Running three businesses by myself once looked like this: alarms before sunrise, coffee before thoughts, and a daily promise that today would be the day I got ahead.
It never was.
Instead, my days stretched from 5 AM to 11 PM, with a weird, guilt-soaked nap somewhere in the middle where I wasn’t really resting, just… temporarily shutting down. Like a phone at 2% battery pretending it’s fine.
For a long time, I thought the problem was discipline.
Turns out, the problem was I was trying to run my life on a schedule that had absolutely nothing to do with how my energy actually works. It wasn’t until I learned how to design my schedule around my energy that I finally started getting more done without burning out.
Not overnight. Not in a “new me, who dis” kind of way.
But enough to realize I had been making things so much harder than they needed to be.
I didn’t need a better planner.
I needed to stop pretending I function like someone who can do the same thing every day.
The Flaw in Rigid Routines
We’ve been sold this very specific version of productivity.
Wake up early.
Do your deep work at the same time every day.
Push through resistance.
Stay consistent no matter what.
Which sounds great… if you are, in fact, a robot.
But some days my brain is sharp at 8 PM, not 8 AM. Some days I can write an entire post in 45 minutes, and other days I stare at the same paragraph like it personally offended me.
Trying to force myself into someone else’s “ideal day” didn’t make me more productive.
It made me exhausted, frustrated, and weirdly convinced I was the problem.
Spoiler: I wasn’t.
If You’ve Never Been Able to Stick to a Routine… This Might Be Why
There’s also another layer here that I didn’t understand for a long time: some people can follow the same routine every day and feel amazing.
Others… absolutely cannot. This is me.
If you’ve ever felt like your energy comes in waves, your interests shift, or your best work happens in unpredictable bursts, there’s a good chance you’re what’s often called a “scanner.”
Meaning:
👉 you’re wired for variety, curiosity, and intensity… not sameness
Which also means:
Trying to force yourself into a rigid schedule isn’t just frustrating… it’s misaligned.
This is especially true if you’re someone who has a lot of ideas, interests, and phases.
(aka… hi, scanner brain)
👉 [What a Scanner Personality Actually Is]
The Energy Flow Audit (a.k.a. the moment you stop guessing)
The shift started when I stopped asking,
“What should my schedule look like?”
And started asking,
“What actually happens to my energy throughout the day?”
Not what I wish happened.
Not what works for other people.
What is actually true.
That’s what an Energy Flow Audit does.
It’s less about tracking every minute and more about noticing patterns you’ve probably been ignoring:
• What consistently gives you energy
• What quietly (or aggressively) drains it
• Where you’re forcing yourself when you don’t need to
• Where you’re holding back because of fear, perfectionism, or “I should be better at this by now”
It’s basically a vibe check… but with consequences.
Because once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
Download The Energy Flow Audit Free.
Building Pause Points (without the guilt spiral)
Once you understand your energy, the next step isn’t to squeeze more into your day.
It’s to stop treating your energy like it’s infinite.
This is where Pause Points come in.
Not the accidental kind where you fall into a scroll hole or stare into space questioning your life choices.
Intentional ones.
Supportive ones.
The kind that actually give something back.
Think of them in layers:
- Micro pauses A few minutes. A reset. Water, a walk, breathing like a human again.
- Midday pauses 5 to 30 minutes where you step away and let your brain recalibrate instead of bulldozing through.
- Macro pauses The bigger ones. Weekly or monthly space to zoom out, reset, and remember what you’re even doing all this for.
And yes, these are non-negotiable.
Not because you’re being “good,” but because this is how you stop burning out every three weeks and calling it a personality trait.
Putting It on the Calendar
Here’s where this becomes real life.
Open your calendar.
Instead of just dumping tasks into it, start building it around your energy:
• High-focus blocks when your brain is actually online
• Lighter tasks when you’re naturally lower energy
• Pause Points scheduled like they matter… because they do
Color code it if you want. Label it however makes sense.
The goal is simple: Your calendar should reflect your energy, not fight it
Want to see how your brain actually works and why you feel pulled in so many directions?
👉 Take the quick quiz here
The Part No One Talks About
Designing your schedule around your energy can feel… wrong at first.
Like you’re being lazy.
Like you’re not doing enough.
Like you should be able to just push through like everyone else.
But that voice?
That’s not discipline.
That’s conditioning.
Because when you actually start working with your energy instead of against it, something very inconvenient happens:
You get more done.
You feel better doing it.
And you stop needing to constantly recover from your own life.
Designing your life around your energy isn’t a luxury.
It’s efficiency. It’s sustainability.
It’s the difference between constantly trying to keep up… and finally feeling like you’re moving in a way that actually works for you.
👉 Start with the Energy Flow Audit
👉 Try it for a week
👉 Then tell me what changed
And if you want a place to share it (or just be around people who also stopped pretending 8 AM is magical), come hang out in The Grove.
Permission granted.
Now go build a schedule that actually likes you back.
