How to Work Well Even on Low-Energy Days

Low-energy days are inevitable, especially for remote and hybrid professionals. They do not mean you are unmotivated, incapable, or failing. They just mean your system has less capacity available than usual.

The goal on these days is not to push harder. It is to work differently.

Redefine What “Working Well” Means

On low-energy days, productivity is not about how much you get done. Instead it might mean:

• Completing one meaningful task

• Preventing backlog rather than clearing it

• Avoiding mistakes caused by overexertion

Consistency matters more than intensity when it comes to how hard you are working.

Lower the Bar

Many people waste lots of energy fighting how they feel, which only ends up making them feel even more depleted.

Instead try one of the following:

• Identify the minimum amount of work that needs to get done that day, and do that only

• Focus on tasks that require less cognitive load and leave more taxing ones for another day

• Accept progress over perfection

Lowering the bar temporarily protects long-term performance. 

Choose Energy-Appropriate Tasks

Not all work requires the same amount of mental effort.

On low-energy days, prioritise:

• Admin

• Reviewing or organising work

• Responding rather than creating

• Small, clearly defined tasks

Save deep thinking and complex decisions for higher-energy days when possible.

Create Clear Start and Stop Points

When energy is low, unstructured work drains you faster.

Set:

• One clear starting task

• One clear stopping point

This reduces decision fatigue and prevents work from bleeding endlessly into rest time.

Stop Interpreting Low Energy as Failure

Remember that sustainable work includes low energy days. Feelings of low energy are simply feedback from your nervous system telling you that you need to take things easier today. Ignoring these feelings and trying to push through may lead to burnout in the long-run. 

If you genuinely can’t tell whether what you’re feeling is low energy or just laziness, we wrote a blog about how to tell the difference which you can read here. If you want to talk through your work day habits and make sense of the issues you’re facing with a qualified professional, we offer 1:1 online coaching sessions.