by Pam Solberg-Tapper

Research shows a strong case that managing your energy can be more effective than managing your time. With high energy, you bring your best performance to the task at hand, whether it’s full focus on a complex project, contributing your ideas in meetings, building relationships or being in the creative flow. According to Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr in The Power of Full Engagement, to be a consistently high performer, you have to manage your energy, not your time.

Here are 5 way to increase your energy capacity.

  1. Take advantage of your natural energy patterns. When are you most alert during the day? In the morning, afternoon or evening? Work on the more complex and challenging tasks when your energy is high. Work on easier things during periods of low energy.
  2. Connect to what you are passionate about and brings fulfillment. Even small things like playing with the kids, exercising, reading, or gardening will refuel your energy. When you are overwhelmed or time crunched, you may be tempted to skip things that bring joy, but this is when you need their renewing affects the most.
  3. Create boundaries to protect your energy. Identify things that are energy draining and act upon them. Fix relationships, clean up poor health habits, and say no to things that zap your energy.
  4. Research advises taking a brain renewal break every 90-120 minutes. But even breaks at 60 minutes are recommended if you receive signals such as restlessness, hunger and difficulty concentrating. The key is to disengage from your current task and do something else for a short period of time. Revive energy with walking, stretching, listening to music, eating something nutritious, drinking water, taking a power nap, or a moment to reflect.
  5. Proactively decide who and what deserves your best energy. Assess your energy level by conducting an energy audit using these questions: How much energy do I have right now? Is my energy focused or scattered? How much energy does this situation require? If you are feeling like you are not bringing your “A-game” to an important situation, quickly get recharged with some deep breathing, movement or mental focus to bring your best self forward.

Being deliberate about how you manage your energy will pay out dividends in your performance as well as your quality of life.

“Energy, not time, is our most precious resource”  Loehr and Schwartz