5 Ways Projectors (And, Everyone Else) Can Free up Energy in Business
As a Projector, you’ve probably spent a fair amount of time trying to get more energy. Consequently, you’ve probably had to face the hard realization that you can’t, in fact, get more energy and are therefore doomed to the hamster wheel of burnout, excess amounts of caffeine, and lying awake in bed at night wondering where all of this energy was during the day when you needed it, *sigh.*
The not-so-secret secret for Projectors is not that you need to find a way to get more energy but rather, need to learn how to free up energy that is not being invested properly. The interesting thing about this notion is that oftentimes you don’t realize the myriad tangible and intangible places your energy is tied up in.
Enter-the cauldron of philosophies and systems that have drastically altered how, where, and why I invest my energy, or - attention. I like to think of it as a broth of understanding the Human Design Projector Type, a swirl of Marie Kondo, a dash of Cal Newport, a sprinkle of Minimalism / Essentialism, and a pour of David Allen's Getting Things Done and Todd Herman’s 90 Day Year systems, all topped with a garnish of some good old Saturn-magic.
As a Projector (with no motors and a very open-design) and a massive productivity/organization nerd, I’ve come to realize that all of the aforementioned systems and philosophies are essentially a Projector’s manifesto. Though they can benefit everyone, they speak deeply to non-Sacrals because they teach you how to free up your energy and invest the energy that you do have intentionally and wisely.
Caveat: I can imagine eyes glazing over as they take in the horrific sight of “boring business words.” I’ve totally been there. And...
… it’s oftentimes the most mundane aspects of business that trip all of you spiritual-magical-soulful-mystical-sensitive-kinda-people up. I cannot tell you how many brilliant people I see who are unable to create nourishing success in business simply because they don’t have control over their time, energy, and attention.
I believe in order for productivity, organization, strategy, and structure to truly stick, you must have a healthy relationship with your inner-masculine. Which, in my expereince, many feminine-essenced beings don’t have. However, that’s for another time.
Lastly, separating magic from the mundane is a rookie magician mistake. The more you pierce into the mundane intentionally, the more magic you will find.
Thus, enjoy these five ways to start freeing up and becoming wise about your energy in business (and life).
i. Energetic Intake & Clean Up
Take a look around your reality and begin to identify all of the places your energy is going. In doing this, allow your scope to widen of where energy could be existing. For example, there is energy tied up in your social media account, email inbox, money, physical items and space, thoughts, unfelt emotions, people who are wasting your time and energy, etc.
I often find the Projectors I work with have many-a-unnoticed physical, digital, and mental energy streams that are, quite simply, draining their precious energy.
• Unused subscriptions or half-finished programs
• Unworn clothes
• Overflowing email inboxes
• Junk drawers and spaces
• The many to-do’s living in your head
• 20+ sets of tarot cards (sacred objects sitting around collecting dust is not only tying up your energy but also, disrespectful to the object)
Action Step • Pick 5 places in your physical, digital, and mental realities that could be cleaned up, out, and organized within the next two weeks.
Example list:
• Email inbox
• Closet
• Boundary-setting
• Social Media Messages / Who You’re Following
• Money Flow (reviewing all the places money where your money is flowing in and out)
ii. Stop Spreading & Start Selecting
Entrepreneurs are heavily conditioned to be in 50 different places at once. Be that through the various social media platforms you’re encouraged to use, the platter of constant offerings you’re encouraged to create, or the infinite amount of conversations you are constantly bombarded with.
As a Projector, massively dispersing your finite amount of energy is going to leave you scattered, unfocused, and have a poor impact on the quality of the energy you show up with, in your business and life.
One of the most profound realizations I had early on in my business journey was that achieving what I call, nourishing success, did not mean putting my energy into 10 different things at once. But rather, focusing on the few things that I was genuinely excited about and cultivating belief systems that this was in fact, enough.
This realization has been backed by my study of the philosophies of Minimalism, Essentialism, and Cal Newport’s, Deep Work.
To put it simply, just because something gives you a small ROI or piece of value does not mean you need to do it. Whereas focusing on the few things that you are genuinely excited about, that have and create immense value, and will have a high long-term ROI (all while learning to say no to the rest) will do wonders for your energy, business, and life. Wonders, I tell you!
