Allow us to introduce you to the ultimate productivity hack—energy management.
Time is a limited resource, but energy isn’t—and knowing how to optimise it is the key to workplace success.
The burnout epidemic isn’t actually a time management crisis—it’s an energy crisis. The real issue isn’t about how many hours there are in a day, but how effectively those hours are used. The key to maintaining productivity lies in managing time according to energy peaks and troughs. By doing so, employees can sustain a high level of performance and complete high-quality work without feeling exhausted.
The value of developing an employee’s knowledge and skills is well understood. However, the importance of evaluating their capacity to work, or their energy levels, is often overlooked. Employers who recognise that overworking staff isn’t the key to workplace success will see greater efficiency among their teams, allowing them to reach company goals quicker and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Table of contents
- What is Energy Management
- Energy Management vs Time Management
- The Key to Managing Energy
- Energy Management Strategies
- Implementing Energy Management in Your Workday
- Overcoming Energy Drains
- How to Optimise Your Energy
- Energy Management FAQ
What Is Energy Management?
Energy management involves getting a better understanding of personal energy levels, optimising them and aligning them with specific tasks. Doing so can increase productivity and benefit your overall well-being.
Managing energy involves aligning tasks with natural highs and lows in energy and encompasses four energy types—physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
- Physical energy powers your body and brain and is fuelled by sleep, nutrition and movement.
- Emotional energy helps you stay resilient, manage stress levels and maintain a positive outlook. It impacts mood and relationships.
- Mental energy keeps your brain focused and drives decision-making and concentration.
- Spiritual energy connects you to your purpose, values and beliefs. Feeling spiritually fulfilled leads to a sense of accomplishment.
Energy Management Overcomes Time Management Limitations
Often, professionals try to manage their workload by controlling time alone, but without considering energy levels, this approach falls short. While time management ensures you have enough time allocated for tasks, energy management ensures you tackle tasks at the right time.
Many people report they are working longer hours, but rather than feeling more productive, they feel more drained of time and mental energy. This is because traditional time management techniques fail to account for energy levels, which often lead to fatigue and burnout.
When you’re busy and the to-do list feels never ending, it’s normal to feel an urge to push through this exhaustion. More often than not, this actually results in diminishing returns in the workplace. You’re likely to produce lower quality work and make yourself more burned out in the process.
So, how can you align your work schedule with your natural energy cycles? The key lies in understanding your personal energy patterns.
Understanding Energy Patterns Is the Key to Managing Your Energy
Understanding how much energy you have at different times of the day will help you schedule times for deep work and regular breaks to renew your energy.
Much of this is related to the natural rhythms the human body goes through every day.
Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that regulate when you sleep and when you’re awake. Think of them as an internal body clock that tells you when it’s time to wake up and start your day and when it’s time to sleep.
Ultradian rhythms are shorter cycles that occur throughout the day. Typically lasting 90-120 minutes, your body’s natural energy levels fluctuate between periods of higher alertness and focus (70-90 minutes) followed by periods of lower energy (20-30 minutes).
Maintaining a regular sleep schedule, maximising morning sunlight exposure and avoiding screens right before bed can help you maintain healthy circadian rhythms.
To utilise natural ultradian rhythms, schedule your hardest tasks during high-energy periods and use the lower-energy times to either take a break or complete less demanding jobs such as reading emails.
Once you understand your own energy patterns, you can implement strategies to help you make the most of your time.
Energy Management Strategies That Make the Most of Your Time
Employing energy management techniques requires self-discipline to turn them into powerful habits. When you create routines that take into account your natural energy levels and when you’re physically and mentally able to work at your best, you should notice healthier behaviours, helping you to avoid burnout and manage your workload better.
Here are some key methods to help you manage energy throughout a busy workday.
A. Prioritise High-Energy Tasks
Once you have an understanding of when your energy is at its highest and lowest, you can prioritise your daily tasks accordingly. Work with these natural rhythms to boost your productivity.
Are you a morning person? Tackle your hardest tasks early in the day. Or maybe you’re more of a night owl? Save brainstorming for the evening and let your creativity flow.
Throughout the day, use time-blocking techniques to schedule rigid sessions of 70-90 minutes during peak energy periods, working without distractions on creative tasks or problem-solving. Leave tasks like checking emails for times of lower energy in line with your ultradian rhythms.
