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title: Energy Management
created: 2024-11-18T09:18:12
modified: 2026-02-05T07:51:24
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> “Energy is eternal delight.” — William Blake
> [“Your energy is currency. Spend it well. Invest it wisely. Use it Intentionally, consistently, and by your own design.” — Adrienne Bosh](https://x.com/MrsAdrienneBosh/status/988908563232796672)
> “Whatever excites you, go do it. Whatever drains you, stop doing it.” — Derek Sivers
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＝能量管理＝精力管理
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比 [時間管理](time-management.md) 更重要！
> Don’t manage your time, manage your energy.
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[David Hawkins’ Levels of Consciousness（情緒能量表）](https://www.google.com/search?q=David%20Hawkins%27%20Levels%20of%20Consciousness)
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There’s no such thing as working too hard. There’s just being under rested. — Don’t focus on energy output (working too hard). Focus on energy production ([recharging activities](the-most-productive-people-prioritize-intentional-rest.md)).
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# Willpower Is Not A Limited Resource \& Ego-depletion Is A Myth
* After a particularly grueling day, I’d sit on the couch and veg for hours, doing my version of “[Netflix and chill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_and_chill),” which meant keeping company with a pint of ice cream. Even though I knew that eating ice cream and sitting for a long time were probably bad ideas, I told myself that relaxation was my well-deserved reward for working so hard.
* Psychological researchers have a name for this phenomenon: it’s called “[Ego Depletion](https://www.nirandfar.com/ego-depletion/).” The theory is that ~~willpower is connected to a limited reserve of mental energy, and once you run out of that energy, you’re more likely to lose self-control.~~
* _However, recent studies suggest we’ve misunderstood [willpower](do-not-use-your-willpower-unless-you-absolutely-have-to.md), debunking the theory of [ego depletion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion)._
* [@jobEgoDepletionIt2010]
* People who viewed the capacity for self-control as not limited did not show diminished self-control after a depleting experience.
* …reduced self-control after a depleting task or during demanding periods may reflect people’s beliefs about the availability of willpower rather than true resource depletion.
* [@jobBeliefsWillpowerDetermine2013]
* …following a demanding task, only people who view willpower as limited and easily depleted (a limited resource theory) exhibited improved self-control after sugar consumption.
* In contrast, people who view willpower as plentiful (unlimited) showed no benefits from glucose—they exhibited high levels of self-control performance with or without sugar boosts.
* Here’s the key point: **Simply believing that we’re “spent” or mentally drained can create a sense of fatigue, a phenomenon linked to [the nocebo effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo). [Clinging to / Holding onto the idea that willpower is a finite resource can be harmful/detrimental](push-your-limits.md), making us more likely to lose [self-control](discipline-equals-freedom.md) and [make poor decisions](decision-making.md). In reality, ego depletion is driven by [self-defeating thoughts](negative-thoughts-and-emotions.md), rather than any biological limitation. It’s not the sugar in the lemonade that sustains mental stamina—it’s [the placebo effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo) in action.** [^1]
* Moreover, **willpower functions like an emotion.** Just as we don’t “run out” of joy or anger, willpower rises and falls depending on what’s happening to us and how we feel.
* If mental energy behaves like an emotion rather than fuel in a tank, it can be managed and harnessed accordingly: **When faced with a difficult task, it’s more productive and healthy to view a lack of motivation as temporary, rather than assuming we’re spent/drained and need a break.**
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# The Energy Razor
* If you don’t schedule actions that produce energy, assume they’ll never happen.
* If you don’t monitor actions that drain energy, assume they’ll keep expanding.
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> [My ability to do any serious mathematics fluctuates greatly from day to day; sometimes I can think hard on a problem for an hour, other times I feel ready to type up the full details of a sketch that I or my coauthors already wrote, and other times I only feel qualified to respond to email and do errands, or just to take a walk or even a nap. I find it very helpful to organise my time to match this fluctuation: for instance, if I have a free afternoon, and feel inspired to do so, I might close my office door, shut off the internet, and begin typing on a languishing paper; or if not, I go and work on a week’s worth of email, referee a paper, write a blog article, or whatever else seems suited to my current levels of energy and enthusiasm.](https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/on-time-management/)
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# [“The Energy Investment Portfolio” by Ali Abdaal](https://aliabdaal.com/newsletter/the-energy-investment-portfolio/)
* Dream Investments: Things that you want to do at some point, but probably not right now; can be as long as you like.
* Active Investments: Things that you want to work on right now (e.g., this week); should be limited (~5) based on how much time and energy you’ve got to invest in them.
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# The Power Law for Energy Management
≈ 冪律
舉例來說，你可以將第 n 個最重要的主題的關注度分配為 $(m-1)/m^n$，其中 m > 1。這裡的 m 代表注意力分配的集中程度：當 m 越大 時，注意力會更加集中在前幾個主題上，後面主題的比重會迅速下降；反之，當 m 越接近 1 時，注意力的分配會較為平均。
換句話說，m 控制了你專注的「銳利度」— 它越大，你越聚焦於最重要的少數關鍵項目；它越小，你越傾向於在多個主題之間平均投入。
當然，你無法如此精確地分配你的注意力，但這個公式至少提供了一種在有限資源下進行合理取捨的靈感。
[^1]: [Studies show that our brain does not consume more blood sugar when working on difficult tasks. The brain is an organ, not a muscle. It does not burn extra calories but maintains a steady energy consumption with increased effort. Whether you’re solving calculus problems or watching cat videos, your brain burns roughly the same number of calories per waking minute.](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calories/)