Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time

Surround yourself with better people: Joy Ride vol 18

On Tuesday we borrowed a water metaphor from Travis Kelce’s high school football coach (more geysers, less gutters) and discussed how “ten minutes a day” is a strategy to manage our energy, not our time.

Another thing that helps us manage our energy is getting rid of what Julia Cameron calls “crazymakers.” She defines crazymakers as people who drain the life force out of you. They are, she says, expert blamers, hate schedules, triangulate, jealous, and expect special treatment.

In other words, drama.

“Often larger than life, they acquire that status by feeding on the life energies of those around them.” - The Artist’s Way

If you have crazymakers in your life, you will notice that a majority of the time you set aside for creative work goes into managing crazymaker drama.

Always chaotic, last minute, and, somehow, always someone else’s fault - they deplete us. Managing their crises, mood swings, and neediness becomes a full-time job. It takes a while to notice how they elicit our sympathy, but offer nothing in return.

One way to protect your energy is to practice saying no to these people.

The easier way is to fill your life with people who respect your creativity. These are the people who reinvigorate our drive, encourage our creative ambitions, and support us on the days we feel like quitting.

If you feel guilty about your dreams, self-conscious about your idea, or embarrassed about your output - you’re spending time around the wrong people. 

Crazymakers drain you of your energy. 

Creative allies fill your energy bucket back up. 

Surround yourself with them. 

You’ll be shocked at how much time you have as a result.

We have your creative allies

Work on the creative projects you care about with people who get as excited about your ideas as you do. Brainstorm Road is a creative community for everyday people with dream projects. We have kids, day jobs, and adult responsibilities. We also have dreams. Brainstorm Road is where we work on them.

Learn more about membership here.

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When you become a paid Substack subscriber, you’ll get new daily writing prompts each month, in addition to monthly meet-ups (on Zoom) and exclusive High Five Friday threads where you can meet people who will encourage your creative pursuits and celebrate what you got done that week.

Our very first thread just went live for paid subscribers and we’d love to have you join the conversation.