Time management is a great theory. It helps us to get more organized, to set priorities, and to increase our productivity. Except for when it does not work…

I realized this yesterday, when I got home feeling exhausted after my 18-hour trip from Miami to Milan.

A cold shower, a nice breakfast and all the pep-talk about how much I needed to get done helped very little to overcome the sleepiness and lack of energy.

Two hours later I found myself mindlessly staring at the computer screen, without having the slightest desire to get any work done. And the monotonous sound of raindrops hitting the window and dark grey sky made me even sleepier.

When I finally took my eyes off the desktop and looked v e r y  s l o w l y at my do-to list for the day, the level of my enthusiasm and motivation dropped below zero. There was simply no way I could get it all done and no Time Management tips or tricks would have helped me to be more productive while I felt the way I felt.

Later thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that there is more to productivity than just managing 24 hours a day efficiently. Otherwise, we would all never feel overbooked, overwhelmed and underproductive. But the truth is that we do.

I believe that the main reason for this is that while we might be great at managing our time, we have not learned how to manage our levels of energy efficiently.

There is a certain time of day, when our energy and productivity is at its peak. I have noticed that I am most productive, focused and engaged in my work early in the morning and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. These are the times that I set aside for writing and brainstorming my ideas. Your “flow” time may be completely different from mine, but it is important that you learn it and organize tasks that you need to accomplish based on the level of energy that you have.