Managing Energy, Not Time

"Most of us respond to rising demands in the workplace by putting in longer hours, which inevitably takes a toll on us physically, mentally, and emotionally.  That leads to declining levels of engagement, increasing levels of distraction, high turnover rates, and soaring medical costs among employees."  This caution is raised by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy in On Managing Yourself.  They continue:

"...The core problem with working longer hours is that time is a finite resource.  Energy is a different story.  Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four main wellsprings in human beings:  the body, emotions, mind, and spirit.  In each, energy can be systematically expanded and regularly renewed by establishing specific rituals — behaviors that are intentionally practiced and precisely  scheduled, with the goal of making them unconscious and automatic as quickly as possible.

"To effectively reenergize their workforces, organizations need to shift their emphasis from getting more out of people to investing more in them, so they are motivated — and able — to bring more of themselves to work every day.  To recharge themselves, individuals need to recognize the costs of energy-depleting behaviors and then take responsibility for changing them, regardless of the circumstances they are facing."

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