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Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

4/29/20254 min read

When I look back at my time at Zalando , one initiative stands out with surprising clarity.

In the midst of the COVID pandemic, when calendars felt endless and energy felt finite, an employee development program led by Sarah Guerrier and Ralf Herbrich planted a simple but radical idea: Stop managing your time. Start managing your energy.

Over four months, I had the privilege of co-facilitating with Dirka Bender where participants came together once every month. No long lectures, no endless PowerPoints. Just real conversations, sharing best practices from our lives and open, honest and deep reflection about what it meant to sustain ourselves not just professionally, but personally in a time when life and work had blurred beyond recognition.

The concept was rooted in a Harvard Business Review piece by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy: "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time." It felt timely then. It feels timeless now.

The Core Idea: Time is Finite. Energy is Renewable.

Most of us were taught to manage time like currency budget it, schedule it, squeeze every last drop out of it.

But time doesn’t care how well you plan. Time moves forward, no matter what.

Energy, on the other hand, can be renewed, expanded, and protected. It flows from four main wells inside us:

Physical (your body’s fuel and stamina)
Emotional (your resilience and optimism)
Mental (your focus and clarity)
Spiritual (your purpose and alignment)

When your energy in these areas is full, you show up differently. More present. More alive. More effective.

When it's drained, no amount of calendar blocking will save you.

Real Energy Management Practices

From the workshops and my own journey, here are simple practices that made a lasting difference:

Physical Energy

Sleep 7–8 hours. Non-negotiable.
Take real breaks. Every 60 - 90 minutes, step away and move.
Eat for stable energy, not sugar spikes.
Exercise not for looks, but for stamina.

Emotional Energy

Express gratitude often and specifically.
Catch yourself in negative spirals early and reframe them consciously.
Create small joy rituals: music, laughter, nature - every day.

Mental Energy

Tackle your hardest task first thing, when focus is highest. (Eat your frog)
Limit distractions. One task at a time.
Set email and phone boundaries, batching responses works wonders.

Spiritual Energy

Spend time on what matters most, not just what screams the loudest.
Reconnect daily to your deeper "why."
Act in alignment with your values, even in small ways.

What Research Tells Us

The idea of managing energy instead of time is not only philosophy but also deeply rooted in human biology and performance science.

🔹 Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr found that elite athletes, chess players, and concert violinists all train and recover in cycles, honoring energy rhythms rather than grinding endlessly. Their book, The Power of Full Engagement, showed that peak performers work intensely for 90 minutes, then take intentional renewal breaks.

🔹 Andrew Huberman , a Stanford neuroscientist, teaches about ultradian rhythms : natural biological cycles of alertness and fatigue that repeat every 90 to 120 minutes. Ignoring these rhythms leads to cognitive fatigue, while working with them improves focus, creativity, and learning retention.

🔹 A McKinsey Global Institute study showed that executives who learned to manage their physical and emotional energy reported 25–30% improvements in productivity, creativity, and decision-making quality.

🔹 According to Gallup 's State of the Global Workplace report, employee engagement (closely tied to emotional and mental energy) is consistently low worldwide. Organizations that intentionally create cultures of renewal and resilience outperform their competitors across profitability, innovation, and retention.

🔹 Companies like Google , Salesforce , and LinkedIn have implemented mindfulness, energy management, and resilience programs that go beyond productivity hacks. They recognize that sustainable energy, not just time management, is the foundation of innovative, high-trust cultures.

The research is consistent: When leaders and organizations manage human energy wisely, they unlock not just performance, but sustainability. Not just better output, but better people.

Personal Reflections: Why It Mattered

In my own life, the idea of managing energy not time shifted everything.

I realized that back-to-back meetings were not the problem. It was showing up depleted to those meetings.

I realized that planning weekends full of "rest" activities wasn’t restful unless my mind and spirit were also given space to breathe.

I learned that sometimes the most productive thing you can do is to pause. To walk. To breathe. To journal. To eat ice-cream. To listen without an agenda.

Leadership isn’t just about getting more done. It’s about showing up more fully, to work, to people, to yourself.

And you can't do that when you're running on empty.

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

Today, the world demands not just performance, but sustainability.

AI is accelerating decisions. Markets shift overnight. Workplaces are hybrid, global, and always on.

In this kind of world, the leaders who will thrive are not the ones who work the most hours. They will be the ones who can manage their energy, renew their focus, and stay connected to their purpose amidst noise and change.

Energy management is self-leadership. And self-leadership is the foundation of leading others.

It starts with small, practical choices. A glass of water over another coffee. Five minutes of stillness before your next call. Choosing to leave work at a reasonable time, knowing you’ll serve better tomorrow.

A Quiet Invitation

So next time your calendar feels overwhelming, don’t just ask:

"How can I fit more in?"

Ask:

"How can I show up with more energy for what matters most?"

Because time will pass anyway. But how you move through it? That’s yours to shape.

For a list of useful resources on coaching, leadership and how to be your best possible version checkout Fedrick's blog.

References

Schwartz, T., & McCarthy, C. (2007). Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time. Harvard Business Review.
Loehr, J., & Schwartz, T. (2003). The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.
Huberman, A. (2021). Neuroscience Research on Ultradian Rhythms and Cognitive Optimization. Huberman Lab Podcast, Stanford University.
McKinsey & Company. (2017). The Psychology of Change: Energy Management in Leadership.
Gallup. (2023). State of the Global Workplace Report.
Google, Salesforce, LinkedIn. (Various Reports). Mindfulness, Resilience, and Well-being Initiatives Impact Studies.

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