Time Management is NOT the Answer
As entrepreneurs, we're told that better time management is the key to achieving our goals faster. We organise our calendars, create detailed plans, and prioritise ruthlessly. For years, I built my coaching practice around these very principles, and I became part of the problem.
Here's what the productivity industry gets wrong.
After working with hundreds of hardworking female business owners, I discovered the truth: You don’t have a time management problem. You have an energy problem.
Here’s the reality check: You can block out four hours for that challenging project, but if you're running on fumes after a sleepless night worrying about your aging parents, or feeling emotionally drained from supporting a client through a crisis, those blocked hours become useless.
Your calendar doesn't care that your brain feels like mush or that your soul feels depleted from work that no longer fulfils you.
Time management ignores one crucial factor: You’re human.
You feel like you’ve got a hangover when the kids have been up all night sick. You experience emotional heaviness after walking a client through their deepest struggles. You become mentally exhausted when clients keep changing their minds - they're in, then they're out, then maybe back in again.
When your energy stores are depleted, your productivity plummets - regardless of how perfectly planned your day is. But flip that coin: when your energy levels are high, you'll speed through tasks and accomplish twice as much in half the time.
This is why time and energy must work together.
We even say it unconsciously: "I don't have the time or energy for this."
The clients who achieve their goals fastest aren't just better at scheduling - they've learned to plan and protect their energy alongside their time. They understand that sustainable success comes from managing both resources strategically.
Yes, we need to learn how to prioritise and plan effectively. But if we want to achieve our goals faster without burning out, we need to master both time AND energy management.
The world needs what you’re creating – but it needs you healthy and energised to build it.
