Is Your Business Draining Your Energy? How to Spot & Overcome Energy Leaks

I remember feeling a soul crushing amount of guilt the year my dad passed. I was struggling financially, two years into my divorce and trying to navigate supporting us as a new business owner with no additional support, knowing I needed to do more in order to get my head above water. I remember looking at my 3 year old’s tablet and seeing that for the past couple weeks he had been averaging 9 hours per day on his tablet. 😵‍💫

When I say I felt like the worst mom in the world… It is a massive understatement. 

I was trying my best to work on client work throughout the day, amidst deep grief, and yet none of my work was effective. It often spread into the late night hours after I put my kiddo to bed, and I’d wake up in the morning, completely exhausted, trying to do it all over again. Between the crushing guilt of what I “should” be doing better, and the facts of my life at the time (single mom, new business owner, grieving, financially strapped) my nervous system was depleted and dysregulated to the max. I needed more clients, but day after day, I wasn’t taking the actions I knew I needed to do in order to create those clients. 

This was one of those “something’s got to give” kind of moments that leads to an epic surrender. Typically it takes a surrender of that magnitude to shift what needs shifting and create a big change. 

Thankfully I had an incredible, loving support system to hold me through that challenging time. I won’t forget when a dear friend pointed out to me that sometimes there are seasons in which we have to let things not be perfect. Of course if I was speaking to someone else, I would have done the same, but as is often the case, I didn’t have the same level of compassion for myself. 

Once I was able to hear that message, I realized that the most productive thing I might be able to do would be to prioritize my rest and recharging. It felt like a terrifying leap of faith at the time to sacrifice some potential work hours in exchange for going to bed early, but it was only a couple weeks before I started to see tangible benefits and my capacity started to increase. 

“Dress me slowly, I'm in a hurry” Napoleon Bonaparte

Maybe this sounds familiar... You’ve built a successful business, your income is consistent, and from the outside, everything looks perfect. Yet, you feel overwhelmed, spread thin, and on the brink of burnout. Sound familiar? I’ve found myself in this space a few times over the course of my business, juggling too many tasks, feeling guilty or ashamed of what I’m not doing, and constantly putting out fires. Each time I’ve found myself here, the answer has lied in identifying the energy leaks in my business and life in order to reclaim my time, focus, and sanity. 

Table of Contents:

• Business Operations Energy Leaks
• Mindset and Wellbeing Energy Leaks
• Here Are My Top Tips for Overcoming Energy Leaks

Let’s dive into the sneaky culprits draining your energy and how to plug those leaks for good!

Business Operations Energy Leaks

Financial

When it comes to increasing our income, often there is a TON of baggage that goes along with traveling that path. Money mindset is a massive and incredibly important topic of it’s own, but in terms of looking at it as an energy leak issue, there are a few things that are important to consider. 

Do you feel like money slips through your fingers the moment it comes in? Maybe you believe that you're not a good steward of your finances. You might find yourself spending or investing more money than you make or allowing your expenses to rise with your income. Does it seem like every time you get a financial win, an unexpected bill comes out of nowhere to knock you down? These are classic signs of financial energy leaks. It’s time to start tracking your spending, setting a budget, and most importantly, believing that you can manage your money well.

Client Delivery

I used to never use contracts when I worked with clients. I found them to be complex and they brought up weird feelings for me around feeling guilty to expect people to commit to “rules” for working together… kinda like the messiness that can sometimes arise when one member of an engaged couple asks for a prenup and the other is caught off guard, wondering if the person doesn’t trust them, or doesn’t see it as a relationship that’s going to last. I know this is silly, but most of my clients have been friends, or referred to be by friends, and I just always felt a bit weird about requiring contracts. Mostly this hasn’t been an issue, because I truly have always worked with incredible people, however on a couple occasions, I found myself spending WAYYYYY more time than expected on a project due to an extensive amount of client requested edits, or allowing a project to continue on for far longer than needed due to not having clear expectations on what I needed from my client in order to complete the job in a timely manner. 

Are you the go-to person for your clients at all hours? Do your client calls consistently run over time, or do you find yourself doing work outside your expertise just to keep them happy? These habits can drain your energy faster than you can say “scope creep.” Establishing clear boundaries is vital to helping you reclaim your time and energy. Remember, it’s okay to say no and set limits—it actually helps you be more effective and serve your clients in a bigger way.

When I find myself wanting to do more because it feels like “more” will prove my value, I think about my therapist, who I’ve been seeing for 5 years and trust with my most profound challenges. I have texted her outside of session hours maybe 3 times during our time together, and during the times when I’ve had more space between sessions that I would have liked, I’ve actually learned to rely on myself more than I might have if I thought I could just involve her at every little thing that would come up. With coaching, often the benefit is in the support in between sessions, yet the truth is, there is value in between the support as well. 

Logistical Energy Leaks

You might have the ambition to grow your business, but if your infrastructure isn’t set up to support that growth, it can create a significant energy drain. Does this sound familiar? You want more clients, but your current workload is overwhelming, leading you to spiral into a state of inaction. It’s like all the lottery winners that have lived in poverty all their life and then spend it all within a few short years because they’re nervous system wasn’t prepared to handle that level of money. Or like wanting to run a marathon with no training plan in place. The antidote for this is to create systems and processes that support your desired growth. Whether it’s better time management, investing in software, or even hiring help, make sure your business can handle the reality you want to create.

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Business Busywork

This is the sneakiest energy leak of all because it often feels like productivity. Are you endlessly scrolling through social media without a clear purpose, thinking you’re engaging for your business but really you’ve scrolled for 40 minutes and forgot what you were there for after the 11th cat reel? Just me? 🤦‍♀️ 

How about consuming content to learn what you likely already know? If you’ve ever found yourself watching 3 YouTube videos in order to prepare yourself for a task (like writing your newsletter) or perhaps buying a course on the topic, rather than just allowing yourself to do it messy, you know what I mean. If you’re like most online entrepreneurs, you’ve most likely spent enough hours to learn about business as it would take to get a degree in a field of business expertise. 

