Energy management: The secret weapon in academic productivity

In the fast-paced world of academia, where research deadlines, teaching responsibilities, and personal commitments often collide, managing energy effectively is just as crucial as managing time. For researchers and postgraduate students, the ability to produce high-quality work consistently is a cornerstone of success. Yet, many fall into the trap of working long hours without considering when they are most productive. Recognising one's peak productivity hours and scheduling demanding tasks accordingly maximises efficiency and minimises procrastination. Whether you are a morning person or a night owl, aligning challenging work with personal energy peaks ensures optimal focus and performance, enhancing output quality and overall productivity.

The Science Behind Energy Management

Our cognitive abilities fluctuate throughout the day, influenced by our circadian rhythms, sleep quality, and various physiological factors.

Leadership expert Steven Chase argues that organisations and individuals devote too much attention to time management while neglecting personal energy management. In his 2021 paper published in Public Money & Management, Chase reflects on his own experience as a Director at Thames Valley Police, noting that 'understanding our personal energy levels should be high on our agendas.' Chase emphasises that personal energy is multidimensional, comprising physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual aspects that form a complex ecosystem. For academics facing multiple demands, this perspective suggests that sustainability requires attention not just to how we allocate our time but to how we manage our energy across these multiple dimensions. 

Research in chronobiology, the study of biological rhythms, shows that our cognitive abilities, creativity, and problem-solving skills fluctuate predictably throughout the day. Most people experience 90-120 minute cycles of heightened alertness followed by brief energy dips. Understanding these natural rhythms allows us to harness our cognitive resources strategically.

For some, peak cognitive performance occurs in the early morning, while for others, it might be late at night. By identifying these windows of high energy and mental clarity, you can tackle complex tasks with greater ease and effectiveness. What might take three hours during your peak energy window could stretch to five or six hours when you're tired.

For academics and researchers, this means identifying when you're most capable of:

• Complex analysis and critical thinking
• Creative problem-solving
• Writing and synthesising information
• Processing dense or challenging material

Download your free PhD Survival Guide for science-backed strategies and practical templates to overcome common doctoral challenges.

Deep Work vs. Shallow Work

Imagine working only during the few hours a day when one feels best! This is not always possible; we sometimes need to work while feeling slightly tired or sluggish. However, distinguishing between deep and shallow work tasks can transform your productivity.

Deep work requires intense concentration, minimal distractions, and significant cognitive resources. For researchers and postgraduate students, deep work is essential but also energy-intensive. Attempting to engage in such tasks during periods of low energy can lead to frustration, burnout, and subpar results. Examples include:

• Writing original research or journal articles
• Analysing complex datasets
• Developing theoretical frameworks
• Reading and synthesising difficult literature
• Designing experiments
• Drafting grant proposals

Shallow work can be performed effectively even when energy levels are lower:

• Responding to routine emails
• Organising references (or adding them to your reference management software)
• Formatting documents
• Administrative tasks like scheduling meetings
• Attending seminars

Adapting to Energy Fluctuations

Adapting task lists to different moods involves planning activities based on energy levels. Strategic scheduling ensures alignment between task complexity and personal mood, allowing individuals to optimise productivity by matching activities with their mental and emotional states.

Recent research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology highlights the critical relationship between different work activities and energy levels throughout the day. A study of over 400 knowledge workers found that the proportion of time spent in meetings versus individual work has a significant impact on energy levels. When knowledge workers spent more time in meetings, they were less likely to engage in microbreak activities necessary for energy replenishment. Interestingly, the study also identified a 'pressure complementarity effect' in the morning hours: when high-pressure individual work was balanced with low-pressure meetings (or vice versa), workers experienced energy benefits. This research underscores the importance of intentionally designing your workday to balance different types of activities. 

Practical Implementation for Academics

Step 1: Energy Mapping

The foundation of both productivity and wellbeing is energy. Energy is even more important than time, motivation, or discipline. You can have all the time in the world, but if you don't have energy, you won't use that time effectively.

Most of us have absolutely no idea how our energy actually works. That's where the energy audit comes in.

How to conduct an energy audit:

For at least three days (ideally 3-5 days), track your energy levels every 2-3 hours. Set reminders on your phone to ensure consistency. For each check-in, note:

• The time
  
• Your energy level (rate it 1-10)
  
• What you're currently doing
  
• (Optional but valuable) What you ate recently, how well you slept, your mood

After 3-5 days, analyse your patterns. You're looking for:

• Golden hours: When is your energy naturally highest?
  
• Energy drains: What activities or situations consistently deplete you?
  
• Energy boosters: What genuinely restores your energy?
  
• Slump times: When do you consistently hit a wall?

Making your audit easier:

Research Masterminds Success Academy members have access to the Energy Tracker as part of the Research Masterminds AI Suite - your personal energy logbook that helps you discover when you work best. This GPT tracks your energy levels throughout the day, identifies your peak performance hours and low-energy windows, and provides personalised strategies to optimise your PhD schedule around your natural rhythms. Unlike generic time management advice, it reveals YOUR unique energy patterns and shows you how to work with them, not against them. Learn more about the Success Academy here.

Step 2: Task Categorisation

Create a system for categorising your work:

• High cognitive demand (requires peak energy)
• Medium cognitive demand (requires moderate energy)
• Low cognitive demand (can be done during energy dips)

Step 3: Strategic Scheduling

Once you understand your patterns, you can design your days around them:

• Protect your golden hours. Schedule your hardest, most important work during peak energy times. Guard this time fiercely - no meetings, no email, no social media. For example:
  • Reserve your first 2-3 hours of peak energy for writing or data analysis
  • Block these times in your calendar as non-negotiable deep work sessions

• Match tasks to energy levels. Block your calendar according to your energy patterns:
  • High energy = high cognitive demand tasks (writing, analysis, problem-solving)
    
  • Medium energy = moderate cognitive demand tasks (meetings, reading, planning, administrative work)
    
  • Low energy = low-stake/low cognitive demand tasks (email, organisation, routine tasks, formatting documents)

• Eliminate or delegate energy drains. If certain tasks consistently drain you, ask yourself: Do I actually need to do this? Can I delegate it? Can I batch it or do it less frequently? Sometimes the most productive decision is removing unnecessary tasks from your plate entirely.
  

