5 Tips to Manage Your Energy through the Week

People often complain that they don’t have enough time to do things. That they are too busy or in a rush to meet tight deadlines. Most of us can relate to that. But what if running after the clock was not the solution? What if you could take it slow, take time to answer requests with care and warmth, do your stuff in a relaxed mood... and still meet all your deadlines ahead of time? Sounds unrealistic, but in fact this is within your reach. The secret is to learn how to manage your energy level to help you get through even the most intense of work weeks.

How to maintain an optimal energy level at work? Here are 5 practical tips:

1. Make your Mondays count. I’m just like Garfield. I hate Mondays. Or at least I used to. Until I decided to turn Monday into a day that counts. I do front-loading, i.e. I relentlessly pack my Monday with as much work as I can. And you know what? When I get back home, instead of feeling drowsy like I used to, well I’m actually energized with the feel of having put in more than a day’s work behind me, the very first day. The bonus is that by the end of the week, you will start to ease into the weekend earlier as your workload and worries fade.

2. Let the music work for you. One more thing about Mondays, people don’t like to chat on that day and it’s usually dead quiet. So it’s the best time to put on those earphones and let the rhythm carry you forward. In fact, you might want to have one or several playlists to inspire you or help you focus. The beginning of the week calls for more intense music. As Friday draws near, the workload (and the mood) gets lighter and I usually catch myself humming a summer song.

3. Out for lunch. Come later. Whether you have one hour or half an hour, lunchtime is sacred. Eating in front of the screen, even if you’re not working per say, is a capital sin you’ll have to pay for. Tiredness, boredom and sluggishness will be the inevitable price. Instead, go out for a long walk if it’s a sunny day. Or lunch out with people. Embrace noon like you used to when you were a kid at school. When you get back in front of that screen, you’ll be refreshed and you’ll often have new ideas and be able to tackle problems from new angles.

4. You gotta be health-wise. Get the basics covered. Sleep is vital for your metabolism and mind to regenerate. Your sleep should be the gift of quality time to yourself: go to bed early with a good book, soothing music and some hot cocoa; then get up early to do some light stretching, a few crunches and press-ups. This routine will help you get a good grip on your life. Add in gym sessions for good measure. Watch your eating habits: coffee, salt and sugar aren’t true friends, they’re a bad influence. Go for a light lunch at noon and snack on fruits and nuts in the afternoon. Within a few days your energy levels and ability to focus will spike. You already knew all this, so now just do it.

5. Don’t sit all day. Take breaks and move. The best ideas won’t come when you’re staring at that computer screen. Walk, have a chat, connect with people on a human level. Stretch your body and flex your mind. Small breaks will keep fatigue at bay, and a little walk will take you a long way.

I came by the notion of managing one’s energy level after an intense period at work where I was constantly feeling under the snow. I didn’t like that feel, so I went to ask my Marketing CMO, how he managed to handle complex workloads all the time. Turned out I simply had to ask, manage your energy he said. I did wonder whether this was just a quick answer to get rid of my question, or if on the contrary he was being so serious that he was answering me in a profoundly esoteric manner. But in fact, it was a genuine and simple solution to my problem.

I started with the basics to maintain my energy, and over time developed my own strategies. And yes, it works. Your energy is what keeps you going, what inspires and drives you. Take care of it. It’ll free up vast swathes of time for you, it’ll free your mind and help you stay composed, relaxed and be extremely productive in your professional life and more.

Remember you can’t control time. But you can control your energy.

Of Writing and Sushi

What does writing and sushi have in common? Not much per se, unless you're one of those lucky food bloggers hopping around the globe to sample exotic dishes and then flaunt every single juicy detail of it. Shameless. Ah, talk about a dream job! Anyway, tucking that lifestyle envy aside, let's go back to the subject at hand. Maybe if we rephrase that question we could root out something:

What does great writing and great sushi have in common?

Now we're on to something. The answer is contained in one word: simplicity.

The best sushi in the world is not something that is extravagantly prepared. Nor does it boast any frills. In fact, it boils down to the very basics of sushi. A piece of fish on some rice*. But to get that piece of fish right is no easy matter. Like in all art forms, it takes a lifetime to achieve the mastery of simplicity.

Now, let's get things straight here. Simplicity does not mean plain, easy, careless or lack of effort. Much on the contrary.

People are messy. They come with clutter. Whether in ideas or writing, they tend to spill everything out, sometimes even in random order. Summoning a five-line sentence or plugging in fancy words at every twist and turn does not make great writing. Making things complicated or look complicated does not make them better. It only gives a headache to the reader.

To make a text flow easily. To convey complex ideas in a manner that makes them easier to understand. To write up something that's pleasant to read. Now that takes work and skill. Easy reading does not mean easy writing, in fact the easier it is to read something, the greater the craftsmanship behind.

When putting ink on paper, you need to be able to grasp the essential, leave out the pollution and craft from the reader's point of view.  The simplest of recipes, all too often hard to follow.

The quest for simplicity is all the more crucial if you want to get complex information across. Much like in chemistry where complex molecules are assembled out of simple atoms, complex ideas are best served by using simple building-blocks cleverly put together. From a scientific perspective, complex is many simple things intelligently assembled, whereas complicated—you or your Facebook relationship status don't wanna go there.

Whether it's writing or cooking, art or science, I admire the great minds that make things simpler to understand.

Feast your soul on these inspiring quotes:

• "If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself." – Albert Einstein
• "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." – Leonardo da Vinci (attributed) 
• "Simplicity is the key to brilliance." – Bruce Lee

Talking about a feast, back to what's truly essential. Sushi. You'll find below the teaser to Jiro dreams of sushi. A documentary on Jiro, an old man who is universally renowned as the world's best sushi chef. The documentary is a masterpiece in itself. See for yourself how simple can be amazing.

 To end, I'd like to dedicate this blogpost in the memory of Terry Pratchett, a master in crafting magnificent stories with the simplest and truest of writing styles, who left us all too soon earlier this year.

* Technically that's a nigiri, but this article refers to sushi as the umbrella term.