This year is my first year in business. When I sat down to plan my year- which creative projects I want to work on and when I want to launch them- I decided to be a keen observer of my energy and rhythms. I have been taking note of how my energy ebbs and flows through different seasons with the goal to identify and work with my rhythms instead of against them.
If you want to read more about how to become a neutral observer of your life, read this blog post.
Identifying Our Cycle of Energy
We experience different levels of energy throughout the day, through the different weeks of a month, and in different seasons of the year. We are a part of the ecosystem, and much like the different elements of nature, we too experience life in cyclical flows.
You may be feeling more productive during the start of your day or late at night, you may experience a period of low energy during the week of menstruation and high energy during the week of ovulation, and you may not feel a strong drive to do things during winters and may feel a renewed sense of energy during spring.
How to Track Your Energy
So how do you track your energy? By being present in your body and simply observing.
Observe how your energy fluctuates throughout the day and take note of it. Extrapolate the same to see how your energy levels shift through different times in a month, and once you have that data, try seeing if it has any link to your menstrual cycle (if you are a person who menstruates) or the different phases of the moon. If you find a link between your energy levels and the different phases of the menstrual cycle/ moon, it can help you identify a pattern in your energetic flow.
Expanding on the same idea, observe and record how your energy is through the different months and seasons of the year.
You are a unique individual, and therefore how you experience the flow of energy is also unique to you. There is no one standardised answer and there is no right or wrong, you have to find what works for you.
Energy Syncing
If you are a person who experiences menstruation and have a pulse on how it links to your hormone level, you might be familiar with the concept of cycle syncing. But what I am proposing is the idea of energy syncing.
Our energy is broadly informed by a multitude of factors-
- Our Physical Environment- what our diet looks like, exercise routine, the quality of our sleep, our general health, etc.
- Our Internal Environment- our mental health, if we are neurotypical or neurodivergent, the quality of our relationships, etc.
- Our Circumstantial Environment- what and who we are surrounded with, the weather and the season, etc.
What I am proposing is that we develop routines based on our unique energy levels, which are determined by the aforementioned factors.
Our routines will look different in different seasons of our life, and the idea is to adapt to them. Keeping tabs on our fluctuating energy levels also gives us a clear picture of where we are at, and can help in charting our way to the lifestyle we desire to have.
You run the business, don’t let the business run you
You created your business so that you can create the life that you want. It’s important to not lose sight of that. Energy syncing allows you to create a business that supports you, you shouldn’t be draining yourself to support your business.
Energy Syncing for a Creative Entrepreneur
How energy syncing looks for you will depend on your commitments and your priorities. I’ll share how it presents itself for me as an artist and creative entrepreneur, in this season of my life.
Daily Planning
While I am not the person who wakes up at 5 am, as much as I want to be, I do feel the most productive in the morning. So I like to start my day with high-priority tasks such as painting or writing blog posts because that’s when my mind is feeling fresh and active.
Tasks which do not require as much of my creativity, like creating social media posts, I tend to do post lunch.
Monthly Planning
My mood is deeply intertwined with my menstrual cycle, so I distribute the tasks to meet my monthly goals accordingly. I avoid scheduling high-priority tasks which require me to meet tight deadlines during my menstruation phase.
I also avoid doing high-intensity tasks, such as working with clay, simply because I know I will have low physical energy.
I tend to take a rest period if I can or do admin work which can be done on my laptop during this period.
Yearly Planning
As I said earlier, it is my first year of business. So I am taking note of how my energy fluctuates through the different months and seasons, and also how it impacts my creativity through this period.
I was already aware that I like to have the month of December off to rest, but it has been interesting to notice that this month I have been in a slump when it comes to doing the tasks for my business. I believe it may be because I used to have this month off as a litigation lawyer and I like to plan a trip during this month.
I am noticing that I’ve been drawn to play and explore my creativity for myself instead of creating artwork to sell. And I am going to keep this in mind when I am planning my next year.
I hope this helps you as you work through your energy cycles and create a business that supports the life you desire. I would love to hear what the idea of energy syncing opened up for your creative practice, business, and life!