As we’re reaching the midpoint of the year, let’s take a moment to check in. How is 2026 going so far? How are you? How are your clients?
As I write this, I’m thinking about my own clients, who seem to be facing things that on the surface aren’t new, but the clients are at a level of burnout that makes every slight inconvenience or disappointment feel extreme. This leads me to think about colleagues, family and friends, and some of you when we chat about what’s going on in your life and your work. Everyone talks about burnout lately. Every time I open Instagram I see things about cortisol and nervous system resets. It leads me thinking about my own stress level. I’m excited about the summer while simultaneously stressed about things within and out of my control. Honestly I often feel like I’m simply trying to keep up. It leaves me questioning, if I’m feeling the pressure of maintaining my mental health in my personal life, am I sure I’m upholding my duties to my clients and my professional life? In talking with colleagues and some of you, it seems like it’s a common concern.
Energy Drain vs Energy Charge
There’s an activity I do with clients experiencing burnout. It’s just a simple chart in Excel that shows how they are using their energy currently versus how they would ideally use their energy. They fill out the chart listing all the activities that take up their energy now and what percentage of their overall energy they give to each item. Then they do a second chart that shows how they’d like to allocate their energy into the activities they have to do as well as the activities they’d like to do. Energy, like time and money, is not infinite. We cannot put everything we have into everything we want to do. We can’t give 100% of our energy to work, 100% to family, and 100% to recreation; when we attempt this, something will always end up getting the best of us and something will end up getting what’s leftover. Every time we say “yes” means we’re saying “no’ to something else. This includes literally giving time or money to something but also includes what we’re letting ourselves think and worry about.
A recent addition to my chart is listing “Energy Drainers” vs “Energy Chargers”. These are things that can either deplete our overall energy faster or can help increase our energy. For example, during my work day seeing clients and reading mental health-related books and articles uses energy. However, it also charges my energy, leaving me feeling excited and motivated to do more. Doing administrative work like billing, scanning documents, or ordering supplies drains my energy such that even if I only spend 30 minutes on these activities it feels like I’ve spent over an hour.
Another layer to the chart is how the Energy Drainer and Energy Chargers affect us based on our current mood or level of burnout. If we’re in a great headspace certain Energy Drainers might not drain us as much as if we’re in a point of really struggling. If an invoice needs to be mailed and we realized we used the last envelope, if we’re feeling calm and things have been smooth lately it won’t cause as much stress or drain to our energy as if we’ve been experiencing increased stress so we’re quite below our baseline.
Considering the activities engaged in on a regular basis and how those activities affect you or your clients can open up opportunity for making adjustments to those activities.
Right now, when things feel heightened for many of us for a variety of reasons, it’s important to take a pause and recognize how things are affecting us, how they’re affecting our clients. Then also consider how the effects of stress on us leave us showing up for our clients and responding to their stresses, and how the effects of stress on our clients leave them showing up to see us. It’s all quite complicated, and likely seems like common sense. But is it? When is the last time you truly paused to consider all these layers? There’s so much that we cannot control. But taking a pause, reflecting, and being intentional in how we manage our challenges as well as others’ challenges can absolutely be controlled.
Here are a few things I’ve read and listened to lately: “Four Thousand Weeks” by Oliver Burkeman and “Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Every Day as if it Were Your Last” by Dr. Lee Lipsenthal. From the podcast, “Designing a Life that Matters” and “Trusting Your Doubt” . Please share your recommendations too! While it seems like we’re increasingly taking on more and things are getting more complicated rather than slowing down, let’s go into this second half of 2026 with intention. We’re here to support you!