This is a follow-up to a previous article, “New year resolutions and lofty goals.” We will explore the fallacy of productivity and its obsession with time management, and examine a better alternative: Energy management for peak performance.
Productivity is a measurement of the number of outputs produced during a period of time which might be hours, days, months, or years. There are three options to improve productivity: (1) faster pace: more outputs for the same period of time, (2) invest more time into producing more outputs at the same pace, (3) implement both of the options above: faster pace and spending more time.
Productivity is a concept designed to measure the performance of a machine or a similar production line that has a fixed set of capabilities designed to perform a fixed set of repetitive tasks. A machine’s functionality does not change or improve, it can either works faster or work longer, therefore, productivity is a function of time, and time management techniques are the natural approach to optimize productivity with the desired expectation to obtain more of the same kind of outputs per unit of time.
Productivity is a misleading measurement that does not translate well to measure human performance. By nature humans are a slow-paced species in comparison to the rest of the animal kingdom. Unlike machines, humans do not perform well on repetitive tasks, and tend to do better on a variety of tasks that require different skills, paces, and environments. The outcomes produced by these tasks are generally not a linear function of time. For examples, you might have heard of the 80/20 rule: 20% of the work take 80% of the time. Projects tend to go through different stages, each with different types of activities going from finding an idea, research, writing a proposal, finding financing, planning, building a team, work on the project, validate the results,…, until arriving at a finished tangible desired result. Given this diversity of activities requiring a wide range of skills, it is often difficult to estimate the time span from start to completion of a project.
The linear productivity model assumes a well controlled environment carefully designed for the operation of a machine. People navigate everyday life in dynamic complex interconnected, and less predictable environments that come with different kinds of distractions and disruptions.
Along came James E. Loehr’s work with high performance athletes that lead him to discover the management of energy as a more suitable model for high achievements. This new framework treats each person as an athlete with their own unique performance characteristics and individual requirements. The objective is create the right conditions that will support a person to operate at their optimal performance the same way athletes performs at their peak level. Loehr observed that the amount of good work is a function of the level of energy a person has at their disposition. Time is a fixed resource such as 24 hour in a day, 30 days in a month, 12 months in a year, while the level of energy a person brings to a task is variable. And without sufficient energy, spending more time will not get work done.
The amount of energy a person has to apply to a task comes in short bursts, in the same way, the outcomes of a person’s effort is proportional to the peaks and valleys of their energy level. Just like an electric car with a short range, its driver must keep a vigilant eye on the fuel level on the dashboard, and have a well-prepared plan for regular recharging at appropriate times to avoid being stranded with empty batteries.
The energy management for peak performance model steps away from traditional time management to focus primarily on maintaining a high level of energy that would allow a person to perform at their optimal level while working on a task. It calls for a regular refuelling plan and a strategy to conserve energy. In the long run, peak performance leads to higher efficiency and better quality of results.
What is peak performance?
You have heard the expression: “in the zone,” it depicts the state of a person operating at peak performance. It is a state of high concentration where a person is completely immersed in the activity at hand and looses track of time, of self-consciousness, and of the surrounding. Their heart, mind and body merge with the task at hand with a sense of confidence to rise up to the level of its challenge and prevail. It take less time and effort to “get in the zone” and to stay longer in that state when the body is at a high energy level. When energy level is low the mind, heart and body have a tough time to engage in the task at hand, a person would be easily distracted and easily interrupted. This is when procrastination appears: a strong preference for a low-effort and more pleasurable activity over a task that needs to be done. Procrastination is simply an indication of a low energy level and an immediate need for recharging the batteries.