In September 2020, I published a post about the time management techniques I use. Taking a look at the post, I still believe some of the techniques are useful. I still use the Pomodoro technique and calendar blocking for instance. What has changed since then, though, has been a major shift in my mentality and my perception of time.
In case you happened to stumble upon my blog and don't know who I am and what I do, I'm a fourth year PhD candidate with a couple of part-time jobs on the side, I'm an author and I manage my own social media, trying to build my author platform. On top of that I'm a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a pet mom to 4 wonderful creatures. Together with my husband, we manage our home and tend to the plants, and I prepare the meals almost exclusively (I do it for fun!). I also have to take care of my physical and mental health, which according to unpopular opinion should be my top priority.
(After writing the above paragraph, I just wanted to quit this entire post and start a new life.)
What I've learned trying so hard is that hard work doesn't always pay off, but that's a topic for another post. The most important lesson from my journey as a (terrible) multi-tasker came with debunking the time management myth. Yeah, Elon Musk and I both have 24 hours in a day, and he's a billionaire and I'm far from ever being one, however, we do not have the same 24 hours. I don't believe Mr. Musk (or any other rich guy or gal) does his own cleaning, cooking, laundry etc. I don't think he ever has to sit in line and wait anywhere. And that's just a small part of the different lifestyles we have.
Instead of focusing on my time, nowadays I focus on tasks based on my energy levels. And it has been a lifesaver. Sometimes I only get to work on my PhD for a couple of hours in a day, but I always place those 2 hours when I'm most (no, not productive) energetic. And I use my least energetic time to do lowkey tasks like pay the bills or go to the grocery store, or even answer emails. And I know some people don't agree with this kind of management, but it seems to work for me. Answering emails when I'm most energetic and making progress on my PhD when I'm least energetic makes no sense to me.
What are your thoughts on managing energy instead of time?
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