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Hey Designers,

In creating a life you love to wake up to, I bet at some point you have tried to achieve balance. The almighty work-life balance.

If you don't already know, I’m here to tell you there is no such thing.

Balance is a lie.

What you can build is a foundation of wellness. Think of it as a glowing energy source that will power you throughout the day and your week. We all know that some days we are going to have level 10 days and some days are going to be level 3 days. Feeding your energy source will help you to have more level 10 days than level 3 days. This will make you feel like you have a balance even when you do not.

You only feel like you have a work life imbalance when your energy source is depleted.

So there are two things that you can do to make you feel more like your life is in balance.

Set some boundaries. Make an active decision about what you are allowing to pull your energy.
Create more energy with activities and tasks that light you up.

This week, I asked one of my clients who is taking the life design masterclass with me to take note this week of that which lights her up and that which feels heavy. We are in the listening phase of her life design project and we are working toward pinpointing what she values from her past and what she currently values. We will use this input from the listening phase to design pathways for her to use to get her from where she is now in her life to where she envisions her life to be in the future.

Similarly, you can use this strategy to figure out what gives you energy and what drains your energy.

If you are an introvert, you might get your energy expressing gratitude, sleeping, journaling, strength training, running, or diving deeply into your passion project.

That’s me. Sleep is my number one priority. It gives me the most mental energy for the day. Next to that gratitude puts me in a positive frame of mind. And working on my passion project which of course you know is sharing with you strategies to make your life easier and helping you to design life pathways to reach your goals.

If you are an extrovert you may get your energy from sleeping, talking with friends, going to parties, playing a sport or playing with your kids.

Each person’s energy profile is unique to them. Pay attention to what brings you energy and what diminishes it.

You feel like you have a work-life imbalance when your energy source is depleted.

So what action can we take once we realize what drains our energy?

First, put boundaries around those activities that make you feel heavy. Either eliminate them if you can or reduce them.
For example, feeling guilty for something out of your control is an energy-draining activity. Throw away the guilt. Be present in the moment you are in.
Interacting with lots of people can be an energy-draining activity. For instance, you may love attending a party or going to the beach with friends, but you might find yourself needing to top off your energy source with some me time after.
Another example is if you have a weekend in which you are involved in activities on both Saturday and Sunday. You might need the following weekend to be a quiet one.
This all depends on you and what gives you energy. You might find a busy weekend to be a source of energy.
Next, make a quick list of what gives your energy. Focus on prioritizing these activities.
Create an energy bank that you can draw from by making automatic deposits just like you might for a saving account or your 401k. If you have to think about actively saving money, you might not do it. But if you put those deposits on autopay, you have a bank of energy from which to draw.
So if sleep is an energy-generating activity for you as it is for me. Stick to your bedtime. Create a bedtime routine. Protect this activity.
If quiet reading time is an energy-generating activity for you. Set a boundary. Schedule this in your planner and make it part of your day or week.
If chatting with friends is an energy-generating activity. Make time that makes sense to you.
I choose to connect with family and friends on my commute to and from work. In addition, when I’m walking Nero or Layla our Great Danes, I often invite a friend to join me. When I’m doing tasks around the house like the dishes or laundry, I phone a friend or family member.
Put your energy-building habits on auto-pilot so that you have energy for the activities that may drain you.
If you need help with that. Download the free Project You 30-Day Action Planner. It will help you develop those energy-boosting routines and slay some of your daily energy drainers.
I’d love to know what brings you energy. Either email me at hello@micheleschmidtmoore.com or dm me on the socials and let me know.
Before we go I wanted to remind you of a couple of opportunities.

If you love the investigation that we have been doing around the LEADER mindset, I’m offering an intro course to the LEADER mindset called Project You: Design Thinking for a Better Life. It’s similar to what we have been doing here on the podcast, but it includes a community and feedback and help from me to you personally. I’ve collaborated with Poppd.co to bring you this course. It’s a new platform to explore professional learning for educators by educators.

If you are ready to go all in…

Design and execute a larger vision for your life, focusing on your health, relationships, passion projects, creativity, and career, join the waitlist for the Life Design Masterclass.

This live 6-week life design masterclass takes you step-by-step in creating a pathway to a life you love.

As part of the live cohort, you will.

Uncover your core values, putting aside others’ expectations.
Create your future story, including your ideal work and passion projects, health and wellness goals, and relationships.
Develop the identity you need to create the future you envision.
Design a detailed pathway with milestones and celebrations to move toward the life you envision for your future.
Engage in weekly interactive cohort coaching sessions for collaboration and community.
Engage in individual personalized coaching sessions to as you take steps toward the life you love.

As always, if you have found this podcast helpful, recommend it to a friend either in person or on social media. Also please rate and review the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. I’m on a mission to help you design and live a life that you love to wake up to. I sincerely appreciate you. Thank you for helping me spread the word.

Until next time designers,