[Greetings from Austin! I received my second book, “This Way to the Stars: A History of the Hero,” back from the editor last week and have been hammering away to incorporate the edits. This part of the book-writing process, like basically every other aspect (lol), is taking longer than I think it should and I find myself getting frustrated with the pace of my progress. Add that on top of trying to keep momentum on my third book, “This Way to the Stars: The Tao Beyond Time” (I am still workshopping this title…), stay on top of my day job as a startup lawyer, create social media marketing content, train 7-8 times a week, and promote the opening of a second gym (the Colosseum, a climate-controlled addition to Squatch Frontier Fitness), and you see a portrait of someone teetering on the edge of their energy.
Hence, I find myself structuring my days in terms of energy management (as opposed to time management)—thinking about how much energy something will take and planning appropriately. It’s a tool I’ve used the last handful of years that has helped me make sure I’m pushing forward the things that matter to me a little each day. So today, I thought I’d share some thoughts on it in hopes you may help someone else!]
The basic rules relevant to energy management are this: Energy is defined as “the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.” The first law of thermodynamics says that energy is not created or destroyed; it is only transformed from one thing to another. As humans, we absorb energy from rest, our environment, or our food and then direct it into things through attention and effort. In this way, energy is the creative life force we use to bring forth and shape. On any given day, we have a limited amount—an amount that can be maximized (or minimized) by lifestyle (diet, sleep, exercise, etc.), but, despite our self-delusion, it is not inexhaustible. And when our energy reserves are depleted, our labors are (relatively) futile.
With these basic rules in mind, we might imagine we wake up every morning with a daily allotment of energy. How much we receive each day is, of course, a function of several factors (how much we slept the night(s) before, what we ate the day(s) before, how hydrated we are, our nutrition and movement habits, etc.). Every decision and activity we engage in that day comes with an energy cost. Some, like the daily grind of a 9-5, have an enormous price; others, like making your bed, have a lower cost. The point is that everything has a cost.
And that cost is not always correlated with the amount of time an activity takes. In the realm of energy, this is an important one to remember: not all hours are created equal. For example, a few hours of intense focus or exercise will take much more energy than a few hours of casual lounging. For this reason, simple time management techniques—that is, finding room on the calendar—are not enough. Because all the calendar space in the world means nothing if you don’t have any energy when you arrive.
This is why it is your energy—not just your time—that must be audited and budgeted. Especially if you want to ensure you are progressing on your priorities.
I first encountered the idea of thinking about life in terms of energy in and out in Scott Adams’s book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. In his chapter called “The Energy Metric,” Adams describes how he structures his life to maximize energy:
The problem with [wanting everything] is that the time you spend chasing one of those desires is time you can’t spend chasing any of the others. So how do you organize your limited supply of time to get the best result?
The way I approach the problem of multiple priorities is by focusing on just one main metric: my energy. I make choices that maximize my personal energy because that makes it easier to manage all of the other priorities.
Maximizing my personal energy means eating right, exercising, avoiding unnecessary stress, getting enough sleep, and all of the obvious steps. But it also means having something in my life that makes me exited to wake up. When I get my personal energy right, the quality of my work is better, and I can complete it faster. That keeps my career on track. And when all of that is wroking, and I feel relaxed and energetic, my personal life is better too.1
What Adams is talking about above is structuring your days to maximize the things that give you energy and reducing or minimizing (or at least de-prioritizing) those that don’t as much as possible. Of course, some things that drain your energy, like going to the DMV or paying your taxes, are necessary and cannot be avoided. And sometimes, we pay a massive mental energy tax over the long term by putting those things off. All of this is to be considered when budgeting your energy.
Managing your personal energy is like managing budgets in a company. In business, every financing decision in one department is connected to others. If the research and development group cuts spending today, eventually that decision will ripple through the organization and reduce profits in some future year. Similarly, when you manage your personal energy, it’s not enough to maximize it in the short run or in one defined area. Ideally, you want to manage your personal energy for the long term and the big picture. Having one more cocktail at midnight might be an energy boost at the time, but you pay for it double the next day.2
Managing your energy budget starts with an audit. What gives you energy; what takes it? What high-cost items could you outsource? What is your highest priority / what should get your best energy? Where do you want to transform or bring forth something in your life? Are you feeding those things with enough good energy? Or are you giving your energy away to things you don’t care about? Are you watering the weeds only to come to your favorite flower with only a few drops of filthy water left in the watering can?
Are you using your energy as an agent for the change you want to see in your life?
If not, then, as they say, the best time to start was yesterday, but the second best time is now.
Scott Adams, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, p. 51.
Scott Adams, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, p. 53.