Welcome back to another week of work.

How’s your energy today?

If you’re anything like my clients and me, your energy has been all over the place. One day, you’re feeling energized and productive, and the next, you arrive at work dead on arrival.

The most challenging part is that it feels impossible to predict when you’ll be raring to go and when you’ll feel like playing hooky to binge-watch Heated Rivalry for the third time.

So how do you run a business when your energy feels totally unpredictable?

Nature has the answer.

This week, I’m taking you outside to learn from the source.

Ready? Let’s go!

If you’ve been riding an energy rollercoaster lately — totally lit up and creative one day, exhausted and checked out the next — this episode is for you.​

This week, we’re looking to the chaotic threshold between winter and spring as a reminder that variability isn’t a flaw, it’s just how living things operate.

Here’s what nature is teaching us this week:

• Why the belief that your energy should be predictable is BS
• What seasonal thresholds teach us about creative cycles in business
• How to honor your fluctuating energy without making it a problem

RITUAL

Step 1. Check in with yourself

Before opening your laptop or looking at your to-do list, pause and ask yourself: where is my energy today? Don’t try to change it. Just name it. Expansive? Contracted? Somewhere in between?

Step 2. Look outside

Find a window or step outside for a moment. Notice what nature is doing today. Is it sunny, windy, cloudy, raining? Notice if there are parallels between what’s happening outside and what’s happening inside of you.

Step 3. Name your inner season

Ask yourself: “Am I feeling Spring energy or Winter energy today?” Write it down in one sentence. Something like: “Today I am in Winter mode — slow, quiet, and turning inward.”

Step 4. Adjust your expectations

Based on your season, name one thing you will do today and one thing you will let go of. Honor what’s real rather than what you think should be true.

REFLECTION

• When your energy dips this week, what’s your first instinct — to push through, or to honor your need for rest?
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• When it comes to your business, in what ways are you expecting consistent output, steady motivation, and predictable creativity? Are those expectations working for you?
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• When you’re in a high-energy, expansive Spring day, how do you care for yourself so you don’t burn through your reserves before the next contraction comes?

My Winter break was dark, quiet, and full of unexpected magic.

I intentionally opted out of holiday plans this year. 2025 earned a solid Needs Improvement in my grade book, and I needed some cozy time at home with my family to recoup.

I assumed I’d sit on the couch binge read holiday romance novels for two weeks while eating ridiculous amounts of gingerbread cookies.

But that’s not what happened…

Instead of the couch rot I was anticipating, the quiet, cozy, uninterrupted time at home tapped me into a current of creative flow.

Each morning, I woke up hours before the sun, made a cup of Morning Light holiday tea, plopped down next to the fireplace, and let the ideas pour through me.

The last two months of the year were busy.

Between selling the Spring retreat, creating Sabbatical School, and leading a full documentation overhaul at my group practice, my plate was full.

Even though my physical body was at capacity, my creative energy was pumping full force. So when I paused all the busyness, wrapped up the year, and closed my laptop on December 20th, that creativity started flowing through me like a firehose.

I was being gifted a flurry of clarity, direction, and new ideas. Things I’ve been struggling so hard to access for the past two years. And now, they were knocking on my door. All I needed to do was step out of the way and invite them inside.

The flow was effortless.

(Yep. Two years of efforting led to nothing but headaches and frustration. This is the lesson that keeps coming for me again and again — stop trying so freaking hard and wait for ease. More on that later.)

Here’s what came through over the two week break:

Finally clarified my new business messaging (omgggggg!) ​
Created TWO new free workshops to share with you (stay tuned!) ​
Mapped out my vision for the future of this newsletter (SO EXCITED!)
Outlined a sustainable content + offer ecosystem (sweet relief!)

I also identified some old money scarcity beliefs that are holding me back in frustrating, uncomfortable ways. Oof. I took my tender feelings to my therapist today and asked her to please fix me ASAP.

Yesterday, during our first team meeting of the year, I dumped all of my new ah-ha’s and ideas on the table like a bag full of goodies. Actually, I made a very nerdy Canva slide presentation that outlined all of my insights in a dignified and organized fashion.

Here’s my title slide for context:

As you can see, I’m very professional.

Okay, I digress. HERE’S MY POINT…

As I was sharing these downloads with my team, I had a sudden and striking realization — I just took a two week Project Sabbatical! All of my focus on Sabbatical School had seeped into my subconscious. I used my two weeks of solitude to be fully present with my ideas, and like magic, they showed up for me too. Whoa! Cool! I LOVE THIS!

(If you’re curious, a Project Sabbatical is one of four types of sabbatical I’ll be teaching inside of Sabbatical School. You can listen to this podcast episode to learn about all four types and see which style resonates for you.)

Y’all, I am so passionate about sabbaticals. I truly believe they have the potential to change your life and business for the better — and by extension, the world. It’s a big claim. And I stand by it 100%.

I want you to know that it is SO TOTALLY POSSIBLE for you to do this.

Even if you’re convinced you cannot possibly do it.

Especially if you’re convinced you cannot possibly do it.

I’m sure you have questions, so let’s get started with some answers…

A few weeks ago, my business bestie Linzy Bonham invited me onto her podcast to ask me some hard hitting questions about sabbaticals. You can listen to the episode here.​

​I recommend listening even if you’re not a therapist. The conversation applies to any small business owner who needs a break. Which is *ahem* all small business owners.

Also, FUN FACT, Linzy is going to be a Sabbatical School guest teacher! She’ll be teaching how to build a financial safety net for your month-long sabbatical by calculating your bare minimum funding goal and creating your personal funding strategy. Yes, there will be spreadsheets.

Later this week, I’m going to unveil the new Sabbatical School podcast, logo, and more behind-the-scenes shares about what exactly it takes to bring a project like this to life (hint: it’s a lot).

If you’re curious about sabbaticals, stay tuned for the content.

If you’re not curious about sabbaticals, stay tuned for the business lessons.

If you’re not curious about either… well… why are you here?!

(Probably my killer jokes, amiright?)

As always, thank you for being part of this journey. There is so much magic coming this year. I cannot wait to share it all with you.