Author, Speaker, Startup Advisor and Business Consultant at CIARA & Co.
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It’s the end of the year, and many of us have depleted our resources. We’re in the eleventh hour of 2022, and we’ve spent all our intellectual, emotional and fiscal capital. But there’s no rest for the weary. We have to go shopping, prep for the holiday party and begin 2023 planning.
We’ve been trained to believe that depleting our resources and pressing on is admirable—when it’s actually reckless. Think about it this way: When you’re driving and run out of gas, your car doesn’t bargain with you until you make it to a gas station. When you run out of gas, you run out of gas. Most of us don’t even let it get to that point—we stop at a gas station when we know we’re running low on fuel. Why, then, do we treat our bodies any differently? We’ve accepted that running out of gas means keep going.
While I admire grit, perseverance and commitment, I’m also a realist. None of those things actually produce the great thinking we think they do without a fresh and rested mind. Our brain conserves calories (energy) as a survival mechanism. When we’ve depleted our resources, our brain is going to conserve energy and limit how much thinking and creativity we can actually do. Prioritizing resting your mind is a necessary practice. It’s important to accept this if we wish to achieve our goals. It’s like stopping for gas or doing maintenance on our car. It helps us get up that hill, get to where we’re going and have greater reach.
How do we do this?
Disconnect from technology.
Earlier this year I took a leave of absence from technology, limiting the number of hours I was consuming technology and when. Did I upset some folks? Absolutely. Did it pay off in the end? One hundred percent.
Without a daily habit of disconnecting, we can get stuck in overdrive, which is not sustainable. By stepping back, I was able to regain control over my emotional health and take better care of my body, enabling me to think more clearly and creatively, handle frustrating conversations better and stay more disciplined toward critical actions that grew my business. Here was my regimen:
• Avoid looking at emails before 8:30 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Similarly, avoid looking at your phone first thing in the morning. The way you start your day has a profound impact on the mode you’ll operate in that day. Scrolling through your phone uses up energy before your day gets started and sets the tone and attitude you’ll have. Preserve your energy and create a positive start by waiting to look at your phone until you “sign on” at, say, 8:30 a.m.
• Step away from screens for 10 to 15 minutes each hour and close your eyes. This keeps your body stretched and resets your mind for a boost.
• Set Focus mode on your phone to avoid feeling obligated to respond to messages. Here are two ways to leverage this: 1) use it during critical working hours to focus on one medium, rather than splitting mental energy into multiple places; 2) set it for 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. (or something similar) to silence messages through the evening and morning when your mind needs to rest.
Protect your emotional and intellectual capital.
As the day continues on, quality thinking often diminishes. This reminds me of a very pragmatic concept that I learned in my recovery from Lyme disease: spoon theory.
According to spoon theory, we have a finite number of "spoons" each day that we wake up with, each spoon representing a chunk of energy we have to give toward the day’s tasks. For many, we operate as if we have an infinite amount of spoons to give away rather than strategically using our energy. So instead, spoon theory helps us prioritize and manage that energy strategically. If we only have three spoons to give away that day, what are the most critical tasks we need to accomplish with them?
When I first learned this concept, it stuck with me. But how realistic is it? I am the founder of three companies, an instructor at two universities, a student and a consultant serving 20 clients; I sit on two boards; I am a mentor for three accelerators and a coach and speaker constantly developing content. I need about 56 spoons in any given day just to survive.
But if I don’t manage my emotional and intellectual capital, I will deplete and actually be less effective at all of those things. I started prioritizing the most impactful tasks that grew the right parts of my business and career. I time-blocked to achieve the daily tasks needed, and it was intentional. I intentionally chose my three spoons each day to ensure the best thinking went toward the most important tasks at the beginning.
How can you make this work for you?
Tackle key tasks early.
One of the most impactful habits you can build is to structure your day so that you wake up a bit earlier and achieve your most important work between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m., when, if you're a morning person, you may tap into 75% to 100% of your mental capacity.
Road map your daily priorities.
Wake up early and create a road map that helps you structure that day. Each day, I wake up around 5:30 a.m., shower, cycle, sit down to plan my “spoons” and priorities for the day (aligning priorities to my big vision goals) and then write. By 7 a.m. when I’m ready to kick off the important tasks, I’ve created my road map for the day and accomplished quite a lot already.
Taking care of your body and intentionally showing up for your success each day is a universal need for us all, but it’s fair to recognize each individual faces their own unique set of circumstances. The key is to find a routine that works for you while still upholding the key tenets we’ve covered here: Limit your intake of technology when possible and protect your emotional and intellectual capital.
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