My therapist likes to say "Clarity is cheap" because information and knowledge alone often aren't enough. 

It's what we do with the information that's important. 

I've found this is especially true when it comes to preventing (or recovering from) burnout.

After spending over a decade collecting information about my own energy, productivity, needs, and struggles I made little tweaks, but it wasn't until 2022 that I stopped focusing on collecting knowledge and put all my effort into making changes with it—finally focusing on burnout recovery in a way I hadn't before.

Our bodies are constantly giving us information (energy patterns) and feedback (overwhelm, exhaustion, joy, etc.) and asking us to take action with it...

That's where energy management comes in. 

Our bodies are incredible pattern-recognition machines, constantly processing and responding to signals about our energy. But we now live in an "always on" world, where we've gotten really good at overriding these signals. 

Pushing through fatigue.
Ignoring stress responses.
And treating our energy like an unlimited resource.

But here's what I've learned through both research and real experience:

Your energy isn't just about being "on" or "off."

It's a complex interplay of mental clarity, physical stamina, and emotional capacity.

Woven together just like any intricate system. 
And it has patterns we can learn to work with rather than against.

Through my work in corporate, with my private clients, and my own burnout recovery journey, I've found that effective energy management has three core components that build upon each other:

Your body sends signals constantly through a combination of physical, mental, and emotional feedback. No just fluctuations, but meaningful patterns specific to you that create your unique energy blueprint. From daily peaks and dips to monthly hormone cycles to seasonal shifts, these patterns are trying to guide you.

When you ignore them and force yourself to push through, you're not just dismissing valuable information... you're actively working against the natural rhythms, creating unnecessary friction that compounds over time.

This is your Witness phase of energy management and it uses tools like the Basic Rest-Activity Cycle, energy tracking, and energy cost calculators to help you uncover these patterns without it becoming a second job (no one has time for that!) 

Once you start noticing your patterns, the next step is understanding what they mean for you, personally. Each activity, interaction, and environment you move within has an energy cost—positive, negative, or neutral.

But here's the crucial part... these costs aren't universal. What energizes me might completely drain you. This is where traditional productivity advice often fails us. It prescribes universal "best practices" and one-size-fits-all solutions that don't take into consideration the needs of neurodivergent, chronically ill, or disabled folks; but most of all, the human need for flexibility and cyclical systems. These solutions don't make roome to account for and accommodate your individual energy equation.

This is your Explore phase of energy management and the Pattern-to-Practice Framework is my favorite way to take energy patterns and information and turn this into something you can utilize during pillar three.

Taking the awareness of your patterns and translating them into your unique needs, you can create systems that actually support your natural rhythms rather than fighting them. The key word here is flexible, because rigid systems inevitably fail.

Productivity as we know it was designed to exploit and extract, not support and protect. Your energy needs will shift and evolve over time and you deserve to have systems that grow with you instead of breaking down at the first sign of stress.

If we look at the definition of productivity, 'the state or quality of producing something' then this isn't about perfect optimization. It's about building a way of life that can flex and grow with you.

This is your Adapt phase of energy management where you collect a toolbox full of skills like Personal Menus, 3-2-1 Transition Formulas, and more to use and reuse as you go on about living your life.

Let me show you what this looks like in practice...

The Situation: A successful creative business owner found themselves caught in a growth paradox—their increasing client base was slowly eroding their work-life balance and ability to sustainably juggle deep creative work, business growth, and client calls. Despite work expanding into evenings and weekends, focused work was getting pushed to after 8 p.m. when their energy was depleted. Their days were consumed by client calls and inbox management, leaving little space for the strategic and creative work needed to sustain their growing team.

The Pattern Noticed: Four weeks of energy tracking revealed lots of patterns but I want to focus on one crucial insight. Their creative energy naturally peaked in the mornings, but this prime time was being fragmented by scattered client calls between 9 AM and 6 PM. Living in their inbox and being constantly available for their team meant their most valuable work hours were being taken up by reactive tasks. As their business scaled in client volume and project size, this pattern became increasingly unsustainable.

The Translation: We discovered this wasn't just about personal energy management, but about evolving their role as their business grew. Their most impactful work needed their peak creative hours, but their schedule was structured around client and team availability instead of being informed by their natural rhythm. The solution required both individual energy alignment and strategic systems development through hiring and delegation in the business.

The Experiment: We protected mornings for focused creative and strategic work, shifting all client calls to afternoons. This wasn't just about rearranging a calendar. It was about honoring their natural rhythm while building more sustainable team systems. We tracked not only work patterns and stress levels but also their ability to be present in their personal life.

The Routine: The impact rippled through both business and life. While evening work didn't disappear overnight, it steadily decreased. They found themselves able to step away for dinner, be more present for quality time with loved ones, and most importantly, accomplish more quality creative work in less time because during peak hours. This mental space allowed them capacity to think strategically about team growth, delegation, and the future of the business.

