The energy-time-audit to enhance your productivity
3 min read
Energy is our most precious resource, for it is the means by which we transform our creative potential into meaningful action.
Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche
If you want or rather have to be agile, you have to know who you are and where you want to be. You have to protect your most important asset on your path to achievement. And that is the person you work every day with. The person which skills you need, which energy you need to fulfill your potential to walk one step each day closer towards your goals. Yourself.
Numbing out while watching Netflix and eating fast-food is the easy way. But does it really increase your happiness, your mood and your energy?
You have to know your own framework to enhance your balance and stability quickly -especially when life gets tough. Therefore you need to pay attention to what activities and people enhance your mood, performance, creativity, and resilience.
Time management starts with an audit. So does developing your own framework of energy and productivity.
In order to work and achieve your goals you have to know how you currently spend your time and how you can optimize your schedule.
The following process helps you with targeted questions on this endeavor.
1.Step: The Energy Audit
In order to find your own individual framework to enhance your energy and productivity, it is helpful to audit the time you spend during an ordinary week in a simple spreadsheet and ask the following questions during the time management audit process:
- What do you do?
- With whom?
- To what extended? What is the overall goal of this activity? Do you practice this activity to fulfill a role (parent/ child/ friend/ employee/ leader)?
- Where do you do the activity?
Additionally, you should evaluate how you feel after each activity and each day:
- If you would give yourself a vitality score for the day/ activity how many points out of 100 would you reach? You may find it helpful to jot down a few notes depending on your overall feelings and mood.
2.Step: The Analysis of Your Energy Audit
After the week, analyze how you spent your time in a table according to the question below:
- What were the people, environments and activities that energized you, what were the ones that depletes your energy?
3. Step: The Result of Change
After you completed the audit as well as the analysis, ask yourself how you can use the gained data to enhance your life according to the questions below:
- Are there any ineffective activities in your schedule?
- Is there a way to change your schedule and invest your time more wisely in order to fulfill your vision and goals?
- Can you use time multipliers (for example running with friends instead of alone to connect and talk while working on your health goals)?
4.Step: Repeat.
Life changes. You change. Your priorities and goals change. Hence it is advisable to repeat the process of the energy time management audit to enhance your productivity and resilience in regular time intervals.
A man who dares to waste one hpur of time has not discovered the value of life.
Darwin
References and further reading material:
LaPlante, A. – If money doesn’t make you happy, consider time
Mishra, A. (2020) Dare to be vital