It has been a FULL few weeks, my friends—pistons on fire. Honestly, I am exhausted and exhilarated.
I am joyful and drained—like the end of a bath when your body’s all gooey and the last of the water has siphoned down the pipes and you lay there like a dish of jelly wondering, What shall I do next? Right—get a towel.
That’s pretty much how it’s going—I feel good and I’m not sure where the energy for the next move is coming from.
Why so tired?
Over the last two weeks I’ve written, designed, filmed, edited and delivered The Courage Chart to my beta testers—oh and I also crashed my truck, which put a bit of a wrench in the whole flow. Everyone’s okay, except for Jet (my truck), she’s having a whole lot of work done—Beverly Hills style.
So I’ve been expending a LOT of energy—emotionally, creatively and logically. I’ve practically been an energetic Trevi fountain.
It’s absolutely amazing how much I can accomplish in a very short period of time, but I also know that when I do this, the flip side is a drained, tired and zombie apocalyptic Ash.
The difference this time, however, is there’s no stress.
Fatigue, but no stress.
Joy, but no stress.
Hope, but no stress.
Exhilaration, but no stress.
Which is new.
So how did I go balls to the wall for weeks and not have a total breakdown?
Good question, because this isn’t the first time I’ve made a push to create something, but it IS the first time I’ve done it and not had it break me.
1. The Work
The work is enlivening. I love what I’m creating; every piece of it. There was a moment in the process where I was thinking about the numbers, what should this sell for, how many people need to buy etc etc, and it pulled me so far off the centerline of the work I almost didn’t want to make it anymore.
Which snapped my head around, not unlike whiplash, and caused me to reframe my perspective.
The message I received was: Make something that matters.
Because, if you’re going to be an energetic fountain, you’ve got to at least prime the pump, and making a thing that has substance, depth and power fuels me.
When I let go of the numbers during the making of the thing, the making of it energized me.
2. Move It, Move It
Long days in fixed positions do not for a creative flow make. I use an app (PomoDoneApp) that reminds me to get up and move—I listened to it, most of the time…
3. Take Days Off
This was a tough one because, in the midst of making the thing, all I wanted to do was work on it. But it’s just as important to take time during the weekend (or whenever) to unbury your head from the screen, give your mind an everlovin’ rest and find some beauty in the outside world.
I’ll tell you that I came to Mondays with a fire in my belly and engines revved to go.
4. Be Organized, Schedule Less
One of the core steps of The Courage Chart is knowing all that needs to be done in order to bring the thing to fruition; I do it a little different than others I’ve seen, but having the overarching knowledge of what needs to be done frees your mind and takes the pressure off.
I’ve also learned that it takes a whole lot longer to do anything than you think it will, so be generous with your planning and buffer in lots of time.
5. Stop At the Milestones
For The Courage Chart, I’ve got several milestones. The first being the beta group. Which means that the whole course needs to be done, but the sales page, the payment, the indoctrination emails from The Brave Quiz, the webinar and the marketing do not—not yet.
When you’ve hit a milestone, it’s tempting to blaze on through to the next one, but it’s imperative to stop, acknowledge the thing you just achieved and maybe do something else that maintains your momentum but doesn’t launch you into the next phase of the project.
Give yourself a chance to celebrate your achievement and recharge before you pole-vault into the next thing.
This is a critical part of the process, because you cannot firehose your energy forever without filling the well.
6. Recharge
After expending, we must recharge. Schedule things that are more about feeling than about action—more about being than doing. The Courage Chart spends an entire step helping you to figure out what fills you up—a veritable medicine bag—knowing the contents as they relate to you is critical to creating without breaking.
Sometimes the outflow is going to be huge in comparison to the intake, but the secret is, during that time, make sure you have a trickle of power feeding you and, when you’ve reached a milestone (notice I didn’t say END), focus all your energy on intake.
Power up. Charge that soul of yours.
Do that, and your energy bank will never go broke.
Love and Energy,
P.S.—The Courage Chart will open its doors to the public in the second week of November. If you want to be the first one to know (and receive a special deal) make sure you’re on the early interest list.