3 Ways To Manage Your Energy For Productivity

Hitting that 3 PM “brain potato” wall isn’t just about how much work you’ve done—it’s often about how you’ve managed your energy along the way. I want to share with you a few small, test-it-yourself shifts that can help you stay sharp, avoid the late-day crash, and still have gas left in the tank for your evening. These are strategies I’ve used myself, refined over time, and recommend you try out to see what clicks.

Why energy management matters (and why it’s different from time management)

Time management gets a lot of attention, but how you arrange tasks across your day matters just as much.

Think of energy like a bank account: you can withdraw all morning and be drained by afternoon, or you can pace deposits and withdrawals so you still have bandwidth later for a run, a meetup, or simply a decent evening.

1. Start your morning with a short, calming activity

Before you dive into work, do something calming that helps you show up relaxed. Examples that work for me and people I know:

• Play with your dog or stretch for 5–10 minutes.
• Walk outside for 10 minutes (even around the block).
• Read a few pages on a Kindle or your latest paperback.
• Spend 3–5 minutes on a brief morning review — what matters today?

It doesn’t need to be long. The point is to start from a calmer place so you’re less likely to burn out early.

2. Plan a recharge around your natural low

Pay attention to your body. Most people have a predictable slump — late morning or early afternoon.

Once you identify that window, intentionally schedule a short break there. Options that actually help recharge:

• Walk outside — getting out of the office or house resets your brain.
• Find a nearby park and sit quietly for 10–15 minutes.
• Do a guided meditation (apps like Headspace or simple YouTube timers work).
• Put on calming music and close your eyes for a short rest.
• If you can nap, a 10–20 minute power nap can be huge.

Even if you don’t fully “fall asleep,” giving your brain permission to stop going, going, going will reduce the late-day potato feeling.

3. Save low-focus tasks for low-energy windows

High-focus work is usually best earlier in the day when your attention is strongest.

So use the late afternoon for lower-energy but necessary tasks:

• Admin work (email triage, expense notes, organizing files)
• Casual or informational calls that don’t require heavy prep
• Routine planning or review that you can do off the cuff

This reduces the chance you’re asking your late-afternoon self to deliver peak performance when you naturally have less bandwidth.

Test, iterate, and be realistic

These aren’t hard rules — they’re experiments. I always encourage you to try a version for a week or two and tweak it.

Maybe you get a second wind in the evening. Great — flip the schedule. The goal is to shape your day around how you actually feel, not how an ideal schedule looks on paper.

Quick weekly checklist to try

• Morning: 5–15 minutes calming start + quick review of priorities.
• Midday: Identify your natural slump and schedule a 10–20 minute recharge.
• Afternoon: Block lower-focus tasks and routine calls in your low-energy window.
• End of week: Reflect on what times you felt best and adjust the next week’s schedule.

Final thoughts

Small shifts compound. Do these things consistently and you’ll notice better evenings, more energy for the things you enjoy, and a calmer daily rhythm.

If you try this, I’d love to hear which tweak helped the most — or what you adjusted to fit your day.