I just wrote this, and the term that has come to mind is “bottle episode” – you know, when a sitcom has to curb spending, like the classic Friends episode “The One Where Nobody is Ready.” I’ll be honest, we ain’t straying too far from the apartment….
I read somewhere once something along the lines of (impressively vague and oh my god, Grammarly hates that sentence opening) that when you write about a topic, eventually, you think you are some kind of lifestyle coach or guru and drift out of your lane into pontificating in an area you have no qualifications.
Fortunately, I have plenty of experience doing that writing about marketing, so here goes.
Productivity gurus and those types talk a lot about the fact that there is only a certain number of minutes in the day, and we all have the same number.
We must spend this precious resource wisely, guard it, and plan its use.
I am starting to think it’s the same with energy, or maybe it’s “focus,” that we only have a certain capacity for the general stuff of the day; at some point, the lights go out, and while I have time, I am staring at the screen, maybe scrolling LinkedIn.
Present, but not a lot of anything is really happening.
I don’t mean you, I mean me, thank you for reading 🙂
We need to plan when we do certain activities and when we have that energy, and maybe we should guard that energy spend it like our time.
I had a nice example of this recently, a client recently moved a meeting to the morning from the afternoon. We needed to do some joint creative planning, and he was self-aware enough to feel he would be sharper in the morning for this task than in the late afternoon slot we had planned.
So far, we need time and energy, so standard lifestyle guru fayre.
Yoda Trussy in the house; time and energy you must have.
Please Grammarly, leave it alone, I am writing like Yoda.
A couple of weeks ago, I was also asked how I do this Tuesday 2¢ every week, have the ideas, and get it done. Of course, I also have a weekly Rockstar CMO newsletter and podcast.
Sometimes, I have to skip either this column or the newsletter.
Why?
Most people assume this is about time, and I sometimes blame time, but when I look at how I spent my Tuesday time and energy, it’s a third wave I need to ride to bring this puppy home.
Inspiration.
A couple of weeks ago, I pretty much wrote a whole newsletter issue. I was low on all three, and it was…. well… a bit shit… so I didn’t publish.
Inspiration and energy trump time because they give you the life force that is flow.
Yeah, I said life force.
When you are in flow, you are going to spend time like a drunk in a casino; it’s 6am before you know it.
So, manage time, yes, and manage energy, true, but when inspiration and flow come, just hope it’s still Tuesday….
And like wanker you do not sound. 🙂
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I’m a 3xCMO, now a marketing strategy advisor and podcast host at Rockstar CMO. Although, I’m not a rock star, but a marketing leader, strategist, content marketer, columnist, speaker, industry watcher, and creator of ART (Awareness, Revenue, and Trust) for the companies I work with. But most of all, I am an enthusiastic tea drinker.
You can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or now Threads! – or listen to my weekly podcast at Rockstarcmo.com
The half-baked thoughts shared on this blog may not reflect those of my employer or clients, and if the topic of this article is interesting or you just want to say hello please get in touch.