Learning how to manage your energy goes along with the post I wrote a few days ago explaining the importance of knowing yourself and what works for you. Another part of that strategy is also knowing and managing your energy cycle, levels and preferences. Then the next step is figuring out how to use that knowledge to your advantage to help you work smarter, be more effective and have more free time.

Personal energy considerations:

• Are you a morning person or a night owl?
• Do you get a lunch time or mid-afternoon energy slump?
• What is your optimal length of focus or work period? For some people it’s 30 minutes spurts with short breaks in between, for others it’s 60 or 90 minutes and for a rare few it’s 3 or 4 hours.
• How often do you need to eat to maintain your concentration and energy? For health purposes you should eat every 3-4 hours, but perhaps a snack every 2 works better for you.
• Does the type of food you eat matter? Perhaps pasta isn’t a good lunch if it makes you want to take a nap!

You may not know the answers to these questions and you are not alone. The best method to use to get a better “map” if you will of your energy cycle is to track your workday activities with energy notes for a week. You should already have some type of calendar that you use for work and/or home. Simply make brief notes as you go through your week about the type of task you are doing and how you are feeling each hour. When you look back at the end of the week, you will see a pattern that you can use to help you schedule tasks, meetings, breaks and other activities during the times that are more appropriate for you.

For example, I have discovered that I am a morning person and that my brain gets fuzzy late at night. However, when I first wake up it takes me a while to calm my mind and focus; it’s usually like a whirling vortex of ideas and task. This is not a good time for me to write a blog post or do project work. It is a great time for me to scan social media, read RSS feeds, answer quick emails (things that only need a few minutes focus) or alternatively to exercise which helps to calm my mind. My energy and focus “curve” slowly climbs throughout the morning and peaks late morning. So 10AM-12PM is great project/writing time. This is why I frequently get caught up in a project and do not want to stop to eat lunch. I will keep working until 1 or 2 some days and then I am starving. So, the lesson for me here is not only when to schedule high focus activities, but also to make sure I take a mid-morning break and have a good snack in case lunch is later. I am almost useless many days late afternoon, so I best get everything done before 3PM or else it has to wait until mid-evening. I do get another spurt of energy between 6-8PM, which I like to use for those household chores, being active with the kids or occasionally writing or other business tasks that I may not have time for during the traditional work day (i.e. finances, marketing, technology issues.) The other things I discovered are that I work better in 90 minute blocks of time (30 minutes is too disruptive for me) and that I need to eat every 2 – 3 hours.

To read more on the other Golden Rules of Productivity, click here.