Designing with Energy In Mind

bau--she-they-_2_10-10-2025_172144: [00:00:00] last week we talked a little bit about how to identify what's working, what isn't a, that you grab the resource calculator and did some, uh, work on that for yourself. This week we're gonna talk about designing with your energy in mind. And this isn't about setting more goals, it's about creating a business that fuels itself naturally.

One of the things to look at is who are you now and who do you wanna be? If you're an entrepreneur that is feeling stuck or overwhelmed and you want to be an entrepreneur who feels like things kind of happen naturally, that things just flow one thing into the other. Then what you wanna do is think about what's standing between you and that desired state.

So, uh. I'm not gonna give you any time to do that. You'll just have to pause here. So think about who you wanna be and then what does it mean to get there. One of the things that I talk about in the end of year planning work is [00:01:00] take a, take a piece of paper or, or, you know, voice note, type it down, but list your actions. that, you do regularly for your business. And, and this is more of a macro level. You don't have to get too granular. You can, if you want things like a accounting would be sort of the macro you could look, get into like receipt tracking and reconciliation if you need to. Networking. New business development, um, administration, outreach, marketing.

And all of those kinds of things. So list those activities and, and also your client deliverables. But one of the things that I've noticed a lot is entrepreneurs will often focus on the, the work that they provide for people. They're working in the business as their biggest priority. And it is, it's important that you be able to do this thing that you've come to that you've developed and that you love and that you're passionate about. And what happens, I see a lot of times is people prioritize the working in the business over the working on the business. Which is [00:02:00] developing those structures, that new business development, the administration, the accounting, all of those kinds of things that are what make the delivery of this product or these services functional and seamless.

Feel free to list all of them, but definitely list those supporting activities. And the, and then list the, the realistic impression of time and energy that they take from you and. Really notice which are the things that are incredibly, uh, draining, the things that stop you from moving forward.

And I work with someone who hates email and she really can't stop doing email. But she's found that if she creates a very specific time for doing them, and she's very focused on it, that it doesn't create the same level of drain. So if she's trying to do emails all day. It's a no-go. It messes with the rest of her functionality.

Look at those activities that you have to do. Rank them according to your time and energy input, right? [00:03:00] And then look at what you can delegate, automate, totally get rid of uh, out, you know, outsource to, to pay professional or contain in some fashion.

Sometimes the order of operations can make a huge difference in how things work. Sometimes even just gamifying it, or creating some kind of reward system. Like if there's something you really love to do, saying, well, as soon as I've gotten through, you know, 10 emails in my other example, I can do this thing that I love.

That's just really working on that prioritization of your, your tasks, but with that concept of your energy and what you need to feel fueled in your business as one of the driving forces for how you allocate those tasks in terms of their position and, priority that you give them. So that's one.

And then the next one is, wait, wait, okay. So the step one, prioritization, and then step two is we're gonna talk about the, the energy. Creativity [00:04:00] fuels ideation. So a lot of times people think of creativity as like painting or graphic design. And honestly, the, the thing is if you're an entrepreneur, you're using your creativity all the time.

You're likely constantly coming up with creative solutions to problems that you have or that your clients have, or creative ways to make your business work that don't fit the mold because you're not following someone else's blueprint. And so making sure that you're feeding that creativity is really important.

I've used the example before of a colleague of mine who's a photographer, and she used to do a lot of big photography shoots, and she would get to a point where she was like, ah, I just dreaded picking my camera up. And that's when I realized what I needed to do was take my camera out into the world and take pictures just for my own joy.

Because she loved photography. And she even really loved doing it for her business. And if she didn't cultivate that connection to the, the joy of the creativity, that that was what first brought her into the business, she would become [00:05:00] less and less connected to it in her work. And honestly less amazing at it, less functional in her business, and she would become, it would, it would go from fueling her to draining her.

And so that could sound a little counterintuitive to do this thing that's stressing you out more but more for yourself. And I'm not saying that's a solution for everyone, but just recognizing that your creativity matters. So if you are sitting down to do a complicated spreadsheet for someone and you love spreadsheets and you realize, oh gosh, I can't do it today.

