Managing Energy Is The Key To Preventing Burnout

Are you struggling to maintain energy throughout the day, only to run out of steam just when it’s time to devote that energy to your partner, kids, or favorite hobby? It’s time to dive deeper into the benefits of energy management. 

Time management is about being productive within a schedule limited by a 24-hour day. Energy management is based on the science of stamina. It’s about knowing when and how to push your limits, when to hold back, and when to hold a steady pace throughout your day. An average marathon runner can only sprint some of the 26 miles. They train to know their physical and mental capabilities. For team sport athletes, energy management could be resetting after a foul play or  participating in team rituals for games and practices. These skills and routines help athletes perform at their highest level for long periods. However, these techniques are not specific to just athletes. 

Think about what your daily schedule looks like. Perhaps you wake up before 7 am, eat a healthy breakfast, complete a workout, then work efficiently and effectively until 2 pm - 4 pm when a mental wall hits. Then maybe there is another burst of energy at the end of the day (but not like the morning), going home to finish that one last thing you needed to do for work, trying to make time for your loved ones, and finally going to bed by 10 pm. 

With the proper time management, the list of things to do in your mind can be accomplished. However, our bodies cannot physically or mentally sustain this for long periods. The key is energy, the basis of our motivation to engage in effort and work-related behaviors. As every task or activity consumes part of our energy to perform physical and mental tasks, energy management techniques replenish our energy throughout the day.

The 4 Types of Energy

To find the best technique to increase your energy levels throughout the day, consider which type of energy you need: physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.

Physical energy is represented by sleep, nutrition, breathing, and movement. 

Emotional energy is used to strengthen positive emotions and emotional resolve. 

Mental energy is what we rely on most to concentrate, produce work, create, visualize and manage. 

And then there's spiritual energy, the fuel that brings everything together with the intention of living a meaningful life through values, passions and relationships. It's this spiritual energy that can inspire us to push our limits, hold back when necessary, and maintain a steady pace in our daily lives.

Before talking about tools to manage your energy it is important to identify your optimal energy level for your performance. This level could differ depending on your occupation or task you are completing. During therapy sessions, we reflect on your best performances and worst performances to identify what kind of energy is most beneficial.

Next, we will talk about identifying when you are not at your optimal energy level. To do this we will explore how your body feels and your thought patterns during your performances. The goal of this step is to make you overall more aware of your energy levels. Specifically, we will take note the time of day and learn what else is causing your energy levels to drop.

Last, we will work on different tools that will help get your energy levels where they need to be. If your energy is too high then we would focus on relaxation techniques, on the other hand, if your energy is too low (tired or unmotivated) we would focus on intensity increasing tools. 

Incorporating effective energy management techniques into our daily lives is crucial for achieving sustained productivity and personal fulfillment. Whether you’re an athlete pushing physical limits or a professional balancing mental, emotional, and spiritual energy, knowing when to exert and when to conserve energy can make a profound difference. 

By recognizing and nurturing the different types of energy—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—we can approach each day with a more balanced and resilient mindset. 

Manage Energy With This Breathing Technique

With practice and awareness, managing energy, not just time, becomes the key to thriving both in work and in life. Here’s one of the ways I help my clients manage their high mental energy:

Diaphragmatic breathing, a form of deep breath coming from your diaphragm, can be used when there is muscle tension due to fatigue or stress. Here's how to do it:

Start by inhaling so that your diaphragm is moving down, pushing the belly out and making room in your lungs.

Breathe in gently using your chest cavity, which is the center part of your lungs, elevating your chest and rib cage. Air should enter your lungs from the bottom up.

Finally, raise your shoulders and chest to fill the top part of your lungs as you finish the inhalation. Hold this breath for several seconds before beginning your exhale. The exhale process starts by drawing the belly inside and lowering your chest and shoulders to empty your lungs. To encourage relaxation in the chest and belly, make sure to release all the tension in your muscles at the end of the exhale. Repeat a few times to identify and release tension.

I specialize in time management, energy management, and helping adolescents and adults navigate anxiety, major life transitions, sports performance, and high-pressure careers. Book a session with me at Lifeologie Counseling Dallas by calling (214) 357-4001, or connect with a Lifeologie therapist near you who can help you implement strategies to balance your energy and avoid burnout.