Although time management is at the top of most entrepreneurial women's priorities, few are able to do it to their satisfaction. I've spent many years working with women who become frustrated and overwhelmed, all while struggling with the accepted "good ways" of managing time. So many of us — whether working from home, a favorite coffee shop, or a professional building — end up blaming ourselves as we struggle with trying to organize our lives in ways that aren't a good fit. It's not unusual to find ourselves flailing when we take on someone else's idea of how things should be done. The secret, as counter-intuitive as it seems, starts with an invitation to stop managing time altogether. We can't really do it anyway — it's an illusion.

We are all unique people with our own set of perspectives and innate strengths. We run at different speeds, on different fuels, using different engines.

Compare two successful business owners at the start of their day:

Owner #1 wakes with her wheels already spinning. Jumping immediately into her day, she works in high gear until early afternoon. Lunching late and alone, she prefers music and long walks in the park to business lunches. Once refueled, she's back into high gear until early evening, closing deals in other time zones until stopping for a late dinner with friends.

Owner #2 begins her day with a good stretch. She faithfully keeps to an exercise routine before work, all the while planning and strategizing what she will accomplish later in the day. At work she remains calm under stress, attaining her goals while remaining in low gear.

So, how can both women achieve meaningful success? Their secret lies in how they use their energy throughout the day. Owner #1 has learned how to ride the big energy waves when she feels them; owner #2 knows her best can be elicited by sustaining a steady pace that keeps her clear, focused and efficient. The comparison shows us two distinctive styles of maximizing the power of effective personal energy management.

Everyone has a picture of success they hold in their minds, along with a list of what they think achieving it requires. These beliefs about how we "should" get things done can blind us to better ways of accomplishing what we want. Becoming too focused on managing time can channel needed energy and creativity away from the goals themselves.

What if you started over? What if you took your focus off managing time altogether and instead looked at your natural energy rhythms. What if your new attempt involved a fresh look at the hours in your day as a space to fill with your inherent energy pattern?

While not all of us have the luxury of designing every moment around when we feel like working, most of us do have more choices than we perceive. If you feel ready for more energy, efficiency, and a greater sense of accomplishment when you lay your head on your pillow at night, it may be time to stop focusing on managing time, and start focusing on managing your energy.

Ignoring our feelings for more pushing-through erases opportunities where we can manage our energy. It's time to shatter this tiring, brittle habit. Responding to our body's needs is like replacing this fragile routine with tempered glass — a material with improved resiliency. Managing time requires us to focus on time, while managing our energy creates instant self-care, keeping our attention on what will actually support us in our greatest personal and business success. These can become the new habits — ones that fit perfectly.

Copyright (c) 2008 Valerie Thomson