How to Leverage Time and Energy

• Why Focusing on Energy Matters
  Heather discusses the common pitfalls of focusing solely on time management and why energy is a more sustainable approach.
• Identifying Energy Drains
  Practical examples of daily habits that drain energy, like doomscrolling and binge-watching, and how to recognise them.
• Shifting to an Energy-First Mindset
  Heather shares strategies to prioritize high-energy activities and avoid burnout.
• Building a Sustainable Routine
  Tips on structuring your day to maintain energy levels and maximise productivity.

“Time might be finite, but our energy is renewable. The key is learning how to manage it.”

“When you align your energy with your values, every moment becomes more productive and meaningful.”

“Most people think they need more time, but what they really need is to protect and replenish their energy.”

“Burnout happens when we spend our energy on things that don’t fulfil us. Real productivity comes from saying yes to what matters.”

“Your energy is your greatest asset. Guard it fiercely, and invest it in things that bring you joy and purpose.”

ANNE RAJOO

So many productivity experts and gurus tell you that time is our most valuable resource. Well, I think it’s energy. Energy is our most valuable resource. So, have you ever crashed on the sofa after a long day feeling totally depleted with no energy left, and out of all the productive things you could do or you had planned to do, you end up binge-watching Netflix or scrolling social media. When I’ve done it all, I’ve definitely crushed on the sofa many times and fell asleep exhausted. Well, I can’t think of anyone better than today’s guest to talk about time and energy, and I’m thrilled to have Heather show wine on the podcast. Heather teaches ambitious women raising children how to feel alive so they can create more profit. And profit for Heather is time, money and energy. 

Welcome to the peaceful productivity pod. I’m your host, Anne Rajoo, and together we redefine productivity and find your sleep spot where to performance meets happiness. 

A few years ago, in my dark over exceeding, pushing hard days of productivity, I felt chattered. Every single day, I dragged myself to my desk, worked like a maniac, skipped meals, drowned cups and cups of coffee, munching on biscuits and all sorts of little snacks.

And I thought the harder I worked, the faster I would get the results I was looking for. But my energy and my health were at an all-time low. I had chronic inflammation, I started loosing my hair. And I’m not a doctor, but I honestly think it was because of the stress and the burnout I was experiencing then. But I kept pushing. I thought, just push a little harder, do a little more work, and you’ll get to the breakthrough that you’re looking for until I had a total breakdown. And obviously, there’s always a breakdown before there is a breakthrough. But I was done. I didn’t recognize myself any longer. I was constantly snapping at my kids, and my husband and I just felt really awful in my own skin, and I felt just so tired. I was feeling really frustrated, having worked my socks off, managing my time, squeezing out every minute of the day and working and producing. And doing all the things that I thought I should be doing productive, and I was highly productive. I just didn’t get to where I wanted to be. I eventually resented my work, didn’t enjoy what I was doing, and it was just really painful. It was a really, really unpleasant time in my life and in my business. And a long story short, I completely stripped it back. I re-focused on what truly mattered to me, choosing the things that I love working on, but also the things that align with my values, my vision and my goals, the things that would truly drive me forward. I can honestly say that the guest today, Heather Chauvin has been an inspiration and teacher along the way. And when I first connected with Heather, I was hosting an online Summit, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. She’s got an incredible podcast. It’s called Emotionally Uncomfortable, and she’s she has a great, great Instagram profile, which is the two things that when I indulge in, you know, in content consumption, it’s where I tend to go. So check it out. In the last episode. Well, the very first episode of the Peaceful Productivity Pod, I have Tracy Harris, and we already touched on the importance of prioritizing those crucial, essential actions and focusing on the impactful tasks rather than the busy work. And today, we’ll dive a little bit deeper into this topic with Heather. I really love Heather’s signature question, which is, “How do you want to feel?” And I think that’s a truly powerful question when it comes to being peacefully productive. So Heather will share insights on how to build self-trust and ensure that our efforts are directed to the truly meaningful outcomes. So let’s hear it. 

HEATHER CHAUVIN

I never wanted to actually be a business owner. I used to be a social worker, and I found that, you know, then I had this like strong desire to make an impact in the world, that I was also struggling at home, parenting my children and I had the formal education, and yet still felt like I was failing. So when I started working, I was still working my corporate job, and then I started working, or started working my side business. I was investing in myself and coaches, and I remember thinking, I don’t have a lot of time, right, so I have to use it wisely. It wasn’t until post cancer, so I had stage four cancer. It’s really shifted how I showing up in my business and my life, and I realized that time is one of those resources that we do not get more of, like we have 24 hours in a day. It’s not guaranteed how long you’re going to be on this earth. Money, even though everyone has crazy limiting beliefs around like, there’s so many stories around money and energy, we have stories around everything but money. You can actually make more of right if I needed money right now, I could probably look around my house and sell something, and I can get more of it. And energy is the same thing. I can conserve my energy. I could change my food habit, look at my energy leaks, and I can create more energy. 

