Introverts: Manage Your Energy By Colour Coding Your Calendar

For many years of my life, I thought something was wrong with me. I thought I was missing a critical attribute needed to be productive, healthy, and happy: sociability. In high school, I preferred to eat my lunches alone; in university, I would sit silently in the back corners of every lecture hall; in my first few jobs, I would avoid in-person meetings like the plague. My seeming aversion to interactions with most people led me to believe that I was anti-social, reclusive, and rude. And the more my calendar filled up with work and social obligations, the stronger my feelings of avoidance and exhaustion grew. When everyone wanted to grab drinks or go out with friends, all I wanted to do was go home and not see anyone for the rest of the day. Not understanding what was going on left me feeling like a lousy friend, partner, and employee.

As it turned out, I wasn’t actually antisocial, reclusive, or rude. Several personality tests, especially the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), revealed that I was deeply introverted. Which meant that I recovered from interactions differently. Many studies now show that introversion/extraversion aren’t preferences. They’re a personality trait determined by how the neurons fire in our brains. Extroverts start each day feeling under-stimulated, and seek out a boost of critical stimulation through social engagement. Introverts, on the other hand, go through each day relatively overstimulated. Hence why they seek out quiet solitude to keep themselves operating efficiently and avoiding burnout. Therein lies the rub: as my career gained traction, my priorities began to manage me (versus the other way around). Becoming aware of where I sat on the introversion/extraversion spectrum was the first step towards regaining control. But something remained broken. No matter how disciplined I was, I would still experience unpredictable fluctuations in my energy. And I mistakenly compensated by doubling down on the time I invested in things:

• When projects weren’t moving forward, I’d work more and work harder.
• When I wanted to have better relationships with my family and friends, I’d spend more time with them.
• When I wanted to get healthier, I’d spend more time in the kitchen and exercise more often.
• When I felt burnt out, well…you know how that went.

The problem was, I eventually I ran out of time! So I looked to the next variable: energy. And that’s when I came across The Power of Full Engagement by Tony Schwartz.

In his book, Schwartz writes:

“Performance, health and happiness are grounded in the skillful management of energy. The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy available to us is not. It is our most precious resource. The more we take responsibility for the energy we bring to the world, the more empowered and productive we become.”

Tony’s work through The Energy Project inspired me to rethink how I use my calendar. It’s not just a budget of my time. It’s also a budget for my energy. As such, I began to colour code my calendar based on energy expenditure. This practice has helped me to optimize the way I live/work to be more present and productive. Here’s how I did it:

The Colours

I went with a basic rainbow structure: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. I chose red to signal energy loss because of the obvious connections to danger. I chose green to indicate restoration, because of its associations with the concepts of “good” and “healthy”.

Energy Loss

• Red (High Energy Loss) — Presentations, conferences, networking, conflict resolution, etc.
• Orange (Moderate Energy Loss) — Brainstorming sessions, negotiations, team-building activities, difficult conversations, etc.
• Yellow (Low Energy Loss) — Clearing emails, status meetings, commuting, informational interviews, etc.

Energy Gain

• Green (High Energy Gain) — Vacation, watching movies, sleeping, eating, etc.
• Blue (Moderate Energy Gain) — Working out, grooming, reading, playing video games, etc.
• Indigo (Low Energy Gain) — Quick breaks, social media, talking to friends, listening to music, etc.

Energy Neutral

• Violet (No Energy Gain/Loss) —Non-events, simultaneous events, notices from co-workers, blocks of time, etc.

The Rules

By colour coding your calendar, you’ll be able to to notice right away why you might be feeling overwhelmed. Here are the rules that I use to ensure that I can sustain my energy throughout the week day:

1. Always start your day with a green event. The more you can chain together, the better. My mornings see me eating, reading, and going to the gym. This sequence helps me start my day clear, focused, and happy.
2. Follow every energy loss event with an energy gain event. Immediately after a red, yellow, or orange event, allow for some recovery (even if the event is indigo and not proportional to the energy lost).
3. No more than one red event per day. Unless the events are spaced apart enough — and unless there’s sufficient recovery built in between them — the second red event will be negatively impacted by the energy loss.
4. Avoid yellow and orange events before a red event. If you want to be at your best for a red event, try negate any energy expenditure beforehand. On days where I do public speaking, for instance, the lead up is green.
5. Batch short yellow and orange events together. I’ve found this approach to be better than spacing them apart. Ride the high from your one low/moderate energy loss events into another. Then recover hard.
6. End your days with green events. Just like how you started your day, end your day with an energy gain event that will help you smoothly transition into a stress-free deep-green sleep.
7. Review your energy expenditure at the top of each week. Before you head into the work week, open up your calendar and make sure everything is colour coded. This will help you mentally prepared to face the week.

Now, you might work in an environment where you don’t determine your schedule. Worse, this workplace might be reactive. Yellow, orange, and red events creep up on you when you least expect it. Firstly, I’d suggest having a conversation with your boss about your introversion, and try to find a reasonable accommodation. If that’s not possible, then batch-colour your day as red/yellow/orange, then pad your workday with lots and lots of green.

In addition to time, introverts need to manage their energy. Be smart about where you spend your energy, and be intentional about how you replenish it. The goal here is to help you open up your calendar and adequately prepare for the day/week/month ahead.

Manage your energy by giving your calendar some colour coded context.

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