Complete Your Most Important Work by Managing Your Energy

Do you ever have those days where you still have quite a few things left on your to do list and have a few hours left in the day but you feel like you’ve hit a wall? On the flip side, have you ever had a day where within only 2-3 hours it feels like you’ve handled your entire priority list for the week?

If you’ve ever wondered why certain times of day can feel so different than others, then we need to talk about energy.

I love time. I believe it’s the most valuable resource you’ll ever have. And while I truly believe managing your time is incredibly important, I actually think managing your energy is just as important.

In his book, At Your Best, Carey Nieuwhof shares that “As I studied top performers, I realized they moved way past time management and were highly focused on managing not just their time but their energy. Usually they had one thing in common: they did what they were best at when they were at their best.”

So how do you do what you’re best at when you’re at your best?

Step 1: Recognize The Energy Zones

Your Green Zone is when you’re sharpest, you have a high amount of energy, and you have a clear mind. You are able to focus, think, and create. Your Yellow Zone is the middle ground. You aren’t as sharp, as focused, or have as much energy as the Green Zone but more than the Yellow Zone. The Red Zone is when you feel like you have hit a wall. You’re spent, having a hard time concentrating, and have overall very low energy.

Step 2: Determine Your Daily Zones

Now that you know your zones, you can think about your own day and apply it. When do you feel sharp, focused, full of energy, and ready to dream and imagine? That’s your Green Zone. It’s usually 3-5 hours throughout the day in one chunk that you can focus and be creative.

Now think about the 1-2 hours where you may want a nap, to just relax, or need a hit of caffeine. You have a hard time focusing on anything and meaningful work during this time of day may feel like a really heavy lift. That’s your Red Zone.

And then pf course we have your Yellow Zone. That’s the in between. You can still do meaningful work and make decisions. You are still alert enough and have enough energy do hold meetings and provide quality work.

Think about your own day. Where do these fall for you?

For me, my green zone is about 7-11 AM give or take a half hour on either end. My red zone is around 2:30 – 4:30 PM. And then my yellow zone is everything else.

Step 3: Adjust Your Work to Your Zones

Let me start off by saying I know you can’t perfectly fit everything to match your zones. I can’t either. But I can make small tweaks to take advantage of the zones I’m in throughout the day. For me, from 8 – 10 AM I really try to avoid holding meetings. I do have some that happen during these times but I try to be very selective about my green zone and make sure I have about 2 hours without meetings so I can focus on the work that requires strategic planning, brainstorming, inventing, creating, and focusing.

From about 10 am to around 2 or 3 each day, I have meetings and take lunch during this time. This is my yellow zone and works great for meetings. When I’m not in conversation with others during this time, I’m focusing on the tasks that still need me to be sharp whether that be planning, creating content, or analyzing information. These I can still do well during my yellow zone.

Then comes my red zone and that’s toward the end of the day for me. I save things for this zone when I can that are more repetitive or require less energy. This can be watching a video or a recorded training, reviewing content or reports or projects that are more straightforward. Sometimes it’s compiling information, but not analyzing the information. Nieuwhof shares, “The biggest Red Zone mistake you can make is to leave important decisions or critical tasks for this zone.” I try to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Think about some minor shifts you could make to meet your work in your zones of energy. It could be an adjustment of one or two meetings where you’re the scheduler as you look at your plans for next year. It could look like making a list at the end of each day of what you plan to do during the next day’s green zone. You don’t have to overhaul your entire calendar. Just choose 1-3 things you can adjust and try to focus on making sure your green zone is as meeting free as possible.

Step 4: Continue to Tweak

I still continue to adjust things based on my zones and energy. I’m still learning what types of work are best for me during what times. After two years of intentionally managing my energy, I’ve tried to think of my weeks with a similar approach.

Monday tends to be more of a “green zone” for me as well as Friday mornings. Tuesday through Thursday are more yellow, especially as I get later in the week. And Friday afternoons are my red zone. I try to not hold as many meetings on Mondays and Friday mornings so I can do the most important work. And I save more of the simple tasks not just for end of the day throughout the week, but also for Friday afternoons.

I’ve also found that I can alter my zones a bit by considering when I work out. When I go for a walk or do some type of movement between 12 PM – 2 PM, my body gets more yellow and sometimes green from the day right after than it normally would.

Find ways to continue reflecting on your zones and continue tweaking them as needed. Maybe you alter the time you go to bed, the types of meetings you hold on what days, or even your work schedule. See what works best for you.