Calibrating Energy and Time: Three Lines That Reshape Daily Life

I’ve been reflecting lately on what really drives life. I’ve found it comes down to two things: energy and time. More precisely, it’s about how to protect your energy, and how to invest precious time in things that compound. It’s more like a continuous calibration, constantly adjusting your internal system to better interact with the external world.

I. The Energy Equation: Protecting Is More Important Than Creating

I increasingly feel that managing energy is the foundation of everything. Often, our fatigue and low efficiency aren’t because the task itself is difficult, but because our energy line gets unknowingly drained by various “miscellaneous tasks” and ineffective environments.

One huge change started with reducing screen time. The previous high-intensity screen usage, especially when handling tedious tasks requiring constant direct messages, was extremely destructive to my focus. By the end of the day, I’d be in a tense yet scattered state. Later, I picked up my dusty Kindle again, and this transition painlessly helped me reclaim much of the health and clarity that should have been mine. Reading on an e-ink screen, especially at night, helps keep emotions more stable, unlike before when blue light would throw everything off.

For time management, I’ve also figured out my own rhythm. Morning time is truly precious—it must be used for things I want to do, like immersive English learning, reading, or creative projects. Those tedious tasks, like replying to messages and following up on activities, I consciously compress and schedule for noon or afternoon when my energy is relatively lower. This way, the most important periods are protected.

Energy drain also comes from interpersonal interactions. I love chatting with high-energy people—it feels like I’m ignited too, very positive, very energetic. But conversely, when I’m in an environment I don’t quite like, such as certain events with the wrong atmosphere, or when I need to deal with administrative, formal matters, I feel like “this isn’t where I should be,” and it greatly damages my creativity. Facing the negative energy that sometimes emanates, I used to feel I had to solve it, treating myself as the protagonist, which was very stressful. Now I’ve found that viewing myself as a supporting character reduces the pressure significantly—this is also a form of energy self-protection.

II. Treating Learning as a Craft to Polish

Protecting energy is ultimately for investing it in what truly matters—like learning. For me, learning isn’t passive “input” but an actively designed craft requiring continuous practice.

I’ve been making rapid progress in English speaking recently, reaching that “momentum” of “getting into the zone.” Every day I set aside fixed time, following TED Talks or Teacher Xia’s courses sentence by sentence. The process is quite interesting—for example, learning a phrase like “learning a new language is actually possessing a new soul.” This made me realize that language profoundly influences how we think. This kind of “repetitive labor” needs to be carefully cultivated, whether it’s practicing the muscles for speaking or Tai Chi stance training—the principle is the same.

In reading, I’m also more inclined to read books that solve my specific problems. For example, “The Art of Note-Taking” resolved my knowledge organization anxiety, while “The Art of Gathering” directly guided my event organizing work. Reading books like “Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China” gave me a more macro view of how extremely intelligent people handle problems. This feeling is great—it provides a kind of inner peace.

I’ve also started trying some new learning methods. Like the “20-hour rule,” which tells me that the initial learning curve for new skills is very steep, and the key is to start doing. There’s also “Scatter Focus”—deliberately leaving yourself time to zone out and daydream, giving your brain space to connect the dots and link different inspirations. This sparks more creativity than the “mutated focus” of mindlessly scrolling short videos. Much of life’s beauty actually comes from Serendipity—these unexpected encounters also require us to have enough white space to embrace them.

III. From Internal to External: Finding Your Field

Once the internal energy and learning systems are established, connections with the external world become clearer. I’ve started more actively seeking my community, stepping out of my bubble.

I’ve discovered that the core of organizing events isn’t about how perfect the SOP is, but whether the host has the awareness to pay attention to each participant’s feelings and make everyone comfortable. My work is more like implanting a logic and mindset of “how to make a gathering great” into other people’s minds, like Apple—teaching others. This is a challenging but valuable improvement.

At the same time, I treat much socializing as a practice field. Like Coffee Chat—I no longer see it merely as chatting, but as a place to train public speaking. How do I present myself to others, how do I capture their interest, how do I go deep in conversation—all of these can be deliberately practiced.

Of course, the most important thing is daring to try and create. When I have an idea, like that “Life Experiment Lab” tiny experiment proposal, I should speak up proactively. When I need to communicate with someone, I should dare to pick up the phone and call. Being proactive means new stories will happen.

In the end, whether it’s managing energy or polishing learning methods, it’s all about becoming stronger, having more choices, being able to choose to do what you truly want rather than being controlled by various “chores” and “have-tos.” This process sometimes feels exhausting, and there’s even a “fear of missing out” mentality, but feeling significant progress every day—that feeling is truly wonderful.