In a day there are just 24 hours, which seems like a lot; but when you factor in every single thing that needs to be done that day, it seems like you have no time at all. You have just 1,440 minutes to eat, sleep, work, relax, and socialize. To put that into perspective, you have only 86,400 seconds to complete everything you need. Some people struggle with this; others use the concept of time management to use their days efficiently — or in other words, to be as productive as possible. However, this productivity can lead to stress, and burn you out. How do we stop it?
Prioritize.
Imagine you are a Jedi master called Bob (your parents, whilst skilled in the ways of the force, weren’t the best at choosing names). The love of your life – Princess Lucia – is trapped in a burning building as you hurry to save her.You might think of Lucia as the embodiment of your dreams, your aspirations – she is your most important thing. Unfortunately, before you can reach her, an army of stormtroopers opens fire. The incoming stream of lasers demand your attention – if you fail to dodge them, you’re dead. You might think of them as an urgent distraction from saving your princess. - Forbes
In this scenario, your focus is split between things that are most important and most urgent to you. This story continues to explain that if your focus leaves the princess—the most important thing—then the whole journey was a waste of time, as the princess will eventually die if you remain distracted for too long. Ultimately, your main focus should be on what is most important. There will always be distractions, urgent or otherwise; however, often times those things which are deemed urgent can wait.
Say you're on your way to the gym because fitness is very important to you, but you get a text from a colleague. She needs you to send a document to her before the next meeting. You decide to quickly send it her way because even though you have plenty of time, you might as well get it out of the way now, right? That sounds great until she texts you again saying that she actually needs another document, as well as a few others that she forgot about. Well, you've already sent her the first one so you can't very well ignore her other requests. A few hours later you finally have that issue resolved, but now the gym is closed. You've responded to urgent requests, and in doing so have lost out on the important things.
Manage your energy.
Steve Wanner is a highly respected 37-year-old partner at Ernst & Young, married with four young children. When we met him a year ago, he was working 12- to 14-hour days, felt perpetually exhausted, and found it difficult to fully engage with his family in the evenings, which left him feeling guilty and dissatisfied. He slept poorly, made no time to exercise, and seldom ate healthy meals, instead grabbing a bite to eat on the run or while working at his desk. - Harvard Business Review
This isn't an out-of-the-norm situation; in fact, this is a very common lifestyle. Do you see the problem with this? While Steve gets everything urgent done in his day, he lacks energy to focus on what is important to him. This leads to an unhappy and unhealthy life.
The core problem with working longer hours is that time is a finite resource. Energy is a different story. - HBR
In short, time can't be renewed or regenerated- energy can be. This can be accomplished by having set and scheduled practices that eventually become automatic and unconscious, therefore requiring little-to-no energy to perform them. In the case of Steve, he accomplished this by working out regularly, eating with his family, and leaving his desk for short periods of time — but don't think that's the only solution! This can be done many ways and in various chunks of time. You can go for a walk, read a book, simply close your eyes and practice some mindfulness, or even just take a minute to enjoy a glass of water. The possibilities are endless and you will see immediate results.
Having more energy not only gives you time for what's important to you, but also keeps you motivated, and productive. You will end up bringing more to the table if you feel energized and happy. Keep in mind, however, that you need to renew both your physical and emotional energy. If you just focus on one, your life will become unbalanced and you may find yourself even more unhappy than before.
Long story short, use focus management manage your energy, rather than your time. Life is short. Take a few minutes to smell the roses, and you just might find yourself feeling brighter than normal!
