The more we have to do, it seems, the less time and resources we have to cope with the mountain of tasks facing us. Many of you are no doubt all too familiar with this challenge. In no particular order, I often write about the methods that help me to complete important tasks on time. Today I’m looking at how to boost productivity with energy.

The feeling of never catching up on a seemingly endless to-do list is something many people experience, including my coaching clients. Despite trying different time management techniques such as timeboxing or Pomodoro, the desired results haven’t materialized. More often than not, I find myself sitting across from highly driven and disciplined individuals, who still feel like, “if I were just more productive, I could accomplish a great deal more.”

Productivity is complex and varies across countries, businesses, teams, and individuals. At the individual level, one of the most widespread misunderstandings about productivity is that it’s synonymous with “accomplishing more work” – or simply being more efficient.

Instead, productivity is actually about making the most of the limited time, energy, and attention at your disposal, and focusing on what truly matters. And you will be better able to do this if you feel alert and clear-headed. That’s why being mindful of your energy is just as important as managing your time.

Pay yourself first

The phrase “pay yourself first” is a well-known piece of advice aimed at managing personal finances. Often, when we save, we wait until the end of the month to see whether there’s any money left over. But more often than not, just the opposite is true. That’s why “pay yourself first” recommends  automatically setting aside a certain amount to save at the beginning of the month, as soon as you receive your paycheck.

When we let work tasks, meetings, and projects simply run their course, we rarely have any energy left for ourselves. We often end up pouring everything we have into the tasks at hand – and not even the ones that are truly important to us or our work. The best way to avoid becoming totally exhausted is to make sure that your time comes first.

The start of the year is an ideal time for this. Before your work calendar fills up, it might pay off to plan vacations and smaller breaks ahead of time. (Are you the type that doesn’t enjoy planning, preferring to be spontaneous? While that’s perfectly understandable, you nevertheless run the risk of letting others do your “planning” for you. Before you know it, your calendar will be jam-packed when what you really need is a break.)

The same goes for the working week: 68% of people say they don’t have enough time during the day to concentrate without distractions. One solution is to block off some focus time in your calendar, either weekly or monthly. The amount of time varies by profession and individual, but 25% of your working hours is a good place to start. If you manage to dedicate this time to tasks that move the needle the most, it will boost both your satisfaction and your energy levels.

When a meeting could just as easily have been an e-mail

Not all meetings are bad, but for many, meetings (just like emails) are major drains of their time and energy. Productivity expert Christian Poensgen refers to a 2021 study in his newsletter “Beyond Productivity,” which found that professionals spend an average of 14.2 hours per week in meetings. By November 2021, that number had jumped to 21.5 hours – a 50% increase.[1]

This trend didn’t reverse after the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2023 study by Microsoft found that the time spent in calls and Microsoft Teams meetings increased by 192% compared to 2020.[2] In just three years, people were spending three times (!) as much time per week in meetings. This is a problem[3], especially when meetings are too long, poorly organized, and have no clear purpose.    

Taking part in too many meetings can be a surprisingly “effective” way to drain your energy. One practice that has proved its worth is to regularly double-check all the meetings in your schedule. What ones do you attend simply because of “meeting FOMO” (the fear of missing out)? And when you find a meeting that is attended by all colleagues – check whether one person would suffice, or whether you can all take turns. Are your meetings well-documented, potentially using AI tools, so you can access information independently and at your own convenience?

The power of a positive space

When knowledge workers are asked where they work the most, they often respond with “in the office” or “at my desk”. When it comes to our energy balance, however, it’s helpful to ask ourselves where we actually work best. Not only—but especially—for introverts, calm spaces such as “quiet desks”, private offices, or relaxation areas are invaluable. Noise-canceling headphones in larger offices can also help you maintain energy and focus.

At times, a complete change of location can also make a difference. For weeks, I kept postponing writing this article (and others) until I blocked off two days in my calendar and traveled to a lake in Brandenburg for a “winter writing retreat”. A friend inspired me to try this; he had talked his boss into allowing him to work from a café one morning each week, because he found he could complete a creative task more easily there.

And last but not least: Work doesn’t necessarily have to be linked to a specific place. Have ever tried calling a client or meeting with a colleague while taking a walk?

Boost productivity with working less (yes: pause!)

Even using smart “hacks,” you can’t grow or generate an endless supply of energy. Regular breaks are vital to recharge our batteries and deliver the energy to accomplish more. We simply need to press the pause button now and again.

Our mental energy follows a natural rhythm throughout the day. After around 90 minutes of focused attention, we hit a low point that lasts for about twenty minutes. If we push through it—maybe skipping lunch to squeeze in more time—we risk becoming more distracted, tired, and less productive. In this article, you can learn which places are best for taking breaks and what the “7 types of rest” are all about.

Embrace focus, ditch multitasking

I’m constantly surprised by how much I can get done when I work on just ONE thing and get into the flow of it. No wonder, though: Gloria Mark, an expert on attention, has discovered that we need 50% more time to complete a task when we’re frequently switching between tasks.

Surprisingly, the main reason for all this task-switching is not colleagues interrupting with questions or requests. On average, knowledge workers send and receive 126 emails a day. 70% of these emails are opened within just 6 seconds of arrival. And 84% of people leave their email program open in the background, even while working on other tasks. ^[4] This causes constant distraction, so it’s no surprise to learn that checking emails only at specific intervals saves both time and energy.

Takeaway: Energy is your greatest asset

Managing our energy is essential, but even with the best strategies at hand, it’s a finite resource. We need both energy and prioritization to accomplish what we’ve planned. And “what we’ve planned” is never synonymous with “everything.”

[1] Christian Poensgen, How to have more productive meetings (6 Actions), in: Beyond Productivity, November 2024.

[2] Microsoft Work Trend Index Annual Report, “Will AI fix work?”, Mai 2023.

[3] Vera Starker, „Konzentration ist ein Tor zum schönen Leben“, Interview im Harvard Business Manager 2/2024.

[4] Christian Poensgen, How great leaders manage their time, in: Beyond Productivity, September 2024.