One of the most efficient ways to get more time and energy isn’t by fighting for more it, but to start learning how to better spend it in the first place. We tend to get ourselves into situations over and over again where we give so much of our time and energy to people and projects that are not reciprocating the effort.
Whether it’s a friend or relative that loves to ask for your time and help yet will never show appreciation or offer to do the same, or a project that requires 80% of your time and energy while giving you a very low return (or none at all). These are the time and energy ‘leaks’ that leave us tired and unable to pursue the things we want on a daily basis.
It’s so easy to get sucked up into the whirlwind of life and find yourself completely spent. Work stress, relationship drama, family life, it’s all very exhausting. I know because I spent years of my life spending so much of my energy on distractions and toxic relationships.
That’s why it’s essential to start doing ‘time and energy’ audits more regularly, assessing where you are spending your precious time and energy, and looking for ‘leaks’. I’m not talking about a circumstance where you help someone who cannot help you back, out of the goodness of your heart; that is wonderful. I’m talking about the chronic ‘time users’ and ‘energy drainers’ who — if they could — would probably drink up the last drop of your energy with a straw.
Start thinking about your daily time and energy expenditures, and see where the leaks are. It’s okay to set boundaries with chronic time and energy drainers.
