August 1, 2023 • 32 mins
What if you could accomplish more by doing less? Imagine unlocking the secret to enhanced productivity without pushing yourself to the limit. In this episode, we explore the potential of managing energy, not time, to optimize productivity.
This episode is all about understanding your unique energy cycles and keeping an energy journal to work at your peak without sacrificing your well-being. We'll decode strategies to harness peak mental energy and pay attention to how the fuel we use impacts our energy throughout the day.
Ever wondered how intentional food and drink choices can enhance productivity? We'll Discover how to listen to your body's internal rhythms, prioritize rest, and make the most of your peak energy windows.
A calm entrepreneur doesn't just work hard; they also work smart. So, let's embark on this journey to better energy management together, and usher in a world of optimized productivity.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey there, my name is Corinne O'Flynn and you're
listening to the CalmEntrepreneur podcast.
I am a USA Today best-sellingauthor, non-profit executive and
organizing nerd with over 20years experience running my own
small businesses.
I teach entrepreneurs,solarpreneurs and small business
owners like you how to organizeyour business, find more time
(00:21):
and deepen your alignmentpractice to experience more calm
and confidence every single day.
If you're looking for thatintersection between practical
business advice and spiritualgoodness, then you're in the
right place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into this week's episode of
the Calm Entrepreneur podcast.
Welcome, welcome to the CalmEntrepreneur podcast.
(00:46):
I'm your host, corinne O'Flynn,and this is episode 32.
I'm really excited to dive intotoday's topic because it's one
of those things that I think wetake for granted, that we don't
think enough about, and that'show our energy is impacting the
way we use our time and how thatimpacts our productivity.
(01:07):
And I would like to talk to youabout optimizing your
productivity by managing yourenergy and not necessarily
focusing on time.
And now I know what you mightbe thinking like.
I can't create more hours inthe day or completely control my
schedule.
But while we can't alwayscontrol time, we can exert more
(01:27):
influence over our energy levels, and when we learn to harness
our energy effectively, we cangain the power to achieve so
much more during the limitedtime that we have.
It's easy to think aboutproductivity in terms of fitting
more tasks and to-do items intothe 24 hours that we have each
day right.
But what we really need torealize is that our time is
(01:52):
fueled by our energy levelsright?
No matter how packed yourschedule is, if your energy is
depleted, you won't be able topower through with focus and
motivation.
So I wanted to talk about howto get the most out of your day
by understanding and managingyour personal energy cycles and
planning accordingly, and it'spossible to learn how to
(02:14):
maximize the times when you havenatural high energy and how to
optimize the periods when yourenergy tends to dip.
For me, managing your energy iscrucial because when your
energy is optimized, you getinto a better flow state.
You're able to hyper focus,power through tasks with
motivation and make the most ofthe time that you do have.
(02:36):
So how do you maximize yourenergy so that you can maximize
your productivity?
Before we go further, it'scrucial to remember that I come
to all of my productivity talkswhile standing on my very big
soapbox, because I do not thinkthat productivity is solely
about getting more done orcramming as many tasks as
(02:59):
possible into our day.
From where I stand,productivity is not about doing
more.
It's about getting your workdone sooner so that you can
experience the freedom thatbeing an entrepreneur is all
about and, yes, some days willrequire us to power through a
long to-do list.
In general, being trulyproductive, though, is about
(03:22):
working smarter and moreefficiently.
We want to streamline ourefforts so that we can complete
important work quickly and thenfocus on everything else that
matters in our life.
Right, this is our family, ourfriends, our fun, our passion
projects, our hobbies, rest andour health, and my aim, and the
(03:45):
aim of the calm entrepreneurbusiness, is to help you work at
your highest level during thehours that you choose to devote
to your business, because, atthe end of the day, success is
not about finding work-lifebalance.
I don't I?
That's another soapbox I've got.
I don't think it's a possiblething, especially for women,
(04:07):
right?
I don't think that work-lifebalance exists.
I believe that we need to findthat path toward truly
integrating your life and yourwork, so that you can do what
you love and live a life offreedom with energy and
intention.
So in this episode, I'm sharingenergy management strategies to
(04:28):
help you make the most of yourwork day while still
prioritizing your overallwell-being, because you are a
whole person, living a wholelife while running a whole
business, and I believe thatit's possible to do it all.
I think it's possible for all ofus to do it all, and I think
that it looks different for eachof us, and it should.
(04:49):
We are not robots.
We do not work the same way aseach other, and I think that one
of the things that drew me todoing all this work of the
column entrepreneur is to try tohelp all of us identify the
places where what we do is ourown.
It's not following what thepack is doing.
(05:10):
Are there tactics andstrategies and things that all
of us have to do in order to runonline businesses today?
Yes, but that doesn't mean wehave to do it all in the same
way, in the same time, in thesame fashion, with the same
energy.
We just don't.
It's not possible, and I thinkthat that is the path to burnout
.
I think it's the path todissatisfaction and it's the
(05:31):
path to losing the vision ofwhat's possible because it's
discouraging, because whenyou're trying to fit yourself
into a hole that you're not likethe square peg round hole
cliche, when you're trying tofit yourself into a business
model that does not work for you, because everybody else says
this is how it's done, it's justa recipe for disaster.
(05:53):
And ask me how I know I am herespeaking to you after coming out
of a years long burnout thatthe way that I got back to life
was through the foundational,simple ABCs of time management
and productivity, and energy andfocus.
(06:16):
So, okay, I didn't intend to goonto my soapbox, but there you
have it.
I want to talk to you aboutoptimizing your productivity by
managing your energy, and notjust managing your time.
And the first step to gettingthere is understanding your
energy cycles.
Gaining an in-depthunderstanding of your unique
(06:39):
energy cycles is crucial forbeing able to optimize your
productivity throughout your day, and this requires dedicated,
focused time to tuning intonatural ebbs and flows of your
energy.
And the simplest way that Irecommend that you start this is
by keeping an energy journalfor at least one full week, and
(06:59):
this really isn't one of thoselike every 30 minutes and you
know it's this crazy trackingsystem.
It really doesn't need to becomplicated at all.
Set reminders on your phone oron your calendar to check in
with yourself and record yourenergy levels three to five
times a day.
Three times a day minimummorning, afternoon and evening
(07:21):
and on a scale of one to 10,rate your energy level with 10
being extremely high energy andone being completely drained and
exhausted.
