Glossary
Energy management, explained
Energy management is planning your work around your physical and mental energy, not only around the clock: hard work when you are sharp, easier work and recovery when you dip. Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy made the case in Harvard Business Review in 2007.
What it means
Time is fixed; energy is renewable but limited. Sleep, movement, food and breaks all change how much good work fits in an hour. A week that ignores energy looks fine on paper and fails by Wednesday.
How to do it in a calendar
- Notice when you do your best thinking and protect it for deep work.
- Put admin and calls in your low-energy times.
- Plan recovery: sleep, training and breaks are blocks too.
An example
Someone who is sharp from 08:00 to 11:00 puts deep work there, meetings after lunch, a walk at 15:00 and a wind-down block at 22:30.
Common mistakes
- Planning 12-hour days. Output per hour falls; a shorter plan often finishes more.
- Skipping recovery to catch up. It borrows from next week.
Where it comes from
Schwartz, T., & McCarthy, C. (2007). Manage your energy, not your time. Harvard Business Review, 85(10).
Questions
Is there a best time of day to work?
It varies by person. Track your own energy for a week and plan from that.
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