Spend Your Energy Thoughtfully

Hey there.

Hope you all are holding up well and using this Lockdown time to heal, connect and reevaluate.

Today on Day 20 of the Lockdown in India, I am writing about Energy and how one can spend it thoughtfully to get the maximum out of their day.

Every dawn is an opportunity to start/learn/create something new, to leave the past behind and start afresh. Each morning is a gift; a gift not everyone gets. For some, the morning never came. So even if all you could do today was get yourself out of the bed then you have won.

Each day you get only twenty-four hours no matter where you live or who you are. Such is the law of nature. While your time is certainly limited, did you know the energy you are gifted with each morning is also limited? And unlike time energy does not expend at the same pace throughout the day?

While we have always spoken about time management and spending maximum time on the most important things, we hardly talk about spending our energy in a calculated manner.

I believe there is no point in planning your time if you are not spending the right amount of energy on the right thing. And this energy is not something you can easily measure (Not the kJ or Watt kind of energy).

For instance, some of us feel most energetic and positive early in the morning (For others it is late in the night) but if we spend this energy browsing through social media or watching TV then you simply have lost most of your day’s energy reservoir on an activity that could do with the least amount of your energy.

Similarly, sometimes expectedly or unexpectedly we are drawn into arguments either face to face or on social media. Most of the time it is on topics we really don’t care but have been brainwashed into it. These arguments start small and then grow into an agitated quarrel and end mostly without a conclusion. Many a time the people who you debate with are not even your friends, just random people with a difference of opinion. I have personally come across people who simply start such arguments to troll others. It gives them a sense of satisfaction to see the other person agitated.

Think of your energy as your money. Would you go about distributing Rs 1000 or 2000 bills to random people you find on the road? Then why would you do that with your limited energy resource?

Learning to spend the right amount of energy on the right things is a skill that you can develop over a period of time. But you have to start somewhere. Spend a day thoughtfully and make a note of when you feel the most energetic? When you feel the urge to finish some pending task or create something new. Make a note and see if you feel the same on most days at the same time. That’s your Energy Peak.

For me, it is early in the morning as soon as I get up and finish my workout. I spend this time writing. And over the last three years, I have identified this time as my energy peak. Some of my best pieces of work were created during this timebox. Many of my artist friends have their energy peaks late in the night when everyone at home has gone to sleep and the temperature is much lower. Whatever works for you is good.

Spend your Energy Peak on the things that matter the most to you.

You can also make a note of the point in your day where you feel least energetic – your Energy Dip. For me, it is in the noon right after lunch. The one hour after that is when I feel my brain is jammed and I am unable to do anything productive. So this is the time I spend on things that take the least amount of energy – documentation or revisiting something that I worked on earlier. If I am at home, I spend this time taking a power nap or doing something that is totally unproductive – scrolling through social media, watching a sitcom etc.

And remember, just like your Energy Peak your Energy Dip too does not last very long. So spend both of these wisely.

That is all I have for today. Hoping to write more in the next two weeks. Tell me about your Energy Peaks and Dips in the comments below. 🙂

Signing off,

Ashwini Shenoy

Author of Shikhandini 

Featured image: Photo by Isadora Menezes from Pexels