Working Intuitively to Transform Your Life

Brand Strategy

May 9

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The Power of Working Around Your Energy

I want to share a story from a few years ago when I was still new to helping other creatives work around their energy, I hadn’t even started my Intuitive Work Schedule 1:1 yet, but I was always helping my clients and friends learn how to work around their energy.

Working Intuitively to Transform Your Life

A friend of mine who was new to self employment was struggling to find a schedule or routine that fit her new way of life. She kept wanting to lean into the old habit of working from 9-5 and then feeling guilty that she wasn’t feeling creative or productive during that time. But she kept pushing through because isn’t that WHEN and HOW we’re supposed to be working? Finally one day while we were talking she asked me what my work schedule looks like and how I created my routines and that’s when I told her that I work around my energy.

During that initial conversation I remember telling her that as a work from home self employed mom I can’t afford to be burnt out from over working myself especially when my kids need me, and I want to be able to enjoy our time together rather than feel drained every time they want my attention.

We talked for hours about how it was ok to work when you had the energy to vs when you thought you had to. I asked her what her ideal work day looked like and she pretty much said that she wants to feel free during the day, because most of her creative energy comes at night.

At this point I’d worked with enough self employed creatives to understand why their creative energy is at night. Something every new entrepreneur has shared with me is that they feel guilty – like they should be working all day – so they force themselves to work even if they don’t have the energy and then randomly late at night this boost of creative energy or inspiration hits so they start working again, and then their whole day is shot because they worked ALL day. Then the next day is ruined because they’re too tired or exhausted, but they’re new to this and in charge of creating their income so they do it again, and again until finally they burnout and they’re not able to work for a week or two OR finding energy to try and come back is nearly impossible because they’re depleted, they’ve been working in negative energy, they have this weird sense of guilt towards social media for not showing up and now that’s holding them back even more from showing up and this sense of overwhelm is just too much!

Does this sound familiar?

There’s so many different reasons you feel like this or choose to work like this but the core reason you can’t seem to stop working in this cycle is because you are working in negative energy. You aren’t listening to your intuition, you’re not allowing your body to reset & rest, and you’re continuing this cycle because we were taught to work this way since our first day of kindergarten.

This was my friend, and it wasn’t until our conversation that she felt like she had the permission she needed in order to work when she wanted to. So if you are feeling this way, here’s your sign that you don’t have to and there’s an alternative way to working.

This is where working around your energy comes into play. Why working intuitively and understanding what your body, mind and emotions are trying to tell you.

How to work intuitively

Intuition is when you know or understand something instinctively. There’s no rhymn or reason, you just know. It's that gut feeling that we all experience from time to time. And while intuition is often associated with personal things like relationships or decision-making, it is also your most valuable asset in the workplace.

Working intuitively is when you let your intuition lead you throughout your work day. It’s listening to your inner guidance and being in tune with your core self – your energy, thoughts and internal cues.

When you work intuitively you’re working in positive energy because you’re constantly working around your different moods & energy cycles and never working beyond your energy. This means you are working around your body’s natural rhythm.

Do you know how your moods & energy towards work change based off of what season it is? Like winter time, people tend to fall into a seasonal depression depending on location or mental health, or during the summer people want to spend more time outside and be more active. These are seasonal mood & energy cycles. We also have daily & weekly energy cycles that we go through. Just like the seasonal shifts, you can preemptively guess what kind of work mood you’re going to be in every day of the week and every week of the month. So when you work intuitively you can unlock & design natural routines for yourself that ACTUALLY stick to, and that ACTUALLY tap into your creative flow.

Listening to your intuition can truly transform your life, help you make better decisions, find creative solutions, and navigate challenging situations based off of your values, who you are, and what you want your future to look like.

Benefits of Working Around Your Energy:

Working intuitively can lead to greater creativity and innovation. When you’re working from a place of intuition, you’re working in positive energy. When you work in positive energy you are more likely to come up with unique ideas and approaches that we may not have considered otherwise. This is because we're not limiting ourselves to the same old thought patterns and logical reasoning that we usually rely on. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, creativity is freedom – the more free you feel, the more creative you feel.

When you listen to your intuition while you work, it can lead to better decision-making because you aren’t second guessing yourself, the decision sits right with you, it’s based off you – not what others think you should be doing.

On top of that, your intuition can provide you with insights & guidance that you may not be able to access through rational thinking alone. Here’s why… did you know that listening to your intuition uses the right side of your brain which is also the creative artistic side of the brain? Did you know that it can take an average of 23 minutes to recover from context shifting, meaning when you jump between tasks, concepts or ideas it can take you around 23 minutes to recover or find you flow state again? Usually this refers to when people are trying to multitask or when they get interrupted while working. This recovery time is even longer when your context shift involves switching from using you creative side of your brain to your analytical side of the brain. When you try to get a little bit of everything done in one work session not only are you trying to multitask, but you are willingly interrupting your creative switching from using your creative side of the to trying to use the analytical side of your brain.

The less dramatic the context shift is when you are trying to work the less time it takes to recover and find your creative flow again. This is why understanding your daily energy & moods can help you create a schedule for yourself, and allow you to align your days with a theme to avoid exhaustion from context shifting.

Studies have shown that frequent & abrupt context shifting can lead to decreased productivity, increased stress, and cognitive fatigue. It can also make it harder to maintain focus, prioritize tasks, and retain information, as the brain has to constantly adjust to new stimuli & demands. This is what it looks like to be working in negative energy, and negative energy can lead to imposter syndrome, limiting beliefs, and lack of confidence.

Knowing this, doesn’t it make more sense as creatives to listen to our intuition vs our analytical side of our brain when we are working to help avoid over thinking & second guessing, to help avoid dramatic context shifting, and to help us avoid the inevitable creative rut that comes with feeling stressed or experiencing imposter syndrome?

The more you tap into your creativity the more you’ll be able to tap into your intuition. The more you listen to your intuition the more you’ll be able to tap into your creativity. This can lead to increased confidence, better time management, and can help you make decisions that are aligned with your values, goals, and priorities, and ultimately lead to better outcomes. It allows our brains to stay on one topic and keep the rhythm & momentum going. It’s how we work in positive energy and avoid burning out.

The last thing that I want to mention is that, working intuitively and working around your energy allows you to connect with yourself and others on a deeper level. It gives you more energetic space for people, and allow you to understand what boundaries you need in order to keep respecting your energetic shifts. This is extremely important for when you are working with clients directly or when you are creating content about your business. Because everything we do takes energy, and if you are working intuitively you are infusing everything you create with positive energy. Your clients and customers can sense it.

I told you in the beginning of this blog that this is my favorite topic to talk about, but I don’t want to just leave you with me bragging about it, I want you to start implementing it yourself today. If you don’t know where to start, start by paying attention to your gut feelings and instincts, and see how they can guide you in your work. I want you to really pay attention to when you like to work and how you like to work. Then I want you to practice respecting your energy and never working beyond it. That means listening to your body when you need a break or when you need water so you can get better at tapping into your intuition. And finally I want you to start trusting yourself again. The more you trust yourself, the louder your instincts will get.

If you’re looking for more in depth help or want to know more about this, I have so many resources talking about how to work around your energy and work intuitively, but if you’re serious about transforming your life, I encourage you to check out my Live Work Intuitively Masterclass.