Protect Your Energy: How to Stay Switched-On in High-Pressure Environments

We have been told to manage our time as if it is the ultimate resource. We block out our calendars, run from meeting to meeting, and obsess over deadlines. But here is the brutal truth: Time without energy is useless.

You can block out a full day to work on your biggest goals. But if you are tired, distracted, and running on empty, those hours will disappear without anything meaningful to show for them.

Energy is the real fuel. It is what turns hours into results, conversations into connection, and challenges into opportunities. Without it, even the most talented leaders stall.

The Coffee Shop Wake-Up Call

I was sitting in a coffee shop before a client session when I noticed a man at the next table. He had three devices open, was answering emails on one, typing a report on another, and checking messages on his phone. He looked exhausted.

When his name was called for his takeaway order, he did not hear it. Not once, but twice. The barista finally walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

I recognised the look in his eyes. The tension, the fog, the "just keep going" mindset. I have seen it in senior executives, high achievers, and even in my own mirror. It is what happens when we ignore the warning signs that our energy is running out.

If every energy leak was like gold slipping through your fingers, you would not let it happen so easily.

As Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz write in The Power of Full Engagement: “Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.” We obsess over calendars, but forget that our ability to show up with focus and clarity depends on the energy we bring.

Energy Is the Essence of Life. Protect It Like It’s Gold.

Where Your Gold Is Leaking Away

Energy is not just lost through hard work. It slips away through:

• Misplaced commitments: Saying yes to commitments that drain you or staying in conversations that add no value. These are invisible drains on your time and focus.

• Constant switching: Bouncing constantly between tasks, which prevents deep, meaningful work and keeps your brain in a state of high alert.

• Internal noise: Replaying old arguments or worries in your head. This emotional energy drain can be just as exhausting as physical work.

• Ignoring the signals: Pushing through exhaustion instead of listening to your body and giving yourself time to rest and recover.

How to Protect It

1. Audit your energy. For one week, pay attention to who and what leaves you drained or energised. Your calendar isn’t just a list of tasks; it’s a ledger of energy transactions.

2. Invest wisely. Spend energy on the activities and relationships that matter most. If an activity gives you nothing in return, stop doing it.

3. Plug the leaks. Actively cut down on the drains. Learn to say no. Set boundaries. Stop replaying conversations in your head.

4. Build reserves. Schedule time for recovery. Sleep, move, eat well, and do what restores you. This is not selfish. Protecting your energy is how you show up as your best self for the people who rely on you.

Protecting your energy is the ultimate act of high performance. It is the most valuable thing you own.

If you are a high-achieving leader or professional looking for a keynote speaker who goes beyond surface-level motivation and delivers insight, energy, and real transformation, let’s talk.

I work with leaders and teams to protect their energy, perform and mitigate burnout in the most demanding environments.