There's this thing that happens in life where we put in countless hours of effort trying to build routines and ways of taking care of ourselves...
Life just starts life-ing all over you.
And you're left to figure how to actually maintain those routines through it all, no matter what you are juggling—chronic illness, mental health, kids, caretaking elders, etc. (the best laid plans and all.)
I was reminded of this recently when I had Hashimoto's flare-up. When I woke up from several nights of bad sleep, had lingering muscle aches, and the kind of brain fog that makes you want to throw your to-do list (or whole computer) out the window?
Unfortunately it's been single digit negatives here all week so I had to refrain 😂
Looking at my Oura ring only confirmed what my body was screaming: high stress on my body and a plummeting overall well-being.
Standing in my kitchen that morning, trying to decide between a quick protein coffee and powering through my most important tasks or taking a slow morning with time for a proper breakfast to support my body, I felt that familiar overwhelm creep in.
(I'm sure you know the one I'm talking about—the one where your mind starts racing through all the things you won't get done now that you're dealing with a roadblock.)
No matter how long I do this work or how flexible my systems are, I still have these thoughts.
Because I'm human.
The systems aren't there to eliminate every struggle, but better equip you so you have the capacity to handle them when they arise.
Instead of spiraling or pushing through, (hello, past Hannah 😅) the systems allow you to meet that overwhelmed voice in your head with understanding more easily (and quickly) so that your energy can be spent on doing the most important things instead of spiraling internally trying to build the wheel from scratch every time.
Once the internal alarm bells get shut off you then have pathways because of your systems to make choosing next steps simple. You get to focus on making choices based on your body's signals, external commitments, and available energy.
This is how you can take 15-30 minutes and restart your whole day when something derails—without the guilt spiral, 'lost' hours, or failed expectations.
This is what we're diving into this week:
How to make sure the routines flex with life's variables instead of breaking under them.
Life's Energy Equation
It's wild when you dig into the science and see just how important all the connecting pieces are to managing your energy.
Those days when everything feels harder than it "should" and your usual routines just don't work? The reason behind them can have nothing to do with work—or everything to do with, well, everything. (Because of course it can't be simple! 🙃)
Our bodies are constantly responding to changes in our environment - everything from temperature shifts to daylight hours impacts our hormones, appetite, and energy levels.
Think of your energy like an equation with multiple variables:
- Physical environment (temperature, light, noise)
- Body rhythms (sleep cycles, hormones, nutrition)
- External demands (work, social obligations, seasonal changes)
- Internal state (stress levels, emotional well-being, health status)
Each of these variables can either support or drain your energy. For example, research shows that cold temperatures actually increase appetite-related hormones while decreasing the ones that tell us we're satisfied. This might explain why you crave different foods or need different amounts of rest as seasons change.
Even daylight hours play a role, affecting your serotonin levels (hello S.A.D. and mood regulation!) which can impact everything from your appetite to your motivation. This is why winter can feel especially challenging for energy management.
The traditional approach to productivity and self-management often treats these variables as inconveniences to overcome:
💪 "Push through the winter blues!"
💪 "Down another coffee to get through it!"
💪 "Power through that afternoon slump!"
When life is life-ing all over us and your body is pushing back, it's got good reason to. Your body needs something and it's literally begging for you to provide it.
So what if, instead of fighting against these natural fluctuations, we made sure you were prepared to work with them?
Research from Korn Ferry suggests that sustainable energy management isn't about maintaining constant high energy (because spoiler: obviously that's impossible).
Instead, it's about:
- Becoming mindful instead of habitual
- Learning to sit with adversity
- Practicing self-compassion
- Cultivating positive emotions
- Finding meaning in what we do
This framework aligns perfectly with what I've learned through my own health journey: the most sustainable approach isn't about pushing through or maintaining perfect routines. It's about building flexibility into our systems so they can adapt to whatever life throws at us.
Whether it's:
😴 Seasonal changes affecting your sleep
🪫 Health fluctuations impacting your capacity
💼 Work demands shifting unexpectedly
🍻 Social obligations adding extra stress
Your energy management strategy needs to be as dynamic as life itself.
But how do we answer the real question?
How do we actually build this flexibility into our daily lives?
I learned this the hard way through my Hashimoto's journey:
➡️ A "perfect" routine was great until a flare up, then everything fell apart.
➡️ But an unstructured routine... left me feeling scattered and unanchored.
One was WAY too rigid and the other was WAY too flexible.
The sweet spot? Creating energy-aligned decision trees and personal menus.
Think of it like having different versions of your routines ready to go:
- High energy days = full capacity version
- Medium energy = modified but still productive
- Low energy = minimum viable version that honors your needs
The key isn't having three completely different routines. It's about identifying the core elements that support you and finding ways to scale them up or down based on your available energy.
For example, my morning routine might look like:
- High energy: Full workout, protein-rich breakfast, longer focused work blocks
- Medium energy: Gentle movement, quick protein breakfast, short work sessions
- Low energy: Basic stretching, protein coffee, equal rest-work cycles
Each version still includes movement, proper fuel, and productive time—each is just adapted to match my capacity.
For those of us who need a little spontenaity in our structure, personal menus allow you to build these by routine or by single topic (movement, food, etc.) so you can have a plug and play version of today's activity. Feel free to revisit that exercise instead of or in combination with today's!
This week's exercise will help you create your own decision tree so your routines can bend without breaking. Let's...
Try This:
Your Energy Navigator
This week, we're creating personalized response strategies that honor both your needs and your reality. Instead of an all-or-nothing approach, we're building flexibility right into your systems.