And next to your note on thenumber that you've assigned for
that time period, add someinformation about what specific
activities you're engaging induring each check-in and any
(07:42):
other context clues that canimpact your energy at that time,
so that you can know, goingbackward right when you look
back over your journal, you wantto be able to understand
exactly what was going on.
So, for example, you know.
Note if you just finished astrenuous workout or if you just
had a stressful meeting or acall, if you just ate a filling
lunch or if you're prepping forsomething exciting happening
(08:05):
after you're done with yourworkday.
In addition to the numericalrating, use descriptive words
like laser, focused, easilydistracted, motivated, foggy,
amped up, mellow, sleepy, tocapture your mental and your
physical state, and you don'thave to like make a list.
(08:26):
That's a key that you lock intofor the same phrases every
single day.
It's really just a matter oftracking patterns that you will
find after you look back overtime.
So track any ebbs and flowsthat you notice throughout the
day and pay attention to yourenergy, not just while you're
working, but during downtime aswell.
Note differences between theweekends and the weekdays.
(08:49):
After a week of diligenttracking, analyze your journal
and see if you can spot anytrends or patterns or surprises.
Look at when your peak energytimes are versus when you tend
to drag or feel depleted.
When do you feel sharpest andmost focused?
When do you struggle with brainfog or fatigue?
(09:09):
For most people, peak energyseems to occur early in the day,
after a good night's rest, andthen it dips in the afternoon
before perking back up and thendeclining again in the evening
as bedtime nears.
But your cycles may vary.
I know that mine does.
The first time that I did this,I was surprised to discover that
(09:31):
the mornings were the absoluteworst time for me.
I am not an early riser on thebest of days, but I was able to
figure out that the first hourto the first hour and a half
after waking up.
So whatever time that is, we'llcall that the morning for me,
if I can give myself that firsthour to 90 minutes of doing
(09:52):
whatever like that's not worktime, after that I can get into
some good focus.
So that gave me a real big hintabout how to set up my morning
routine, how much time I neededand how much I could take from
my day.
And that was really helpful tome because if I'm not careful,
sometimes it feels like I couldbuild a gigantic morning routine
(10:14):
that lasts for hours and hoursbecause of all the things that I
wanted to in the ideal morningroutine, but that's the opposite
of productivity.
But I was surprised to reallybe able to identify that I'm
useless in the first hour afterI wake up, no matter what time
that is, no matter how well Islept or didn't the night before
(10:36):
.
So giving myself at least anhour from the moment my feet hit
the floor in the morning untilI sit down at my desk has really
allowed me to build a steadymorning routine so that I was
able to ramp into my work day.
And it's been really somethingbecause I was not expecting that
(10:56):
when I started looking at mytracking.
And so, while a week is a goodstarting point for tracking.
Consider doing it for at leasttwo to three weeks, if you can
account for that Like, and thisgives you more time to stretch
over and watch for patterns.
This also allows you to see fordifferences over the weekends
(11:18):
instead of just a single weekend.
You also might have somevacations or days off or super
duper busy periods in there.
So the goal is to gain insight.
Right, we want to find out whatyour natural rhythms are so
that you know how to plan yourdays around your ebbs and flows,
and this is really a selfawareness tool.
(11:38):
Right, and self awareness ispower.
This helps you manage your time, which then helps you manage
your tasks.
And so the next thing onceyou've tracked your energy for a
sufficient period of time andyou'll be able to spot some
natural peaks it's time to startleveraging those high energy
windows to optimize yourproductivity.
(11:59):
Right, we want to maximize highenergy times.
Be intentional about fiercelyprotecting your identified peak
energy hours and using them tomake progress on the goals and
the tasks that are mostmeaningful and demanding.
So, for example, if your energyjournal revealed that your
focus and motivation surgedbetween like 10am and 1pm, start
(12:22):
blocking off big chunks of thistime and batching your tasks
right.
Choose the most challengingthings or the most creative
demands that have to happen inyour goals and schedule them
during those times.
And guard your mental energyduring these windows like it's
your most precious non renewableresource, because in many ways,
(12:44):
that is exactly what it is.
Allow for no distractions.
Allow for no unnecessaryobligations to encroach on these
blocks.
Let your people know thatyou're going to be heads down
working on your stuff.
Turn off notifications, closeyour door, silence your phone.
Whatever you must do topreserve this precious time.
(13:06):
Channel your surging energyinto tackling complex
assignments.
Right, you want deep strategicthinking.
These are solving trickyproblems.
This is where brainstormingshould be scheduled.
This is mapping out detailedplans or finally making headway
on your biggest goals.
Don't let meetings, emails,people dropping in derail you.
(13:29):
Right, this is your power timeand label it on your calendar.
This is like power hour orwhatever it is that really
resonates with you, and use itaccordingly.
Think of your high energy hoursas the time when your brain is
firing most powerfully.
Right, your ability to hyperfocus and enter a state of flow
will be at its peak.
This allows you to get into agroove, which you can then
(13:52):
produce your highest qualitywork most efficiently.
There's no need to overschedule yourself, right?
Don't pack everything intothese power hours.
You're not going to need to,because you're going to have
more of these power hours inyour day and in your week,
because now you understand whereyou're operating at peak
performance, right.
So don't over schedule, don'tmultitask, right?
(14:14):
This is batching think batching.
During these blocks, we havetime blocking now, and now we
have time or task batching.
Focus intently on one priorityat a time and watch your
productivity skyrocket.
This actually brings me back toa book that I talk about a lot
on this podcast, and it's calledthe Practicing Mind by Thomas
(14:37):
Sterner, and he talks about thevalue of single focus when it
comes to really honing in flowfor productivity and efficiency.
It's a short read, it's awonderful little story, but I
really think it's valuable andthat's the crux of what this is
about.
It's kind of like working toyour strengths.
(15:01):
When you identify that this isa power time, well then, put
your power tasks there and focus, and if you block everything
else out and all you have to dois this thing and your body is
ready for the thing, like, thinkabout how powerful that is.
It's a wonderful, wonderfulopportunity to really make the
most efficient use of the timethat you choose to dedicate to
(15:25):
your work.
You know this is the same waythat athletes have their main
training and competing timeswhere they give 100%.
You need to view your peakenergy windows as your
performance time right.
Go into it knowing that yourmind will feel clear, you will
feel focused, you'll be primedfor progress and channel this
(15:45):
mental energy into whatever oneor two big rocks need your best
work right and the key there isthe things that need your best
work, because you'll be amazedat how much you can accomplish
when you really do harness thesepower times.
