When you think of load management, you might picture pro athletes balancing training and recovery to crush their next big game.
But here’s the thing: Your workplace isn't all that different. Whether you're sprinting toward a deadline or tackling a high-stakes project, load management can make all the difference in sustaining high performance.
At its core, load management is about knowing when to push, when to recover, and how to build the capacity to handle what’s on your plate. It’s not about doing less. It’s about doing things smarter.
Of course, your energy is shaped by more than just work. Your personal life and environment matter, too. But today, we’re focusing on how load management applies at work, and how you can use it to perform at your best.
If you’re looking for ways to improve work performance, manage your energy — not just your time.
Why Load Management Outperforms Time Management
Time management is obviously essential to workplace performance. But having time doesn’t really matter if you don’t have any energy to make use of that time.
Research shows that humans cycle through natural highs and lows in energy and focus. If you ignore those rhythms and continually push yourself to the brink, you’ll inevitably face exhaustion and underperformance.
So if you’ve ever wondered, “how can I improve my performance at work?,” it’s likely not about working longer hours. Look toward load management instead.
Load management is about learning when to push, and when to pause. It’s about intentionally refueling your energy before you end up burnt out, aka when it’s way too late.
By properly managing your energy output, you show up at your best when it matters most.
Treat Load Management Like Your Energy Bank Account
Load management is a lot like managing a bank account.
If you keep borrowing from your energy reserves without enough recovery, you rack up energy debt. And just like financial debt, energy debt comes with interest. You pay back more than you borrowed. It’s far more draining to recover from deep exhaustion than to prevent it with consistent, intentional recovery.
The good news? Healthy load management builds positive momentum, too. When you learn to balance effort and recovery, it’s like growing a savings account that helps you sustain high performance, even amidst stressful sprints.
The key is to recognize when you’re dipping into your reserves and make recovery non-negotiable. And if you do end up in energy debt, give yourself grace. Focus on recovery first, then put systems in place to help prevent it from piling up again.
Ways to Improve Work Performance With Load Management
- Model and encourage smart load management: Whether you’re a leader or an individual contributor, show how you balance high-effort periods with intentional recovery.
Demonstrate that setting boundaries and focusing on what matters most is a smart strategy. This way, you treat well-being as a performance multiplier. - On a weekly basis: Build in small, short-term workload shifts to balance effort and recovery throughout the week. Schedule short breaks, block time for focused work, and respect boundaries like unplugging after hours. Even if you’re not in charge of a team, you can support this by honoring your own recovery time and encouraging teammates to do the same.
- On a quarterly basis: After big work sprints, plan intentional recovery. That might mean using PTO, lightening your schedule where you can, or reflecting on what went well and what could improve next time.
Check in with your own workload and talk with your team or manager to help you adjust recovery time. - On a yearly basis: Take a big-picture view of your workload across the year to avoid running on fumes by year-end. Notice when intense projects are coming and plan ahead. Narrow your focus during crunch times and give yourself permission to rest and recharge after.
If you can, advocate for team-wide or company-wide recovery windows so everyone can reset without coming back to a full inbox.
Keep the Performance, Lose the Overload
Great workplace performance isn't about grinding yourself or your team into the ground.
It's about managing load wisely and avoiding energy debt so everyone can bring their best, consistently. If you’re looking for impactful ways to improve work performance, start with load management strategies.
By weaving these habits into your day, you boost not just productivity, but creativity, resilience, and enjoyment.
Want to help your team master these skills? Talk to Exos about Human Performance Coaching and unlock their full potential.
About the Expert
Stefan Underwood, MS, CSCS, is Exos’ Senior Vice President of Methodology and a recognized authority on human performance. He holds a BSc in Exercise Science and a MS in Organizational Psychology. With 20 years of coaching elite athletes, Special Operations Forces, and Fortune 500 leaders, he helps turn human potential into peak organizational results. Stefan leads Exos’ multidisciplinary Performance Innovation Team and teaches cutting-edge methods worldwide through Exos Education.
