You Don’t Need More Time. You Need More Energy.

He’s productive—but permanently drained.

July 30, 2025

The Fisherman and the Businessman
A wealthy businessman is vacationing in a small coastal village when he meets a fisherman bringing in his daily catch. The businessman’s impressed.

“How long did it take you to catch all that?”

“Just a while,” the fisherman shrugs.

The businessman, confused, presses:
“Why not stay out longer and catch more?”

The fisherman smiles. “This is enough. I spend the rest of my day playing with my kids, napping, sharing drinks and music with my friends.”

The businessman launches into a full-blown 5-year hustle strategy:
“Buy a bigger boat. Build a fleet. Open a factory. Go public. Make millions.”

“And then?” the fisherman asks.

“Then you can retire to a quiet village, catch fish in the morning, nap in the afternoon, and drink with friends at night.”

The fisherman stares.
“But that’s what I do now.”

We’ve Been Managing the Wrong Thing
I remember reading that story at 2am—dead tired, buried in half-finished projects, juggling Notion tabs, and telling myself:
“If I just plan this week better, I’ll get ahead.”

But here’s the cold truth:
You don’t have a time problem.
You have an energy problem.

Our culture worships productivity and pathologizes rest.
If you’re not “using” every hour to grind, optimize, and push… you’re falling behind.
Even if you’re running on fumes.

But you don’t need more apps, more blocks, more hustle.
You need a better battery.

Time is Fixed. Energy is Fluid.
Time is democratic — everyone gets 24 hours.
But energy? Personal. Fragile. Non-linear.

You’ve felt it:

✅ One hour in flow > Six hours of burnout mode
✅ One convo with an energy vampire = emotional crash
✅ One walk with the right person = full nervous system reset

Still, we keep trying to solve life with planners.

“Tighten my calendar.”
“Track every minute.”
“Add another color-coded productivity hack.”

All while your soul’s on low power mode and your brain feels like mush.

Reframe Productivity As Alignment, Not Force
Tony Schwartz breaks energy into 4 levels:

  • Physical — your body’s battery

  • Emotional — your inner weather

  • Mental — your focus capacity

  • Spiritual — your sense of purpose

When one’s drained, the rest suffer.

⚡ Emotionally flat? Every decision feels impossible.
⚡ Mentally burnt? Even tiny tasks feel like mountains.
⚡ Spiritually empty? Hitting goals feels hollow.

It’s not discipline you’re lacking. It’s alignment.

Try This Instead (1-Minute Reset)
Next time you feel stuck, ask:

“Where am I leaking energy right now?”
“What actually restores me?”

Do it for 3 days. Track it. Pattern-match.
That’s how you build energy awareness, not just time control.

Why Netflix & Chill Isn’t Real Rest
If by the end of the day you’re fried, numb, and defaulting to TikTok spirals—
That’s not laziness. That’s nervous system overload.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith outlines 7 types of rest that people confuse with sleep:

  • Physical

  • Mental

  • Emotional

  • Spiritual

  • Sensory

  • Social

  • Creative

Scrolling isn’t restoring.
Bingeing Netflix with a shame spiral in the background? Still draining.
You don’t need to do less.
You need to know which system needs rest.

Final Thought
I had this convo recently with someone I admire.
Sharp. Driven. Hyper-capable.
But she looked dimmed.

“I just feel so lazy,” she whispered.
“I can’t bring myself to do anything.”

But she wasn’t lazy. She wasn’t broken.
She was out of alignment.

High achievers don’t burn out from doing too little.
They burn out from spending their energy in the wrong direction.

You don’t need more hustle.
You need better energy stewardship.

Start there. Watch everything else follow.