And the converse is also true,like during lower energy times,
(16:05):
you can then catch up on busywork tasks like meetings and
emails and admin and calls, andthen you're not wasting your
lightning bolts of peak mentalenergy on the low value work,
which is not to say that thosethings don't need to be done,
like, yeah, we all need to checkin on our social media and do
our email work and pay the billsand do all the things, but we
(16:29):
don't need to do that during ourpeak lightning bolt brain time
right.
So protect the searches andinvest them only into your most
important goals and prioritiesto get massive leverage from
your efforts and then structureyour days to take full advantage
of your power hours and yourlow time.
The other thing that I want youto pay attention to while
(16:51):
you're tracking is managing yourdiet for sustained energy, and
this is I'm not gonna give youdieting tips and tricks.
I want you to pay attention towhat you're doing.
The food and the drink that weput in our bodies have a huge
impact on our energy levelsthroughout the day, so to
optimize your productivity, weneed to be more intentional.
(17:12):
Many of us do about fuelingourselves in a way that provides
steady, sustained energy.
Right, so that includes eatingfrequent small meals, if that
works for you, snacking on goodstuff using whole foods all the
good things, but the mostimportant thing is to track it
(17:33):
on your energy tracker to see ifthis heavy meal caused food
coma, if this thing reallyenergized you, if you prefer
this kind of a snack over thatkind of a snack, because paying
attention to how the differentfoods make you feel and avoiding
the ones that cause crashes,avoiding the ones that cause
brain fog or make you feelsleepy Be strategic with
(17:56):
everything that you put intoyour body, but also track it on
your energy journal to see whathappens for you.
Like, I am not one of thosepeople who is impacted by
caffeine, for example.
I think that's because I drinkit like, I mainline it all the
time.
I'm like a professional teadrinker and I love caffeinated
(18:16):
black tea.
I can have tea all day long andit doesn't cause me to have
jitters, it doesn't keep me upat night.
It's just one of those things.
I think it's just part of mymakeup.
I've been drinking tea since Iwas a kid, so for me, I don't
even factor tea I would factorin a lack of tea in, like, maybe
I'll have a headache from acaffeine withdrawal.
(18:38):
So maybe there is somethingthat I have to work on.
But I'm not here to tell youwhat to do with your food and
drink intake.
I'm asking you to track howwhat it is that you are doing is
impacting your energy.
If it is like, how is it so?
Because once we see things,then we can make changes for the
(19:00):
things that aren't doing whatwe want to do.
You know, if you're eatingsomething super heavy for lunch
and it makes you feel reallylethargic for the next three
hours.
You know what happens if youswitch that up, like what
happens if you eat that meal atnight.
What happens if you skip thatmeal and do something much
lighter in its place?
What is that due to your focus?
(19:21):
What is that due to your energy?
Because once we start tracking,then we can start tweaking, and
because we're tracking, we'renow getting data that we can
then act on.
So, fueling your body the rightway for you takes
thoughtfulness, right, and whenyou eat in a way that optimizes
your energy, you'll be amazed athow much more motivated and
(19:42):
focused and productive you feelthroughout your busy days, right
.
So don't underestimate thepower of the fuel right, the
food and drink that you'retaking in, and its impact on
your productivity and yourenergy levels, and the patterns
that you get to see now that youstart tracking.
So, now that we've talked aboutmanaging your peak energy times,
let's discuss how toeffectively manage the energy
(20:06):
dips that are going to occur.
You know we all have them everysingle day.
So when you notice that yourenergy levels take a nosedive,
the first thing to do is toreflect on potential causes.
Low energy could stem from notgetting enough sleep, being
overly stressed, it could beburnout, it could be boredom,
inactivity, it could bedehydration, or it could be that
(20:27):
you ate something that youshouldn't have eaten for lunch.
So tune into your body forclues on what is zapping your
fuel right, what is making youfeel depleted.
And while you can't avoidoccasional energy dips
altogether, you can minimize thefrequency and intensity of them
.
You know, through shifting yourhabits right, like maybe you
get more sleep, like that wasone of the things that I noticed
(20:49):
.
For me, I need like eight tonine hours of sleep a night, and
if I don't get like that muchsleep, I'll be good for like
three, four, maybe five days,but then I will have like a huge
unproductive day, followed bylike an 11 hour night, like I
have to have sleep.
(21:09):
And it's terrible because itmakes me feel like I'm lazy.
In some ways I am a recoveringnapper, like I have been trying
to not nap during the day infavor of trying to ascertain how
much sleep I actually need.
And it's been interestingbecause I do need the rest that
(21:31):
I need.
And if I don't get the eight tonine hours at night, I'll have
a dip in the afternoons and,luckily for me, like a 20, 25
minute nap will do it for me.
But before my burnout happened,which was over the last several
years, before that happened, Iwas like scheduling my entire
(21:52):
day around my napping, becausemy napping was starting to take
hours and it was like, why isthis going on?
I didn't really have any kindof awareness of it.
I knew that.
I was like, well, you know whatthis is, just how it is, I just
need to sleep right now.
But I wasn't paying attentionto the fact that, like the
longer naps that I had, thelonger I stayed up in the second
half of my day, the later Iwent to bed.
(22:13):
I was still getting up withkids and doing stuff in the
mornings, and so I was justcutting into all of my rest.
So I mean, it sounds reallysimple when I explain it like
that, but in the moment itwasn't something that was
apparent to me.
And so once I started reallypaying attention and started
tracking all the things that Iwas doing, I was like, oh my
(22:34):
gosh, like anybody observing mefrom the outside, like watching
me, would be like it would takethem like two days to say, hey,
karen, like hold up, like what'sgoing on here?
But when you're in the thick ofit and when you're just kind of
trying to get by, you don't seeit and it's not as apparent.
So there really is something tobe said about tracking this.
(22:54):
So when you hit an afternoonslump right or exhaustion sets
in, I want you to view it as asign that you need to take a
break and recharge pronto.
It needs to happen right now,and I don't want you to ignore
fatigue and I don't want you toforce yourself to power through,
because that really justprolongs the dip.
(23:14):
It's just one of thoseself-fulfilling, you know
downward spirals.
Instead, force yourself to getaway from your desk right, close
your laptop, engage insomething else for 10 to 15
minutes.
That will revive you.
For me, a lot of times, that'sstepping outside into the fresh
air.
Sometimes it's doing jump andjacks.
(23:35):
If it's raining outside and Ineed to get moving, you can go
for a walk.
You can do some stretching, dosome deep breathing.
You can meditate, listen touplifting music, have a little
dance party.
