At Your Best
How to Get Time, Energy & Priorities Working in Your Favor
by Carey Nieuwhof
I typically read 2-3 nonfiction books per year. I know they probably aren't as enthralling to read reviews on, but I think this one will resonate with a lot of people, regardless of age or career path. And bonus, if you don't have to time to read it yourself, this will save you the trouble. :)
I decided to check out this book after my sister I came across it on a Facebook reading group. She saw a book called Do Less, and I saw this one. We chatted via messenger briefly about why we wanted to read these books: she's trying to balance full-time work, raising two young girls, her marriage and a social life, and like most people in that boat, she's struggling to keep up with it all. She seeks permission and validation to do less and not feel bad about it.
I wanted to read At Your Best because I was starting to feel like I wasn't managing my time as well as I could be. When I was a teacher my daily tasks were so regimented, there was an incredibly tight schedule to follow every day down to the minute, and as much as I thrived when I knew what was expected of me, there was never enough time to do what I needed to.
The first year after I left teaching I gave myself permission to live without such a suffocating and demanding schedule, and it was awesome! After all, I was recovering from serious burnout. Years of sleep deprivation from my young kids, the demands of classroom teaching, and leading various committees had left me so depleted. I was always operating on empty.
In my first year at home, do I…
want to get groceries at 10am on a Wednesday with the senior citizens? Go for it!
want to go for a walk after lunch because I can? Yes, please!
want to read a book on the couch for no reason other than you feel like it? No one's going to stop me.
Every day I worked on my novel as well, and it was so fun to do something that filled my cup rather than drained it.
But now as demands for finishing my novel, figuring out how to market it on social media, working part time on Spanish curriculum, working for Wohlsdorf Builders, and managing our kids + household, I was starting to feel the familiar stress creeping back into my life. Burnout was coming for me again if I didn't do something about it.
I was getting frustrated that I wasn't getting MORE done with all this "free" time--the six hours my kids were at school. I also wanted to better understand why my career as a teacher had burned me out so badly when other people seemed to manage it just fine, or had the energy to coach sports, volunteer, etc.
So I started to read At Your Best with the intention of figuring out what had been going on with me all those years of teaching, and how to prevent it from happening again. Was I really just not cut out to be able to manage it all, or was I simply living in a way that was out of alignment with my energy levels?
First Things First
Understanding Nieuwhof's main concept of red, yellow and green zones in regards to your energy patterns
In his book he will often refer to these colored zones and offers the following ideas about them:
The Green Zone- this is peak performance, you're alert, creative, engaged and productive. This is the zone you must protect at all costs. It should be reserved for tasks that align with your passions.
For me, novel writing can only occur when I'm in the green zone. I can have zero distractions. Also, when creating Spanish curriculum, blog posts, or this newsletter, I have to be in the green zone almost always.
*Most people will get 2-5 hours of green zone time per day, if they are lucky.
This makes so much sense to me. As I would complain about not being able to get as much writing done as I wanted and people would say why don't you get up early and write before the kids are awake, or stay up after they go to bed? Same thing for working out. Because I'm most definitely NOT in the green zone at those times. And you can't really force yourself into a green zone...
The Yellow Zone- this zone is somewhat productive as you'll be alert and able to take care of more routine and procedural tasks, but not super high energy or in much of a creative space.
For me, I can write book reviews, make Instagram or Facebook posts, answer emails, take care of admin tasks for Wohlsdorf Builders, deal with calendars, go to an appointment, or run errands. If I go for a walk while in the yellow zone, I might be able to get back to the green zone, or at least feel more energetic. I can deal with small interruptions and still get back on track, but not for deep work.
The Red Zone- this zone is when you feel tired, bored, distracted, unmotivated, unproductive...if you're not sure when your red zones are, just ask a family member when you are the least fun to be around.
