When I was 22, I remember sleeping at 4am after a workout, waking up at 8am, working till 5pm and hitting shoulders the same day. My responsibilities were low, and energy felt limitless. At 29, there's a lot more to do. I feel great, but I'm a lot more strategic about my effort and hours.

Some days were an uphill battle and when the going got rough, the gym gave me answers.

Ever looked at your life like a Drop Set? 

It’s a weightlifting technique where you:

1. lift heavy till failure

2. drop the weight ~20%

3. keep lifting

4. repeat

By that logic, you’re prioritising what requires most energy in descending order. 

Set 1: Grind

For example, my first set is learning new skills or making talking head videos. It's usually something you're new to, which takes more time and energy to get right.

That said, it is subjective, but it should be challenging enough that you know will benefit you in the long run despite it being a pain in the ass. Based on personal experience, there are two ways to practice this and it's when you want to: a) cultivate a new habit or b) complete a tough/important task before any distractions kick in.

Set 2: Groove

The second set should be familiar — it is necessary and doable. I'd split this into 2 parts: personal and professional. This ranges between a daily chore to a weekly client meeting.

Daily chores being anything that keeps you in check with reality: a grocery run, a 5K run or a snack run. These are things that keep you functioning as a human being. You get the drift. The second part pays the bills and is usually related to your skill set. As a creative professional, that looks like creating brand designs, updating a website, editing videos or managing projects. To each their own.

Set 3: Flow

The last set is what comes to you naturally. It's something you find yourself doing inevitably on a Friday night even if you had the option of slacking off. It’s what feels like work to others, but is play to you.

Of course it still requires energy, and man, does it tread the thin line of peaceful struggle and quiet suffering at times. And yet, you enjoy doing it so much that you don’t feel tired and wish you could do more. Hours go by without you noticing as you find yourself saying "wow, I've still got so much energy."

This technique has gotten me many energy humps over the years so if you “don’t have enough energy,” try it out. I hope it helps. Until then, peace out.