Energy and Time Management

The lack of energy available within the work environment can be the greatest roadblock to managing time well and improving employee productivity.

Energy predicts not only a firm's performance outcomes, but when gaged at the individual employee level, it predicts turnover, absenteeism, customer satisfaction, team outcomes, and even performance appraisal scores (using 360 feedback systems).  The team leader or manager's energy is important because it predicts employee energy, and overall employee energy predicts performance and productivity. 

When leaders have too much work to accomplish in the amount of hours they can devote to their work, their energy can become depleted and everyone who works with them suffers a loss of performance and productivity.  How do employees survive in such a work environment?  They multitask, “surfing” from project to project—doing a little bit of work on each one in a very inefficent manner.

Time management is all about organizing and executing around priorities.  That does not mean just focusing on creating notes and checklists or having well-scheduled calendars or appointments to give some semblance of recognition and inclusiveness to the many demands placed on your time and energy. 

Helping employees pay attention to their and the company's intentions allows them to better management their time and energy.

Time management is important for both men and women.  However, in a woman's brain there will always be more to do.  That's why some women employees will work late or come in on weekends 'to catch up' on things that didn't get done during normal work hours.  The downside to this is the more stress a woman feels, the more overwhelmed she becomes.  There are too many things for her to do before she can relax.  The more exhausted she feels, the more urgent it becomes for her to get everything done.

For both men and women creating a more holistic paradigm of balance to your work and home life will help you from thinking you are running between compartments.  A good place to start is taking an in-depth look at time management.

Time management is not just about setting long and short goals and using your time wisely by keeping in mind the prioritization of those goals.  Too efficient scheduling and control of time can be counterproductive.  The efficiency focus creates expectations that clash with the opportunities to develop rich relationships and to enjoy spontaneous moments on a daily basis.  These opportunities to connect with others in and outside the company can be energizing, as well as productive....since all the work is done through relationships.  Time management is not about focusing on things and time but focusing on preserving and enhancing relationships and achieving results.

Creating a synergistic world of work life and personal life takes some focused self-learning along with an enlightened employer.  As a personal executive coach, I understand that one's personal life affects their work performance both negatively and positively.  The roles you play at home and work must be in concert...not requiring you to play different roles.  Although there are distinct competencies attached to each role, it is to the employee's and employer's advantage to create a powerful synergy among all roles.  This inter-role synergy saves incredible problem-solving time and energy.

Time management is a symptom, not the underlying problem.   Not paying attention to your intentions (that allows you to easily manage your time and energy) is the problem.  That is true for the individual employee as well as for the department, business unit, and organization. 

Being clear on, and communicating to others, your intangible assumptions/beliefs, values, vision and guiding principles allows you to engineer a dynamic equilibrium...where all the parts of your life work synergistically in a highly interrelated whole.