Twenty years ago, the premise of managing time to be more effective and get more things done was disrupted. From studying athletes and top performers, it became clear that managing and mastering your energy gave access to accomplishing more and even “bending time,” with greater fulfillment.
“Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.” – The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
In Success Circles, we have tested these concepts with our members for close to two decades. We’ve looked at what some of our top members who are exceptional at execution do to manage their energy. Here are just a few lessons on managing your energy. 
Be present to the WHY
The Big Why drives forward success and clarity with your priorities. It is what fuels you when you are feeling empty or when you begin getting burned out. Declare it out loud to a trusted friend or to a Momentum Buddy to remind yourself of the bigger picture. Knowing your WHY doesn’t have to be perfect as long as it often pulls at your heart when you hear yourself speak it out loud. As Jim Rohn says, “the bigger the why, the easier the how.” Spiritual energy also comes from a connection to deeply held values and a WHY beyond our self-interest.
Get hydrated and aim to eat healthier
Staying hydrated and putting the right things in your body will give you the energy and fuel to keep you going. It’s true that they say that you are what you eat. We each have our unique bio-individuality when it comes to food and nutrition and it is good to know what sustainably fuels you. I have personally learned in my 40s that excess snacking gets in the way of productivity. I have come to appreciate intermittent fasting from 8 pm to 11 am. Mornings for me are my most productive time.
Embrace renewal and recovery
We live in a world that celebrates work and activity and ignores renewal and recovery. Both are necessary for sustained high performance. Because energy capacity diminishes both with overuse and underuse, we must balance energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal. Maximum engagement demands maximum relaxation. The more we show up to work and play hard, the more we need to relax and disconnect. Getting adequate sleep is also a key to renewal and creating more energy. Interestingly, many of our members who honor the sabbath by disconnecting from work one day a week tend to get the most done.
Be an athlete
When you own that you are an athlete on this playing field of life, it now creates the opportunity to master energy and play the game better. Athletes know how to balance stress and recovery. We learn to systematically expose ourselves to stress beyond our normal limits, followed by recovery and renewal mentioned previously. Being an athlete can also mean exercising both our physical and mental muscles so that we can get on the court to lead that presentation, manage a sales call, or even create content. In Success Circles, being athletes and playing games has become a fun metaphor that we embrace. Our tagline is “Dare to Play a Bigger Game!” I personally do my desk work wearing exercise clothes to remind me of this. Each day can be a game and we have an opportunity to make the next day/game better. Note that if the word “dance” resonates more for you than a game, use it. Most importantly, choose a metaphor that works for you and make it fun.
Rituals and priming
Embrace energy-producing rituals to keep yourself engaged in your day. A simple ritual of gratitude can be doing a gratitude walk outside. Other rituals can include priming the mind at the start of the day by meditating or winding down the day with a cup of calming tea. A ritual I embrace is reviewing my next day’s calendar, wins and lessons as I close out the day. Early in Covid, we began introducing 20-minute Momentum Group Huddles to support our members daily to review their accomplishments and focus on gratitude. After 30 to 60 days, any of these rituals will “be installed” in your life as a habit and it will become as familiar and as important as brushing your teeth. Onward and Upwards, Joseph
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