Why Energy Matters More Than Time
Some days everything clicks. Other days, it feels like you’re dragging uphill.
That’s not a motivation problem — it’s biology.
When you learn to work with your energy patterns instead of fighting them, performance becomes far more sustainable.
When I look back at this past year one of my more successful changes I made was a shift in my schedule and leaning into my energy fluctuations. This allowed me to be more present for the aspects of my life I wanted to, excel when I needed to, enjoy my days more, and feel more rested - despite failing to get as much sleep as I'd want (and probably need). For me this comprised of a few small but specific changes:
Loaded up my mornings
Built in an early afternoon down time
Protected my Friday evenings such that they became my recharge time.
Shifted my workouts as needed when life necessitated it
Now I realize, not all of this will work for everyone and we all will approach this differently (as we should) but the process I went through to make these changes can work for everyone. And as we look forward to a new year, it is a great opportunity to make schedule shifts.
I started this process by recognizing what my daily energy shifts looked like and when I typically feel most energetic as well as where my lulls are. Some of this I was mostly aware of, but keeping track for a couple weeks really helped prove it to myself. Allowing for some variance week to week helps to make sure it is a real pattern and not just a one off. Not all of this is completely within our control based on work or kids so this process won't be perfect, however we can look to make progress towards a better solution. I then made a shift in my mornings since I've always been a morning person, it seemed logical to me to lean into that such that the bulk of my daily work (and workouts) were done before noon. This shift then created a gap in my early afternoon that I began to relish as an opportunity to refuel, refresh, and take some time to orient the rest of my day. Those two pieces came together rather seamlessly and in conjunction, but the Friday one took longer for me to finally acknowledge as it more or less came out of necessity. At the end of the week, Sunday is the start of my work/exercise week, I was crashing pretty hard and early in the evening. That still opened up Saturday evenings if I wanted to, but allowing Friday to be a "down" evening really helped anchor my week giving my brain and body an opportunity to recover.
While there are some differences between individuals (primarily whether you're a morning person or night-owl) the general biology and trends are consistent. Mornings are associated with a higher cortisol level which helps with mental focus and physical performance. There's a natural dip at some point "mid-day" that's a function of hormone shifts, blood sugar, and stress load. And then in the evenings the shift is toward winding down the day towards recovery. Now the magnitude of the variations aren't consistent from person to person and of course can be "controlled" to some degree by willpower and caffeine. However, understanding these variations allows you to work with your day not against it and save the coffee powered sessions for when you really need it.
So what are some of the signs that a schedule shift might be helpful?
Living on caffeine
Poor sleep, especially when feeling exhausted
Emotional swings
Forcing workouts when tired
Consistent lack of focus
There are more, but these are the key ones to look for and for me caffeine was the biggest flag that suggested I should think about a shift. I could tell that what I was doing, while working, wasn't something I could realistically sustain indefinitely, and most likely would create a problem down the road. This is where having some level of awareness and data tracking comes in handy (or a coach) to help spot these trends and allow you to do some experiments on yourself to see what moves the needle in the desired direction. I'm excited to see what I can accomplish this next year based on the continuation of this adjustment process!
Energy isn’t something to dominate — it’s something to manage.
When you learn to roll with daily and weekly trends, performance becomes more consistent, recovery improves, and burnout fades.
High performance isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing the right things at the right time.
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