Prioritize: Create an Energy Budget

Feeling defeated, overwhelmed, or stressed? Prioritize. Life can be pretty busy at times. 

It can also get hectic and out of control quite quickly if you are not careful. If you are feeling overwhelmed then it may be time for you to prioritize the individuals and commitments that are draining away your time, energy, and productivity. It may be time for you to take back control.

There are a lot of tasks that demand your attention and a lot of people too. Your job, household chores, co-workers, spouse, kids, friends, relatives, and some days even the general acquaintances in your life can be vying for your attention. This is when you most need a little time to recoup and re-energize. The question is where is there time during the day for you? You may not always have enough time or energy for the things that everyone else wants you to do let alone for yourself. Trust me the time is there you just have to find it.

Work Financial or Relationship Commitments Can Get Our Of Hand if You Allow it

You can boost your energy and your productivity by simply incorporating a few simple prioritization rules into your lifestyle. You do this by creating a budget for not only your time but also for your commitments and energy. It is time to slow down, say no and lower the expectations you have set for yourself. This means that you will prioritize necessary tasks but also define how much energy each individual in your life is allowed as well. When you are dealing with all the things that drain your energy and this includes the people who you associate with, it is very important to prioritize.

It can be surprising how much of your energy is spent on the many individuals who are a part of your life. Associates, friends, children, your spouse, and your work colleagues are people who may be draining your energy. Most people do not realize this or they don't try to alter the situation and it puts a lot of unnecessary stress into their life.

It is important to categorize in importance the people in your life who demand a little or a lot of your energies. Create your energy prioritization budget with this concept in mind. Then be assertive, be polite, and be firm when enforcing your budget. Like all budgets and plans it is through persistence and perseverance that you will achieve success. When life hands you more commitments than you seem to be able to meet then it is vital to prioritize them and get your life back under your control again. All aspects of life can be prioritized and it is up to you to insure that you set the guidelines for your lifestyle.

If you are not receiving the proper rest and relaxation in your life then you will not be able to function at the optimum level that you would otherwise be able to. Stress and fatigue can have serious consequences to your mental and physical health Extreme fatigue can leave you unable to function at virtually any capable emotional or physical level. You can wind up looking and acting like a babbling whining child and none of us wants that image hovering over us.


To develop a good working, playing, and overall healthy living lifestyle it just makes logical sense to prioritize our commitments. There are times in life when it becomes necessary to budget out our time and energy.

Don't just think about it - Write it out. 

Budgeting the amount of energy you have to spend can be a simple process. Get out a piece of paper and create 3 columns on it. You want to see this budget in print so you can effectively keep track of how well you will be able to distribute your energy in relation to the number of tasks and people putting demands on it. Now calculate out your energy in the manner below.

1) First list all the things that you absolutely must do. If you are not able to complete even the basic tasks required of you each day then it is likely that you will become frustrated with your circumstances. This leads to an increase in your stress levels and possible depression so forget about any tasks that really don't matter all that much and insure that you list just the ones that you absolutely must do. Prioritize your most important tasks and put those on this list.

2) Second list all the things that you really want to do that day. This means all those little things in life that cause you pleasure whether it is a simple walk in the park or taking time to visit with family. It is very important to prioritize enjoyment because these simple pleasures are what make life worth living. Include them in your budget as your second highest priority.

3) Thirdly and with whatever leftover energy is remaining prioritize the things that you should do but that won't really matter if they don't get them done that day (ie: dishes).

It is important that this budgeting is done for all the aspects of your lifestyle which involve energy. This also includes prioritizing the people who you allow to use up some of your time throughout the day. It is up to you to prioritize the importance of each individual in your life so that you can accurately assess the amount of your energy that you are willing to allow them.

You can effectively manage how much energy you allot to each of the people in your life. The degree that you allot to each individual is set out by assessing exactly how important each person is in your life. This makes it actually quite easy to prioritize people. We all know that some people require more of our time than others. Only you can set the ideals and limits on which people are the most important to you and how much energy each of them require of you. Just as only you can decide exactly how much time and energy you are therefore willing to set aside for them.


