Learning how to manage your energy for maximum productivity can be a major game changer in your life.
Being productive is not about being busy or filling your days with must-do’s, from A to Z. Instead, it’s about getting the right things done.
What do I mean by the right things? The things that matter. Tasks that get you closer to your goals. Things that fulfill and improve your life.
Just imagine riding this good wave every day.
You wake up refreshed and ready for the day. You do some stretching, yoga or running, take a shower, eat some breakfast and start working on exciting projects.
At the end of the day, you’ve not only made a bit of a difference but also get to be surrounded by those who love you and do activities that inspire you.
Ugh, what a life to live!
Here’s how to manage your energy for maximum productivity and happier life!
Learn to manage your energy for maximum productivity
TIP #1: Spare time for what makes you feel good
One of the main things of managing your energy is understanding yourself and how your body works.
What makes you happy?
What makes you tired?
What foods will make you feel heavy?
Which people lift your spirits?
You need to listen to your intuition more.
From there, always make time for whatever feels good.
Energy comes from within, from our feelings, from our body, mind and soul being in sync. You can’t just ditch one of these and hope it’ll be alright.
Work with yourself and NOURISH yourself to feel more of the good vibes.
In this case, I don’t particularly talk about healthy habits (in the next tip!) or doing something to improve yourself. No, this part is about FEELING GOOD.
Is it a hot bath? Walk in the park with your kids? That mad expensive cup of coffee? Half an hour with a book on the porch?
Often, we dismiss these small things and don’t find for them because, obviously, our days are packed and the whole life is just one run after another.
But instead, intentionally stop every day and find time for whatever makes you feel good!
TIP #2: Have healthy habits
It all starts with being healthy. The healthier you are, the more energy you’ll have. The fewer health issues to worry about, the less stress and a freer mind. Being healthy is THE key.
What can you do to improve your health – no matter your starting point?
Start out small
There’s no need to implement big, new habits because they rarely work. Instead, start out small.
For example, after Corona and slight downtime within the timeframe, I realized that I haven’t worked out for around 2 months. I decided to get back into my regime slowly but surely. So I started with light morning yoga, with no time requirements or restrictions.
It’s doable without much of thinking or planning but does wonders!
There are plenty of ways how you can implement smaller, healthier habits in your daily life. Use one spoon less sugar in your coffee or drink one wine glass less each evening. Go to bed 10 minutes earlier every week. Find a sport that excites you and commit to it 2-3 times per week. Make trying healthier recipes a part of your date night routine.
Eventually, you’ll get in the groove!
Find out what works the best
Just because everyone seems to be waking up at 5 AM, quitting coffee and doing meditation doesn’t mean that you have to do the same.
Instead, follow your feelings and find what feels the best for you. Sometimes smallest adjustments make the biggest difference.
TIP #3: Know your most productive time
First of all, figure out when you’re the most productive and energized. Then, spare this time for the most important task on your to-do list (more on that, in the next tip!).
Most people will be the most productive right after waking up or sometime in the first part of the day. That’s when our mind naturally is the freshest and doesn’t have too much clutter on it.
However, it’s important to experiment and explore what might work best for you.
The timeframe of maximum productivity will not be madly long and can’t be stretched over hours and hours of your day. That’s why it’s called “maximum” productivity. The peak. Therefore, find it and use it wisely!
For example, I have explored that my most productive time usually is between 9 AM and 11 AM, after my morning rituals and before late breakfast. Later, after breakfast, I can get back in the groove but then the day is already showing its impact.
After around 4 PM my brain just starts shutting down. If I have to work after that, I intentionally plan some more mindless tasks where I can just automatically do things without much intention (and usually even that feels extremely draining!).
TIP #4: Do your ONE thing
In the book The One Thing you can read about the concept of knowing what is the single most important thing in your life – or your career – and really focusing on that.
While I don’t fully agree with all of the philosophy included in this book, I can absolutely stand by the importance of FOCUSING.
You just MUST be focused to get things done. There is no other way.
Therefore, you must choose your priority. What is the single most important thing you should do every day to reach the success you dream about?
Do that one thing in your most productive time!
For example, recently I decided to re-launch my Course Creation Lab. I wanted to create all new videos, PDFs, everything and I knew it will take me weeks to get it back together but I had big plans for the course and I absolutely wanted to make it happen!
So I made it my ONE THING. Yes, I had other obligations. Yes, I still worked on other tasks. But everything else happened only after I had worked on my course.
Often it’s especially hard to find time for your projects if you’re working with clients, either as a freelancer, coach or in any other position. It’s so common to just put your own project last on the list and keep postponing.
Instead, focus on YOUR thing, your most important thing, and then work on the rest. It’ll do magic for your energy, productivity and motivation!
TIP #5: Protect your space and your energy
After all, the most important part of how to manage your energy for maximum productivity is to PROTECT IT.
Often we slide through the days without much of thinking about how or why we feel. We just do things by default, without much of consideration for whether it’s good or bad for us and our energy.
Instead, do a mindset shift and understand that your energy is YOURS to protect.
Here are some ideas on how you can practice more of that:
- Set boundaries.
- Learn to say “no”.
- Have a separate working space.
- Always schedule a time for your self-care.
- STOP and think about how things make you feel.
- Make intentional decisions.
At the end of the day, we need to evaluate our energy and understand its importance in our daily lives. What we think and how we feel drives us forward and our bodies need to be in sync to be more productive and live happier lives!
How do you manage your energy for maximum productivity?
Follow @coursecreationlab on Instagram for more inspiration on your course creation journey!
