We all have our version of the world we’re carrying, and we all have varying levels of capacity. Some days are heavier than others. Just as entrepreneurs need to be mindful of how to manage money, they also need a system to manage their energy–the less understood runway in entrepreneurship.
Understanding how to cultivate, structure and channel money and energy is crucial to how we navigate the ups and downs of business. After all, extra money doesn’t solve all problems, and neither does having an endless pool of energy.
Your energy runway deserves as much attention and organization as your financial runway
The energy runway refers to the personal energy and motivation you have to contribute to your business before experiencing burnout or significant decreases in productivity, creativity or health.
Plenty of tried and tested models, systems and processes exist for managing money in a business. We analyze spending patterns, improve inefficiencies, reallocate cash flow and adopt repeatable processes and metrics to measure success or failure to meet financial goals.
But we don’t apply the same rigor to how we manage mindset, mood, focus, adaptability, equanimity, etc. All these inputs directly affect our energy—an often compartmentalized resource when it comes to running a business.
If a business is a system for adding value to the lives of customers, it’s ultimately the entrepreneur and their runway of energy that fuels the ability to create that value.
Energy is a resource we can manage and direct
Energy can be a nebulous word. We use it to describe what’s left of our physical or social battery, how attractive or off putting someone’s vibe is, the invisible stuff that flows through various channels in our body and the mental boost we hope for in that extra cup of coffee.
Technically speaking, energy, specifically bioenergetics, is the scientific study of how energy transforms within the body. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy currency of our cells i.e., our main source for storing and transferring energy.
Governed by the law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created nor destroyed; only converted from one form to another. What begins as food is converted, stored and utilized as the fuel for every action in our lives.
When I’ve had one of those Tyson-knock-down, everyone has a plan ‘til, days, a phrase from my father when I was young comes to me.
He would come home, his massive shoulders slumped, burdened as if carrying the world on his shoulders. Technically, as a diplomat, he was—but my underdeveloped brain couldn’t comprehend the scope of his work.
So, I’d cheerfully ask, “What happened papadoodie?”
He’d sigh while taking off his shoes by the door, then say, “Well honey, today I’ve had a catastrophic loss of qi.” Then he’d muster a chuckle and shift perspective to be fully at home.
In entrepreneurship, it’s easy to get blindsided by the unexpected, and that can easily knock down an already tired body. Understanding how to manage and direct your energy is key to not only mastering the inner game of entrepreneurship, but navigating our personal lives with more fulfillment and ease.
Mastering the inner game of entrepreneurship means mastering energy
Finding the capacity to do more, hold more and release more without breaking (fight), collapsing (flee), or “I’m fine-ing” (fawn) isn’t the current experience of many entrepreneurs, but it could be.
Anyone committed to a path of mastery knows that a simplified plan doesn’t make it easier. Just more simple to approach and sustain for those willing to put in the work.Amena Schlaikjer
With an energy runway that’s as thoughtfully resourced as our financial runway, simple and effective daily habits reduce the need to conform to hustle culture and provides the basis for your own personalized inner operating system (innerOS).
5 daily habits to boost vitality
- Eliminate unnecessary distractions in your environment. Environments shape our brains and bodies and can provide the conditions for greater control. Something as simple as putting your phone out of reach can help de-stimulate your workspace.
- Harness the power of focused attention. Mental focus follows visual focus and what gets our attention gets our awareness. Try blocking your calendar with a start and end of day chunk of time for email and other administrative tasks. Then, schedule additional blocks of time to complete blocks single-focused tasks e.g. 90 minutes to create a pitch deck. Train your focus for that entire time (grit through fidgets) and schedule 20 minute breaks in between tasks to disengage your executive function and replenish dopamine.
- Fine tune your sensory responses. Becoming more aware of the gap between an external trigger and internal reaction creates space for a more skillful response to circumstances in life and business. Start your day with a 5-minute centering practice exposed to sunlight to tune your senses. Hold soft focus on the eyes and intentionally slow your breathing.
- Breath deep to shift your nervous system response. Breath work is the fail-safe tool for regaining composure, regulating emotions and better responding to challenges. At the end of your work day, take your 10 slowests breaths of the day to restore balance to your body and nervous system.
- Find your flow by increasing your capacity for grit and rest. There’s the daily energy required to work long hours, keep morale high, and sustain focus on important tasks. And there’s also that “catastrophic loss of qi” when we receive bad news, feel disempowered, confused, blindsided – or become the recipient of any number of triggers that crumble one’s internal state. High performance in business may require more work, but it also requires more recovery, especially in moments where we need to perform under pressure.
Anyone committed to a path of mastery knows that a simplified plan doesn’t make it easier. Just more simple to approach and sustain for those willing to put in the work. This work needs to be a regular occurrence, given the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship, and quite frankly, life.
The momentary distancing tactics of avoidance, retail therapy or jumping onto the wellness fad of the day don’t create the resiliency we need to play the long game in business. By treating the energy runway as more than an afterthought, entrepreneurs can begin to navigate the ups and downs of business more reliably and more meaningfully.