• Schedule strategic recovery. If you crash at 2pm every day, plan for it. Schedule a walk, a genuine break, or save shallow work tasks for this time. Don't try to power through - research shows that working against your natural rhythms reduces both quality and efficiency.

Step 4: Environment Optimisation

Create environmental conditions that support your energy management:

• Designate distraction-free spaces for deep work
• Use visual cues (like specific notebooks or digital workspaces) to trigger deep work mode
• Prepare all necessary materials before beginning high-energy work sessions

Step 5: Incorporate Breaks and Recovery

Energy management isn't just about working hard; it's also about resting well:

• Schedule short breaks (5-10 minutes) during deep work sessions
• Take longer breaks between major tasks to recharge your mental batteries
• Use techniques like the Pomodoro method (25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break)

A revealing diary study, published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, examined the effectiveness of various energy management strategies throughout the workday. Researchers tracked 124 employees hourly throughout a workday, measuring their fatigue and vitality levels in relation to the energy management techniques they employed. While long-term differences in vitality were associated with work-related strategies, such as setting new goals, the immediate effects on reducing fatigue and boosting vitality primarily came from micro-breaks. This finding suggests that academics should incorporate strategic micro-breaks into their daily routines to maintain energy levels while simultaneously developing work-related strategies for long-term vitality. The study provides empirical support for techniques like the Pomodoro method, which intentionally incorporates short breaks into focused work periods. 

Beyond Daily Rhythms: Seasonal and Project-Based Energy Management

Academic work often follows seasonal patterns with intense periods around deadlines, conferences, and teaching responsibilities. Apply energy management principles not just daily but across your academic calendar:

• Schedule research-intensive work during lighter teaching periods
• Build recovery time after major deadlines or conferences
• Recognise when a project needs to be temporarily set aside to maintain quality

The Bigger Picture: Sustainable Productivity

For academics, researchers and postgraduate students, the pressure to produce high-quality work can often lead to overwork and burnout. However, sustainable productivity isn't about working longer hours - it's about working better. By aligning your tasks with your energy levels, you can achieve more in less time while maintaining your well-being.

Moreover, this approach fosters a healthier work-life balance. When you can complete demanding tasks efficiently, you free up time for personal pursuits, relaxation, and social connections. This, in turn, replenishes your energy and enhances your overall productivity in the long run.

FAQ: Your questions answered

Q: What if my energy patterns seem completely unpredictable?

First, track for at least five days before concluding they're truly random. You might be surprised to find more patterns than you think. If they remain unpredictable, this tells you something important: you need maximum flexibility in your schedule. You should have both high-energy and low-energy tasks ready to grab the opportunities when they arise. Also consider whether underlying factors (irregular sleep, health conditions, young children) might be contributing. This information is valuable for designing appropriate accommodations.

Q: I'm Stuck & Stressed. Will an energy audit really help when I can barely function?

If you're in crisis, start with professional support. But if you're overwhelmed and procrastinating (truly paralysed by overwhelm), the energy audit is perfect for you. When you're stuck, you often believe "I have no energy. I can never focus." The audit shows you this isn't entirely true. You do have energy at certain times; you've just been missing those windows or using them for the wrong things. The audit gives you hope and shows you what you can actually work with.

Q: Can I do this if I have ADHD, chronic illness, or other conditions?

Absolutely yes. In fact, it's even more valuable. You might need to track for longer (7-10 days) and include additional factors like medication timing, pain levels, or symptom patterns. Understanding your specific patterns, even if they're different from typical patterns, is powerful. It helps you advocate for yourself, design appropriate accommodations, and stop comparing yourself to others.

Q: What if I can't control my schedule due to teaching, meetings, or lab time?

You probably have more control than you think, but it might require boundary-setting or creative scheduling. Even controlling just 30% of your time is valuable. If your peak energy is 9-11am, try blocking one day per week to protect that time, ask to move recurring meetings where possible, or use that window on weekends. For the time you can't control (like teaching at 2pm during your slump), the audit helps you plan around it. You'll know you'll be depleted afterwards, so schedule recovery time and only low-stakes tasks after that.

Q: How long should I keep tracking my energy?

Start with 3-5 days for a baseline. Then check in periodically (monthly or quarterly, or when things feel off). Your patterns change with seasons, stress levels, and life circumstances. Think of it like checking your financial budget: you don't track every penny forever, but you check in regularly to ensure you're on track.

Conclusion

Effective energy management isn't about working more hours - it's about working smarter during the right hours. For academics, researchers and postgraduate students, understanding and leveraging your cognitive rhythms can significantly enhance both productivity and the quality of your academic output. By reserving your highest energy periods for deep, demanding work, you're not just being efficient - you're respecting the natural limitations of your cognitive resources and setting yourself up for sustainable success in your academic career.

Remember, it's not about working harder - it's about working smarter. Take the time to understand your energy rhythms, schedule your deep work accordingly, and watch your productivity soar while maintaining balance in your academic life.

Looking for ongoing support throughout your research journey? The Research Masterminds Success Academy offers live workshops, helpful resources, and a supportive community of fellow postgraduate students. It's a space designed to help you develop academic skills, maintain motivation, and complete your research while still enjoying life beyond your studies. 

Check it out

Thank you for the cover photo by Cottonbro Studio