Manage Your Energy Not Your Time

Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time, by Schwartz and McCarthy, HBR, Oct 2007

Summary:

• In today’s technological world where the demands keep increasing the workplace, people work for longer hours, and hardly spend time on their health or personal life, this cost both the organization and the employee.

• The energy has four wellsprings and they are the body, emotions, mind and spirit. Each of these wellsprings can be renewed and expanded to a better level systematically. When the negative distractions and pressure from work is avoided, it gives more mental energy and positivity, by boosting the sense of understanding and quality of work.

• Group of Wachovia bank employees who went through energy management and wellness program, outperformed other employees who hadn’t attended it in most important financial metrics, customer relationships and financial metrics. It is evident that those organizations that focus on employees lives in all dimensions not just helps their employees grow but in turn the company grows as well.

Lesson learned:

• This article teaches one of the most important and valuable lesson to oneself which is to manage one’s energy. It is highly essential that we focus more on the personal factors of life that will make us happy like doing exercise, reading a book, spending time with family and friends. This kind of things will eliminate the negativity and pressure in us helping to concentrate better and perform better.

• It makes it clear that unlike time, these wellsprings of life can be renewed systematically. By making it a habit, and a way of life will replenish the mental strength and the ability to understand will help us understand things more better resulting in improved performance.

Immediate Application:

• One immediate application that can be implemented after learning this article is to plan everyday activities accordingly in such a way that it involves factors that will include personal wellness like 20 mins of walking each day, reading a favorite book and eating healthy food without neglecting them considering work pressure as an excuse.