Step 1: Assess Your Time and Energy

Before you can optimize your schedule, you need to understand how you work best. This step helps you evaluate your energy peaks and lows, identify where your time is going, and pinpoint areas where you could make changes.

When are your most productive hours?

• Morning (6 AM – 12 PM)
• Midday (12 PM – 4 PM)
• Evening (4 PM – 9 PM)
• Late night (9 PM – Midnight)

Guiding Thought: Identify when you have the most energy, focus, and clarity. This is when you should schedule your most important tasks (big rocks).

What tasks drain your energy the most?

• Back-to-back meetings
• Constant emails
• Administrative tasks
• Firefighting problems

Guiding Thought: You can’t avoid all energy-draining tasks, but you can batch them to minimize the impact. Schedule low-energy tasks during your energy slumps.

Where are you currently spending too much time?

• Emails or Slack
• Unnecessary meetings
• Tasks that could be delegated
• Low-priority busywork