Action Step • Identify the main areas in your business where you are overly-dispersing your energy. Then, take some time to feel into the 1-3 places where you truly desire your energy to be going. In the places you pull your energy out of, decide if you’d like to side-table it for further down the line, delegate, or dissolve. (Some will be able to disperse more easily because you will be able to delegate tasks to a VA or your team.)
For Example:
• Social Media Platforms
• Current Offerings
• Various Opportunities
iii. Use Theme Days
Super simple and super reality-altering.
Our good old friend psychology has actually proven that constantly switching your attention between unrelated tasks – even if only for a minute or two – significantly impedes your cognitive function for a long time to follow. By doing this you are depleting your ability to focus on the new task deeply, healthy decision-making abilities, and will power.
To put it simply, constant context switching makes you stupid. If you don’t believe me, go observe someone mindlessly checking their various social media accounts and tell me they don’t eventually end up looking like Gumby.
That’s where theme days come in.
Theming your days tells you what the core idea of your day is all about. They are a simple and powerful tool to keep you sane and focused. Your theme is what your day is going to be centered around. Some examples of themes are client calls, sales calls, content creation, marketing, programs, self-care, admin/financial work, etc.
If you want to get Witchy with it, you can pick your themes based on the planetary ruler of the day. For example, I like to write/create on Wednesday’s (ruled by Mercury, ruler of communication, the written word, ideas, intellect, etc.) and I do my self-care/feminine enchantment days on Friday’s (ruled by Venus, Goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility).
Action Step • List and organize the various projects in business that you focus on throughout the week. Next, organize the projects into themes, and then correlate the themes to the daily planetary rulers. Finally, pick your theme days for the upcoming week based on all of your data and whatever feels most exciting to you. This is a trial-and-error process so be open to changing themes on-the-fly, putting two smaller themes together in a day, etc.
iv. Use a Priority Matrix
The most commonly known priority matrix is the Eisenhower Matrix, also referred to as the Urgent-Important Matrix. It was designed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to help decide on and prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, sorting out less urgent and important tasks which you should either delegate or not do at all.
Using this matrix allows you to take the time to figure out, categorize, and see the level of importance and urgency of your tasks. By doing this you are able to get done what absolutely needs to get done and then pour the rest of your precious focus into the needle-moving tasks that truly grow your business.
I use an adaptation of this called the “Daily Priority Matrix” created by Todd Herman, and those four little boxes have proven to be instrumental in staying *inside* of my business, verses on the outside looking in.
Also, as a Projector, I have learned to be totally satiated by working through most of boxes 1 and 2 and slowly working through, delegating, or dissolving anything living in 3 or 4.
Action Step • Commit to using some form of a matrix. This evening, sit down to make your schedule for the following day, and either draw it out in a notebook, your planner, on your computer, or on a whiteboard. List our your various projects and subsequent tasks by order of importance and urgency. If you need help deciding what goes in each category, do some research. There is an abundance of inforrmation available online.
v. Schedule a Self-Care / Screen Free Day
You knew this one was coming…
… To be blunt, if you are a Projector or non-Sacral Entrepreneur and you do not take at least one full screen-free day off a week to rest, recharge, and practice self-care then here is your permission slip to start doing this now.
You don’t need me to drone on about how important it is for Projectors to take good care of their energy, get out of other people's auras, and spend time alone. You already know.
Action Step • If you’re experiencing any sort of resistance around this then a powerful next action you could take would be to dig into your conscious and subconscious belief systems around work, productivity, and success. Nuclear family conditioning aside, we have all, in some way, been influenced by the Western World’s distorted-Masculine conditioning that working your ass off is the worthiest vehicle to success.
I implore you to take the necessary steps to get yourself behind the idea that alone time, self-care, time spent with nature, screen-free day’s, and anything else that nourishes your mind, body, and soul does not take away from your business but rather, feeds your business in powerful seen and unseen ways. If you can integrate this belief, you just might find that money, clients, and golden opportunities start flowing in on these days.
In conclusion, practical magic is one of your best allies in business and life. And perhaps it is the important missing ingredient in the visionary cauldron that is your business.
