Manage Your Attention To Manage Your Energy and Time

Filed in archive Operations on May 15, 2007

Are you experiencing an energy crisis or time management crisis? Perhaps neither.

Time Management = Managing What I Allow To Get My Attention

To manage your time and energy requires managing your 'attention' or what you choose to focus on within any given block of time. Perhaps I am making a fine point but here is why I think it is important to consider managing your attention first.

Managing your energy is a decision you make about how much energy to invest in a task, thought, or project whereas, managing your 'attention' requires thinking about 'importance and value' of the event and setting healthy boundaries. - Greg Balanko-Dickson

Observing what 'gets your attention' will help you make quality decisions about what is important versus what might be interesting. Knowing the difference is the first step to managing your energy and time.

If you are consistently having time management challengers, invest some time to think about why and how things 'get you attention' in the first place. Is it insecurity, confusion, or are you letting yourself become distracted to avoid dealing with it?