Why Managing Your Energy Matters More Than Managing Your Time
For decades, we have focused on managing our time more effectively. Pomodoros, Eisenhower matrices, eating frogs or picking low hanging fruit. We focused on getting things done.
Now that focus shifts to getting things done without burning out. Rather than simply optimising our time, we are learning to optimise how we spend our energy.
What can yoga teach us about sustaining high performance without becoming depleted?
Brahmacharya — The Right Use of Energy
The yogic concept of brahmacharya is traditionally translated and practiced as celibacy, but its deeper meaning is the conscious and deliberate use of energy rather than allowing it to scatter.
We recognise that every activity, every meeting and every decision requires energy. The question is: where should you invest your precious and finite energy throughout the week?
This may involve consciously saying no to meetings that could be an email, resisting sensory cravings such as "doom-scrolling" and stepping away from activities that do not align with your priorities.
Doing so creates space to say yes to protecting deep, meaningful work and to focus on what truly matters in your life, be it leadership, service, creative projects or nurturing your relationships.
Read more about how practicing brahmacharya can help optimise your energy levels: Enough is Enough: How Can Practicing Restraint Improve Clarity and Focus?
Tapas — The Discipline of Consistent Small Practices
Tapas is the cultivation of discipline, passion and courage to burn away ‘impurities’ physically, mentally and emotionally, so that our true potential can emerge.
It is not only about big, courageous moments. It is a consistent daily practice, and the tiny choices we make each day accumulate as transformative outcomes over time.
The magic of small habits is that, while they may require considerable effort at first, they eventually become automatic. What initially demands willpower gradually becomes part of your routine, requiring far less energy to maintain. Building supportive habits reduces the number of decisions you need to make each day, conserving your energy for actions that require your full attention and focus.
Sustainable energy doesn't come from heroic effort followed by collapse. It comes from a system that serves your needs and goals.
Read more about how practicing tapas can help you build stronger habits: Self-Discipline Isn't About Pushing Harder
Sankalpa — Weekly Intention to Focus Energy
Practicing sankalpa keeps our mind focused on moving towards our North Star, our purpose of being here in this life, which yoga refers to as dharma. It acts as a filter for every choice, big or small, to pass through. And like a beacon, sankalpa helps illuminate the path ahead. When decisions are aligned with our purpose, they require less mental effort and create less internal conflict.
A sankalpa is not a desire of the ego. An intention such as, "I want to speak up more in meetings," can create pressure and reinforce a sense of inadequacy if you fall short.
By contrast, a sankalpa such as, "I speak my truth," acknowledges that you are already whole. Rather than striving to become someone else, it serves as a gentle reminder throughout the day to act in alignment with who you already are.
Align Your Schedule With the Daily Dosha Cycle
Rather than fighting your energy with willpower, schedule to match the cycle: protect the pitta windows (late morning, early afternoon) for your highest-stakes decisions and hardest conversations, use the vata afternoon dip for brainstorming or creative work rather than forcing focus, and let the kapha mornings and evenings be your transition zones rather than launch points for intensity.
Read more about the daily cycle of doshas and their best use for ambitious leaders who also crave balance here: What is Your Leadership Dosha?
Pranayama — Breathwork to Manage Energy Levels
Have you experienced moments when you strain so much that you forget to breath? Or noticed how stress causes your breath to become shallow and rapid, creating tension throughout your body?
There are simple yet powerful techniques for regulating your energy and restoring balance.
Diaphragmatic breathing
Throughout the day, and especially during stress situations, use slow, deep diaphragmatic breaths. It is often referred to as 'belly breathing' because the diaphragm pushes the abdominal organs downward, expanding the belly out for every inhale.
This technique calms the parasympathetic nervous system, helping to come out of a fight-or-flight response and into a calmer, more grounded state.
Victorious breath
Referred to as ujjayi pranayama, and mainly used in strong, dynamic yoga practices, it creates strength and improves focus while calming the mind and body.
It can be particularly useful before delivering a presentation, facilitating a workshop or leading a high-stakes meeting.
To practice, open your mouth and make a strong "ha" sound as if you're trying to fog a mirror. Notice the slight constriction in your throat. Now close your lips and keep breathing in and out while maintaining this constriction.
Alternate nostril breathing
Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) is an excellent practice before difficult conversations. It encourages a sense of balance, clarity and emotional calm.
To practice, gently close the right nostril with your right thumb, and inhale slowly through the left nostril. Close the left nostril with your ring finger, lift your thumb, and exhale smoothly through the right nostril. Inhale back up through the right nostril. Exhale left, and continue this rhythm, ensuring the breath is effortless and smooth.
Conclusion
Managing energy is ultimately more sustainable than managing time alone. While time is fixed, the quality of our energy fluctuates throughout the day and can be influenced by the choices we make. Through brahmacharya, tapas, sankalpa, alignment with natural rhythms, and the practice of pranayama, yoga offers practical tools to help us lead, work and live with greater focus, resilience and balance.
❓Which activities do genuinely deserve your energy, and where might you be spending it out of habit rather than intention?
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Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week ahead.
The light in me honours the light in you.
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