How I Learned to Manage My Energy at Work

I'll quietly admit, as an Introvert I spent a lot of time at work avoiding people.

I'd decline lunch invites when colleagues expected me to come along. I'd spot someone from work on the train and quietly change carriages because small talk at 7am would leave me running on empty for the rest of the day. I'd keep my headphones in after a call because it signalled: I'm not available right now. I'd lose hours of productive thinking in open-plan offices, unable to concentrate over the background noise of other people's conversations.

For a long time, I felt guilty about all of it.

What I came to understand was that: I wasn't anti-social or being difficult. I was an introvert in environments that hadn't been designed with people like me in mind; and I hadn't yet learned how to design my own.

The Challenge of leading as an Introvert

When you're a manager and you're responsible for clients, you quickly discover that you can't always control your calendar the way you'd like to. Meetings get called at short notice. Back-to-back calls happen. You are fire-fighting and people need things from you, and they need them now.

For an introvert, this isn't just tiring; it can chip away at your confidence and your presence as a leader. You start showing up to conversations already exhausted. and your best thinking happens at 10pm, alone, when no one needs anything from you.

I spent a lot of time operating in reactive mode, and it showed. I was still delivering and still leading. But I knew I wasn't bringing my best self to the work that mattered most.

The changes came when I stopped trying to change how I was wired and started learning to work with it instead.

What Energy Management looks like

Energy management isn't about being precious with your time or opting out of collaboration. It's about being strategic; understanding where your energy comes from, where it goes, and building small structures that protect your capacity to do your best work.

Here's what I put in place, over the years:

Time-blocking focused work in the morning

My brain is sharpest before 1pm. I'm not usually available for calls before 10am unless something genuinely requires it. That protected time is where I do my deepest thinking, writing and strategy. The difference it's made to the quality of my work is significant.

Finding quieter spaces to think

Open offices are a gift to extroverts and a particular challenge for introverts who think best in silence. I got deliberate about finding quiet corners, quieter office areas, or working from home on the days I needed to produce focused outputs. Sometimes the simplest environmental shift changes everything.

Being intentional about the meetings I join

I used to agree to meetings by default. I don't any more. I ask: does my presence genuinely add value here? Can I contribute via an update or a document instead? This has freed up more time and energy than almost anything else.

Building recovery breaks into the day

After a long call or an intense conversation, I need a few minutes to reset. I stopped booking back-to-back meetings and started building in ten or fifteen minute buffers. Old colleagues will tell you I had core breaks at 11am and 3pm which involved a cup of tea and a small snack, it was a chance to decompress before the next thing.

Batching messages

Constant notifications are a slow drain on attention. I batch my messages rather than responding in real time. I'm responsive, but on my terms and not at the mercy of every notification.

Leaning into asynchronous communication

Where a meeting isn't strictly necessary, I try to replace it with a well-written email. Async communication lets me think before I respond, which almost always produces a better outcome for me anyway.

Recharging deliberately

For me, that's music and reading. Not doom-scrolling or half-watching Netflix in the background; but activities that replenish rather than continue to drain.

What changed

These were small, deliberate choices that, taken together, made an enormous difference.

I started showing up to conversations with more energy and presence. I stopped feeling like I was constantly playing catch-up with my own capacity. I became more confident in meetings because I wasn't walking in already exhausted. My leadership became calmer, and I believe more effective.

Managing energy, for an introvert, is a leadership skill which offers a genuine competitive advantage.

One small habit

I could have listed all of these strategies years earlier and told you they were good ideas. But implementation is the hard part; and the best place to start is always with one small change.

Maybe it's blocking your first hour of the morning for focused work. Maybe it's giving yourself permission to decline a meeting that doesn't need you. Maybe it's a 10-minute buffer after every call.

Pick one and see what it does for you.

If you're an introverted professional navigating a new role, a promotion, or a career transition and would like some support, I'd love to hear from you. Book a discovery call here.