Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] For years I thought I was just tired. I blamed my schedule, my diet, even my hormones. But then I realized it was never about doing too much. It was about doing the wrong things. And once I made this shift, everything changed. Let me show you how to do the same. In today's episode, I'm breaking down how to do a personal energy audit so you can identify what's fueling you, what's draining you, and how to shift your life accordingly. If this episode resonates, let me know. Leave a comment and make sure you like and subscribe. So what even is an energy audit, simply put, is when you track where your energy goes, identifying what fills your tank and what drains it. We all know about budgeting money, but no one talks about budgeting energy. And yeah, your energy is even more valuable than your money because you can't get it back. Once it's spent, it's gone. You might not even recognize what's draining you because it's so normalized. It's not just about being an introvert or extrovert. Both can have energy drains. It's not just about sleep. You can sleep eight hours and still feel exhausted. And it's not about doing too much. Sometimes it's the wrong things that drain you and not how much you're doing something. Which is why this is so important. Your energy affects every part of your life. If you're constantly drained, it impacts your mood, your creativity, your relationships and overall well being. Your energy helps you make better decisions. Instead of choosing things based on what you should do, you start choosing based on what aligns with you and your energy prevents burnout. A lot of us feel exhausted not because we're doing too much, but because we're doing a lot of the wrong things. You know how you could spend hours doing something you love and feel energized afterwards, but 30 minutes doing something that feels draining takes all of your time. Yeah, that's why this matters. Now that we know what it is and why it's so important, let's dig a little deeper and identify the energy drains. Think about last week. What moments left you feeling exhausted even if nothing bad happened. As you think about that, I'm going to share for the most common energy drains, starting with number one, people. Some people leave you feeling lighter, others like you need a three hour nap. Signs of energy draining person is someone who's constantly negative, always talking but never giving. And the conversations are always just so draining. Every time I get finished talking to one of my cousins, I feel like I need to just Take a moment to myself, nap, listen to some music, get me back focused because the conversation is so draining. In a span of about 20 minutes I've heard all of the family drama, a thousand backhanded compliments, what this person's doing, what celebrities are doing, and the annoying lady at work and all I wanted to do is check in, make sure everybody was doing good. If you leave the conversation feeling like you need to recover, that's a sign the second most common energy drain is situations and environments. Where you spend your time affects your energy. Some places just feel heavy and this can look like a toxic workplace. Social settings that feel forced and just cluttered chaotic environments. The third most common energy leak is habits and thoughts Overthinking? Yeah, probably one of the biggest energy leaks over committing saying yes when you want to say no. People pleasing energy leaks. Have you ever spent hours writing about something owner realized that it wasn't even that bad? That's an example of overthinking and wasting your energy. And the fourth and last most common energy drain is digital consumption. Raise your hand if you guilty of this. Social media scrolling doom scrolling content overload all take off focus and our energy. Don't get me wrong, not all content is bad, but pay attention to how you feel after you consume it. This one is probably the easiest to fall into. I know for myself. I can recall the time when we were all at home during a pandemic. We had nothing but time on our hands to sit down and scroll. I would be checking the news every single day and I was keeping up with pages like the Shade Room. And after it would always make me feel so bad. Today you couldn't catch me watching News 12 or even associating with anything that has to do with the Shade Room. Do I check the news? Yes, but I'm very intentional about it. And do I keep up with whatever's over there? No ma'am. I remember how I used to feel out to consumer that so with these four common energy drains in mind, reflect on last week. Think about all the times you were left exhausted and pinpoint some of the energy drains.
[00:03:21] So now that you know how to identify what's draining, let's move over to something good. Let's talk about how to identify what's fueling for this. Think about the last time you forgot to pick up your phone because you were so engaged. That's an energy boost. Ask yourself what makes me feel excited? What am I doing when time feels like it's flying by? What leaves me feeling recharged and not drained. And just like I shared for the most common energy drains, I'm going to give you four examples of energy boosters to think about. The first example of energy booster is creative outlets. This can be writing, music, movement, painting, or anything related to the arts. If you ever lose track of time while doing something creative, that's a clue. A second example of energy boosters, people that expand you. We talked about people who are draining, who make you feel like you need a three hour nap after talking to them. But there are people who leave you feeling inspired and motivated after you get done talking to them. Those are expanders, people that give you a boost of energy. These are the conversation that leaves you with new ideas, not exhaustion. This can be people you know in real life or people you watch online. After I get done talking to my really good guy friend, I feel like I can do anything. I feel light, I feel free, I feel inspired to go create something. And it's the same thing with my brother and my aunt. After I get done talking to them, I feel like I just learned something new that I could put into action. And that's what it's about. The third example of energy booster is align work and activities. Doing things that actually light you up. And it could be something small. Small tasks can be energy given if it aligns with you. I know not all of us have the luxury of working where we want to work. But try to find those small tasks that light you up. Instead of thinking, what should I do? Ask what do I feel drawn to? And the fourth and last example of energy booster is rest and play. And not just physical rest, although that's great, but things that give your mind a break too. These are things that light. Having fun, laughing, being silly, acting like your childlike self. Notice these moments because the more that you do that fuse you, the less drained you'll feel overall. So think about the last time you forgot to check your phone and ask yourself what excites you? What do you do that makes time fly? And what leaves you feeling recharged and not depleted?