In your office you can findprotein snacks maybe it's your
blood sugar that's needing aboost.
Or you can nap.
Or you can call a high energyfriend to get you over the edge.
(23:58):
But set your timer right.
Do that for like 15 minutes maxand then return to your work,
feeling that energy boostrenewed.
Because, whenever possible, whenyou schedule tasks during your
energy dips that require lessintense focus right Like we
talked about returning phonecalls, doing emails, reviewing
(24:19):
documents and you save your deepwork for when your energy
returns to normal, you're goingto find that even in the low
periods, you're making the bestuse of your time right.
And the other side of that isdon't wait for the dip right.
Be vigilant about takingregular breaks to avoid reaching
complete exhaustion.
Those tools like websiteblockers or phone timers, apps
(24:43):
that can remind you to take abreak every hour or hour and a
half.
Or if you use the Palmodoromethod that has a built in mini
break, right, it's 25 minutes on, five minutes off, 25 on five
minutes off, and the fiveminutes off doesn't really allow
for much of a break.
But you can get out of yourchair and you can do some moving
or get a drink of water.
(25:04):
But the key here is, during thelow periods, staying chained to
your desk is really going to addto the drain.
So pay attention to that whenyou're doing your tracking.
So, by tuning into thefluctuations in your energy.
You can mitigate the impact ofthe dips, right, we all have to
accept that they're going tohappen.
But when you have a plan torecharge the moment you feel it
(25:27):
happening, you know, and gettingconsistent about that and
recognizing the drops early,you'll be proactive and you'll
prevent them from sabotagingyour productivity.
Because, again, this is notabout working, working, working,
working, working.
This is about getting thethings that need to get done on
a day done and then being donefor the day right.
(25:50):
So how do we get all the thingswe need to get done in a day
without spending 15 hours at ourdesk, right?
That's the goal.
Don't fall into the trap ofgrinding.
When you're exhausted At theend of each workday, right,
consciously shift intorelaxation mode.
You can do relaxing activitiesthat bring your stress levels
(26:11):
down.
You can set up a bedtime, whichis something that I, like I so
badly want a bedtime.
I wish I had a bedtime, but Ijust don't, and this is because
of my rest cycle.
Like I need enough rest periodfull stop.
So if I go to bed late, I sleepin, so my day starts later and
(26:33):
you know one of those things, mykids are on the same kind of a
thing.
They come down to like oh, Ijust fixed my sleep cycle, wake
me up at this hour, because itis a slippery slope, because you
could start, you know, becomingnocturnal, which is not my
natural state, but I definitelyam not an early, early morning
riser.
So, getting on a regular soupschedule if you don't have a
(26:54):
bedtime, winding down two ormore hours before bed with a
buffer period, right, and thisis all those good things, like
don't eat anything before in thehours before bed, no screens in
the hours before bed, and youknow it's all about the slow
practice.
It's about easing into thatrest period, right, and
(27:18):
prioritizing rest because properrecovery is what gives you
energy is really what we need,right.
We have to be intentional aboutthe connection between all of
these things, which I know thatwe all know it, but I don't know
that we all live it.
I think that, like, as parents,we can tell our children every
single day you need to get restso that you have energy for the
(27:40):
day, but like we don't, it'slike do as I say, not as I do we
need to make sure that we paymore attention to how we're
doing.
Right, if mama goes south,we're all going with her.
That was a book that I read ahundred years ago and it was
about, you know, filling yourown cup, putting your own mask
on first, and I think it's just,it's evergreen advice that will
(28:02):
never not be true, because wereally do need to make sure that
we understand that our energyis probably our most valuable
asset, right, without our energy, like without energy,
everything goes downhill Ourhealth, our attention, our
desire, our oomph, our attitude,like, and then, because all
(28:28):
those things are fallen by thewayside, our productivity dips,
and then we're not focusing onour goals, and then we get into
like a slump and, you know, itjust keeps on feeding itself,
and then, oh, you know, we don'twant that and we can be more
proactive about this, and Ithink it's one of these things
where we don't ever really wantto focus on it until it becomes
(28:48):
urgent and like we're feelingthat we're at risk, our health
is at risk, our focus is at risk, and it's one of those things
that I think, you know, tinylittle steps really do make a
huge impact here, and you know,I just can't speak to that more,
I can't recommend it more.
Okay, so we covered a lot ofground on how to optimize your
(29:13):
productivity by focusing on yourenergy throughout the day.
We discussed the importance oftuning into your own rhythms and
identifying when your energylevels peak versus when they
naturally decline.
We talked about maximizingthose peak energy windows by
protecting them for your mostchallenging and meaningful work.
We covered how to fuel yourbody and how to pay attention to
(29:36):
the fuel and what that's doingto your energy, and we went
through strategies to minimizeand recover from the inevitable
energy dips when they do occur.
The key here is that, byunderstanding your energy cycles
and patterns, you can plan yourdays intentionally to do
focused, quality work duringtimes of peak energy, and you
(30:00):
can then use the lower energyperiods for tasks that require
less concentration and lesseffort.
Right, and it sounds reallysimple, but you may be surprised
to find that your patternsaren't what you think they are.
So I urge you to take some timeto track it for at least a week
and more if you can and this isliterally like three times a
day Set a timer and just make anote and keep a special journal
(30:23):
just for this and see what yousee With this energy management
approach.
I promise you that you will befocusing your power tasks during
your power hours and this willallow you to get more high value
work done in less time.
Right, you will avoid wastingmental energy, grinding when
you're running on empty and youwill end each day with energy
(30:47):
left over for other priorities,which is the whole reason that
we choose to be entrepreneurs.
Right, we want freedom.
We want, we want to live thelife that we choose.
We don't want to just bechained to the desk at home,
versus chained to the nine tofive desk that somebody else
owns.
Like.
The whole point here is freedom.
So we want to be able to againproductivity.
(31:10):
We want to focus onproductivity, which is getting
our work done in shortertimeframes, not packing in more
stuff.
All right, I promise that ifyou track your energy, you're
going to avoid wasting energy,grinding when you're running on
empty, you're going to maximizethe power times and you're going
(31:31):
to thank me Like this is one ofthose things that it's it's
it's so easy and it's so simple.
It's completely uncomplicated,but the strides that you can
make are really something else.
So I hope that this helped youchange the way you think about
your energy in the day to dayand perhaps piqued your interest
(31:52):
in tracking your own rhythm sothat you can optimize your own
energy.
I would love to hear from youagain, like you can email me at
any time, but I always lovehearing from people who listen
to my episodes and then tell methat it it it had an impact on
you.
