Week 12: Planning for Energy, Not Time

“When you have energy, use it intentionally. When you don’t, rest without guilt.”

This week feels different.

Not because everything suddenly became easy, or because I found some magic system that fixed my life — but because for the first time in a long while, I feel more positive, more in control, and more optimistic about how I’m living day to day.

When motivation isn’t the problem

Up to now, this blog has focused a lot on goals, motivation, and the idea that change comes from intention and effort. I still believe that matters, but over the last few weeks I’ve had to face something uncomfortable:

My biggest obstacle isn’t motivation. It’s energy.

I want to do things. I care. I try.

But my energy — physical, mental, emotional — is wildly inconsistent. Between dialysis, bipolar disorder, fatigue, and constant background discomfort, my capacity changes not just day to day, but hour to hour.

Planning, without taking into account my fluctuating energy, was always going to fail, leaving me feeling frustrated and quietly eroding my confidence.

Why traditional planning makes me feel like I’m failing

Most planners and productivity systems assume a stable baseline:

- You’ll have roughly the same capacity each day - If you don’t do something, it’s because you didn’t push hard enough - Consistency comes from discipline.

When I planned my weeks by days and times, the result was always the same. Despite looking reasonable on paper I ended up with a growing backlog of unfinished tasks. I'd feel guilty when my energy dipped and make unrealistic promises to myself to “catch up tomorrow” that I couldn’t keep.

The problem wasn’t effort.

It was trying to force a rigid system onto a body and brain that don’t work that way.

The experiment: letting go of the planner

So this week I stopped planning by days and times altogether.

No Monday goals. No hourly schedules. No long to-do lists that silently judged me.

Instead, I started planning around energy zones.

I’ve only been doing this for a few days — but the impact has been immediate.

My three energy zones

Rather than assigning tasks to dates, I organised them by what kind of energy they require.

Low energy

Low energy days are about one thing only: preventing things from getting worse.

That might mean: - Eating something easy - Taking medication - Basic hygiene - Resting without guilt

No optimisation. No improvement. Just stabilising.

Medium energy

Medium energy is for maintenance.

Things like: - Keeping the flat under control - Washing and basic cleaning - Admin tasks - Simple cooking

This is where life stays functional.

High energy

High energy days are not for squeezing everything out of myself.

They’re for preparing for future low energy.

That includes: - Batch cooking - Deep cleaning - Setting up my business - Proactive tasks - Anything that will make my life easier for my future self.

In a perfect world I’d do everything. In reality, I’m choosing what I can do — and letting the rest wait without guilt.

What’s already changed

Even though it’s early days, the practical results surprised me.

Right now: - My freezer is full of prepared meal components - I’m up to date with admin - The washing is under control - I’ve defrosted the freezer - I’ve cleaned the fridge - My business is closer to it's launch - I've progressed with my website design diploma.

None of this came from forcing myself.

It came from using energy carefully, choosing from a list of things I would like to do — not things I must do — and stopping when my energy dipped.

Most importantly, I’m no longer promising myself when unfinished jobs will get done.

They’ll get done when the energy is there.

Each day. Each hour. As it comes.

A hard realisation

This week also made me notice something uncomfortable:

I often squander my high-energy moments.

When I feel good, I default to sedentary or distracting activities — games, scrolling, low-effort tasks — and then wonder why nothing substantial got done. That’s not a moral failing. It’s a habit.

And it’s something I can learn to change.

If I’m going to work with fluctuating energy, I need to learn how to use high energy intentionally, without burning myself out.

How this fits into the bigger picture

This six-month project was never about becoming endlessly productive.

It’s about improving my life in a sustainable way, building new and more productive habits so that I become a better version of myself.

To achieve my goal I need to work with reality, not against it.

Right now, energy-based planning feels like a small but meaningful step in that direction.

I feel lighter. I feel less behind. I feel more capable — not because I’m doing more, but because I’m finally being honest about what’s possible.

Looking ahead

This is still an experiment.

I expect parts of it to break. I expect to refine it.

For now, the goal is simple: - Notice patterns - Respect limits - Stop mistaking fluctuating capacity for failure

Week 12 doesn’t feel dramatic.

It feels steadier.

And that might be the most important change yet.

Linda