Maximising energy

A new approach to improving productivity.

As busy professionals, we are all likely on the lookout for ways to increase productivity and efficiency. But what if there was a better approach?

What if, instead of just focusing on productivity, we focused on maximising the energy levels?

In this post, I share my journey of transitioning from traditional productivity hacks to energy management.

Through this shift, I discovered that increasing energy levels gives twice the boost to results compared to just improving productivity.

Backstory: my new role at Picsart

Upon starting my new role at Picsart mid 2022, I faced the challenge of managing a team of 50+ members amidst a rapidly changing tech landscape.

Seeking to increase my efficiency and optimise my time, I experimented with various productivity techniques, including time-blocking, organising my thoughts on paper and in Notion, delegating tasks, deprioritising, and changing my morning routine.

While I saw some progress, such as a leaner meeting schedule and improved focus, I still felt stressed and realised that simply increasing my productivity was not enough.

Productivity formula

When it comes to productivity, the common formula is:

number of active hours x capacity of one hour.

While traditional productivity hacks focus on increasing active hours, I found that this approach alone didn't always work for me. Often, after a "productive day" I felt exhausted and ironically unproductive by the end of the day.

I realized that I wanted to shift my focus from simply trying to manage a long to-do list to finding ways to accomplish tasks while maintaining high energy levels throughout the day and avoiding burnout.

Instead of dreaming about getting 12 hours of sleep and struggling to wake up in the mornings, I aimed to increase my energy levels and feel better, while being productive.

Experimenting with energy levels: useful exercise

That's when I started exploring ways to increase my energy levels.

For one week I sent myself voice messages with notes throughout the day of what gave me energy, how I felt and what was happening. At the end of the week I listened to all of it and tagged events by emotional, physical state and also my energy level.

Through this exercise of recording my daily activities and energy levels, I discovered what gave me energy and what drained it. I found that some unexpected activities, such as walking outside for 20-30 minutes or having a friendly conversation with a colleague, gave me a significant energy boost.

Then I repeatedly did this one week energy x activity diary every 3 months.

9 months and 3 rounds later, I can say, that it gave me tons of insights about managing my energy levels and helped organise my life and work better.

How results could look like

For example, my "energy eaters" were:

- writing daunting long documents such as memorandums, product reviews, etc

- back to back meetings

- carbohydrates for entire day, no warm food

- calls with support lines (airlines, insurance, etc)

And my battery was charging from some of the unexpected things:

- walking outside for at least 20-30 min

- a good beautifully presented self cooked meal

- working in excel

- high intensity workout

- strategy documents, conversation

- friendly conversation with a barista, neighbour, colleague

- drawing

- public, group presentations

A final word

Now, I focus on maintaining high energy levels throughout the day. For example, if I have a daunting task like a product review document to complete, I'll intersperse it with activities that give me energy, such as cooking myself a nice lunch or going for a walk. This helps me stay motivated and focused, knowing that I have a reward waiting for me after completing a difficult task.

And yes, I am still using some of the productivity tools, but do not obsess over them, instead I focus on maintaining my energy level high.

By managing my energy levels, I've found that I'm more productive and efficient, without feeling exhausted or burnt out. So, if you're looking for a new approach to increasing your productivity, consider shifting your focus to energy management.

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