You got my attention from the beginning:

Put the schedule down for a second.

Consider something I read in The Power of Full Engagement: Maybe it’s not about time. It’s about energy.

Via The Power of Full Engagement:

Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.

It’s a qualitative lens instead of a quantitative one. Focusing on your time management skills sounds great but all hours are not created equal.

We’re not machines and the time model is a machine model. Our job isn’t to be a machine — it’s to give the machines something brilliant to do.

Do you accomplish more in three hours when you’re sleep-deprived or in one hour when you feel energetic, optimistic and engaged?

This may sound fluffy but it’s an important perspective to take: 10 hours of work when you’re exhausted, cranky and distracted might be far less productive than 3 hours when you’re “in the zone.”

So why not focus less on hours and more on doing what it takes to make sure you’re at your best?

Read more: http://time.com/40962/time-management-skills-are-stupid-heres-what-works/

I really identify with this.  When I have started to adopt too much "time management", my productivity falls off drastically.  I can get many little things done, but nothing of any significance.  What other people think is unorganized, sloppy, etc., is often about being closely attuned to managing my internal state to produce the hyperconcentration needed for the important stuff.  It can be a little misleading because once you have established a large, effective context, you can toy with it a bit and still jump back in OK, but if you artificially constrain and interrupt your concentration patterns before you get an effective context created for a new project, you may never achieve critical mass.

Stephen, you make a good point. It's all about flow.

great article!  indeed, we are not machines.  it also addresses the concept of willpower having its limits and decision-making taking a great deal of energy.  and, of course, the need for solid sleep!

More sleep = More willpower. It's that simple.