Or maybe you’re constantly tweaking your website or creating new opt-ins instead of focusing on lead generation. These activities might feel productive, but they’re often just business busywork. It’s important to get clear on your intention in order to determine which tasks to focus on that directly contribute to your business goals and be mindful of how you spend your time.

Mindset and Wellbeing Energy Leaks

Mental Energy

Is there something in your personal life that’s consuming your thoughts? Maybe a disagreement with a loved one or an unresolved issue that's always on your mind. Or perhaps you have a tendency to overcommit, saying “yes” to too many projects, leaving you frazzled and unfocused. These mental energy leaks can significantly impact your productivity. Start by identifying these mental distractions and creating a plan to address them. And learn to say “no” more often—your future self will thank you.

Spiritual/Emotional Energy

Do you find yourself trapped in old beliefs and fears that keep you from reaching your full potential? If you find yourself saying things in absolutes like “People are hesitant to spend money because everyone is struggling financially” as though that is a FACT and not simply your current perception, you may have a belief that is blocking your energy. Do you secretly fear that you might not be able to deliver results for your clients? This could be a MASSIVE block to bringing in the kind of clients you want. Do you feel like a fraud in your area of expertise? These are spiritual and emotional energy leaks that can paralyze you with doubt. Combat these leaks by practicing what you preach and challenging those limiting beliefs with positive affirmations and evidence of your capabilities.

Physical Energy Leaks

Are you burning the midnight oil more often than not? As I mentioned above, this was a massive energy leak for me for awhile, and facing this with a mindset of setting loving limits allowed me to finally make the progress that I wanted to make. But it felt like a massive leap of faith, to surrender my idea of do, do, doing, as a means of “being productive” in exchange for resting as the path to get me to the productivity I desperately needed. 

When it comes to physical energy leaks, what it boils down to is, are you taking care of yourself in the way you know would be most supportive to you? Do you find yourself reaching for sugary snacks or caffeine to keep you going, only to crash later? Not taking care of your physical health can lead to significant energy leaks. Prioritize self-care by establishing a routine that includes regular exercise, healthy eating, and adequate sleep. It’s amazing how much clearer your mind will be and how much more energy you’ll have to tackle your business goals when you’re taking care of your body.

Here Are My Top Tips for Overcoming Energy Leaks

1. Set Clear Boundaries: It's vital to have a clear separation between work and personal time. In the beginning of my business I didn't do this well which led to feeling like I was always partially working, yet never fully working. It was exhausting and not at all effective. Unlike many jobs where you can leave it there at the end of your workday, being an entrepreneur has the blessing and curse of being something we can do from anywhere, which often means we try to. And the work is never done. If you find that you always find more to be done, one of the big things I've found to be helpful is having a separate to-do list that is simply titled "Later" where I can put the million things I want to accomplish, while also keeping my actual daily and weekly plans more reasonable. When it comes to client work, communication is key here. The people we work with rarely expect us to be at their beck and call, yet in the beginning, we may find that we want to prove our worth, and this often looks like answering every request in real time. Being clear about your work times, deadlines, and response times can set you up to feel confident that you and your client are clear on expectations.
2. Prioritize Self-Care: I believe sleep is the foundation on which everything else must be built. From there everything else can be more stable. This is one where I struggle the most because I tend to get excited about many things, I always want to prioritize fun, and get a serious case of FOMO if I have to turn down something I want to do. I've started to look at it as reparenting work, setting loving boundaries for myself to ensure I have what I need to feel my best. Beyond a solid sleep foundation, healthy choices like daily movement, foods that provide consistent energy, and mindfulness practices can allow your brain to feel clear and regulated... which is a HUGE strength as an entrepreneur.
3. Streamline Your Operations: Implement systems and processes that reduce overwhelm and improve efficiency. Use project management tools, automate repetitive tasks, and delegate when necessary. There are many ways that this can be done depending on what you do throughout a day for your business. Get a ton of emails asking a similar request? Create a canned response so you don't have to use extra mental energy crafting the same response several times per month. Have a task that you do often and it takes a significant amount of time that you'd rather spend elsewhere? Create an SOP (standard operating procedure) and find someone to outsource that task to. By streamlining your operations, you’ll free up time and energy to focus on what really matters.
4. Dig Deep to Understand What the Block Is: When you find yourself diverting your focus, or struggling to do the things you’ve committed to doing, there’s often an underlying cause behind it. Take the time to do a bit of soul searching to consider what the block, fear, or limiting belief might be that’s making you want to shift your focus, and deal with that. 
5. Assess where you're at: The world we live in is busy, and this can be disorienting. Everywhere we turn, there's a distraction waiting to claim our precious attention. If you feel like you have so many tabs open (literal and otherwise) that it's leaving you cross-eyed, you can create a deep sigh of relief when you lay it all out there to see. Grab a notebook or a google doc and create a Master List. This can include all the ideas, to-do items for business and personal, random things that you keep meaning to do, habits you want to create, EVERYTHING. Get it all out. It's kinda like taking a thorough look at your money when you haven't looked for far too long. It seems scary and daunting at first, but then it gives you a ton of data to start to make a plan. The relief you will feel will feel like closing all the tabs and starting with a fresh slate.  

If you found yourself nodding your head as you read this, I invite you to schedule a free Business Energy Audit call. I can help you identify and clean up those energy leaks so you can scale your business without sacrificing your well-being or personal values. Let’s reclaim your energy now.