The Flexibility: Years later and their morning creative block still remains sacred and adaptable. Some days it shifts earlier or later based on team needs or personal energy. On occasion there might even be a morning client call but it's an intentional choice made with the knowledge about meeting their needs for rest, recovery, and balancing workload to support that choice. The key isn't rigid adherence to specific hours but maintaining the principle: protect peak creative energy while building flexible systems that support sustainable growth. This balance helped transform not just their daily schedule, but allowed them to shift how their entire business operates.

The Situation: A neurodivergent coach was struggling with the classic "feast or famine" energy cycle: some days feeling unstoppable, others completely drained. Despite their flexible schedule, they found themselves exhausted from their call volume, struggling to maintain consistent energy for content creation and business development on top of delivering their services. They knew something needed to change but weren't sure where to start.

The Pattern Noticed: Through tracking their natural Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (BRAC), they discovered their energy moved in clear 90-minute waves throughout the day. They also noticed that back-to-back client sessions left them depleted, even when they felt energized by the individual conversations. The hardest hit came when calls crossed over their natural rest periods, making it difficult to refocus on deep work afterward without pushing through and using stress to motivate themselves.

The Translation: Their body was trying to follow its natural ultradian rhythm of 70 minutes of high-focus activity followed by 20 minutes of rest. Fighting this pattern by scheduling straight through these natural dips over long periods was creating unsustainable energy drain. The key wasn't just about when to take breaks, but about aligning their breaks during day with these natural cycles to support the energy needed for a call heavy schedule.

The Experiment: We restructured their calendar foundation into 90-minute blocks, to know where to build in intentional rest periods. They began scheduling client calls with 15-20 minute buffers and developed two focuses: (1) prioritizing 3 aligned break times a day and (2) a creating a menu of transition routines to support breaks and moving in and out of focused and client work modes. Most importantly, they started tracking their energy levels throughout these changes.

The Routine: This rhythm-based approach worked to transform their workday. By honoring their natural energy cycles, they found they could serve their clients more effectively while maintaining energy for other aspects of their business. The structured breaks, rather than feeling "unproductive," became essential recharge moments that improved their overall focus and creativity.

The Flexibility: Now they adapt this framework based on each day's needs. Sometimes client availability means scheduling over a natural rest period, but knowing this in advance allows them to use protective planning to ensure they aren't neglecting their need to rest. They might take a longer break before a packed afternoon or use specific transition practices to help maintain their energy. The system flexes while the principle remains: working with their natural rhythm, not against it.

At the end of the day, energy management isn't just about optimizing your calendar or finding your peak productivity hours (though those quick wins feel amazing!) 

It's about understanding the beautiful complexity of how you show up in the world through your physical rhythms, emotional landscape, and the way you interact with everything around you.

We are all in search of more ease and flow in a world that feels restrictive and rigid, and as we move throughout life we have to make a conscious choice to look inwards in order to achieve it.

Think of it like learning to dance with your own nature rather than fighting against it:

💃 Some steps you'll pick up quickly, like realizing you're actually a night owl trying to force yourself into being a morning person.
⏳ Other movements take time to master, like understanding how your energy shifts with the seasons or learning to honor your needs without guilt.

The beauty is that you can start small.

Quick wins like identifying your peak focus hours or creating a morning routine that actually works for you can help give you immediate relief. The small steps help you create capacity to explore deeper into understanding your unique patterns, honoring your neurodivergent needs, or navigating chronic health challenges.

Over time, these layers of understanding weave together into a sustainable way of living that feels like flow instead of force. Allowing your energy to become a trusted guide rather than something to push through, fix, or overcome. 

And while the journey is ongoing, each step brings you closer to a life that feels both ambitious and sustainable.

You don't have to figure it all out at once.
Start where you are.
Notice one pattern.
Make one small shift.

Your energy journey is uniquely yours, which is exactly how it should be.

I originally created this for myself to stop overcommitting (hello, chronic illness and ADHD), but it's become one of my favorite tools to share. Whether you're managing multiple projects, navigating health challenges, or just trying to find more sustainable ways to work, understanding your energy costs is one of the first step to better supporting yourself.

Grab your free copy of the workbook and templates here.

Next week we'll dive into how to turn patterns into practices to support your energy!

I found this note I made in late 2021 about 6 weeks after I started burnout recovery:

I don't know where it's from but it was a good reminder that this year's goal for me is integration. And I've got a feeling that looks a lot like getting out of the way and finding out what it means to live. 

I'm curious to see what results I'll find when I look back this time next year. 

Here's a few ways you can let me know:

Option 1: 💌 Share with a fellow creative or business owner. Community starts with each of us and friends don't let friends chase their dreams at the expense of their mental health! If you know someone seeking more sustainability and harmony in their life and/or business, send this their way.

Option 2: 👋 Say hi! Hit reply and share a sentence or two about anything you enjoyed or hit home for you. I always hope these words find the right people at the right time, but it's always makes my day to hear from you!