[00:05:10] The next step is to take what you learn and shift your energy. You know that saying you know better, you do better? Yeah, you just identify what's journey and what's healing. Now you're gonna apply it. I didn't even realize this, but everything is pretty much broken down into four. I shared four common energy drains, four common energy boosters, and now here are four steps to shift your energy. Step one. You either already completed it as we were going through this video, or you now have the tools to do that, which is to do an energy audit. Write down two lists. On one side, label it what drains me. On other side, label it what fused me and look for patterns. Are you spending more time on drains? Are you spending more time on fuse? Are you not feeling yourself enough? The point of this step is to identify where your energy is going. The second step is to set boundaries. Once you identify your biggest energy drains, you have to limit or remove them. That's the point of this step to help reduce energy leaks. This looks like reducing time with draining people, following people in concert that make you feel worse and saying no more often Going back to the example that I used earlier with my cousin, I had to be intentional about where my energy was going and where I wanted to be and what was getting in the way of that. After trying to set boundaries with this person and letting them know how I would like the flow of our conversations to go or what I am or am not interested in, they never tried to stop gossiping or being negative. So I had to limit how much we spoke and take a step back. It's not that I don't care about them, but I had to set boundaries for myself in order to accomplish what I needed to accomplish. And boundaries are not about the other person. It's about you. It's always about you. What you will and won't accept. The third step is to protect your energy. Be intentional with where you spend it. For example, starting your morning with something energizing. I incorporate yoga into my morning routine because it allows me to connect with myself before I go into the world and I'm hit with things like the news and gossip. My morning routine is tailored to my energy and making sure that I'm setting my foundation to have a good day to be able to negate or still push through when things outside of my control happen. In small breaks, this is one of the best ways to be intentional with where you spend your energy. You do not have to be exhausted or burnt out to take a break. This is one of my biggest problems. Trying to do a whole bunch of different things and that leading to exhaustion or burnout in my mind, my body forcing me to take a break versus me just managing my energy more effectively. I'm quick to take a nap when I need it. Before that was not a thing. Let's say I've been working for an hour. I will get up and go take a walk. I even go as far as timing my work period so I can get up and go take that walk that's how you be intentional and manage your time more effectively, making it a non negotiable. And the last and final step to shift your energy is to prioritize what fuse you actively scheduling things that refill your energy daily, not just when you have time. The biggest hack I've come across is scheduling me first on my calendar and fitting everything else around it. The easiest way to burn out, feel exhausted and drained is to prioritize everything but yourself. If you don't make time for those little moments of laughter and fun, you're gonna stay in the same cycle, doing the same things, feeling the same exact ways. And I know you don't want that. So schedule everything around you. For example, if your birthday was today, March 12, every month, on the date you were born, do something for yourself. This is something that I practice every single month. And it looks different. It's just about pouring into myself. This month I'm taking a candle making class. It's something that I saw, I thought it would be fun. I love candles, but I want them to be environmentally friendly. And the place that I'm going to checks off all the boxes. I may go and I might not even like it, or I may go and I might love it. And it's something I do every couple of months or whenever the candle dries out. But the point is that it's something I intentionally chose to do with that. I'm scheduling all my calendar for myself. And yes, there are going to be times where events or opportunities overlap, but it's your choice. You get to decide if whatever is coming up is worth it or not. For example, let's use the same activity if I'm going to a candle making class. And let's say something comes up that you also want to do like a friend wants to hang out. And it falls on the day that your birthday falls on. You have choices. You can invite them to the candle making class with you, you can do that first and then meet them after. Or you can reschedule. You can reschedule the candle making class or you can reach out to the date with them. But the point is again, you schedule you on your calendar to do something that'll potentially fuel you. In this example that I'm using, trying new things is something that fuse me. Make your fueling activities non negotiable. So make two lists. On one side, label it with use me. On other side, label it with drains me. And look for patterns to see where you've been given most of your energy. Then set boundaries to reduce energy leaks, say no a little bit more. Reduce the time you're talking to people that drain you and unfollow content that make you feel bad. Create morning routines and take small breaks to protect your energy. And lastly, schedule you on your calendar. Before you schedule anything else on your calendar, prioritize what fuels you. Your energy is your responsibility, and if you're always drained, something needs to change, and it starts with noticing where your energy is going. If this episode resonated with you, let me know DM me on Instagram, or let me know in the comments. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. We still are in phase one Getting to know yourself and share this with a friend who you think might need.
