The vast majority of productivity advice is focused on things like managing your time, goals, and projects.
It very rarely mentions energy and capacity, though.
Everything just assumes you’ll have as much energy as you need to finish your work.
That's why, even with following all those tips and tricks, it can still feel so impossible to actually finish a to-do list or keep up with a goal.
It's annoying, it’s frustrating, and over time, it wears down your confidence and self-efficacy.
When you're neurodivergent or chronically ill, you can't ignore your energy and capacity and still expect to be productive.
That’s why we encourage trying to manage your energy before your time or tasks.
Energy management is the foundation that makes the rest of your productivity systems actually work.
So let's actually break down what energy management is, what it looks like, and why it matters so much, especially if you're neurodivergent or chronically ill.
What is energy management?
Energy management means matching what you do to your natural energy rhythms and patterns.
That looks like taking action based on the energy you actually have, instead of deciding on actions first and trying to force yourself to have the energy for them. And considering your energy both when you're planning ahead of time and deciding what to do in the moment.
It can also help to think about managing different “categories” of energy, instead of one big vague thing, like:
- Physical: your capacity to move and exert yourself
- Mental: your ability to focus and think clearly
- Emotional: your capacity to regulate your emotions
- Social: how much interaction you can handle
If you’re thinking “this sounds like spoon theory,” you’re right!
Spoon theory describes the problem of limited energy. Energy management describes the “solution” of what to do about that limited energy.
Not a perfect solution, but alas…
And the most important part of energy management is accepting your very real energy limits and trying to pace yourself accordingly, instead of relying on brute-force effort until you burn out.
What energy management looks like
The idea of energy management is easy to understand, but it can be harder to get how to actually do it.
Here are some of the things that actually go into managing your energy:
- Learning your regular energy patterns & rhythms
- Improving your awareness of your energy in the moment
- Setting boundaries and limits to pace yourself
- Planning based on when you’ll have the energy to do something
- Adjusting plans for better pacing in the moment
A lot of it comes down to mindfulness versus letting yourself run on autopilot. Being more aware of how things impact you and how you can adjust to that.
Why energy management matters
I know you might be groaning at the mention of mindfulness, but I promise it’s worth it.
Because by practicing energy management, you can:
- Avoid overextending yourself, leading to less frequent burnouts and flare-ups
- Make things easier to do by reducing the friction involved in doing them
- Save time on tasks by doing them when you’ll be in the best state for them
- Waste less energy forcing yourself to do things when you don’t have the energy for them
- Replace Hustle Culture’s unrealistic pacing expectations with ones you can actually keep up with
It’s kind of like the bare minimum for any kind of sustainable productivity.
Start managing your energy
Sustainable productivity requires smart energy management for everyone.
But it’s even more important when you’re neurodivergent or chronically ill, and you’re energy is both limited and unpredictable.
Personally, it’s probably been the single most important thing I’ve done for my health and self-care in the past 10 years.
And to go on your own energy management journey, you can experiment with tracking your energy. Start now with our free energy tracker for Notion.