What is an energy audit?
Time is the same for everyone, but energy is not. Most people are sharper at some hours than others, and a day planned around the clock can still feel hard if the hardest work lands in your weakest hours.
An energy audit is a small experiment. For a few days you write down how your energy felt, hour by hour. Then you look for the shape of your day: when you were strongest, when you dipped, and what you were doing at the time.
The idea is covered in more depth in what energy management is and energy management versus time management.
How this energy audit works
Pick a date, then rate each hour you remember from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high). You can tag an hour with what you were doing. Then pick another day and do the same. Everything saves on this device.
The tool waits until there is enough to say something real: at least 8 entries from at least 3 different days. Then it draws the average for each hour, picks out your highest and lowest two-hour windows, and compares activities that have enough entries. Every number is an average of your own entries. If you want to see what the result looks like first, press See an example.
Using what you find
Put the work that needs your best thinking in your strongest window, and the lighter tasks, like email and errands, in your lowest. If your lowest window is early afternoon, a walk or a break there is a fair experiment.
Treat the result as a starting point. A few days is a small sample, and one unusual week can mislead. To act on it, place your tasks on a schedule with the time blocking planner, and read how to keep your energy up through the day.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an energy audit?
- An energy audit is a short experiment: for a few days you note how your energy felt at different hours, then look for patterns. The goal is to learn which part of your day is strongest so you can put your most demanding work there.
- How many days do I need before I see a pattern?
- This tool shows a pattern once you have at least 8 entries from at least 3 different days. Fewer than that is too little to say anything honest, so it tells you how much more is needed instead of guessing. A full week gives a clearer picture.
- How do I rate my energy?
- Use 1 for very low and 5 for very high, based on how you felt, not on how much you got done. Rate an hour from memory at the end of the day, or as you go. A rough rating is fine, and you can skip any hour you do not remember.
- What does the activity tag do?
- You can tag an hour with what you were doing, such as deep work or meetings. Once at least two activities have enough entries, the audit compares their average energy. It shows a pattern in your own log. It cannot say that the activity caused the energy.
- Is my data private?
- Yes. There is no account, your entries are saved in your own browser, and your energy ratings are never sent anywhere. Clear all removes them from this device.
Keep going
- What is energy management?
- How to increase your energy throughout the day
- Energy management versus time management
- Time Blocking Planner: Turn your task list into a schedule for the day. Free, no account needed.
- Pomodoro Timer: 25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes to breathe. Free, no account needed.
More free tools: all 8 tools.