Set aside time to rest and rejuvenate and you will be able to accomplish more in the long term. You will also lower your stress level substantially. Always remember that you must take care of yourself first or you will not have the energy to be able to take care of other important people and issues in your life.


Children, grandchildren or a significant partner (whether of a personal or business nature) will be people that you rank higher on your priority list than others. Only you are able to set and enforce your individual limits. Remember to be assertive and demand your right to set your boundaries. Be polite but firm and your wishes will eventually come into play.

When dealing with a Cling-on it is important to be assertive (and I am not referring to the Star Trek type of Klingon). There is no explanation needed: Just say no and mean it. These people can be a huge drain on your energy reserves. This personality type has to be told outright that you do not have the time or energy for them. If they cannot conform to conveniently fit into your lifestyle then they need to be removed from it as quickly as possible.
Clingy people are those strange individuals who for some reason seem to have no life of their own and who want to rely on you to give meaning to theirs. These folks may be perfectly nice people but they can also be emotionally and physically draining.

My experience with this type of personality has proven that no amount of subtle or outright hinting changes their behaviour so it is up to you to be assertive with them. The sooner your clinger ons know the rules the better even if this means offending them. It is better to have someone think you are nasty than never to have a life that you can officially call your own.

State outright that you have too many priorities at the moment. Firmly let them know that you do not have time to add them into your schedule. Be polite but be firm. Be assertive. People do not like being said no to and if you say it to someone often enough they eventually get the hint. 

So "No, I do not have time for coffee. No, I am too busy for company. No, I am too tired to go out tonight. No, I already have plans." Say no enough times and I can guarantee that your "Cling-on" will eventually stop asking.​ Some priorities are easier to set than are others. Usually the task of prioritizing the individual time that you allot to each person can be accomplished quite easily but every now and then someone just doesn't quite figure out the concept.
When someone demands a larger share of your time or energy than you are able to give then it is essential for you to be assertive. Stand your ground and quickly nip it. Sometimes someone will just not understand that they may be drawing more of your energy reserves than you are able to give to them while at other times they may simply be pushing the limits because they can. It is up to you to set the ground rules and enforce them.

Some people just cannot seem to realize that you absolutely do not have the time or energy to spend vast amounts of your day with them. Unfortunately for some unknown reason these individuals just can't seem to figure it out on their own or through the placing of subtle hints.

In these cases it often comes down to placing your needs over their feelings and being assertive when addressing the amount of YOU that they are allowed to partake of. Take a firm stand and don't back down. They will eventually realize that you are indeed serious.

It can be difficult to say no to family and close friends. It is often easier to set limits with associates than it is to budget the time that you allot to immediate family and best friends. Often family will feel that there is a You don't mean me policy in place for them and it can create somewhat of an uncomfortable situation in the early stages of your prioritization. This will get easier.

You can have the people that you love understand why there is a specific amount of energy that they are allotted. Use feelings to explain your budget. For example when explaining why the grandchildren can't come for the weekend explain that your job or your health has to comes first and although it is an unfortunate priority it is one that must occur. You can still spend time with them but perhaps of a shorter duration ie; an ice cream cone together.

Reassure them of your love and their importance in your life and insure that you do spend time with them as soon as you are able to. If they understand exactly how loved and appreciated they really are then they are also usually only too willing to give you the time and space that you need. In dealing with all the people or issues in your life that are demanding a little or a lot of your energies just remember to prioritize. Create your energy budget and then be assertive, polite, and firm when enforcing it. Through persistence you will achieve a balanced lifestyle.



- Write it out so your progress is visible. Seeing is believing. When you write it out you are more apt to keep an eye on your accomplishments. You will also be able to see which areas you need to improve in so that you can focus your efforts in that direction. Charting your budget down really does help to get you closer to your goals.

- Put time for yourself into the budget.

- Exercise to help reduce your stress and increase your energy. 

- Get organized. Being organized can reduce your stress level. Organization in all things can make a dramatic difference in how you feel emotionally and physically. Have a place to put everything and put everything in its place. By simply staying organized and eliminating that mental energy you can reduce your stress level.

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