Douglas: Welcome to the Unleash Your Potential Blog, what question can I answer for you today?
TransformTrail: How can I better manage my time and energy?
Douglas: How many times have you gotten to the end of a day and wondered, what did I do today? I can recall moments in the recent past where my wife will ask me what I did and I will struggle to recall what projects I worked on all day. Sometimes, it is a struggle because of everything I worked on and sometimes it is a struggle because I can’t think of a single thing I worked on.
Managing time and energy starts with knowing what your priorities are. As a general rule, you spend time and energy on the things that you prioritize. In the absence of clear priorities, you float from thing to thing with no direct plan.
Think of it this way, if you put a sailboat out in the water with no anchor and just let it drift with the tide, there is no telling where it will end up. The energy from the wind and waves will act upon the boat, but not with any accuracy. Is the energy there, sure it is. The wind still blows and the seas still churn, but without that coordination, you don’t necessarily see any real progress.
Throughout your day you are expending energy, the key is where you are spending that energy. This is where plans and priorities come into play. I wake up every morning to write this blog response. Some mornings, when I am keenly focused on that task, I can write the response in 20 minutes, sometimes less. On other mornings, however, I am much more distracted. I spend the same energy scrolling on Facebook or staring off into space.
The best way to manage your time and energy is to align your priorities. What matters to you? Then look at your day, where are the moments when you are spending your precious time and energy on the projects that matter? Then look at the time/energy wasters. What are the moments in your day when you are letting life direct you instead of the other way around? Either by choice or lack of choice, you are determining how your time and energy are spent. When you don’t align your priorities, you are letting the wind and waves choose your direction for you. When you move those priorities in line and choose how you spend your time and energy, you are steering the boat and moving the sails to capture all the wind to propel you forward.
Chances are that you are feeling the pinch of poor time/energy management because there are significant points when you feel listless or directionless. I argue that those feelings are coming from a lack of alignment and not from a lack of time/energy. We all have the same 24 hours each day to accomplish things (and far less if you consider the importance of good sleep!). If you are feeling a lack of energy, start by consulting a medical professional to make sure there isn’t something physically wrong that is sapping your energy, then get to the self-work of figuring out what is sapping your mental/emotional energy.
You are ultimately in control of how you spend your time and energy. Until you figure out where you are spending it now, you cannot work to create a plan for more effective management in the future. Start now, and get things back in alignment, I know you can do it!
I hope my answer sheds some light on your question. If you want to dig into this concept further, I encourage you to reach out and set up a conversation. In the meantime, check back tomorrow for the next question in the Unleash Your Potential Series!
Be Well!
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