227: Energy Management for Busy Moms: The Secret Working Mothers Won't Tell You

Energy Management for Busy Moms: The Secret Working Mothers Won't Tell You

Tired of following all the time management advice but still feeling exhausted? The secret isn't better time management - it's energy management for busy moms. This episode reveals why managing your energy trumps managing your time.

Host Cindy Gordon, Reality Check Method coach for female entrepreneurs, shares the paradigm shift that transformed her approach to productivity as both a business owner and mom. Perfect for working mothers who've mastered their schedules but still feel drained by 3 PM.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why time management fails when you're not managing energy
• The psychology of "decision fatigue" and why all tasks aren't created equal
• How to do an energy audit to identify what drains vs. energizes you
• Why some activities give you energy while others are complete energy vampires
• How to design your ideal day around energy peaks and valleys
• The importance of energy buffers between intensive activities
• Why protecting your energy serves your family better than sacrificing it

Episode Highlights: "You can always find more time, delegate tasks, or work more efficiently. But you can't manufacture more energy once it's depleted." "Managing energy actually creates more effective time. One hour of high-energy work often produces better results than three hours of depleted, scattered effort." "Time management without energy management is like trying to run a marathon without pacing yourself."

Stop managing time and start managing energy. Get Cindy's Reality Check Method at ExclusivelyCindy.com and follow @exclusivelycindy for sustainable productivity strategies for working moms.

💡 Don't forget to subscribe for more quick productivity tips for overwhelmed business owners and female entrepreneurs!

💌 Get exclusive overwhelm solutions and productivity strategies for entrepreneurs straight to your inbox - sign up now! https://cindygordon.myflodesk.com/countmein

Connect with Cindy Gordon - Reality Check Method Coach for Overwhelmed Entrepreneurs:

• Website: ExclusivelyCindy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exclusivelycindy/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cindygordon

Transcript

0:00

Everyone talks about time management, but what if the real problem isn't how you're spending your time? It's how you spend your energy. If you've mastered your calendar, optimized your schedule, and followed all the productivity advice, but still feel drained by 3:00 PM you are managing the wrong resource entirely. Hi, I'm Cindy Gordon, a self-made entrepreneur, busy mom and reality check method coach for entrepreneurs. I've built and sold multiple digital businesses while raising kids, and I've discovered that energy management for busy moms is the game changer that no one talks about openly. I'm about to show you how to shift from time focus to energy focused productivity in just about 10 minutes per day. If you like these tips and tricks, make sure that you are on my exclusive weekly newsletter. You'll join over 1400 other entrepreneurs who feel just like you link in the show notes. Over and over. The business owners I coach share the same frustration. They've got their time management down to a science, but they're still exhausted. They've time blocked their calendars, batched their tasks, eliminated distractions, but they're running on fumes by the afternoon and have nothing left for their families. Here's what's really happening. You are treating energy like it's unlimited when it's actually your most finite resource. You can always find more time delegate tasks or work more efficiently, but you can't manufacture more energy once it's depleted. As entrepreneurs who are also moms, we are constantly switching between high energy business decisions and high energy family management. By the time evening comes, we've spent all of our mental and emotional energy on work, leaving our families with whatever scraps are left, and then we feel guilty about not feeling present, which drains us even more. Every decision you make, every task you switch between every interruption, you handle depletes what researchers call decision fatigue. Your brain has a daily energy budget, and when it's spent, it's spent. Here's the part that most productivity advice misses. Not all tasks drain energy equally. Some activities actually give you energy while others are complete energy vampires. Traditional time management treats a 30 minute client call just the same as 30 minutes of administrative work. But your energy system knows the difference when you're managing your time, but not your energy. You end up scheduling energy draining tasks back to back during your peak hours, and then wondering why you feel wiped out despite having productive days. It's just that you're optimizing for the wrong metric entirely. Here's how I flip the script and start managing energy like the precious resource that it is. You're gonna start with an energy audit for three days. Track, not just what you do, but how each activity makes you feel afterward. Mark tasks as energy giving, energy neutral or energy draining. You'll be shocked at what you discover about your personal energy patterns. Next, you're gonna design your ideal day around your energy, not just the time schedule, your energy giving, or most important work during those peak natural hours. For most moms, this is early in the morning before the family wakes up. But it might be completely different for you, and that's okay. That's why we're identifying it. You're gonna batch energy draining tasks during lower energy periods when you can afford the drain. Then you're gonna build energy buffers into your schedule instead of booking meetings back to back leave 15 minute breathing spaces between energy intensive activities. Think of these as energy recovering periods, not wasted time. Resistance shows up usually in the form of you saying, I don't have time to think about energy. So when this happens, remind yourself that managing energy actually creates more effective time. One hour of high energy work produces better results than three hours of depleted, scattered effort. Build this into your routine by asking one simple question before accepting any commitment. Do I have energy for this or just the time? If you only have the time, but no energy, the activity will either produce poor results or drain you for everything else. The biggest obstacle is guilt. It's guilt about protecting your energy, especially if you have a family. But here's the reality, check, showing up, energized and present for fewer activities serves your family better than showing up, drained and distracted for everything. Okay. To maintain momentum, start noticing how different people affect your energy levels. Some clients, colleagues, or even family interactions energize you while others drain you. You can't eliminate all the energy drains, but you can be strategic about when and how you engage with them. Here's what I want you to remember from today. Time management without energy management is trying to run a marathon without pacing yourself. You might start strong, but you will burn out long before the finish line. This Energy First approach to productivity is exactly what I help entrepreneurs develop through my$1 a day Growth Collective Mastermind. You can find information about this in the show notes. And if you're on Instagram, hit me up at exclusively Cindy for daily reminders that sustainable success requires sustainable energy. Plus, when you're signed up for my weekly newsletter for behind the scenes strategies that actually work, you are joining over 1400. Entrepreneurs who are in the same boat. So let's wrap this up with your action step for today. First, you're gonna do a mini energy audit. Notice which activities from today energize you versus drained you. Then tomorrow, try to schedule one energy giving activity during your peak energy time and see how it affects the rest of your day. Now, go protect that energy, like the valuable resource that it is. And remember you've got this.

Speaker: 6:22

Thanks for spending these few minutes with me today. Remember, overwhelm isn't permanent. It's simply your brain's way of saying pause and take a little reality check. If you got value in today's episode, please share it with another entrepreneur who needs that reminder. If you're loving the show, I'd be so grateful if you could leave me a quick review. It helps other overwhelmed entrepreneurs find us. Make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss your weekly dose of clarity. For more resources and to connect with me, visit exclusively. Send. d.com. Until next time, remember, you've got this.