Since my times as a competitive athlete, I have been interested in learning and practicing how to achieve peak performance. Many methods, such as visualization, neurofeedback, and others have helped me preparing and practicing for the important moment at which to deliver, on demand. But by far the most valuable lesson I ever had in that regard came from Carlos Salum, a former performance coach of Gabriela Sabatini (a former top 3 tennis player, for those not remembering). The lesson he taught was based on research of Jim Loehr and Jack Groppel.

The key to their method is firstly, to manage energy, not time - and secondly, to create oscillation (we will get to that point in a bit). They distinguish four key levels of energy:

• Physical Energy (sleep, eat, exercise)
• Emotional Energy (accessing pleasant, positive emotions)
• Mental Energy (sustaining concentration, positive thinking)
• Spiritual Energy (values based, purposeful engagement)

I have lived with this method on my mind for about 10 years now, although I have probably only leveraged it to a fraction of its potential. My experience at Kellogg, and the focus on personal development and the "good life", led me to revisit it in the past months. I realized that so many aspects of it I have seen (mostly unaware) working very well with myself or the people around me.

   Source: Carlos Salum (apologies for the bad quality)

Three of the energy levels can be trained very actively.

For the physical energy, it is important to seek stress, but also make waves and train recovery. This oscillation will allow the body to build stamina and get stronger. It goes without saying that training recovery includes to get enough sleep - and making waves also refers to the level of stress one puts on the body.

Emotional energy is best managed through a deliberate practice of "think -> feel -> act". Our emotions are actively influenced by the thoughts we chose to have, while the connections between our feelings and actions completes the circle. Hence, in order to act a certain way, the key is to start thinking that way. That may sound a bit esoteric, it's based on a lot of different research though and on the second thought also makes sense. When was the last time you got out of bed and had a negative thought? What did that make you feel like that morning? And how did you act the rest of the day? If were honest to ourselves, most of us probably went down that vicious circle many times already - why not do it the other way around? It all comes down to a positive state of mind!

Mental energy is building on the other two layers. But it goes one step further in order to keep the focus right where it needs to be for peak performance.

Firstly, act as if. Tennis is a great example (and actually the basis for the research mentioned above). If you watch Tennis frequently, you will be able to observe the same as those researches did. The players that, after losing a point or having a bad miss, acted as if nothing bad had happened (e.g. got back on their position, head high, back straight, smile on their face, …) were much more likely to be successful thereafter than those who didn't (not only in that game, but overall).

Secondly, shifting states is important here too. It is impossible to be focused on one thing for 2 hours - hell, it's probably tough to be strictly focused for 5 minutes. Shifting states for relaxation is key to be back in a focussed mode when it counts again. Taking the Tennis example again, the act as if phase after a missed point is the perfect moment to lose focus, access an empowering emotion, and get back on track.

Thirdly, what helps immensely to go through this shifts is to create rituals. Ever thought why Nadal doesn't do anything about his "ticks"? Hair behind the ear, undies settled, … or Djokovic's everlasting ball play. It's these kind of rituals who help players go through the same state shifts over and over again and getting into the right state of mind.

Spiritual energy is a bit of a different beast. No tactical approach will help you feeling purposeful and in-sync with your values. Self-reflection on your motives and on what is really important to you will be needed to get to understand that. But that's the energy that will keep you going in practicing to manage your physical-, emotional-, and mental energy.

Whether it is athletes, high level leaders, or anyone who wants to get into an ideal performance state, I believe that being able to access empowering emotions, on demand, and under pressure is pivotal. This method has helped me get there. So next time you think about managing your time, remember that all of us have 168 hours per week (as I had to learn from Professor Harry Kraemer). You won't get more of it just because you "manage" it - instead start managing where you put your energy in that time, you'll get a lot more out of that!