We don’t have an unlimited supply of energy and focus.
Our energy ebbs and flows throughout the day, generally decreasing from the morning’s first cup of coffee until our heads hit the pillow at night. Our motivation, creativity, and productivity aren’t the same at 4 PM as it was at 9 AM.
It’s not sustainable, and rather counter-productive, to try and be “on” 100% at all hours of the day. It’s a mistake to believe that your schedule doesn’t matter. That you can will yourself to be equally effective at any hour.
Instead, we should acknowledge our energy limitations and be more intentional about how we plan our day.
Entrepreneur and best-selling author, Gary Keller, shared his thoughts on energy management in a recent episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast.
“It’s very hard to have a perfect day every day … The goal is to have a great day by noon. In other words, get everything that matters, that’s important to you, get it done .. and then let the events of your morning drive your afternoon.”
Successful people like Gary aren’t superhuman. They have good days and bad days just like the rest of us. But I suspect that they are more consistent at protecting their most productive hours each day to work on what matters most.
We may not have the same time flexibility as a real estate magnate. But we all have some ability to manipulate our schedules.
Start by asking yourself two questions:
- When do I have the most energy and focus?
- Am I consistently working on my most important work during that time?
When I did this exercise for myself, I found that my best hours in the morning were often hijacked by responding to email, updating project trackers, and other non-essential tasks. All of which could easily be postponed to later in the afternoon.
My challenge is to stop doing whatever I feel like doing at the moment and start being smarter about when I choose to do what.
Protect your hours of peak energy and focus. Use them wisely. And consider what you need to prioritize to have a great day by noon.
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