So please do reach out and letme know what you're thinking.
And until next time, thanks forlistening.
(32:13):
And remember part of being acalm entrepreneur is developing
the systems, habits and know-howthat lets you know that you are
the one in the driver's seatfor your business.
You get to choose how you thinkand you get to choose how you
work.
So you got this, my friends.
Thank you for listening.
Hey there, my name is Corinne O'Flynn and you're
listening to the CalmEntrepreneur podcast.
I am a USA Today best-sellingauthor, non-profit executive and
organizing nerd with over 20years experience running my own
small businesses.
I teach entrepreneurs,solarpreneurs and small business
owners like you how to organizeyour business, find more time
(00:21):
and deepen your alignmentpractice to experience more calm
and confidence every single day.
If you're looking for thatintersection between practical
business advice and spiritualgoodness, then you're in the
right place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into this week's episode of
the Calm Entrepreneur podcast.
Welcome, welcome to the CalmEntrepreneur podcast.
(00:46):
I'm your host, corinne O'Flynn,and this is episode 32.
I'm really excited to dive intotoday's topic because it's one
of those things that I think wetake for granted, that we don't
think enough about, and that'show our energy is impacting the
way we use our time and how thatimpacts our productivity.
(01:07):
And I would like to talk to youabout optimizing your
productivity by managing yourenergy and not necessarily
focusing on time.
And now I know what you mightbe thinking like.
I can't create more hours inthe day or completely control my
schedule.
But while we can't alwayscontrol time, we can exert more
(01:27):
influence over our energy levels, and when we learn to harness
our energy effectively, we cangain the power to achieve so
much more during the limitedtime that we have.
It's easy to think aboutproductivity in terms of fitting
more tasks and to-do items intothe 24 hours that we have each
day right.
But what we really need torealize is that our time is
(01:52):
fueled by our energy levelsright?
No matter how packed yourschedule is, if your energy is
depleted, you won't be able topower through with focus and
motivation.
So I wanted to talk about howto get the most out of your day
by understanding and managingyour personal energy cycles and
planning accordingly, and it'spossible to learn how to
(02:14):
maximize the times when you havenatural high energy and how to
optimize the periods when yourenergy tends to dip.
For me, managing your energy iscrucial because when your
energy is optimized, you getinto a better flow state.
You're able to hyper focus,power through tasks with
motivation and make the most ofthe time that you do have.
(02:36):
So how do you maximize yourenergy so that you can maximize
your productivity?
Before we go further, it'scrucial to remember that I come
to all of my productivity talkswhile standing on my very big
soapbox, because I do not thinkthat productivity is solely
about getting more done orcramming as many tasks as
(02:59):
possible into our day.
From where I stand,productivity is not about doing
more.
It's about getting your workdone sooner so that you can
experience the freedom thatbeing an entrepreneur is all
about and, yes, some days willrequire us to power through a
long to-do list.
In general, being trulyproductive, though, is about
(03:22):
working smarter and moreefficiently.
We want to streamline ourefforts so that we can complete
important work quickly and thenfocus on everything else that
matters in our life.
Right, this is our family, ourfriends, our fun, our passion
projects, our hobbies, rest andour health, and my aim, and the
(03:45):
aim of the calm entrepreneurbusiness, is to help you work at
your highest level during thehours that you choose to devote
to your business, because, atthe end of the day, success is
not about finding work-lifebalance.
I don't I?
That's another soapbox I've got.
I don't think it's a possiblething, especially for women,
(04:07):
right?
I don't think that work-lifebalance exists.
I believe that we need to findthat path toward truly
integrating your life and yourwork, so that you can do what
you love and live a life offreedom with energy and
intention.
So in this episode, I'm sharingenergy management strategies to
(04:28):
help you make the most of yourwork day while still
prioritizing your overallwell-being, because you are a
whole person, living a wholelife while running a whole
business, and I believe thatit's possible to do it all.
I think it's possible for all ofus to do it all, and I think
that it looks different for eachof us, and it should.
(04:49):
We are not robots.
We do not work the same way aseach other, and I think that one
of the things that drew me todoing all this work of the
column entrepreneur is to try tohelp all of us identify the
places where what we do is ourown.
It's not following what thepack is doing.
(05:10):
Are there tactics andstrategies and things that all
of us have to do in order to runonline businesses today?
Yes, but that doesn't mean wehave to do it all in the same
way, in the same time, in thesame fashion, with the same
energy.
We just don't.
It's not possible, and I thinkthat that is the path to burnout
.
I think it's the path todissatisfaction and it's the
(05:31):
path to losing the vision ofwhat's possible because it's
discouraging, because whenyou're trying to fit yourself
into a hole that you're not likethe square peg round hole
cliche, when you're trying tofit yourself into a business
model that does not work for you, because everybody else says
this is how it's done, it's justa recipe for disaster.
(05:53):
And ask me how I know I am herespeaking to you after coming out
of a years long burnout thatthe way that I got back to life
was through the foundational,simple ABCs of time management
and productivity, and energy andfocus.
(06:16):
So, okay, I didn't intend to goonto my soapbox, but there you
have it.
I want to talk to you aboutoptimizing your productivity by
managing your energy, and notjust managing your time.
And the first step to gettingthere is understanding your
energy cycles.
Gaining an in-depthunderstanding of your unique
(06:39):
energy cycles is crucial forbeing able to optimize your
productivity throughout your day, and this requires dedicated,
focused time to tuning intonatural ebbs and flows of your
energy.
And the simplest way that Irecommend that you start this is
by keeping an energy journalfor at least one full week, and
(06:59):
this really isn't one of thoselike every 30 minutes and you
know it's this crazy trackingsystem.
It really doesn't need to becomplicated at all.
Set reminders on your phone oron your calendar to check in
with yourself and record yourenergy levels three to five
times a day.
Three times a day minimummorning, afternoon and evening
(07:21):
and on a scale of one to 10,rate your energy level with 10
being extremely high energy andone being completely drained and
exhausted.
And next to your note on thenumber that you've assigned for
that time period, add someinformation about what specific
activities you're engaging induring each check-in and any
(07:42):
other context clues that canimpact your energy at that time,
so that you can know, goingbackward right when you look
back over your journal, you wantto be able to understand
exactly what was going on.
So, for example, you know.
Note if you just finished astrenuous workout or if you just
had a stressful meeting or acall, if you just ate a filling
lunch or if you're prepping forsomething exciting happening
(08:05):
after you're done with yourworkday.
