you free up mental bandwidth about when to fit it in. When you show up and keep your promise to yourself, you won't believe how your physical, mental and emotional energy soars.

Let's take this a step back. If you can't wake up early to make your run, you probably have an energy problem, not a discipline one. Start doing what you know you should, like getting to sleep earlier so you can wake up earlier. Typical habits like eating better, sleeping earlier, drinking more water and exercising are keystone habits. A keystone habit causes a positive domino effect across other areas of your life.

"Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change." – Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit.

Knowing the power of a keystone habit means you only need to start with one new energy habit. Trying to do too much too soon may leave you feeling defeated and frustrated and reinforce your inner critic's story.

Think small.

A perceived lack of time affects your energy because this belief creates a contraction and a sense of tightening.

I call this a time scarcity mindset. If you feel you aren't managing your schedule as it is and then think about adding more to it, like exercise, you default to the excuse that you don't have time.

Consider that you may be thinking too big which prevents you from making progress. If you have decided to introduce exercise as your keystone habit, don't schedule an hour because it will be too overwhelming mentally and physically if you're not used to it.

Your habit needs to feel like a reward and a gift, not a punishment. Schedule fifteen to thirty minutes and not even daily. Start with two or three times a week at first to show yourself that having this space available for yourself will generate energy.

Energy is generated not only through physical habits but mental ones like planning. When you plan your week before you are in it, you remove the spiral of anxious thoughts about how you will get everything done.

Spending even fifteen minutes planning will free up mental and emotional energy. If you're planning your day based on your inbox, you will be in an energy deficit by lunchtime.

Final thoughts.

Time and energy go hand in hand.

You can have time, but you will only maximise it with energy. You can have energy, but without planning and clarity, it morphs into busyness and procrastination.

Ultimately, energy management comes down to choice management.

The choice to make time to plan and the choice to show up and keep the promises you make to yourself.

Consider what you could achieve if you showed up as your most energised self.

All it takes is fifteen minutes a day.