I can absolutely identify my red zones because they are almost always the same. From 6 am to 8 am I am the worst. And if I'm up before 6 am, stay at least two feet away at all times. I am not a morning person, I'm fighting for my life during these hours. I feel bad about myself, I think quite negatively. This is when I am getting my kids ready for school in the morning. I try to be pleasant, but inside I am running on autopilot and just trying to make it through.
By 8:30 am I am moving in to the yellow zone (usually with the help of coffee) and a healthy breakfast and by 9am I am firmly in the green zone. Everything is right with the world! I am a machine. I am a task crusher. I am a creative artist. All the good things.
My green zone will last until about 4 pm if I am not interrupted, but alas, school pick up occurs from 2-3 pm each day and ruins my streak. If I am lucky I can crank out some more work for an hour after we get home, but it depends on what we have going that evening. So, my best hours are 9am-2pm.
I'm back in the yellow zone from school pick up through about 8 pm. Then by 9pm I am once again drowning in the red zone. My kids know when they make me stay up past nine (which is every night of my life) I get much crabbier and have little patience. Once 9 pm hits I want nothing more to do with the day. I want to take a bath and read my book or watch TV. I am a creature of habit.
So now that you have seen the zones and how they work for me, let's talk more about the key points of the book!
Key Takeaways
1. It's not about squeezing more into your day, it's about knowing when you are at your best, and protecting that time fiercely
Find the sweet spot in your day and give your best to what really matters. Do the right work at the right time.
Lightbulb moment regarding teaching:
It burnt me out because any time I was spending with my family before and after school hours, I was in the yellow and red zones. If all my interactions with my kids and spouse are when I am feeling cranky, tired, and unpleasant, no one is having a good time! I'd feel terrible that I didn't have more patience or energy, but in reality, I'd simply used up all of my green zone time at work. Now, that's great for my job. I was good at it and highly productive, but because I pushed myself so hard every day regardless of how I was feeling, I'd come home with nothing in the tank.
2. Stop living in the red zone
Constantly operating in the red sabotages your life. Everything feels urgent, but nothing feels meaningful. The world won't end if you take a break!
I am almost 40 and have almost always operated under the presumption that rest is earned. I'll take a break once I've finished X, Y and Z. But the problem is that the tasks literally never stop coming, whether it's work or home, and if you take scheduled, guilt-free rest, you'll be in a much better place! I am still working on this.
3. People-pleasing is a fast track to losing control
This is most definitely an area of the book where I felt most seen. When anyone asked me if I could help with something, join a committee, lead a panel, student club, or assist with something I always said yes, and would later regret it because I knew my plate was already too full, but I didn't want to let people down. I have gotten better at this over the past two years, but it's something I still need to work on.
Lightbulb moment: Do not say yes to commitments that take place during my green zone. I'll regret it later when I didn't use my best hours on the right things.
4. All 24 hours are not the same
I'd like to add as a woman that no week/day is the same. My energy levels shift constantly and I am getting better at listening to my body. I need to respect that my productivity will fluctuate and that doesn't mean I am lazy or unproductive, it means I am an observer of my own needs, and it's okay to not be steadily energetic!
Lightbulb moment: When teaching I had to expend an extremely high amount of energy every day, regardless of how I was feeling. Teachers are some of the best at hiding how we are really feeling in order to bring our best to our students each day, but that's not a sustainable way to live. I couldn't align my energy with my workload. If explains why I was never productive during 7th hour prep...I was firmly in the red zone by the time 2:30 rolled around. After all, I'd been up since 5 am serving others. And it would be 9:30 pm before I had a chance to consider my own needs of taking a shower and relaxing with a book or TV show.
So what should you do with all of this information? Most people can't quit their jobs, change their work hours, or maybe not even change their bedtime, but there are small things anyone can do.
Start by mapping out your day into the three zones, then see what you can shift around. Maybe move grocery shopping out of the green zone and into the yellow, stop scheduling non-urgent meetings during your green zone, or stop scrolling social media or answering texts when you are in your green zone. Don't let other people's agendas highjack your calendar. Say no to some plans so you can get some much needed rest. It's okay to serve your own energy levels, not someone else's.
