It’s Energy, not Time.
Before you read : This read is sorta heavy, and there’s a lot to comprehend and grasp. I personally recommend not starting if you’re gonna leave it halfway as it’s going to create perplexity. But you can for sure give it a try, I’ve tried to boil it down to the simplest of language. Happy reading:)
Hey Friends,
You know, I’ve always tried to place something unique or uncanny on the table away from the mainstream. Because that really allows us to bring out things that were otherwise unspoken, or maybe unheard of.
Not a second passes by that I open Medium to see everyone talking about those 10 things that’ll change your life, which to me is so repetitive, monotonous, and toxic. No one talks about new ideas, new conceptions, distinct notions, etc. And with that recurring pattern, I’ve accumulated more shells than pearls. Yet sometimes with luck, fortune, or that magic that occurs when you realize something that was actually missing, it’s marvelous.
It’s like the huge iceberg inside the ocean than the mountain that we’re able to observe. So let’s start from the mountain!
You all might have come across hundreds of articles on productivity that essentially talk about the idea of time management being stupendously significant if not thousands. Well, I won’t deny but it’s true.
Time management plays a huge role when it comes to productivity, or in general to achieve something that you’re craving or aiming for.
But when we view it from a different vantage point that provides us with a broad perception, is time that so-called influencers milk their content on the only thing that has a considerable impact when it comes to productivity, or for that matter day-to-day life?
This read will answer that very question backed with some research and a fresh perspective that no one talks about, perhaps it has fallen through the cracks.
Why do people talk about time management?
The discussion is instigated because it is an essential skill for achieving success in personal and professional life. Effective time management involves setting priorities, making plans, and allocating time wisely to achieve specific goals. It helps individuals to reduce stress, increase productivity, and make the most of their available time.
Considering the fact that we live in a fast paced world today, time has become a scarce resource, and people have to accomplish more tasks in less time.
Poor time management can lead to missed deadlines, poor performance, and burnout, resulting in decreased job satisfaction and lower quality of life. Therefore, people are indulged in learning strategies and techniques for effective time management, such as prioritization, delegation, and scheduling, to optimize their productivity and success.
Also, the fact that then people have something to sell to their audience, they choose time as most people flunk. And why do people flunk? Because it’s an incomplete explanation as to what matters when it comes to getting things done. Hence let’s look at ‘Time’ from a different narrative to understand my take in a better way.
A perspective shift from time to deadline
I raised a point while justifying why people choose to think about the time, that poor time management can lead to missed deadlines.
Deadlines are crucial as it’s the very mark or an indication that your work is going to be of no use after that very point and that it has to be completed before that indication.
And hence most people work in accordance with the given task and deadline.
It starts from the task, towards its deadline, accompanied by various factors throughout.
Our life, knowingly or unknowingly runs on tasks and deadlines.
Tasks serve a purpose in our life. Those tasks maybe be personal or work-related, maybe conventional or unconventional, essentially anything that gives us a vision, a plan, or an aim. And there’s a brief period of time when we want it to be completed, or achieved.
Those tasks can be as obvious as some report submission and a project completion in the office, or an assignment and an activity submission in the school. Which I refer to as the “known” tasks with “known” deadlines.
It even includes something that is preplanned like knowing to bathe at a given time or to eat.
But something like —
You are thirsty, or you are hungry. You need satisfy your mouth with water and fill your stomach with food.
Which has an “unknown” deadline. But still, the fact doesn't change that it does have a deadline, that you’re gonna lose your mind if it wasn’t for you getting food and water. And getting them, of course, wasn’t preplanned, hence it was an “unknown” task.
This proves my statement that our life knowingly or unknowingly runs on tasks and deadlines.
Here’s a study,
A study was conducted in 2018 by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, Irvine. The study, titled “The Temporal Experience of Work and Non-Work: A Diary Study of Work-Life Conflict, Mood, and Deviance,” aimed to investigate the relationship between work-related tasks and deadlines, energy levels, and negative work outcomes such as deviant behavior.
The researchers collected data from 115 working adults over a two-week period, asking participants to complete daily diary surveys measuring their energy levels, work tasks and deadlines, work-life conflict, and negative work outcomes. The results showed that higher levels of work-life conflict and lower energy levels were associated with more negative work outcomes, including deviant behavior such as absenteeism, tardiness, and reduced effort.
The study concluded that managing energy levels and reducing work-life conflict are important for preventing negative work outcomes. It also suggested that employers should consider implementing strategies to help employees manage their energy levels and maintain a healthy work-life balance to prevent negative work outcomes.
Remember me mentioning certain factors that are accompanied throughout the process? From all of those, the major one that everyone talks about is Time and the ‘x factor’ that people often miss out on is Energy.
And this study has brought in the energy factor in the game accompanied by tasks and deadlines.
But again, my argument of tasks and deadlines is focused more on the “unknown” ones that fill most of our lives, and for them, we require energy.
We have unlimited time
It’s a thoughtful yet mind-bending concept that how we have unlimited time. This perspective is one hundred percent debatable and is very profound.
But as far as it is applicable and helpful, it’s worth understanding, perhaps embracing!
Having talked about the concept of tasks and deadlines, they are something that our life runs on. And here’s where we have a loophole, time is unlimited. Carefully read my argument, which I’m trying to address, below.
Time indeed is unlimited, deadlines are constant in life making time limited.
These deadlines can be for any task starting from an exam, to submission, to the very deadline of you stopping to walk. Now of course one can’t predict on which day or date you’re going to stop walking but it’s a certain point after which you are disabled. This is that unknown deadline!
This was never a preplanned task. Maybe this is fate. And the occurrence of that fate is that deadline which is beyond science and is strenuous to put into words.
