All right, so we got a question here from Tom. Tom says, what do you do when you get tired? He elaborates, he's extremely good at sticking to time blocking, not going on social media, doing Pomodoro at the beginning of the week, but as the week goes on, I get a bit tired and burnt out, and it's easier and easier to lose focus.

I wonder if you can relate at all. Of course not, Tom. Tiredness is equivalent to cowardice. You should be ashamed. Don't do tiredness. No, Tom, of course people get tired. And there's two answers to this, right? I mean, one, if you're tired at a given day for whatever reason-- sleep, sickness, et cetera-- do less.

Do less that day. I mean, what are you doing during the day? You're taking energy, and you're converting it into output of value. And you're doing that mainly by putting this energy through the circuits in your brain to add value to information if you're a knowledge worker. But you're converting energy to value.

If you have less energy, there's less value you can produce. So I think that's fine. The key, however, is to remain intentional about it. So the thing that you don't want to do is, as you get tired-- if you're tired in a given day, or you get tired as the week goes on-- you don't want to just become ad hoc and lax.

Like, eh, I'm sort of falling off my time block schedule and going down rabbit holes online. And I sort of limp in for a finish on that day or limp in for a finish that week. No, don't do that. If you see you're less energy, say, I'm going to work less today.

But I'm going to make a plan for this less work day. I'm going to end it early. I'm going to put a two-hour break in the middle. I'm going to move things from this week to next week. But I'm still going to stick to the plan. I'm just going to make a plan that better fits my energy.

That is the key. That is the key to energy and time management is intentionality, intentionality, intentionality. If you are giving your time a job that is based off a realistic assessment of what's going on in your current context, you're winning. If you are letting other factors in your mind and context just push you around like a leaf on a turbulent stream, you're in trouble.

The exhaustion is going to amplify. You're going to feel bad. You're not going to end up in a place that's good. So it's always the best thing to do is to be intentional. And the main point I want to make here, Tom, and I think it's a good one, and I'm glad you asked it.

I'm glad you asked it. The main point I want to make is that some days you have more energy than others. That means there's less work you can produce, and that's fine. But what I want to see again is a plan that reflects a lower energy day. Here is my lower energy day plan.

I finish at 2. I take an hour lunch where I don't work. I replace this hard thing with an easier thing. Whatever you need to do. So be intentional about it, Tom. (upbeat music)