Energy Management for Engineers: Your Calendar Isn't the Real Bottleneck

Your calendar looks perfect.

Monday:

• 9-11 AM: Deep work
• 11-12 PM: Team sync
• 1-3 PM: Code reviews
• 3-4 PM: Architecture planning
• 4-5 PM: 1:1s

Efficient. Balanced. No gaps.

By Wednesday, you're exhausted.

By Friday, you're staring at code you wrote Monday and it looks like someone else wrote it. You're in meetings but not really present. You're "working" but producing nothing of value.

What went wrong?

Your calendar was optimized. Your energy wasn't.

Here's the truth: You don't have a time management problem. You have an energy allocation problem.

The Perfectly Scheduled Week That Still Drains You

Scenario:

You blocked 2 hours Monday morning for "deep work." Great.

But:

• You had 3 beers Sunday night (sleep was terrible)
• You woke up to 47 Slack messages (started day in reactive mode)
• You had a tense conversation with your manager Friday (still processing)
• Monday 9 AM: you're staring at your editor, brain fog, can't think

The calendar said "deep work." Your energy said "you've got nothing."

Time was available. Energy wasn't.

Contrast:

Thursday afternoon, 4 PM. Calendar says "admin tasks."

But you're energized (slept well, good lunch, interesting problem), so you dive into that architecture RFC you've been avoiding.

Two hours of flow. Best work of your week.

The calendar said "low-value admin." Your energy said "let's build."

Lesson: Matching work type to energy level matters more than matching work type to calendar slots.

Understanding Your Energy Profile

Not everyone is the same.

Some people:

• Peak at 6 AM (morning people)
• Peak at 10 PM (night owls)
• Crash after lunch (need a walk)
• Get a second wind at 8 PM

And energy isn't just about time of day.

Energy depends on:

• Sleep quality
• Food/hydration
• Exercise
• Stress level
• Type of work (some work drains, some recharges)
• Social interaction (introverts vs extroverts)

You need to know your patterns.

Exercise: Energy Log (1-2 Weeks)

Set 3 daily alarms:

• 10 AM
• 2 PM
• 5 PM

When alarm goes off, rate your energy (1-5):

• 5 = sharp, focused, could tackle anything
• 3 = okay, functional
• 1 = fried, can barely respond to Slack

Also note:

• What you did in the last 2 hours
• How you slept last night
• Anything unusual (skipped lunch, argument, great meeting, etc.)

After 2 weeks, patterns emerge:

Example patterns:

Pattern 1: Morning person

• 10 AM: usually 4-5
• 2 PM: usually 2-3 (post-lunch dip)
• 5 PM: usually 3

Insight: Schedule deep work 9-11 AM, easy tasks 2-3 PM.

Pattern 2: Slow starter

• 10 AM: usually 2-3 (brain still booting)
• 2 PM: usually 4-5 (hitting stride)
• 5 PM: usually 4

Insight: Schedule admin in morning, deep work 1-4 PM.

Pattern 3: Meeting hangover

• After 3+ hours of meetings: energy drops to 1-2 for rest of day

Insight: Limit meetings to 2-hour blocks, add recovery time after.

Your patterns will be unique. Don't copy someone else's schedule. Design yours.

Match Work Types to Energy Levels

Once you know your energy curve, map work accordingly.

High Energy Work (Requires 4-5 Energy)

Examples:

• Architecture design
• Complex debugging
• Writing (RFCs, docs, blog posts)
• Strategic planning
• Learning new concepts
• Difficult conversations

Schedule these during your peak windows. Learn how to protect 4-hour deep work blocks for your most important work.

For me: 9-11 AM, Tuesday-Thursday.

Medium Energy Work (Requires 3 Energy)

Examples:

• Code reviews
• Team meetings/syncs
• 1:1s (non-conflict)
• Pairing sessions
• Routine coding (implementing defined specs)

Schedule these during your steady windows.

For me: 11 AM-1 PM, 3-5 PM most days.

Low Energy Work (Can Do at 1-2 Energy)

Examples:

• Email/Slack triage
• Admin tasks (expenses, timesheets)
• Calendar organization
• Clearing small todos
• Light documentation cleanup

Schedule these during your dip windows or end of day.

For me: Right after lunch (1-2 PM), end of day (5-6 PM).

The Calendar Mistake Most Engineers Make

Bad (time-optimized, energy-ignored):

Monday 9-11 AM: Team planning meeting (4 people, lots of back-and-forth)

Monday 11 AM-1 PM: Deep work on distributed tracing implementation

Result: You're fried from 2 hours of meetings. Deep work block is wasted scrolling docs.

Good (energy-aware):

Monday 9-11 AM: Deep work on distributed tracing (fresh brain)

Monday 11 AM-12 PM: Team planning meeting (you're warm, can contribute)

Result: Real progress on deep work. Meeting is productive because you're not fried.

Identify and Fix Your Biggest Energy Leaks

Energy leaks = things that drain you more than they should.

Leak 1: Back-to-Back Context Switching

Problem:

• 10 AM: Code review (React codebase)
• 10:30 AM: Architecture meeting (payment service redesign)
• 11 AM: 1:1 with frontend engineer (performance issues)
• 11:30 AM: Incident post-mortem (database outage)

Four different contexts in 90 minutes.

Your brain doesn't switch instantly. Each switch costs energy.

Fix:

• Batch similar work: All code reviews together. All 1:1s together.
• Add 15-min buffers: Between different contexts, walk/stretch/reset.
• Theme your days: Monday = meetings, Tuesday/Thursday = deep work, Friday = reviews/admin.

