Two things we just don’t have enough of…time and energy. But what if we could better manage what little time and energy we already have?
Friends, clients and colleagues often come to me for time and energy management advice, so I’m sharing my top tips to optimizing both.
Follow these steps to create control amidst the chaos of our crazy schedules.
First and Foremost: Define YOUR Priorities
We quickly lose sight of what’s important to us when we’re trying to take care of what’s important to everyone else. Re/defining your priorities is the most important step to owning your time and energy. When your priorities are clear, the way you spend your time naturally aligns to what’s most important to you.
Spend an hour or so listing out what’s most important in your day. Sleep, exercise, family time, career, etc. Get a solid list going, then rank your priorities. Do this exercise for both your personal and work life.
Once these are set, commit to spending your time and energy aligned to YOUR priorities…not everyone else’s. You’ll be amazed by how much more time, and energy, you’ll start to have.
Secondly: Plan Those Priorities
Leveraging your calendar is the best tool to embrace optimal time and energy management. Whether its electronic or paper, make a plan for what’s most important to you.
Need 30 minutes to yourself every morning for sanity? Put it on your calendar.
Important work project that needs your focused attention? Put it on your calendar.
Is date night a priority but never seems to happen? You get the point.
Use your calendar to align your personal and work time to your priorities.
Feel tedious or overwhelming? That’s normal at first, so stick with it! When you have your priorities scheduled, its easy to commit to them AND see how overcommitted you might be.
Don’t Forget To: Work That Plan
You’ve done the hard work in steps 1 and 2, but what good is a plan if you don’t stick to it?
Write a statement of WHY you’re committing to time and energy management. Why is this important to you? Why do you need it right now?
Write that on a sticky note and put it on your bathroom mirror. This will be a daily reminder to keep you motivated to stick with the beautiful plan you’ve put together and begin to regain time in your day and energy in your life.
Last But Not Least: Find Your Tool
Everyone has a different planning style, so try some of these cool tools to start planning your week.
- Shared Google Calendar (plan and share with your family)
- Search Etsy for monthly planners
- Asana or ClickUp (for my fellow tech nerds)
- Dry-Erase calendar and/or To-Do List
- Sticky-Note board (for visual prioritization)
- Search ‘Planning App’ in your app store (tons of options)
- Hire a coach who can help organize your priorities and schedule (shameless plug, y’all)
BONUS! Holistic Health Hacks
Try these holistic time management techniques and start to see an increase in your energy and brain space throughout the day!
Chunking/Batching Organize your tasks into similar chunks and do that work at the same time. Having back-to-back similar tasks reduces brain ping-ponging and will help with energy reserves (all while being more productive!)
Energy Zoning Figure out what time of day you’re at your best. Some are best 6am-10am. Others are most creative from 8pm-10pm. Know your zones and schedule most difficult tasks during your best ‘energy zone’. Check out “At Your Best” by Carey Neiuwhof to learn more!
Build a Buffer We have a tendency to over-do. If your calendar is stacked, build daily ‘buffer’ times between meetings or to-do’s to give yourself room to breathe. Its hard at first but can be an energy game changer!
Celebrate! At the end of the day or week, instead of focusing on what didn’t get done, take time to celebrate everything you rocked. Keep a list of things you tackled, look at the beauty of that list, then celebrate yourself and your amazing efforts!
“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” – Charles Buxton
