you don’t lack discipline, you lack an energy strategy

Dec 4

If I had a dollar for every time I told myself “I just need to be more disciplined,” I would… not need to be disciplined about money.

But after burning out on 47 different daily routines, I realized something kind of humiliating:

It wasn’t that I was incapable.
It’s that I kept planning my life like I was a robot with a full battery 24/7.

No human has “full battery” energy all day.
We have cycles, dips, spikes, weird emotional weather.

Once I started organizing my life by energy, not just time, everything got lighter. Same 24 hours. Different strategy.

the time management lie

Traditional productivity advice says:

block your calendar
batch tasks
wake up earlier
“you have the same 24 hours as beyoncé” (okay but do i have her staff?)

Time-blocking can be helpful, but it ignores the fact that:

answering three emails and processing grief do not cost the same
“go to the gym” hits different on a low-sleep, high-anxiety day
creative work, admin work, and social work use completely different batteries

You don’t just have a schedule problem.
You have an energy mismatch.

what is an energy matrix?

An energy matrix is a simple way of sorting your life into three buckets:

low energy tasks – things you can do when your brain feels like soup
medium energy tasks – things that take some focus but not your soul
high energy tasks – things that require your sharpest, bravest self

Instead of forcing the same routine every day, you ask:

“given the energy I actually have today, what version of my life can I still show up for?”

Example:

low: fold laundry, wipe counters, reply to texts with “thinking of you,” go on a 10-minute walk while listening to a comforting podcast
medium: do a workout you’ve already planned, prep a simple meal, update your habit tracker, attend a call where you mostly listen
high: film a youtube video, have a hard conversation, deep clean, map your six-month goals, start a scary project

why this matters if you’ve “failed” routines before

If you’ve ever:

made a beautiful color-coded plan and then ghosted it
told yourself “I’ll start again Monday” twelve Mondays in a row
felt guilty for not doing your “ideal day” routine

…there’s a high chance you were trying to jam high-energy tasks into low-energy days and then calling yourself weak when your body said no.

An energy-based approach gives you:

a way to participate in your life even on bad days
built-in flexibility that doesn’t feel like failure
a sense of self-trust because you’re not constantly overpromising

how to build your own energy matrix

Grab a notebook or notes app and make three columns: low, medium, high.

list your real life areas
body, home, work, money, relationships, creative stuff, mental health.
for each area, write 1–3 low / medium / high energy versions

Example – “movement”:

low: stretch for 5 minutes, walk around the block
medium: 30-minute strength session you’ve already planned
high: heavy lifting, trying a new class, pushing for a PR

Example – “home”:

low: clear one surface, run the dishwasher
medium: reset kitchen + living room
high: declutter a whole closet, furniture rearrange

You don’t have to fill the table perfectly. You’re just giving your future tired self options.

the experiment

For one week, try this:

each morning, rate your energy 1–10
if you’re at 3–4 → choose mostly low
5–7 → mostly medium
8–10 → sprinkle in the high stuff

You’ll probably notice:

you get more done overall
you feel less shame
your “off” days don’t knock you out of the game

This isn’t laziness. It’s strategy.

berit elderton