Connect with us

Success Advice

How to Become More Productive by Managing Your Energy, Not Your Time

Published

on

mental energy
Image Credit: Unsplash

It’s a common belief nowadays that if someone puts in longer hours, they’ll become more productive and produce better results. Plenty of successful entrepreneurs support this argument by working as much as 16 hours per day. Reading this post will help you realise that working longer hours may not necessarily translate to success, and in fact it might be a blocking it.

The main reasons behind this is are that working longer hours may lead to increasing your stress levels and harming mental and physical health. It may even cause poor concentration levels and poor work quality. Essentially, it’s not about the amount of time you put into different tasks, but it’s about quality.

In order to better manage your mental and physical energy which will consequently result in better productivity, let’s see the four main sources of energy that can be a determining factor to someone’s success:

1. Your Body Stores and Produces Physical Energy

Our body is the main source for storing and producing energy on a constant basis. The three main ways we can increase physical energy in our body include: Healthy Nutrition, Exercise and Sleep. Unless you focus your attention on these three key areas, you will find yourself getting easily tired, having trouble managing managing your emotions and concentration levels, as well as be more productive.

So take the first step by (almost) never skipping breakfast, which health nutritionists consider as the most important meal of the day. Make sure to get a full night’s sleep by shutting down your phone at least two hours before bedtime. Finally, include regular exercise into your weekly routine in order to maintain high energy levels.

2. Recognise The Quality Of Your Emotions

If you want to produce quality output in whatever you do, you must feel good. If you are overwhelmed with feelings of negativity or even sadness, it’s more likely that you will be ineffective. This is quite a challenge as we are often faced with long hours at work and the need to deliver multiple job demands on time. As a result, we sometimes tend to dive into negative emotions multiple times a day, especially when faced with stress and anxiety.

The constant mental strain that we involuntarily put our mind to can drain our energy, impact our progress and even affect our personal relationships. Three actions you can practice to fight against negative emotions include: Deep breathing, Appreciation, and Getting out of the mental loop. Let’s quickly look at them one by one.

  • Deep breathing will help you relax and calm down during a stressful situation. Simply inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Mindful breathing can instantly reduce your stress and ‘on-edge’ levels.
  • Expressing appreciation for the things and people we have in our lives can help us build positive energy. Try and avoid engaging in gossip or criticizing other people as it may lead to increased tension or even anxiety.
  • Get out of mental loops that may be caused from daily events or situations. A situation is only negative if we perceive it to be. If something bad happens, we tend to consider ourselves as the victims by playing the story in our mind over and over again. May such an event happens, try to find something positive about it.

“You just keep pushing. You just keep pushing. I made every mistake that could be made. But I just kept pushing.” – Rene Descartes

3. Focus Your Mind Energy On Positive Thinking

Our mind is the reason behind the mental power we need in order to do and enjoy tasks. Thinking in a positive way can result in positive outcomes like healthy relationships, successful career progression and even good physical health. Similarly negative thinking can result in negative results and ‘sad’ behaviour. In order to be more productive, it’s important that you use the power of your mind by saying no to distractions and doing activities that have a long term benefit.

Eliminating all distractions while you work is the first step to getting into ‘the zone.’ Simply focus on one thing at time – preferably, start with the most important ones. Multitasking will interrupt the flow of quality work. So try avoiding distractions from other people or mediums and switching from one task to another while working.

Focus on tasks and activities that will have some kind of long term benefit. This can include learning a new technical or soft skill or even building your professional network. Building up the ability of thinking long term will be something that your future self will thank you for.

4. Listen To Your Heart And Follow A Purpose

It’s essential that you work on something that you love. Avoid getting trapped in a career path that doesn’t complete you. It is worthy to note though that your job may not always be as exciting as you would expect it to be, and that’s normal. But the majority of it should ideally be fulfilling and give you the happiness and motivation you need to become more productive.

To follow our passion in a purposeful way, we need to always have three defining factors in mind. We should be doing the work we love and are best at; allocate time to important aspects of our lives, and put our values in practice on a daily basis.

“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” – Marc Anthony

Think of past professional experiences and find moments when you felt the happiest along with the most inspired and naturally engaged with what you worked on. For those example experiences, identify what talents stood out and helped you thrive. If planning was the defining attribute for example, adopt a daily personal ‘ritual’ that will help you plan even more when at work.

Spending time for your career progression is important, but try to never forget that it’s equally important to spend time with family, exercise, and give back others. Finally, get closer to your life purpose by aligning your everyday work with what you value the most. If work really matters to someone, they are most likely to feel positive energy and focus better while persevering through hard times.

How do you manage your energy throughout the day? Let us know in the comments below!

Marios Kokolakis is a health motivation blogger and Content Manager at Brain Sharp; a fitness and nutrition blog promoting organic brain health supplements for concentration and productivity. His goal is to share his passion for health and fitness through blogging, while motivating people to pursue their dreams by applying different healthy lifestyle tips.

Advertisement
3 Comments

3 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

Published

on

Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

Continue Reading

Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

Published

on

entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
Image Credit: Midjourney

When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

Continue Reading

Entrepreneurs

Building a Business Empire: Lessons from the World’s Boldest Entrepreneurs

Learn essential lessons, success strategies, and mindset shifts every aspiring entrepreneur needs to overcome challenges and build a thriving business.

Published

on

how to build a business empire
Image Credit: Midjourney

Back in July 2017, I attended a business seminar on entrepreneurship in India. With my appetite for learning and meeting new people, I wanted to explore the latest developments in the entrepreneurial world. (more…)

Continue Reading

Change Your Mindset

Why Ideas Are More Valuable Than Resources for Entrepreneurial Success

Discover why ideas, not resources, are the true driving force behind entrepreneurial success, innovation, and lasting growth.

Published

on

Power of ideas in entrepreneurship
Image Credit: Midjourney

History shows us that the greatest minds, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Stephen King, and countless others, faced failure early on. Yet, instead of seeing failure as the end, they treated it as a comma in their story, not a full stop. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending