Energy Management vs. Time Management

You’ve likely heard the old adage, “Life is a marathon, not a sprint.” If you’re trying to manage your time effectively without paying attention to your energy management, you may end up with sprints rather than finishing the marathon of life.

Experts are now saying that productivity and success have more to do with how you manage your energy than it does with time management. As business entrepreneurs, we often try to do everything that gives us more time.

Eating healthy, staying fit, spending time with our children and connecting with others all take time and we do have to schedule some of our pursuits. Whether we have the energy for those pursuits is a problem that’s often overlooked.

Trying to adhere to certain times to manage everything can leave us all exhausted so that we’re not even able to relax and enjoy ourselves when we’ve “scheduled the time” for it.

The alternative to managing your time is to manage your energy effectively. It works by taking time for recovering from those lengthy sprints you take so you can finish the marathon with ease rather than anguish.

Energy Management Made Easy

Here are some tips for managing your energy effectively:

List how you like to rejuvenate yourself. Make a list of what makes you feel refreshed, more creative and lifts your mood. Writing them down will help to remind you about the benefits of these uplifting activities. For example, watching a great series or show you’re following on television, sipping a cup of tea and listening to music can be very rejuvenating to your energy levels.
Double the time you usually take for breaks. Don’t stick to a time table when it comes to reviving your energy level. Take an hour rather than half an hour and have fun with whatever you’re doing.
Reward yourself for every goal reached. Do you have lots of projects and it seems you’ll never finish them to be able to relax and enjoy yourself. Break those projects down into parts and reward yourself after you complete each one – rather than waiting until the entire project is finished.
Make frequent recovery stops. While you’re on that mile-long sprint, you may feel the need to stop and renew your spirits and your energy. Do it! You’ll feel so much more like completing the marathon and you’ll be happier at the finish line.

Managing your energy is a much more effective way to get through life rather than putting time limits and making schedules for everything. Your inner energy thermostat doesn’t pay any attention to the time table you’ve created. Instead, make your energy the most important factor in the long marathon you’re up against.