In addition to the numericalrating, use descriptive words
like laser, focused, easilydistracted, motivated, foggy,
amped up, mellow, sleepy, tocapture your mental and your
physical state, and you don'thave to like make a list.
(08:26):
That's a key that you lock intofor the same phrases every
single day.
It's really just a matter oftracking patterns that you will
find after you look back overtime.
So track any ebbs and flowsthat you notice throughout the
day and pay attention to yourenergy, not just while you're
working, but during downtime aswell.
Note differences between theweekends and the weekdays.
(08:49):
After a week of diligenttracking, analyze your journal
and see if you can spot anytrends or patterns or surprises.
Look at when your peak energytimes are versus when you tend
to drag or feel depleted.
When do you feel sharpest andmost focused?
When do you struggle with brainfog or fatigue?
(09:09):
For most people, peak energyseems to occur early in the day,
after a good night's rest, andthen it dips in the afternoon
before perking back up and thendeclining again in the evening
as bedtime nears.
But your cycles may vary.
I know that mine does.
The first time that I did this,I was surprised to discover that
(09:31):
the mornings were the absoluteworst time for me.
I am not an early riser on thebest of days, but I was able to
figure out that the first hourto the first hour and a half
after waking up.
So whatever time that is, we'llcall that the morning for me,
if I can give myself that firsthour to 90 minutes of doing
(09:52):
whatever like that's not worktime, after that I can get into
some good focus.
So that gave me a real big hintabout how to set up my morning
routine, how much time I neededand how much I could take from
my day.
And that was really helpful tome because if I'm not careful,
sometimes it feels like I couldbuild a gigantic morning routine
(10:14):
that lasts for hours and hoursbecause of all the things that I
wanted to in the ideal morningroutine, but that's the opposite
of productivity.
But I was surprised to reallybe able to identify that I'm
useless in the first hour afterI wake up, no matter what time
that is, no matter how well Islept or didn't the night before
(10:36):
.
So giving myself at least anhour from the moment my feet hit
the floor in the morning untilI sit down at my desk has really
allowed me to build a steadymorning routine so that I was
able to ramp into my work day.
And it's been really somethingbecause I was not expecting that
(10:56):
when I started looking at mytracking.
And so, while a week is a goodstarting point for tracking.
Consider doing it for at leasttwo to three weeks, if you can
account for that Like, and thisgives you more time to stretch
over and watch for patterns.
This also allows you to see fordifferences over the weekends
(11:18):
instead of just a single weekend.
You also might have somevacations or days off or super
duper busy periods in there.
So the goal is to gain insight.
Right, we want to find out whatyour natural rhythms are so
that you know how to plan yourdays around your ebbs and flows,
and this is really a selfawareness tool.
(11:38):
Right, and self awareness ispower.
This helps you manage your time, which then helps you manage
your tasks.
And so the next thing onceyou've tracked your energy for a
sufficient period of time andyou'll be able to spot some
natural peaks it's time to startleveraging those high energy
windows to optimize yourproductivity.
(11:59):
Right, we want to maximize highenergy times.
Be intentional about fiercelyprotecting your identified peak
energy hours and using them tomake progress on the goals and
the tasks that are mostmeaningful and demanding.
So, for example, if your energyjournal revealed that your
focus and motivation surgedbetween like 10am and 1pm, start
(12:22):
blocking off big chunks of thistime and batching your tasks
right.
Choose the most challengingthings or the most creative
demands that have to happen inyour goals and schedule them
during those times.
And guard your mental energyduring these windows like it's
your most precious non renewableresource, because in many ways,
(12:44):
that is exactly what it is.
Allow for no distractions.
Allow for no unnecessaryobligations to encroach on these
blocks.
Let your people know thatyou're going to be heads down
working on your stuff.
Turn off notifications, closeyour door, silence your phone.
Whatever you must do topreserve this precious time.
(13:06):
Channel your surging energyinto tackling complex
assignments.
Right, you want deep strategicthinking.
These are solving trickyproblems.
This is where brainstormingshould be scheduled.
This is mapping out detailedplans or finally making headway
on your biggest goals.
Don't let meetings, emails,people dropping in derail you.
(13:29):
Right, this is your power timeand label it on your calendar.
This is like power hour orwhatever it is that really
resonates with you, and use itaccordingly.
Think of your high energy hoursas the time when your brain is
firing most powerfully.
Right, your ability to hyperfocus and enter a state of flow
will be at its peak.
This allows you to get into agroove, which you can then
(13:52):
produce your highest qualitywork most efficiently.
There's no need to overschedule yourself, right?
Don't pack everything intothese power hours.
You're not going to need to,because you're going to have
more of these power hours inyour day and in your week,
because now you understand whereyou're operating at peak
performance, right.
So don't over schedule, don'tmultitask, right?
(14:14):
This is batching think batching.
During these blocks, we havetime blocking now, and now we
have time or task batching.
Focus intently on one priorityat a time and watch your
productivity skyrocket.
This actually brings me back toa book that I talk about a lot
on this podcast, and it's calledthe Practicing Mind by Thomas
(14:37):
Sterner, and he talks about thevalue of single focus when it
comes to really honing in flowfor productivity and efficiency.
It's a short read, it's awonderful little story, but I
really think it's valuable andthat's the crux of what this is
about.
It's kind of like working toyour strengths.
(15:01):
When you identify that this isa power time, well then, put
your power tasks there and focus, and if you block everything
else out and all you have to dois this thing and your body is
ready for the thing, like, thinkabout how powerful that is.
It's a wonderful, wonderfulopportunity to really make the
most efficient use of the timethat you choose to dedicate to
(15:25):
your work.
You know this is the same waythat athletes have their main
training and competing timeswhere they give 100%.
You need to view your peakenergy windows as your
performance time right.
Go into it knowing that yourmind will feel clear, you will
feel focused, you'll be primedfor progress and channel this
(15:45):
mental energy into whatever oneor two big rocks need your best
work right and the key there isthe things that need your best
work, because you'll be amazedat how much you can accomplish
when you really do harness thesepower times.
And the converse is also true,like during lower energy times,
(16:05):
you can then catch up on busywork tasks like meetings and
emails and admin and calls, andthen you're not wasting your
lightning bolts of peak mentalenergy on the low value work,
which is not to say that thosethings don't need to be done,
like, yeah, we all need to checkin on our social media and do
our email work and pay the billsand do all the things, but we
(16:29):
don't need to do that during ourpeak lightning bolt brain time
right.
