Hi Reader,

Early in my career as a venture capitalist, I met two founders with very different approaches to their work.

The first ran his company like a clock. His calendar was precise to the minute: every meeting scheduled, every hour optimized. But every time I saw him, his energy was dimmer. It was clear that he was on the road to burnout.

The second founder ran a global business yet somehow looked lighter every time we met. He seemed to have more energy at the end of each week.

One day, I finally asked him what his secret was.

He laughed and told me, “I stopped tracking my time and started tracking my energy.”

He explained: "Some meetings drain me, some fill me up. Some problems are exciting to solve, others feel like trudging through sludge.”

“I used to think I just had to power through everything equally,” he continued, “Now I pay attention to what gives me energy and what takes it. I focus on designing my week around what revs me up. And when I find stuff that drains me, I focus on delegating it or learning how to enjoy it."

Energy management, not time management

These two founders were both intelligent, hard-working, and deeply committed to their companies. They cared about their people. They worked long hours.

The only difference was the metric they used to measure progress.

The first founder measured success by time spent: Hours logged, tasks completed, etc. He was efficient, but efficiency without awareness is just a faster way to burn out.

The second measured success by his energy. He asked different questions: Did I accomplish what I wanted to accomplish in a way that fed me or depleted me? Am I more excited at the end of this week than I was at the beginning? Do I have energy for my family, my health, and myself so I can feel fulfilled?

When your energy is high, your decisions are clearer and your team is stronger. When it's low, even the smartest strategy can't save you from bad judgment, short tempers, and shallow thinking.

Here are three practical ways to start optimizing your energy this week:

1. Name it early
​If something feels off, say it right away. "Something feels stuck here" or "I'm noticing I'm frustrated and I'm not sure why." Unspoken tension is one of the biggest hidden energy drains in any company. It eats at you in ways that never show up on a to-do list but show up everywhere else.

2. Enjoy or redesign your work
​Ask yourself: can I increase my enjoyment of this work by 10%? Sometimes it's delegating what saps your energy. Sometimes it's changing how you approach your work.

3. Hire for energy
​Work with people you genuinely enjoy. If the relationship drains you, have the conversation or change the team. You can't sustain high performance with people who exhaust you.

Go deeper: Listen to our podcast

Remember: Optimizing for energy doesn’t mean only doing what feels good. It means learning how to enjoy hard things the way an athlete enjoys working out. It means being strategic about when you do the hard things and making sure you're not running on empty when you need to show up most.

Big Love,

Joe

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