There is something we’ve done at CrossFit that I’ve transitioned into my business and it has had a profound effect on my energy levels and daily flow of activities.

→ It’s called RPE and it stands for “Rate of Perceived Exertion”.

What is it exactly? It’s the amount of energy you exert for a given exercise. It’s on a scale from 1-10. 1 being the lowest amount of exertion (think of a slow walk or light warm up reps) versus 10 being a high level of exertion (think of a fast sprint or working until failure).

For fitness, it’s impossible to see improvement if you live on either end of the spectrum.

The best approach is to stagger your training day to day, week to week, varying exertion levels with exercises . It keeps your body adapting (which grows muscle instead of plateauing) and gives it time to rest and recover.

In short, you can’t work at an RPE of 10 every exercise nor will you get the benefit of working out at a 1.

And that’s the same for business. You can’t be going at a RPE 10 every hour of the day. That leads to burnout, frustration, a shorter fuse, mistakes with documents, and even lower energy for your most important calls.

→ You need to vary your exertion so that the most important calls and tasks are getting your best energy levels.

Can you accurately tell what exertion level you are putting out hour to hour or day to day? If you can’t, it prevents you from being in control of your energy or recognizing when it’s time to slow down.

Let’s first get in control of your calendar.

Pull up your calendar for this upcoming week.

Getting those in order is a great step one. You have your calendar baked out and all main items have a spot.

Now, the real test…

If those are your most important and critical items where you’ll exert your most energy, have you also set time in between these events for proper breaks to recharge?

You’re not alone if you said, “No”.

Because, inevitably here’s what happens. We max out our calendar with back-to-back-to-back calls and have minimal transition between those.

So, by the time we get to the early afternoon, we are fried. That next meeting suffers because when we need to be at an RPE 9, we can’t muster up the energy.

Or, we “push through” and deplete all energy where we can’t think straight and lose focus. Then, we beat ourselves up for not getting stuff done and it ruins the rest of our day.

That’s Monday.

Then, the cycle continues all over the following day.

I can’t be the only one where this happens.

→ So, let’s get smarter about how we work.

There are many ways we can use the “RPE” metaphor to our advantage and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Here are a few ideas that have worked for me and others you may adopt into your own schedule.

This sounds so simple but we all are at fault for being inconsistent with planning these. Come up with a rule for yourself like you never have more than 2 meetings in a row without a 30-min break or you always have a 15-minute buffer between calls. Test what works for you and don’t beat yourself up for resting.

→ Go for a walk, eat something, listen to a podcast, take a chill pill. Breaks are your way of actively recharging your batteries.

I encourage my clients to have designated slots for discovery calls (like Tuesdays from 9-10:30 and Wednesday from 3-4:30). Don’t ask prospects “when are you available?”, instead offer up time slots in your designated window.

It allows you to control when you want those meetings to happen and eliminates you having to rearrange your calendar constantly to fit people in.

→ If you use scheduling tools like Calendly or Google Appointments it makes it super easy to add your “buffer” time in to avoid back to back meetings.

I’ve used “theme days” to batch a similar topic into the same day. For instance, Mondays are for podcasts as it helps create momentum with the actions surrounding it.

“Theme days” may encompass differing tasks but they are closely related so I get the double benefit of not constantly switching (which kills creativity) and it helps me generate new ideas because it’s top-of-mind while performing different tasks.

→ I find that jumping from one unrelated task to another depletes my energy (and focus) so when I center on one specific topic, I feel more balanced.

Schedule a day to tackle all the mindless, not-important, “to-do” cluttering items on your list. Instead of them sucking your energy when you need to be fresh, put them on a list to get to them done on a pre-determined day. It helps you remain focused on what matters most without them lingering for weeks on end.

→ ICYMI: Steal my Friday Free-For All framework - Here’s the full breakdown

Time-boxing is a technique where you block off an extended amount of time on your calendar to get your deep work completed. Experts like Nir Eyal believe it’s the most effective thing you can do to take control of your schedule.

Instead of jumping around or often becoming distracted, it grounds you in focusing on your important work.

Here’s a short video below where Nir explains the Time Boxing technique and how to make it a part of your day.

🎧 Nir has also been a 2x Just Get Started podcast guest. Listen to our last interview to get more tips on how to become indistractable.

Context switching kills your energy.

This is why creating a system that works for you is valuable.

It let’s you be in control.

Plan out your days and week proactively so you can set yourself up for success. It won’t be perfect, but you’ll start to harness your best energy for the most high-touch outputs and can recharge accordingly.

We are always told, “Work smarter, not harder”

I don’t see a better application of this than managing your daily energy and making sure you are hitting peak performance at the right times.

Practice balance this week.

You might be surprised with how much more you get done while being super focused during client facing meetings.

PS - Do you have a unique or creative way for balancing tasks or rest? I’d love to hear it. I read every email and try to respond promptly to every one . Reply to this email and let me know.