Time vs. Energy Management

We hear it time and time again, time management is important! From the moment we step into schools as children we are taught either indirectly or directly about time management. Personally as an adult all this has done for me is stress me out because there is this undertone of learning to not necessarily manage time but split up all aspects/responsibilities of our lives into equal parts and spend an EQUAL amount of time on them. However that in itself is impossible because we are also taught to prioritize which means that some parts of our day and life are somewhat more important than others. So instead, I have personally opted for a new approach that I hope will also be helpful to you reading this. Energy management, this kind of scheduling for our days is much more mindful, because it makes you observe your energy levels and habits. For instance, I'm a morning person, I know that. I get up at 5 am every morning to exercise, then meditate then create. I have noticed and interesting pattern with this mindful observance though, after about 12pm if I'm not interacting with another person or people my work ethic plummets, so I am sure to get my most important work tasks done in the early morning when I have the most energy and in that transition time between morning and afternoon I meditate so that in the afternoon I am stress free and more present with family, friends and clients. This way of structuring has been so helpful for me as someone who has struggled with organization their whole life. Your days aren't going to be perfect and what you value plays a big part in your decision making.

Take some time to assess when you have the most energy in your days, use those times to make your most important decisions and do the job/jobs that just need to be done immediately but with the utmost care and sharpness. Our minds do get tired of making decisions through out the day and as that fatigue grows we feel more burnt out and it shows externally as well. Whether you are self employed or you work a 9-5 you can use energy management as a way to rebalance, soothe and optimize your day in a way that best fits you! I would also like to note that not all important tasks for the day have to be fit in on one day, breaking tasks into smaller more manageable and less stressful bits is key. When we switch from time management to energy management we walk through our days with more presence, grounding and ultimately give ourselves the gift of being able to spend more time and energy on the things that truly matter the most to us.