Highest leverage action to me was, what is that one? You know, one action or two actions I need to take consistently or today to get where I want to be. Oftentimes, when I’m working with women, what I hear a lot is, I’m overwhelmed. I’m overwhelmed. There’s so much on my to do list, like, okay, brain dump your to do list. What is that one thing that is going to allow you to get moving, get ahead. It’s not everything on that list. When we’re leveraging action and we’re just getting to the point and moving quicker, that’s when we start to feel in alignment in our lives, because we are addicted to busy. And if we start to pull back the layers of, why am I stopping myself? How am I getting in my own way, you begin to realize we’re actually terrified of what we’re capable of. 

ANNE RAJOO

I like that. That’s an interesting way of seeing it. But yeah, I guess it is. It’s always easy to just wander around. The word procrastination comes to mind.

But how can I actually really go about choosing that one or two or three things? And I tell you, you should be doing it like should be doing that. How do I know what I should be doing? 

HEATHER CHAUVIN 

Yeah so, being mindful that are we taking action from expectations what everyone else thinks we need to do or are we taking action from what I need to do? That is a tricky question to ask because as women, we’re taught not to trust ourselves. We have to really listen. And an example of this is, this morning I was headed on my calendar and.I’m using air quotes to do yoga at 6:30 on Zoom, I am I’ve started changing up my physical routine. And you know, I can do it all and I can burn out like you can still burn out when you are doing your physical, mental, emotional, like you don’t have to eat it all and do it all at once. So I chose not to attend yoga this morning, instead work out and actually, just like, took my time getting out of bed. And the yoga teacher was saying to me, you know, if you’re not disciplined, blah, blah, blah, and like, trying to, like, make me feel bad for not attending. It didn’t trigger me, because I was like, I trust myself. I know that this wasn’t self-sabotage or procrastination because one step one is you have to get clear on your life vision. You have to get clear on what you want, not what someone else is telling you that you want. 

And even, I mean, we’re in the wellness space. In the coaching world, it’s like, oh, my six-step process to how I made a million dollars, or how I, you know, do things so effortlessly. You know, behind closed doors, when you’re talking to those leaders and coaches, they’re not practicing what they preach. And it’s not always you know, we’re supposed to feel uncomfortable, and we have to feel the discomfort in order to grow. So number one, it’s getting clear on what you want personally and professionally. And sometimes I think we have the big vision. I want to make a million dollars in my business. Great, but you have, you haven’t even had one client yet right now, we have to pare it down. Oh, I need, I need to make a I need to make a website. Awesome. What are you to put on that website? Have you even talked to your potential target market? And so when I’m working with my clients in one of my business programs, its really helping them make money now, like make money now, not 10 years from now, not five years from now. And what I often find is our mind is the thing that gets in the way our belief systems around this is supposed to be hard. You know, I grew up that, you know, I watched my mother, and she was chronically fatigued, and she was angry and resentful, working hard to me losing connection with my family, and I don’t want that, therefore I’m going to busy myself to actually avoid getting what I want. 

So one, get clear on what you want, and two, you know the answer. Bring up everything that you need to do. And then ask yourself honestly, what is the one thing don’t become emotionally attached to the Action Step? Ask yourself, what is that one thing I need to do that is going to move me forward quicker? And then when your big emotions come up and you’re scared, then you work through that with the tools that you have. 

ANNE RAJOO

Okay. So, as we wrap up today’s episode with Heather Chauvin, let’s reflect on the insights she shared, I would love for you to make a commitment today to prioritize your mental and physical health, not like me, work yourself to the ground with health issues and turning into a zombie or someone who is just not very pleasant to be around. We want to work smarter, not harder, and doing more does not equate to productivity, so we’ve got to reclaim our time and energy. When today, you decide what you will work on, I would love for you to really take a second or a minute to consider, how does this task matter, and how does it align with the real impact you want to create? So check in the work you’re planning to do today. Is it in alignment? Is it that impactful task that will get you further, or is it just easy work that you’re taking off to off your to do this. 

So, I hope you really enjoyed this episode today. You took something interesting and insightful away from it, and if you want to get started with peaceful productivity, but you’re not quite sure where to start, where to focus on first, I’ve got the Wheel of Peaceful Productivity, which is a simple download, and it really is a tool that helps you to figure out what’s the best best place to start. So if you want that PDF, the link will be in the show notes. Also reach out to me on Instagram. Send me a message at underscore, and you underscore, and I’ll send you the PDF over. And of course, I would love for you to leave a review on the peaceful productivity part. Help us to get in front of more women who want to change the way they work, who want to be peacefully productive, leave a review, share with a friend, and I really appreciate your support and come back next time. 

Our next episode will be with Courtney Elmer, and we will talk about breaking free from burnout success without sacrificing well being, and Courtney will share how to cultivate a sustainable approach to success. While living with more ease, don’t forget to come back next time. Be peacefully productive, and catch up with you soon.