Energy trumps everything
31 days ago, I declared an experiment; thanks to the suggestion of my friend Richard Brisebois, I would write an essay every day for the month of October.
This is essay number 31. Success!
One of the themes weaved through many of the essays is the idea that your energy matters more than your time. For people like me for whom discipline is not a reliable productivity tool, keeping energy and enthusiasm high is key to making continuous progress.
This idea resonated with many, so for my final October essay, I thought I would share another opinion in this domain... which I suspect may be more controversial.
The question I posed earlier this month was "if you had to get something done, would you prefer to have lots of time, but very little energy; or lots of energy, but very little time?", and almost universally people indicated that energy was more important. Obviously, I agree.
How about this, then...
Are you more likely to get a good result with a great strategy executed with very little energy, or an average strategy executed with lots of energy?
What do you think?
Again, I think energy is key. Which is not to say that I think strategy is overrated; far from it in fact. I think strategic thinking deserves deep critical consideration. If two equally energetic people tackle a problem and one has devised a superior strategy, in the majority of cases that person will be the victor.
Further to that, as the superior strategy starts to take effect, the satisfaction and confidence gained from the process often leads to an increase in energy as well, which accelerates the gains even further.
Good strategy is definitely important. Energy more so.
My October experiment has been a huge success. My email list has grown by about fifty percent (from "not that many" to "a bit more than that" 😂... but the shape of the curve is very encouraging). I've developed lots of good ideas and expanded my IP. I've heard many wonderful stories from peeps in my network, and had the chance to understand their perspective. I'm in closer contact with potential clients. My network on LinkedIn has expanded quite a bit. Finally, the essays have generated a few conversations that have lead to paid engagements.
For all these positive outcomes, during October I have not been executing the perfect strategy. Let's quickly brainstorm a list of ways it could have been better:
I could have dedicated the entire month to a single topic, which would have more effectively positioned my expertise into the minds of my audience.
I could have sent my essays out earlier in the day in order to try to increase read-rates.
I could have tracked the effect of the time of day on read rates to optimise readership.
I could have A/B tested subject lines to get higher click rates.
I could have written essays with topics more consciously designed to generate paid work.
The list could go on. Each of the ideas above are an improvement on the strategy I actually executed, but... even thinking about them makes my energy deflate. I can feel my shoulders droop when I imagine putting them into practice.
I think it's entirely possible that by trying to execute my October experiment with one or more of these changes, I would have lost momentum and found myself only 99% committed...
Energy trumps strategy. If you want to get shit done, energy trumps everything.
Whatever your role (but especially if you’re a solopreneur whose income is tied directly to your creative output), I think learning to manage your energy (which starts with awareness) is of prime importance.