B. Use the Power of Rest and Recovery
It may feel counterintuitive, but taking regular breaks is an essential part of managing your energy. Constantly working isn’t sustainable. Active breaks of 2-15 minutes between 90-minute work cycles help recharge focus. They might involve leaving your desk to talk to a colleague about something not related to work, walking outside, making a nutritious snack or journaling to reflect on your achievements.
Prioritising a good night’s sleep is also an important energy management technique. Sleep allows the body to repair cells, restore energy and regulate hormones that influence motivation and focus. By setting a regular bedtime and sticking to it, you will wake up with extra motivation to achieve your goals for the day.
C. Nutrition and Movement Help Sustain Energy
It’s no secret that a healthy diet and regular exercise can boost cognitive performance. Therefore, setting aside time for these healthy habits can help you maintain high energy levels and maximise productivity.
Identify the rituals that will help you build and renew physical energy and add them to your schedule. Even taking 10 minutes to fuel your body with a healthy snack or take a short walk can help you reenergise.
D. Mindfulness and Stress Management Can Improve Your Focus
Most people perform at their best when they are feeling positive. However, without adequate time to rest and recover, we’re not able to sustain this positive energy over long periods.
Managing stress and practicing mindful thinking are two ways to manage fatigue and burnout. Exercise and time in nature can help, as can rituals like deep abdominal breathing. Be proactive and make a set time for these rituals throughout the day.
Implementing Energy Management in Your Workday
Start by conducting an energy management audit to help you recognise the behaviours or activities that energise and drain you.
A simple way to do this is by tracking your energy levels throughout the day to see if you notice any patterns. Keep a journal or use a notes app to record when you experience energy highs and lows.
Ask yourself questions such as:
- When do I feel most alert and focused?
- When do I experience dips in energy?
- How do factors like sleep, nutrition, and stress impact my productivity?
For example, make notes like, “10am, feeling energised after coffee; 3pm, feeling tired and depleted”. Another tracking method is to write down every task you do in a single day and give each one a plus, minus or neutral sign to understand your habits.
You can use this information to produce a schedule that aligns with your natural energy fluctuations, rather than fighting against them—your personalised energy management plan.
Overcoming Energy Drains
Energy drains encompass anything that disrupts focus or concentration. Maybe you scheduled a block of writing time during your first time block of the day and are spending it scrolling online instead. Or you skip your lunch break to hit a deadline, missing out on important nutrients that fuel your body.
To combat energy drains, start by noting situations, tasks or habits that leave you feeling exhausted or unmotivated. Common energy drains include:
- Multitasking: Splitting focus between too many tasks.
- Digital distractions: Constant social media notifications that break concentration.
- Skipping breaks: Working through lunch and not taking a break from the screen.
Once you’ve identified your energy drains, you can take deliberate steps to combat them. This could involve leaving your phone in another room, adding movement breaks into your calendar or making your lunch the night before.
Set Boundaries to Protect Your Energy
Boundaries aren’t just crucial for relationship management, setting rules with yourself can help you balance your energy levels, be more productive and avoid burnout.
Block out distractions such as your phone during deep work times, avoid unnecessary meetings and establish a clear start and end time to your workday to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Identifying your energy drains is crucial for maintaining these boundaries.
Focus Your Efforts on Energy and Be Rewarded
Energy management is more than just a strategy—it’s a mindset shift that allows you to work smarter, not harder. Longer hours aren’t the answer to achieving your workplace goals. By aligning tasks with natural energy rhythms and by understanding the four main energy types, you can sustain focus, improve efficiency and protect long-term well-being.
To learn more energy management techniques that will help you elevate your productivity, contact our team today. We’re your trusted leaders in workplace solutions and offer evidence-based learning to enhance your energy levels and show you how to conduct an energy management audit for long-lasting benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is energy management for productivity?
Energy management means being aware of when you have the most energy and prioritising important tasks for those times to boost productivity. It also involves taking steps to optimise your energy levels, such as staying hydrated, taking breaks and getting enough sleep.
What is the main purpose of an energy management system?
An energy management system is about building healthy rituals to boost energy, it’s also about understanding your personal energy patterns and using this information to guide workflows and enhance productivity.
How is energy management different to time management?
While time management is about fitting tasks into a schedule, energy management involves managing physical, emotional and mental energy for optimum performance.