So protect the searches andinvest them only into your most
important goals and prioritiesto get massive leverage from
your efforts and then structureyour days to take full advantage
of your power hours and yourlow time.
The other thing that I want youto pay attention to while
(16:51):
you're tracking is managing yourdiet for sustained energy, and
this is I'm not gonna give youdieting tips and tricks.
I want you to pay attention towhat you're doing.
The food and the drink that weput in our bodies have a huge
impact on our energy levelsthroughout the day, so to
optimize your productivity, weneed to be more intentional.
(17:12):
Many of us do about fuelingourselves in a way that provides
steady, sustained energy.
Right, so that includes eatingfrequent small meals, if that
works for you, snacking on goodstuff using whole foods all the
good things, but the mostimportant thing is to track it
(17:33):
on your energy tracker to see ifthis heavy meal caused food
coma, if this thing reallyenergized you, if you prefer
this kind of a snack over thatkind of a snack, because paying
attention to how the differentfoods make you feel and avoiding
the ones that cause crashes,avoiding the ones that cause
brain fog or make you feelsleepy Be strategic with
(17:56):
everything that you put intoyour body, but also track it on
your energy journal to see whathappens for you.
Like, I am not one of thosepeople who is impacted by
caffeine, for example.
I think that's because I drinkit like, I mainline it all the
time.
I'm like a professional teadrinker and I love caffeinated
(18:16):
black tea.
I can have tea all day long andit doesn't cause me to have
jitters, it doesn't keep me upat night.
It's just one of those things.
I think it's just part of mymakeup.
I've been drinking tea since Iwas a kid, so for me, I don't
even factor tea I would factorin a lack of tea in, like, maybe
I'll have a headache from acaffeine withdrawal.
(18:38):
So maybe there is somethingthat I have to work on.
But I'm not here to tell youwhat to do with your food and
drink intake.
I'm asking you to track howwhat it is that you are doing is
impacting your energy.
If it is like, how is it so?
Because once we see things,then we can make changes for the
(19:00):
things that aren't doing whatwe want to do.
You know, if you're eatingsomething super heavy for lunch
and it makes you feel reallylethargic for the next three
hours.
You know what happens if youswitch that up, like what
happens if you eat that meal atnight.
What happens if you skip thatmeal and do something much
lighter in its place?
What is that due to your focus?
(19:21):
What is that due to your energy?
Because once we start tracking,then we can start tweaking, and
because we're tracking, we'renow getting data that we can
then act on.
So, fueling your body the rightway for you takes
thoughtfulness, right, and whenyou eat in a way that optimizes
your energy, you'll be amazed athow much more motivated and
(19:42):
focused and productive you feelthroughout your busy days, right
.
So don't underestimate thepower of the fuel right, the
food and drink that you'retaking in, and its impact on
your productivity and yourenergy levels, and the patterns
that you get to see now that youstart tracking.
So, now that we've talked aboutmanaging your peak energy times,
let's discuss how toeffectively manage the energy
(20:06):
dips that are going to occur.
You know we all have them everysingle day.
So when you notice that yourenergy levels take a nosedive,
the first thing to do is toreflect on potential causes.
Low energy could stem from notgetting enough sleep, being
overly stressed, it could beburnout, it could be boredom,
inactivity, it could bedehydration, or it could be that
(20:27):
you ate something that youshouldn't have eaten for lunch.
So tune into your body forclues on what is zapping your
fuel right, what is making youfeel depleted.
And while you can't avoidoccasional energy dips
altogether, you can minimize thefrequency and intensity of them
.
You know, through shifting yourhabits right, like maybe you
get more sleep, like that wasone of the things that I noticed
(20:49):
.
For me, I need like eight tonine hours of sleep a night, and
if I don't get like that muchsleep, I'll be good for like
three, four, maybe five days,but then I will have like a huge
unproductive day, followed bylike an 11 hour night, like I
have to have sleep.
(21:09):
And it's terrible because itmakes me feel like I'm lazy.
In some ways I am a recoveringnapper, like I have been trying
to not nap during the day infavor of trying to ascertain how
much sleep I actually need.
And it's been interestingbecause I do need the rest that
(21:31):
I need.
And if I don't get the eight tonine hours at night, I'll have
a dip in the afternoons and,luckily for me, like a 20, 25
minute nap will do it for me.
But before my burnout happened,which was over the last several
years, before that happened, Iwas like scheduling my entire
(21:52):
day around my napping, becausemy napping was starting to take
hours and it was like, why isthis going on?
I didn't really have any kindof awareness of it.
I knew that.
I was like, well, you know whatthis is, just how it is, I just
need to sleep right now.
But I wasn't paying attentionto the fact that, like the
longer naps that I had, thelonger I stayed up in the second
half of my day, the later Iwent to bed.
(22:13):
I was still getting up withkids and doing stuff in the
mornings, and so I was justcutting into all of my rest.
So I mean, it sounds reallysimple when I explain it like
that, but in the moment itwasn't something that was
apparent to me.
And so once I started reallypaying attention and started
tracking all the things that Iwas doing, I was like, oh my
(22:34):
gosh, like anybody observing mefrom the outside, like watching
me, would be like it would takethem like two days to say, hey,
karen, like hold up, like what'sgoing on here?
But when you're in the thick ofit and when you're just kind of
trying to get by, you don't seeit and it's not as apparent.
So there really is something tobe said about tracking this.
(22:54):
So when you hit an afternoonslump right or exhaustion sets
in, I want you to view it as asign that you need to take a
break and recharge pronto.
It needs to happen right now,and I don't want you to ignore
fatigue and I don't want you toforce yourself to power through,
because that really justprolongs the dip.
(23:14):
It's just one of thoseself-fulfilling, you know
downward spirals.
Instead, force yourself to getaway from your desk right, close
your laptop, engage insomething else for 10 to 15
minutes.
That will revive you.
For me, a lot of times, that'sstepping outside into the fresh
air.
Sometimes it's doing jump andjacks.
(23:35):
If it's raining outside and Ineed to get moving, you can go
for a walk.
You can do some stretching, dosome deep breathing.
You can meditate, listen touplifting music, have a little
dance party.
In your office you can findprotein snacks maybe it's your
blood sugar that's needing aboost.
Or you can nap.
Or you can call a high energyfriend to get you over the edge.
(23:58):
But set your timer right.
Do that for like 15 minutes maxand then return to your work,
feeling that energy boostrenewed.