Leak 2: Constant Notifications and Micro-Interruptions

Problem:

• Deep work on complex bug
• Slack ping every 8 minutes
• Each ping: check message, consider, respond or defer, re-focus
• By end of 2 hours: 15 interruptions, bug not fixed

Fix:

• Turn off all notifications during deep work blocks
• Batch communication: Check Slack 3-4 times/day at scheduled times
• Use status: "In deep work, back at 1 PM"

Learn comprehensive strategies in Digital Minimalism: Reducing Notification Overload.

Leak 3: Unresolved Emotional/Interpersonal Tension

Problem:

• Tense code review Friday
• Person didn't respond to your comments
• You're wondering if they're upset
• Sunday night, Monday morning: you're still thinking about it

Emotional load drains energy even when you're not actively working.

Fix:

• Address conflicts quickly: "Hey, noticed you didn't reply to my review comments. All good? Happy to discuss sync."
• Close loops: Don't let things fester
• Separate work and personal: After 7 PM, no ruminating on work tensions

Leak 4: Decision Fatigue

Problem:

• Every day: "What should I work on?"
• Every PR: "Is this the right approach?"
• Every bug: "Should I fix now or file a ticket?"
• Micro-decisions all day

Fix:

• Pre-decide: Sunday evening, list your 3 priorities for the week
• Default rules: "PRs < 100 lines = review within 2 hours", "Bugs in prod = fix immediately, bugs in dev = ticket"
• Reduce choices: Same breakfast, same gym time, same morning routine

Recovery as a Design Constraint, Not an Afterthought

In system design, we plan for maintenance windows.

We don't run databases at 100% CPU forever. We don't deploy without rollback plans.

Your brain needs maintenance windows too.

Daily Recovery (Micro)

What works:

• 15-minute walk between deep work blocks
• Lunch away from desk (not eating while coding)
• 5-minute stretch/breathing after intense meetings
• Hard stop at 6 PM (not "one more thing")

The goal: Prevent energy from dropping below 2. Stay in 3-5 range all day.

Weekly Recovery (Mini)

What works:

• One full no-work day (Saturday or Sunday, pick one, honor it)
• Friday afternoon low-intensity work (catch up, admin, no deep work)
• Sunday evening planning (so Monday starts clear)

The goal: Enter Monday at 4-5 energy, not starting the week already drained.

Quarterly Recovery (Major)

What works:

• One-week vacation every 6 months (actually unplug)
• 3-day weekends every 6-8 weeks (long weekends for reset)
• Post-launch recovery week (after big releases, schedule low-intensity work)

The goal: Prevent burnout. Sustain energy across years, not just weeks. Learn more about Career Pacing: Sprints, Marathons, and Coasting.

The Trap: "I'll Rest When the Project Is Done"

Reality: The project is never done. There's always another sprint, another deadline, another fire.

If you wait for a "good time" to rest, you'll never rest.

Instead: Build recovery into the system. Non-negotiable maintenance windows.

Leading Teams with Energy in Mind

If you're a tech lead, EM, or senior IC, your calendar choices affect others.

Don't Schedule Heavy Meetings at Low-Energy Times

Bad:

• Monday 9 AM: all-hands strategy meeting (2 hours)

Why bad: Monday 9 AM is peak energy for most people. Wasting it on a meeting means no deep work Monday morning.

Better:

• Monday 9-11 AM: protected deep work (no meetings)
• Monday 11 AM-12 PM: strategy meeting (people are warmed up, still functional)

Normalize Saying "I'm at Low Energy"

Old culture:

• Always be "on"
• Never show fatigue
• Push through

Healthier culture:

• "I'm at low energy right now. I'll respond tomorrow with proper thought."
• "Let's reschedule this 1:1 – I'm fried and won't be useful."
• "I'm taking Friday afternoon off to recover from this sprint."

When leaders model this, teams feel safe doing it too.

Protect Team Deep Work Time

If you control your team's calendar:

• No-meeting blocks: E.g., Tuesday/Thursday 9 AM-12 PM
• Meeting-heavy days: Cluster meetings on Monday/Wednesday/Friday
• Respect focus time: Don't ping people in their deep work blocks unless P0

Closing: Treat Yourself Like a Production System, Not a Dev Sandbox

In production:

• We monitor CPU, memory, latency
• We scale when load increases
• We throttle when systems are overloaded
• We plan for maintenance

In dev:

• We push systems to the limit
• We run experiments
• We don't care if it crashes

You're not a dev sandbox. You're a production system.

Steady, sustainable throughput beats heroic spikes.

A system running at 70% capacity reliably for years produces more than a system running at 120% for 6 months then crashing.

One-Week Experiment: Energy-Aware Scheduling

This week:

1. Track your energy (3x/day, 1-5 scale)

• 10 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM
• Note patterns

2. Move one high-energy task into your peak window

• Example: If you peak at 9 AM, schedule your hardest problem 9-11 AM

3. Move one low-energy task into your dip window

• Example: If you dip at 2 PM, schedule email catch-up then

4. Add one recovery ritual

• 15-min walk after lunch
• 5-min breathing after meetings
• Hard stop at 6 PM

5. Sunday review

• What changed?
• Did you get more done with less exhaustion?
• What adjustment for next week?

Your calendar is a tool. Your energy is the resource.

Optimize the resource, not just the tool.

Schedule your energy. Protect your energy. Recover your energy.

That's how you sustain high performance for decades, not just quarters.