Sheet: S12 of 12
Part: Integrating it all

Integrating it all

Time is fixed. Energy is renewable. Leaders who manage energy across body, emotions, mind and purpose sustain performance.

Readings

Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy · Harvard Business Review, 2007

Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

Four sources of energy, each renewed by small rituals.

Physical: sleep, movement, and breaks every 90 to 120 minutes.
Emotional: notice the story you tell, and look at it through other lenses.
Mental: protect focus. Do the most important task first, without email.
Spirit: spend time on what you do best, enjoy most and care about.

Case: Doing deals and leading teams at XAF Partners (Groysberg and Herman, HBS)

See it

Quick energy check

Lab 12.A

Tick what is true for you. Adapted for this page; the article has its own fuller audit.

Physical I regularly sleep less than seven or eight hours.Physical I rarely take breaks during the day.Emotional I often feel impatient or irritable at work.Emotional I rarely tell people what I appreciate about them.Mental I struggle to focus on one thing at a time.Mental I spend most of my day reacting rather than on what matters most.Spirit I spend too little time on what I do best and enjoy most.Spirit There are gaps between what I say matters and how I spend my time.

Physical

2/2

Emotional

2/2

Mental

2/2

Spirit

2/2

All four look full. Check again after a hard week.

Frameworks

Four sources of energy

Schwartz and McCarthy

S12

Each is renewed by small rituals.

Physical	Sleep, movement, food, breaks every 90 to 120 minutes
Emotional	Notice the story; use the reverse, long and wide lens
Mental	Focus on one important thing first, without interruptions
Spirit	Do what you do best, enjoy, and care about

Check yourself

Q1The core claim of Schwartz and McCarthy is that

Q2Working without email for the first hour targets

Q3Looking at a frustrating event from the other person’s side renews

0 of 3 answered.

Think it through

P1Which of your four energy sources runs lowest at the end of a hard week?
P2Which course idea will you still use a year from now?