So time is infinite, yes of course it never stops. But when you think of it in a way, it’s the time people are exaggerating on when they say ‘time never stops and you should value it’ yet the underlying aspect is that you’re bounded by deadlines. You’ve recurring deadlines for recurring tasks.
Hence in the short run, when you’ve no deadlines (which ain’t possible because of fate), for you, time is infinite which is absolutely true. But even having unlimited time for that short bracket, you’ve limited energy per day to invest.
So is it the time that you run out of or it was the energy?
What is energy
Can you recall this phase “I’ve put in so much time and energy in it!” ?
Energy is a finite resource that can be depleted, and managing it effectively can lead to increased productivity and better work-life balance.
In 2011, a study was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan to examine the relationship between self-control and energy. The study found that self-control, which is necessary for tasks such as resisting temptation and focusing on important tasks, requires energy, and that this energy is a limited resource that can be depleted throughout the day. The researchers also found that certain factors, such as stress and lack of sleep, can further deplete this energy, making it more difficult to exert self-control. The study concluded that managing energy levels is an important factor in maintaining self-control and achieving success in tasks that require it.
Source: Baumeister, R. F., Sparks, E. A., & Stillman, T. F. (2011). Free will in consumer behavior: Self-control, ego depletion, and choice. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21(3), 241–243.
We can still take a hypothetical situation on the basis of the study that we have unlimited time to complete a task (not considering the deadline), but we will need unlimited power and energy as well, which is certainly not feasible.
There are different types of energies:
- Physical energy refers to the body’s ability to perform work, and it is influenced by factors such as exercise, nutrition, and sleep. Ensuring that one gets enough rest, eats a healthy diet, and exercises regularly can help maintain physical energy levels throughout the day.
- Emotional energy is related to feelings and moods, and it can have a significant impact on productivity. Negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, and anger can deplete energy levels, while positive emotions such as joy, gratitude, and optimism can increase energy levels. Engaging in activities that promote positive emotions can help maintain emotional energy levels.
- Mental energy refers to the brain’s ability to focus and make decisions. Mental fatigue can occur when the brain is overworked or when it is exposed to distractions, such as email notifications or social media. Managing mental energy involves minimizing distractions and focusing on high-priority tasks during periods of peak mental energy.
- Spiritual energy refers to a sense of purpose or meaning in life. Feeling connected to a larger purpose can give individuals a sense of motivation and energy that can carry over into their work.
Energy Theory — It’s Energy, not Time
This is the main and most interesting part of the article. And if you’re reading now, that means you have come a long way, hence you shouldn't miss this!
I came up with this theory to prove the significance of energy over time.
Let’s understand the Energy Theory using the following image.
Let’s consider that we have a total of ‘x’ energy.
We plan a task that has to be done on that day (for which we have x energy) which requires ‘y’ amount energy — where x>y.
Due to the factor of fate, we need to consider the energy that is going to be spent on unplanned tasks, so let that be ‘z total’ as there are going to be multiple events. Like z1, z2, z3… and so on.
But here, z1 will be less than y (it can be greater as well, but just the fact that we’re considering multiple events, we’d neglect that possibility).
Z total is the amount of energy that is going to be spent anyways because that may or may not be in our hands. And hence Z total > y.
Example of Z : Scrolling phone, overthinking, unplanned call, overeating, etc.
As the series of events are going to occur after spending some amount of energy on y, say ‘n’ — the total energy spent in that particular day will be ny+ z total.
Let that be alpha.
So any work done exceeding the amount of energy spent in that day, which is alpha, is going to exceed x, which is as good as going outside the limit (which after a point can be harmful if rest is not involved).
Hence we’re out of energy, after which completing the task y is brutally hard, but even functioning to do normal things is going to be tough. And hence we sleep. And even if we prolong that, after a point, it causes us headaches.
This proves that it’s just not about time, but energy which is in fact limited.
Take away
I think, concepts like Time, Energy, Tasks, and Deadlines — are relative and very interconnected. And it all comes down to how we perceive them. Independent of whether we’re focusing on the notion of being productive or not, we have to look down upon them if we want to live a healthy and happy life.
Spending time on Z is partly in our hands when we unknowingly spend time overthinking, scrolling social media, gossiping, and anything that drains energy and is of no value for that matter.
It’s been acknowledged several times on the internet that scrolling social media recursively thinking it’s just for a limited time actually amalgamates to a few solid hours, but it’s vital to mention here that it’s just not the time that compounds but the energy drained during those hours as well and should also be spoken about.
As it just not ruines the energy required for the necessary and preplanned task y but also as a whole which makes it harder for you to function. And the fact that we’re not able to complete the task y with the energy we have, we go off the limits which causes problems down the road.
The equation of productivity as discussed in my article Get Things Done requires you to be efficient with the work. And efficiency requires energy. So while we plan for the day considering the time, it won’t be a sin to think about the requirement of energy.
The possibility of us being exhausted by the 7th task in the list of 10 tasks is likely to happen. So any task achieved after the 7th would require you to go off limits which will make it worse.
Hence people always recommend you to take breaks. Like going on a walk, taking a break for a coffee, exercising and stretching for a while, or just sitting quietly — perhaps closing your eyes and reflecting upon yourself.
So what I want you all to think about the next time you’re planning to perform the y or the z task is the amount of energy you think it’ll consume. So it’ll essentially put you in a place where you are not only cautious about the fact that it’s going to consume a hell of a lot of time, but as well as energy. And that way, you’d learn to keep some time and energy for yourself!
That was from me, signing out.
Kabir Khanuja.
Think about it…
Thank you friends for reading this article, I’m glad hoping that I’ve given some value addition to your life and you can relate to this. Have a great day, and cherish every moment, until next time, peace!
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