Because, whenever possible, whenyou schedule tasks during your
energy dips that require lessintense focus right Like we
talked about returning phonecalls, doing emails, reviewing
(24:19):
documents and you save your deepwork for when your energy
returns to normal, you're goingto find that even in the low
periods, you're making the bestuse of your time right.
And the other side of that isdon't wait for the dip right.
Be vigilant about takingregular breaks to avoid reaching
complete exhaustion.
Those tools like websiteblockers or phone timers, apps
(24:43):
that can remind you to take abreak every hour or hour and a
half.
Or if you use the Palmodoromethod that has a built in mini
break, right, it's 25 minutes on, five minutes off, 25 on five
minutes off, and the fiveminutes off doesn't really allow
for much of a break.
But you can get out of yourchair and you can do some moving
or get a drink of water.
(25:04):
But the key here is, during thelow periods, staying chained to
your desk is really going to addto the drain.
So pay attention to that whenyou're doing your tracking.
So, by tuning into thefluctuations in your energy.
You can mitigate the impact ofthe dips, right, we all have to
accept that they're going tohappen.
But when you have a plan torecharge the moment you feel it
(25:27):
happening, you know, and gettingconsistent about that and
recognizing the drops early,you'll be proactive and you'll
prevent them from sabotagingyour productivity.
Because, again, this is notabout working, working, working,
working, working.
This is about getting thethings that need to get done on
a day done and then being donefor the day right.
(25:50):
So how do we get all the thingswe need to get done in a day
without spending 15 hours at ourdesk, right?
That's the goal.
Don't fall into the trap ofgrinding.
When you're exhausted At theend of each workday, right,
consciously shift intorelaxation mode.
You can do relaxing activitiesthat bring your stress levels
(26:11):
down.
You can set up a bedtime, whichis something that I, like I so
badly want a bedtime.
I wish I had a bedtime, but Ijust don't, and this is because
of my rest cycle.
Like I need enough rest periodfull stop.
So if I go to bed late, I sleepin, so my day starts later and
(26:33):
you know one of those things, mykids are on the same kind of a
thing.
They come down to like oh, Ijust fixed my sleep cycle, wake
me up at this hour, because itis a slippery slope, because you
could start, you know, becomingnocturnal, which is not my
natural state, but I definitelyam not an early, early morning
riser.
So, getting on a regular soupschedule if you don't have a
(26:54):
bedtime, winding down two ormore hours before bed with a
buffer period, right, and thisis all those good things, like
don't eat anything before in thehours before bed, no screens in
the hours before bed, and youknow it's all about the slow
practice.
It's about easing into thatrest period, right, and
(27:18):
prioritizing rest because properrecovery is what gives you
energy is really what we need,right.
We have to be intentional aboutthe connection between all of
these things, which I know thatwe all know it, but I don't know
that we all live it.
I think that, like, as parents,we can tell our children every
single day you need to get restso that you have energy for the
(27:40):
day, but like we don't, it'slike do as I say, not as I do we
need to make sure that we paymore attention to how we're
doing.
Right, if mama goes south,we're all going with her.
That was a book that I read ahundred years ago and it was
about, you know, filling yourown cup, putting your own mask
on first, and I think it's just,it's evergreen advice that will
(28:02):
never not be true, because wereally do need to make sure that
we understand that our energyis probably our most valuable
asset, right, without our energy, like without energy,
everything goes downhill Ourhealth, our attention, our
desire, our oomph, our attitude,like, and then, because all
(28:28):
those things are fallen by thewayside, our productivity dips,
and then we're not focusing onour goals, and then we get into
like a slump and, you know, itjust keeps on feeding itself,
and then, oh, you know, we don'twant that and we can be more
proactive about this, and Ithink it's one of these things
where we don't ever really wantto focus on it until it becomes
(28:48):
urgent and like we're feelingthat we're at risk, our health
is at risk, our focus is at risk, and it's one of those things
that I think, you know, tinylittle steps really do make a
huge impact here, and you know,I just can't speak to that more,
I can't recommend it more.
Okay, so we covered a lot ofground on how to optimize your
(29:13):
productivity by focusing on yourenergy throughout the day.
We discussed the importance oftuning into your own rhythms and
identifying when your energylevels peak versus when they
naturally decline.
We talked about maximizingthose peak energy windows by
protecting them for your mostchallenging and meaningful work.
We covered how to fuel yourbody and how to pay attention to
(29:36):
the fuel and what that's doingto your energy, and we went
through strategies to minimizeand recover from the inevitable
energy dips when they do occur.
The key here is that, byunderstanding your energy cycles
and patterns, you can plan yourdays intentionally to do
focused, quality work duringtimes of peak energy, and you
(30:00):
can then use the lower energyperiods for tasks that require
less concentration and lesseffort.
Right, and it sounds reallysimple, but you may be surprised
to find that your patternsaren't what you think they are.
So I urge you to take some timeto track it for at least a week
and more if you can and this isliterally like three times a
day Set a timer and just make anote and keep a special journal
(30:23):
just for this and see what yousee With this energy management
approach.
I promise you that you will befocusing your power tasks during
your power hours and this willallow you to get more high value
work done in less time.
Right, you will avoid wastingmental energy, grinding when
you're running on empty and youwill end each day with energy
(30:47):
left over for other priorities,which is the whole reason that
we choose to be entrepreneurs.
Right, we want freedom.
We want, we want to live thelife that we choose.
We don't want to just bechained to the desk at home,
versus chained to the nine tofive desk that somebody else
owns.
Like.
The whole point here is freedom.
So we want to be able to againproductivity.
(31:10):
We want to focus onproductivity, which is getting
our work done in shortertimeframes, not packing in more
stuff.
All right, I promise that ifyou track your energy, you're
going to avoid wasting energy,grinding when you're running on
empty, you're going to maximizethe power times and you're going
(31:31):
to thank me Like this is one ofthose things that it's it's
it's so easy and it's so simple.
It's completely uncomplicated,but the strides that you can
make are really something else.
So I hope that this helped youchange the way you think about
your energy in the day to dayand perhaps piqued your interest
(31:52):
in tracking your own rhythm sothat you can optimize your own
energy.
I would love to hear from youagain, like you can email me at
any time, but I always lovehearing from people who listen
to my episodes and then tell methat it it it had an impact on
you.
So please do reach out and letme know what you're thinking.
And until next time, thanks forlistening.
(32:13):
And remember part of being acalm entrepreneur is developing
the systems, habits and know-howthat lets you know that you are
the one in the driver's seatfor your business.
You get to choose how you thinkand you get to choose how you
work.
So you got this, my friends.
Thank you for listening.
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