The Importance of Managing Your Energy Levels as a Remote Worker

So you’ve hit the afternoon slump and you have a blog post to write but, for whatever reason, you can’t muster up the energy to finish it. Does this scenario sound familiar? 

I would bet you have experienced this before. This scenario is painfully familiar to all of us remote workers in the creative field. What if there was a way you could overcome this recurring situation? 

I have good news! I have a productivity hack that will do just the trick. This simple productivity hack allows me to manage my energy effectively so I am able to produce creative work that I’m proud of throughout the day. 

Before we jump into the hack, It’s important to recognize when you are the most creative throughout the day. For instance, I am a morning person, so my day is naturally front-loaded with lots of energy which incrementally depletes as the day goes on. On the other hand, my partner is quite the opposite. His creative energy peaks in the evening which is when he can do his most creative work. Take note of when you are the most creative during the day. You’ll want to save this peak creativity time only for your most creative tasks. 

A Simple Productivity Hack to Manage Your Work Day More Efficiently

Step 1:

Every night before you go to bed, write down all of the tasks that you need to accomplish for the next day. This list can include personal and work-related items. Having a list of your to-do items written down will help get those tasks out of your head and on to paper. This step will give you peace of mind that you aren’t forgetting anything on your to-do list.

Step 2: 

Instead of ordering the tasks based on priority, try ordering the tasks based on how much energy something will take to complete. Only complete creative tasks during your peak energy time. A blog post will likely take more creativity, so move that task to whenever you are the most creative. Personally, I’m the most creative in the morning, so I save tasks that require creativity for my morning work hours.  Checking emails, however, doesn’t require as much creativity, so I move that task to the afternoon where I am typically the least creative. 

Step 3 (Optional):

For the tasks that require more creativity, consider working from a coffee shop or coworking space instead of completing them in your own home or office. Coffee shops can have an energetic atmosphere which can help you feel more creative resulting in a better end product.

Your energy is a finite resource with a limited supply per day. Managing your tasks based on your energy levels will ensure that you have enough energy to dedicate to those tasks that require more creativity. 

Now go out there and do your best work, and then tell us about it in SprySpace: the Facebook group where social media managers gather for support, brainstorming, troubleshooting and more.  See you there!