Squiggly Careers Podcast #477 — Why Your Energy is More Important Than Your Time

Hosts: Sarah Ellis (A) and Helen Tupper (B)
Date: April 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the concept of managing energy instead of just time at work—a response to frequent listener questions about how Sarah and Helen manage to juggle such a diverse and busy set of professional roles. They emphasize that, while they do a lot, they are not “productivity gurus”—rather, they have learned to take energy seriously and design their work lives around it. The discussion covers how energy, not just time, dictates impact and enjoyment at work, and they break down their individual and collaborative strategies for maintaining good energy through perspective, relationships, and environment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Energy Versus Time Management

• Sarah and Helen emphasize that energy, not just time, should be the focus for career impact and personal well-being.
• Social media can present a skewed version of their work lives—things may look busier and more “high energy” online than they actually feel.
  • Quote (Helen, 01:03): “Social media isn’t always reflective of reality.”
• Neither host wants to be perceived as a “productivity superhuman”—just people who have found energy-centric ways to work.

Timestamps: 00:17–01:54

2. Taking Energy Seriously

• At Amazing If, weekly team meetings center on sharing “high energy moments” to frame the week positively.
  • Quote (Sarah, 01:54): “We talk about our energy much more than we do our time or being busy, you know, like the busyness trap.”
• Both hosts prioritize ending each workday with enough energy left for their personal lives.

Timestamps: 01:54–03:56

3. From Time to Energy: Shifts from Past Work Culture

• Helen describes her previous approach at Microsoft as “meetings and minutes,” and how her impact was once measured in hours rather than energy.
  • Quote (Helen, 04:26): “I would have been in Microsoft, I think I probably thought more about my time... the currency of my work was like how many meetings am I in and how many hours and minutes am I working a week?”
• Both now see work as a “two-way energy exchange.” Not all meetings or tasks give back energy, and awareness of this matters.

Timestamps: 03:56–07:18

4. Tracking and Visualizing Energy

• Energy isn't just “high” or “low”—neutral moments matter too.
  • Quote (Sarah, 07:18): “Neutral matters. So it's not just all about like high energy, kind of low energy. It is also about having those kind of moments of just like neutral...”
• Suggested exercise: track during the week when you’re giving and receiving energy, and whether exchanges feel balanced.

Timestamps: 07:18–09:25

5. Personalizing Energy Strategies — Three Key Areas

Helen and Sarah discuss how their different needs and styles manifest in three areas:

a. Perspective (Past, Present, Future)

• Helen: Strongly present-focused. She’s fully “in the moment” and isn’t distracted by the past or the future.
  • Quote (Helen, 11:16): “Every moment that I'm in is the moment in my mind...that means I can just give all my energy to it, and then I'll move from this to the next moment.”
• Sarah: Draws energy from integrating past learning, present action, and future planning. Needs to “connect the dots” across time.
  • Quote (Sarah, 15:06): “The agility of the different time horizons gives me confidence, which gives me energy.”

Interesting contrast: Helen schedules “future thinking” explicitly; Sarah feels drained without that element.

Timestamps: 09:53–17:20

b. Relationships (Energy Through People)

• Sarah: Deep one-to-one, future-focused conversations—usually monthly—spark ideas and energy, followed by solo processing time.
  • Quote (Sarah, 18:11): “Often it's after the conversation that I feel really energized. It's like the hour afterwards...I need some alone time then to process and use that energy usefully.”
• Helen: Gets energy from group interactions, rapid-fire exchanges, newness, and “pinball” encounters—short, unstructured, energizing conversations with many people.
  • Quote (Helen, 22:45): “I am much more like one to many. Put me in a room with lots of people, almost like a human ping pong ball.”

Team Tip: Recognize whose energy needs what kind of interactions and split meeting types, if needed, for everyone’s benefit.

Timestamps: 17:20–26:28

c. Environment (Place, Routine, Variety)

• Helen: Thrives on consistency within a day but likes variety across the week; feels drained switching locations/tasks too often in one day.
  • Quote (Helen, 27:52): “I like the mix over a week, but I quite like it to look the same in a day, if that makes sense.”
• Sarah: Variety is crucial—multiple environments and contexts in a day boost energy. Finds long, static periods draining.
  • Quote (Sarah, 28:56): “If I've been in different spaces during a day, it massively increases my energy.”

Key Takeaway: Experiment with different work settings and routines to discover personal energy patterns.

Timestamps: 26:28–30:22

6. Beyond Work: Personal Life and Energy Management

• Both stress that post-work energy matters: a depleted workday leaves no energy for family, exercise, or hobbies.
• They proactively block personal walks or breaks in their calendars as non-negotiables.

Timestamps: 30:50–32:13

7. Practical Tips for Teams and Individuals

• Regularly review your diary for “highs” and “lows” of energy, and draw out an “energy graph” for the week.
• Discuss energy highs/lows openly with your team to design better weeks, meetings, and collaborations.
  • Quote (Sarah, 34:03): “Knowing that just means you can compromise enough within your context, within the teams you're in...”

Bonus: Use team check-ins to identify what gives and drains energy, then adapt schedules and collaboration accordingly.

Timestamps: 32:13–34:30

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Social media isn’t always reflective of reality.” — Helen (01:03)
• “We talk about our energy much more than we do our time or being busy... the busyness trap.” — Sarah (01:54)
• “Our job, our accountability is to turn up with energy.” — Sarah (25:02)
• “It's efficient for me to design a day that looks like same place, same...to get that done. Whereas that isn't efficient for you; your energy is not efficient. It drains without the difference.” — Helen (30:22)
• “Energy equals impact...the big payoff is then the quality of what you are doing.” — Sarah (34:14)
• Playful imagery of Helen as a “human ping pong ball” in group settings versus Sarah’s love for long, deep one-to-one talks.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:17–01:54: Introducing energy-centric work practices and debunking productivity myths
• 03:56–07:18: Realizations from the corporate world; minutes versus energy as “currency”
• 09:53–17:20: Detailed breakdowns of Helen’s “present” and Sarah’s “integrated time horizon” approaches
• 17:20–26:28: How each draws energy from different types of relationships
• 26:28–32:13: The role of physical/work environment in energy maintenance
• 32:13–34:30: Practical team tactics and what energy-awareness means for collaboration

Actionable Takeaways

• Re-examine how you approach your weekly schedule: focus on energy, not just minutes.
• Identify and seek out the people and situations that give you energy—both inside and outside your current job.
• Visualize and track your energy highs, lows, and neutrals; note patterns, and adapt accordingly.
• Openly discuss energy needs with your team and embrace different styles rather than forcing conformity.

Final Thoughts

Sarah and Helen underscore that energy management is a personal journey, but self-awareness and team-awareness are force multipliers. Aligning tasks, relationships, and environments to individual energy needs makes room for better work and richer personal lives. The hosts encourage listeners to reflect on their own energy patterns and share their discoveries with the Squiggly Careers community.

For feedback or to share your own energy insights, Helen and Sarah invite listeners to contact them at helenandsarah@squigglycareers.com.