Mark and I had the same metal shower caddy for years. You know, the kind that loops over your shower head to hold the shampoo, conditioner, razor etc?
Without fail, about once a month this thing would slide off the shower spout and CRASH DOWN- erupting in broken shampoo bottles, me screaming from the shock of the loudest noise of all time, and both of us cursing that it had happened AGAIN. Not only that, but every time I got in the shower I looked at the caddy and said to myself “Ugh. I have to replace this damn thing.” Every. Day. I would think about it. Just for a SECOND – but every day.
I never did anything about it because it was something minor I would get to *one day*. And then…
My Life Was Changed
Holy sh*t, you guys.
I had no awareness of the MENTAL ENERGY being sucked out of me by that damn shower caddy. IT HUNG OVER ME. The irritated energy was there and made me unconsciously tense every time I took a shower.
Not only that, it was a constant running item in my mental to-do list.
It was an energy thief (until the day I finally bought THIS which is 10000x chicer and has never fallen.)
It gave me a major a-ha moment.
How many other “minor” things in my life are mini energy sucks throughout my day? Minor, but annoying and cause me to shift focus, lose productivity and keep me in an undercurrent of low-level tension?
What is an Energy Thief?
Anything that adds stress or sucks energy from your life on a regular basis, no matter how minor. The low-level daily annoyances we tend to put-off.
- Things you consistently have trouble finding
- Things that are always sitting out because they don’t have designated place
- The song that comes on when you start your car that you don’t even like
- The lightbulb that’s out
- The thing you keep meaning to buy/replace/sell
- The password you always forget
- The bill you always forget to pay
These things add up. We become used to their irritation and don’t notice the toll on our energy or productivity. If we are to live our biggest, best, most meaningful lives we need to intentionally allocate our energy. We can’t waste energy we could instead use to build businesses, chase dreams or get creative. Especially on minor BS that we can handle easily when we face it head on.
Putting these things off is actually a symptom of a perfectionist mindset. Sometimes we keep ourselves in a feeling of overwhelm to have an excuse as to why we can’t put our all into our dreams. Because if we do give our all to our dreams, we open ourselves to the possibility of failure and that’s scary. Instead we tell ourselves we can’t max out our creativity, productivity etc because we have “too much to do.”
How to Eliminate Energy Thieves and Maximize Productivity
Once a month, do a brain dump (write down) anything and everything on your mind you’ve been putting off. Pick a day or two that week which you will dedicate to clearing each of these items off your plate. My sister in law calls this a “face-it” day.
Sometimes it’s hard to identify these when you aren’t in-the-moment, so add anything to the list as it comes up in your life, or pre-list for your next “face-it” day. The key is, you HAVE to pick a day to get it all done in so it doesn’t keep getting pushed off. Focus ONLY on these minor things that seem to small to make it to the regular to-do list we have.
Additionally, make a mantra to support a shift your identity so face-it days become less necessary. Every time you come across something you need to face, tell yourself “I’m the type of person that handles things immediately.” If you’re able to do it in that moment, DO IT. If not, immediately add it to the face-it list and pick a date to handle it no later than a week out.
I hope this concept is as helpful to you as it was to me! I’m usually surprised by what I can do on the spot now that I’m aware of the energy thieves. I get protective like, oh no you will NOT steal my energy!
Xx,
