A Gentle Shift: From Time - To Energy Mgmt

What if your problem isn’t time — but energy?
You have the same hours as everyone else, yet some days feel heavy and unproductive.
In this episode, we explore what truly fuels you, what quietly drains you, and how listening to your energy can change everything.

Transcript

Welcome to this talk named a gentle shift from time to energy management.

This is a talk for you who maybe spent some time filling up your calendar but you end up exhausted.

This is because we plan after time because we can't have time for three meetings after each other but we might not have the energy.

Okay so most of us shape our days around time.

It's even called time management when we work with our calendars which most of us has to because there is so much to be done and that's okay.

It's a modern society.

So we fill our calendars with meetings,

Tasks and appointments hoping we will fit everything in but what if we let energy guide us instead?

Because time is the same for everyone but energy is personal.

It moves,

Shifts and changes within you and it quietly shapes how we actually are able to live our days.

So I argue that when we plan from energy rather than from the clock alone we often end up getting more done and without burning ourselves out and most importantly with much more joy dynamic and enthusiasm.

But of course there's one question we have to ask here.

What do we really mean when we talk about energy?

It's so abstract.

But if we look at studies they have figured we have four basic currents that move through our body and our life and it's quite easy to distinct these from each other.

We have what's called physical energy.

You know physical energy.

The energy you get by eating or drinking calories.

It's fed by what we eat.

It's fed by sleep,

Rest and nourishment and we use this physical energy through movement and activity.

Then we have mental energy.

That's your ability to focus,

To create and to think deeply and clearly.

You know when you are totally clear in your mind,

You're super focused,

You're on it but after maybe five hours of working or even three you're drained.

You're mentally drained.

Your physical energy might be very high.

You can run a marathon but your head is drained because the mental energy or clarity drains just like a muscle.

It needs to relax to be clear and focused again.

That's why you often wake up in the morning feeling much clearer than you did the night before.

So this is drained by deep and demanding mental work but you get it back quickly if you do something else.

That's very important.

But let's move on to the third kind of energy out of the four which is emotional energy.

It's sensitive,

Responsive and shifting from moment to moment.

A warm conversation can lift you or a conflict can empty you and some days you just have great emotional energy and sometimes you just have no motivation for life.

I have this example where you have been broken up with your girlfriend or boyfriend.

You've been alone for a month.

It's been a horrible month.

Netflix and ice cream and you're just feeling so low,

So dark and then you get the text from your ex who says oh I regret so much.

I've been thinking about you the whole month and now I just had to send you this text.

Can we please meet?

I'm so sorry for all the things I said.

I truly love you.

Best.

And then what happens to you?

You have felt so down and now you're like switching.

Oh my god that's exciting.

Life is great.

I'm loved and that's your emotional energy.

It can just switch so quickly.

Can you see how we can distinct these three kinds of energy from each other?

Physical is energy in your body if your muscles are tired or not.

Mental is if your head is tired and emotional is something very different.

And then the fourth is spiritual energy.

That's a more quiet,

More enduring energy.

It's connected to meaning,

Direction,

Values and it's the deeper ground you stand on.

It can't shift quickly.

You might have a whole life or many many years having like a good spiritual energy and then maybe it goes down.

Maybe you're a bit depressed and burnt out for some years your spiritual energy is a bit lower.

So that's the four kinds of energies we have.

So the first three change every day and sometimes every hour.

And the fourth one softens or strengthens over time,

Over years,

As a result of how you care for the three others.

And not all tasks drain you in the same way.

When you fill your calendar you have different kind of tasks.

So for example creative work,

Deep focus and visionary thinking,

They can use a great deal of mental energy.

And this is why it can feel risky to line up heavy tasks back-to-back and expect yourself to move through them with the same clarity.

I did this mistake so often before.

I had like a lot of tasks,

For example a Wednesday,

That I knew took mental energy.

But then I had for example two hours in the middle of the day where I was off and then someone asked me,

Can we have a meeting,

We have to go through some quite deep work.

And I said yeah I have time,

I got time,

I can fill in.

But now I've stopped.

Now I don't look if I have time.

I am looking do I have energy.

And this is the way I fill my calendar.

The remedy is simple.

Variation.

So I mean variation between which energy types the tasks craves from you.

It's absolutely fine to have a day packed with things.

But then have a morning with deep work,

Two hours.

Then you go for a jog.

And then you go through your email list which takes a bit more mental energy.

And then you meet a friend to get your emotional energy up a little bit.

And then you can do something that takes mental energy again.

And this is how your life and calendar will be sustainable and dynamic.

It's fun to do different things.

Let your day breathe.

Imagine a quiet jog without music.

It may use physical energy while refilling your well-being.

A good conversation with that friend may replenish your emotional energy and brighten the rest of your day.

So if your job demands a lot of physical energy,

Your pauses should offer rest.

Mental rest.

If your job asks for constant mental effort,

Like research,

Writing,

Teaching,

Analysis,

Creative stuff,

Then your pauses should be truly off.

No podcast.

No phone.

No stimulating conversation that goes into things.

Just silence.

Stillness or gentle surroundings.

A practical way to live by energy is to sit down once a week,

Perhaps on a Sunday,

And look at the days ahead.

And not only asking what must I get done,

But also what kind of energy does each task require?

What drains me the most?

It's very personal.

And when will I actually have that energy recharged?

I need gaps in my calendar every day.

It needs to be dynamic.

And then also,

Just as important,

Review.

If you notice that every Tuesday,

Let's say,

Your mental energy is so low around lunch,

Yet you keep placing demanding work there,

Shift it.

Give that time slot to something that returns energy instead of taking it.

In the end,

Your calendar is more than a list of commitments,

Or your to-do list,

Or your calendar,

Or whatever you work after.

This thing shapes your habits,

Your days,

And your life.

And there's an old teaching from the yogic tradition echoed across many philosophers,

And it goes like this.

Watch your thoughts,

They become your words.

Watch your words,

They become your actions.

Watch your actions,

They become your habits.

Watch your habits,

They become your character.

And watch your character,

It becomes your destiny.

You see the calendar or to-do list,

It might look stressful one day,

But you're thinking,

Yeah,

It's just a day in my life.

But your days and your life,

It really adds up to your life.

That's how it is.

So take it seriously,

But never too serious.

So the next time you open your calendar,

Don't ask only,

What do I have time for?

Ask yourself gently,

What do I have energy for?

And answer with honesty.

I truly hope that you can go on in your life and planning your weeks more dynamic with the four kinds of energy in the back of your mind while you're planning.

And that this gives you a more enjoyable and more dynamic life with more joy and enthusiasm and less stress and anxiety.

Thank you.