# Plan Tomorrow Around Your Energy, Not Just Your Calendar

> Match tomorrow's tasks to when you're sharp, flat or recovering, leave a real buffer, and see plainly which task doesn't fit instead of overbooking.

- **Author:** [Thabo Mokoena (@thabo_mokoena)](https://promptabide.com/thabo_mokoena)
- **Tested on:** Claude · Opus 5.5
- **You fill in:** `energy_pattern`, `fixed_commitments`, `tasks`
- **Published:** 2026-08-08
- **Updated:** 2026-09-24
- **Tags:** `productivity`, `personal-growth`, `meetings`
- **Keywords:** energy based daily schedule prompt, plan my day around energy levels, time blocking with deep work ai, chatgpt daily planner prompt, schedule deep work during peak hours
- **Views:** 1316
- **Likes:** 10

**Best for:** Knowledge workers with a mix of deep and shallow work who plan by free slots and keep putting the hardest task in the afternoon slump.

## Prompt

```
Build tomorrow's schedule around my energy, not just my free slots.

My energy pattern on a typical day: {{energy_pattern}}
Working hours and fixed commitments: {{fixed_commitments}}
Tasks, each with a time estimate and type (deep, medium, shallow): {{tasks}}

Rules:
- Put deep work in my peak window, shallow work in my slump, and medium work wherever energy is middling.
- Keep at least 10% of open time as buffer, in 2-3 small pieces, not one block at the end.
- Don't split a deep task unless there's no way around it. If you split one, say so.
- If everything doesn't fit, list what was left out, and don't shrink my estimates to squeeze it in.
- No task directly before a meeting that needs prep, unless it is the prep.

Output:
1. **Schedule**: a time-blocked list from start to finish, marking each block Deep, Medium, Shallow, Fixed or Buffer.
2. **Math**: open hours, buffer, hours scheduled.
3. **Left out**: what didn't fit, and when it should go instead.
4. **One rule for when the day slips**: which task gets cut first.
```

## Variables

- `{{energy_pattern}}` — When you're sharp, flat and recovering. (e.g. Sharp 8:30-11:30, slump 2-3:30, second wind 4-6)
- `{{fixed_commitments}}` — Work hours plus meetings and breaks that can't move. (e.g. 8:30-18:00; standup 11:30-12:00; lunch 13:00-13:45)
- `{{tasks}}` — Tasks with estimates and deep/medium/shallow type. (e.g. Q4 budget proposal, 3h, deep; emails, 1h, shallow...)

## Example input

```
energy_pattern: Sharpest 8:30-11:30. Hit a slump around 14:00-15:30. Second wind 16:00-18:00.

fixed_commitments: Work 8:30-18:00. Team standup 11:30-12:00. Lunch 13:00-13:45. Vendor call 15:00-15:30 (no prep needed).

tasks:
- Write Q4 budget proposal, 3h, deep
- Review 2 contractor invoices, 30m, medium (need care: money)
- Build slides for Friday's review, 1.5h, medium
- Reply to about 20 emails, 1h, shallow
- Prep for tomorrow's 1:1 with a report, 20m, medium
- Fix typos in onboarding doc, 20m, shallow
- Read industry report, 1h, medium
- Submit expense report, 15m, shallow
```

## Output

*Produced by Claude · Opus 5.5.*

```
**1. Schedule**
- **8:30-11:30** Deep: Q4 budget proposal (3h, unsplit)
- **11:30-12:00** Fixed: team standup
- **12:00-12:45** Medium: Friday slides, part 1 (split, since 1.5h won't fit before lunch)
- **12:45-13:00** Buffer
- **13:00-13:45** Fixed: lunch
- **13:45-14:45** Shallow: emails
- **14:45-15:00** Shallow: expense report
- **15:00-15:30** Fixed: vendor call
- **15:30-16:00** Buffer (slump tail, and room for anything the vendor call throws up)
- **16:00-16:45** Medium: Friday slides, part 2
- **16:45-17:15** Medium: contractor invoices, in the second wind because money needs attention
- **17:15-17:35** Medium: 1:1 prep
- **17:35-17:55** Shallow: onboarding doc typos
- **17:55-18:00** Buffer: write down tomorrow's first task

**2. Math**
- Working day: 9.5h. Fixed: standup 0.5 + lunch 0.75 + vendor 0.5 = 1.75h.
- **Open time: 7.75h.** Buffer: 15 + 30 + 5 minutes = **50 min (11%)**.
- **Scheduled tasks: 6.9h.** Budget 3 + slides 1.5 + emails 1 + invoices 0.5 + 1:1 prep 0.33 + typos 0.33 + expenses 0.25.

**3. Left out**
- **Industry report (1h, medium).** It needs attention, but it has no deadline. Put it in tomorrow's second-wind window, or read it Friday afternoon after the review, when it can inform next quarter rather than compete with this week.

**4. When the day slips**
Cut in this order: typos first, then emails (reply only to anything from your manager or with a deadline). Protect the budget proposal and the invoices; they're the only tasks with real consequences if they slip.
```

## Why it works

Calendar apps schedule by **availability**, so the hardest task often lands wherever a gap appears, which is usually the 2pm slump. This prompt makes **energy the primary constraint** and maps deep, medium and shallow work to your stated windows.

The **buffer rule** (10%, spread in small pieces) is what stops one overrun from breaking the whole day. "Don't shrink my estimates" and the explicit **left out** list remove the planner's favorite lie, that everything fits. The **"when the day slips"** rule decides the cut in advance, while you're calm, rather than at 4pm when everything feels urgent.

## When not to use it

If your day is driven by other people (support queues, retail, clinical shifts, childcare), a tightly blocked plan will break by 10am; use a short priority list instead. Energy patterns also shift with sleep, illness and caffeine, so treat the schedule as a default, not a contract. For multi-day planning, use a weekly review instead.

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