How to Value Your Time and Energy

4 Practical Steps to Prioritize What Matters Most

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How to Value Your Time and Energy

Have you ever wondered why some people accomplish so much more than you do and seem to have boundless energy? We have limited time and varying energy levels, influenced by factors such as health, organization, and priorities.

I'm not advocating that you spend any time comparing yourself with others. Instead, why not learn to value your time and energy and increase your efficacy in your life? You can improve your productivity, well-being, fulfillment, and even joy.

To start valuing your time and energy more effectively, consider these four key areas. They will help you focus on what truly matters.

Identify Your Top Priorities

A frequent barrier to successfully valuing your time and energy is a need for more focus, which makes setting priorities and acting on them difficult. Without a manageable focus, no time management system or to-do list will work.

To overcome this, create a short list of your top three priorities each week. (work and career, family and relationships, health and well-being, for example). Align your daily activities with these priorities.

But what about your other priorities? They include faith, spirituality, personal growth, contribution and purpose, financial stability, and leisure and recreation.

Depending on your current situation, you can shift focus between these areas as needed—weekly or daily. For example, career and work are top priorities if a work deadline looms.

If you prioritize valuing people at home this week, you could hike with the family, which also prioritizes health and well-being.

Getting to a house of worship may not be a priority this week, but you can increase its importance by spending time with your family in attendance. Alternatively, you can meditate and pray for ten minutes before getting up each morning.

Another possibility? Take a weekly Tai Chi class to prioritize spirituality and health. Time is finite, and your energy varies depending on the circumstances. The key is to prioritize over whatever time frame works for you.

Special Tip: Conduct a one-week time audit to determine where you're spending your time versus where you should spend it based on your values and the area of focus you prioritized.

Set Boundaries to Guard Your Time Focus and Energy

When you've zeroed in on your focus and priorities for a specific period, you must set and fiercely manage boundaries that allow you to value what matters most.

You need to identify tasks or people that regularly disrupt your focus. For example, you may enjoy your coworker in the next office, but enjoyment turns to frustration on the fifth unimportant interruption in a day.

You may also occasionally enjoy coffee with your neighbor, but not as an everyday occurrence when working from home.

Once you've identified the interrupters, decide how to manage them effectively. If your team leader holds lengthy, unproductive meetings, ask them how your attendance will help the team's progress.

You know you could better spend your time accomplishing the current task. Suggest that a bi-weekly meeting with a solid agenda might suffice.

Suppose you're a department manager, such as HR. Practice saying no to unreasonable requests. For instance, the CEO might ask the HR manager to prioritize a new evaluation system just before open enrollment for benefits.

The proper response is that this will be the priority for December since other priorities have already been overloading October and November. Better? Ask what your current priorities are for the CEO. Ask them what to skip if the evaluation system is the top priority.

By setting clear boundaries, you protect your energy and maintain focus on your highest priorities. Because you have prioritized for the period, you can practice saying no to nonessential tasks.

You won't lose your job or cause undue hardship if you rationally and kindly guard time for your highest priorities. If your workplace is unreasonable (I deeply sympathize), it may be time to polish your resume for a stealth job search.

Use Focused Time Blocks for Work Needing Concentration

Set aside blocks of time so you can work uninterrupted on projects or tasks that require your undivided attention. Schedule this continuous time on your calendar for 60–90-minute blocks, followed by short breaks.

It's essential that you schedule a time block and label it with the intended task to routinize the practice and make it as significant as other events in your day.

Start with one focused time block per day and build from there. Remove all distractions during these time blocks, including social media and emails. Put a sign on your door requesting no interruptions except in a dire emergency.

At home, ask your family to honor your opportunity to work, write, or paint, whatever your priority.

Eliminate Your Significant Energy Drainers

After setting priorities, boundaries, and time blocks, your next step is identifying the specific activities or distractions that drain your time, energy, and productivity.

Whether it's constant social media checks, multitasking, or unproductive meetings, commit to reducing or eliminating these by setting clear limits. For example, check email only twice a day. Meetings don't always need an hour; schedule 15 minutes with a strictly focused agenda.

Multitasking during downtime can drain your mental energy. If you're watching TV and spending time with your family, ensure you are fully present instead of checking your phone or responding to work emails.

If you replace just one energy-draining habit with a focused activity, you will immediately and positively affect your time and energy availability.

Concluding Thoughts

Valuing your time and energy is essential for a more fulfilled and productive life. By identifying your top priorities, setting clear boundaries, using focused time blocks, and eliminating energy drainers, you make time for what really matters to you.

Start small; stay consistent. You will reap significant benefits for your productivity, peace of mind, and overall sense of well-being.

Build Your ValuesCrafting Toolkit

Job Searching Resources

• Job searching is at the top of many people's minds these days. My friend, Matt Law, following his successful job search, posted this on LinkedIn, and I promised I’d post it here. Matt said, “Ask anyone experiencing it [job searching] firsthand and they'll tell you that the job market is really tight right now. The Never Search Alone book, process and community helped a ton. I was able to get a better sense of what I can bring to and what I was looking for in a role. It also helped manage the highs and lows of interviewing. It's worth checking out if you're looking for your next opportunity.”

• My friends Alison Doyle and Jen Hubley Luckwaldt edit another terrific resource for job seekers. Their publication rises above much of the drivel written about job searching to focus on what really matters in a successful job search. Take a look at The Job Hopper News “Are You Wasting Time Searching for Jobs in the Wrong Places?”

Valuing Your Time and Energy

• Tony Schwartz’s The Energy Project focuses on managing energy, not just time. It offers insights into balancing mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual power to achieve higher performance. Find “Six Ways to Refuel Your Energy Every Day.”

• James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, provides practical strategies for improving focus, managing time, and building better habits. He also offers 30 days of tips and articles such as “The Productivity Guide: Time Management Strategies That Work.”

• Another prolific podcaster, writer, and published author, David Allen’s GTD Connect (Getting Things Done), has helped thousands better understand how to prioritize effectively and focus on what matters most. For example, I like the simple sentiment found in “Getting Others to Change.”