3 Steps to Make the Most of Your Time

We’ve been told to push through the exhaustion. Hustle. Do all of the things.That’s what it takes to be successful. And if you don’t? You’re lazy and lack drive. You’ll never succeed. But is that true?

I’ve run myself into the ground before following this mindset. I pretended to have it all together while running on 3 hours of sleep and having daily panic attacks. From personal experience, you can’t live a life that way. It’s not sustainable. There will be a crash.

So, what's the secret to productivity? It's not finding ways of doing more and pushing harder; it's effectively using the time you have. One of the best ways to be effective with your time is to understand--and then plan according to--your personal energy patterns.

We all have certain times of the day, the week, the month, and even the year that we naturally feel more energized, focused, and ready for new challenges. We also all have times where we don’t feel like doing much at all. We feel distracted and prefer to retreat. While we may have been conditioned to view these times as weakness, they are just as important as those high-energy times. It’s just a matter of planning your tasks and activities accordingly.

Let’s dive into what planning according to your energy looks like.

Your Patterns

The first place to start is discovering your own energy patterns. I would suggest making note of your energy level at several points throughout the day for one week. You can set a reminder or alarm on your phone to go off every few hours throughout the day. Simply make a quick note of your energy level and, if you want, what you’re doing at that moment. At the end of the week, look back at your notes to see where there are patterns. Most people have about a two to four-hour block of time each day where they feel focused and energized. Pay attention to where that falls for you as well as where your energy low point occurs. This will be helpful in the next step when you start looking at what tasks to do when. 

After your week of logging your energy several times a day, you can transition to noting just your overall energy for the day. Just like you have daily energy cycles, you have high and low-energy days throughout the week. Try setting aside 5 minutes at the end of your day to record your overall energy level and anything going on that day that may have contributed to how you feel. If you can, I would suggest tracking daily for one month. You’ll get an idea of both days of the week that you experience more or less energy as well as an overall pattern for the month.

Once you’ve tracked your energy for one month, you can switch to logging your overall energy by month over the course of the next year. Just as before, set aside 5 minutes at the end of each month to record how you felt and what contributed to your energy. The time of year and traditional activities can have a great impact on your energy.

For example, December is one of my lower-energy months. The combination of the cold weather, the natural desire to reflect on the year, the holiday school break has me preferring to turn inward and focus on family than go big in my business. The same thing can happen in the summer as school lets out, schedules change, and vacations are planned. On the opposite end of the energy spectrum, you may find certain months inspiring and invigorating. January (new year) and September (back to school) are traditionally times of newness and change, which can inspire an energy surge.

Looking for a way to track your energy. Click here to download my free Daily Energy Tracker Template.

Your Tasks

While you’re tracking your energy levels, try taking a look at the regular tasks that pop up on your schedule. Each task can fall into one of two categories: high-level concentration (HLC) and low-level concentration (LLC).

HLC tasks require your full attention. To do them well, you need to be able to focus and work free from distractions. HLC tasks include client sessions, leading meetings, and content creation.

Low-level concentration tasks don’t require the same focus and energy. You can be interrupted and step away without losing much momentum. LLC tasks include answering emails, checking voicemail messages, engaging on social media, and updating your calendar. These are things you can do while waiting in line to pick your kids up from school, at the end of the day when you don’t have much brain power left, and with conversations or the TV going on in the background.

Try going through the list of your regular tasks and organize them into high-level concentration and low-level concentration columns. Be honest with yourself about what you can actually do when distractions may be present. We as people tend to overestimate our ability to concentrate and focus.

Got other people in your household to consider? Check out Time Blocking for the Whole Family.

Your Schedule

Once you start to understand your daily energy patterns, it’s time to bring it all together.

First, identify where your high-energy time blocks land in your schedule. These are called your power hours, your blocks of time when you can naturally focus, be creative, and find a state of flow in your work. As much as possible, try to protect this time so that it can be filled with your high-level concentration tasks. Set yourself up for success with a quiet location free from distractions...or a place where you can at least pull out your earbuds and find some calming music.

At the end of a power-hour time block, be sure to add 15-30 minutes of white space if possible. You’ll need time to stretch and clear your head before jumping into the next activity. Also, scheduled breaks can help you maintain your energy levels longer.

Then, identify your energy low points within your schedule. Maybe you hit a slump every day at 3 p.m. and can’t get much done for the rest of the work day. Maybe you’re not a morning person, and you can’t expect much from yourself before 9 a.m. This is where you’ll want to place those low-concentration tasks. Trying to push through these low-energy times to complete your HLC tasks will more than likely backfire. Allow yourself the opportunity to do what you are capable of doing at this time.

As you notice your energy patterns over the course of the week and month, you have the opportunity to create theme days for yourself. For example, I have designated Mondays as admin days. I work on content and plan my next launch. I don’t see clients on Mondays. It’s a day to focus, get clear on my priorities, and organize for the week. Fridays, on the other hand, are personal days. My focus and energy levels are lower, so I run errands, do laundry, and make any weekend plans.

Understanding your energy levels over a month and year, you can then start to accurately plan busier and slower times in your business. You can set launch goals when you are most energetically prepared and take time off when you need it most. For more on this, check out When to Do What: Cycle Scheduling for Entrepreneurs and Ask the Expert: Time Blocking (video training).