Thread by @dbustac

Biggest lesson after months learning to be more productive:

Time management sucks.

Unless you're a robot, it won't help you get the results you want.

This is how entrepreneurs & creatives become top performers instead 👇

Time management has 3 big issues:

1) It focuses on something you don’t control

2) It ignores the fact that your energy levels fluctuate all day long

3) It considers the duration of a task, not the value or intensity of your performance

Let’s break each down:

You can’t control time.

You can’t make it stop or go faster.

But you can control your actions.

And, more importantly, you can control your energy.

By managing your energy instead of your time, you put yourself back in the driver's seat.

Time management assumes we work like computers:

Always at full speed.

But that's not how we work.

Our performance varies as our energy levels fluctuate during the day.

We work better in sprints.

Alternating between periods of intense focus and intermittent renewal.

Time management considers how long it takes you to get a task done.

But it doesn't take into account your focus, energy levels or the value of the work.

That can be misleading.

And trick you into thinking that the more time you put in, the better your results will be.

Instead of managing your time, manage your energy.

To get started, conduct an energy audit.

This is how you:

• Identify what + or - energy
• Understand your energy levels
• Learn when to do focused work
• Learn how to rest more productively

The goal is self-awareness.

These 2 methods that can help you audit your energy levels and gain awareness:

1) Interstitial journaling (@anthilemoon wrote a great article about it)

2) @JamesClear's Habit Scorecard exercise

As you audit your energy, keep in mind that there are different types:

• Social
• Mental
• Spiritual
• Physical
• Emotional

All of them are important and related to each other.

Feeling your energy dip?

That's perfectly normal.

Take a break!

• Play
• Meditate
• Work out
• Drink water
• Drink coffee
• Go for a walk
• Listen to music
• Experience novelty
• Do deep breathing
• Take a cold shower
• Sleep or take a nap
• Connect with nature

That's it!

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I'm on a mission to help creators grow 🚀