Recognize that you need to look at what it is that fuels your creativity because that creativity is what fuels your ideation and the unique solutions and offerings that you provide to your clients, to your business, and to yourself. Connection is our relationship to others. It builds trust and it's really important that we give our connections time. So, you know, and, and the tricky thing right, is like the people that we are the [00:06:00] closest to that we can lean on without having to cultivate as much because they've been around with us forever. Sometimes it's easy to neglect those over much. And and, and they, they'll give us so much room and at the same time, those are the ones that really we should be starting with fueling as much as possible, right?

And so really think about who is it that shows up for you? Who is it that you know, without a doubt, you can call and they're just gonna do something to help you out. And really think when was the last time, I just did something to show them I think they're awesome? Or reached out without a need? And, and if you can't remember it, then prioritize that.

Best friends, family, and partners always, it's a good idea. Because they, most of the time they really just wanna see us succeed and be happy. They don't actually need very much from us. And if we do just a little bit intentional cultivation of that connection, replenishment of that goodwill. It goes [00:07:00] so far. Because they do know. They see that and they understand that it's a. They, they know us well enough to know when we're making it a priority. So do that and, and do that with your business connection. Some of us have business people that they're always gonna say yes. They're always gonna be there. Just think when was the last time I was there for them?

When was the last time I referred someone to their business or promoted something they were doing in my newsletter? And just, just do a little of that. You'll feel so good. It always comes back being generous and showing up for people. I have never regretted it. Even just the feeling of knowing that I'm contributing to somebody else's success and passion. And there's never a bad result from that. And then momentum, which is my favorite because I, I just love moving things forward and getting them done. One of my, uh, colleagues and friends yesterday was like, I can always tell when you're in a meeting and we're really connecting, but you felt like it was a work meeting.

She's like, I'd see on your face, you're like, we have problems to solve. Why aren't we solving the problems? I get a [00:08:00] little bit into that. And it's really amazing to see how when you can really engage with that feeling of satisfaction of accomplishing things, how that can fuel your motivation to do more things.

And so sustaining that action through momentum by really thinking about what can you do to start your day or your week, that's gonna kick it off with that feeling of movement. Because once you're in that space of movement, it's really just easy to have more movement. And the more movement that you have and the more things that you move through easily, the, the more satisfying things are and the more that you feel that sense of your business fueling itself.

Checklists are great. I work with one person who, when they're in a really great place, when they don't have too many tasks, that to balance the number of like deliverables they have, most of us do, but they have to be very thoughtful about it. They pick one thing a day that they know they're gonna do. And that's a great strategy.

Like if you're like, this is my most important thing, [00:09:00] or this is the thing that's gonna gonna give me the sense, highest sense of accomplishment and just that thing, that's what's gonna happen. That can be a really great way to fuel your momentum.

I'm someone who likes to make a list and check everything off. But if you have too many things to, to do in a day. Or you just like to get everything down on the list, even if it's not all stuff you're gonna do. Then choosing that one thing that you're gonna accomplish will give you that sense of satisfaction and motivation that an incomplete list might feel more discouraging around.

Notice what works for you. And as you do that and notice the ways that you're really fueling that creativity engaging in those trust building connections and cultivating your own momentum, what you'll see is that your business actually kind of fuels itself. You'll get through things more quickly than you thought you could, and you'll a little bit feel like, wow, why is this so easy?

And sometimes that can feel like you're doing something wrong. A lot of us have this idea that in order for it to be real work, it has to be hard, painful suffering. It is not true. It doesn't have to be. [00:10:00] So I'm gonna encourage you, you think about how you want your business to feel in 2026. And identify one draining task that you could cut, shift or contain to allow yourself to feel that sense of flow and energy in your business and in yourself.

I'll be doing the, workshop tomorrow energize of 2026. I hope to see you there, if not. Definitely check out some of the stuff on my website. Get your energy snapshot, grab your resource calculator, and just start thinking about how to make your business feel easeful for you. Next week i'm excited to introduce Mike Crosby to you. And then after that we'll do the final episode in this series on how to make success inevitable for yourself.

Thank you for tuning into business as unusual, remember, in this ever evolving world of modern business, it's not about fitting in.

It's about standing out. See you next time. Stay curious, stay innovative, and always keep it unusual.