I feel you! I do this a lot. Especially if I’m tired of the low-energy days and think I can feel myself coming out of it, I’ll plan a day that’s wildly high energy and then I’m not actually fully over the hump.
A couple things that have been helpful to me:
If you plan the night before, plan two different days. One for if you’re high energy and one for if you’re not. Usually that just means ⭐️ ing 2-3 things from my high energy day, so get through two things if I’m low energy.
I try not to plan the night before though anymore. I plan my days once I wake up and know where I’m at. That way I’m not hard on myself for making a list and getting nothing done on it.
I used to plan more ahead too, but then I kept having to cancel things/put things off (and then feel bad about it) based on my actual energy levels the day of. Hope that works for you too!
I’ll note it may take a bit of time to get used to that, to not feel anxious about not planning ahead, and sometimes I still fall back into the same planning way ahead patterns (especially if I feel I’ve been slacking).
A life coach friend once told me that when you are tired and feeling low, this is NOT the time for creative work. It's the time to do laundry, repetitive low stakes tasks, fold it on the couch while watching a movie. There is something to be said about a "creative dip" and having to refill the well. We can't be "ON" at all times.
I love the non-judgmental internal shorthand, even as a neurotypical being. Green days aren't just about potentially expending too much energy and then dipping, it's of course also the exciting and entirely unsustainable creation of follow-on tasks. All the emails get cleared out, which feels great...until the boomerang replies flood in. New contact outreach is completed, and I end up making too many face-to-face commitments. Ideas turn into projects with deadlines...on and on. I overindulge the liberated creator and wake up with a hangover. The traffic light is helpful in detaching from my critical narrator. I am aiming to say *maybe* much more frequently, I try to block out full days every week for solo, guilt-free, do anything time, and the classic 'any one thing' when I'm avoiding the monstrosity of commitments a green day me instigated saves my sanity regularly. Start laundry. Delete one email. Go for a run.
Something that helped me, not with the practicalities but with the guilt and mindset was spending a lot of time in my garden for a photography project last year. I watched all the different plants and realised that they don’t all work on the spring/summer/autumn/winter pattern. Some are beginning to put out buds, grow, and bloom while others are still way underground. Some have long periods of blooms, while others have very short ones. All of them need dormant periods, but of very different lengths. Some bloom in the summer, others in winter. We are the same, we have different productive/blooming times and resting/dormant times. Those dormant times feed and power the growth that leads to blooming. For some of us it is a long rest and short blooms, for others a different pattern. We’ve all got our own pattern, and nature builds that way.
I love the idea of "hyperfocus" periods versus "recovery" periods. Meaningful and purposeful recovery is so important! I've been contemplating and writing about this a lot lately. My go-to is going on frequent walks without listening to music or a podcast to give my brain the space to process information. These are the times that the best ideas pop into my head!
I do something similar with Mimimum/Target/Outrageous intentions and I compare it to full power vs. power saving vs. ultra power saving mode on my phone.
Another commenter made a good point about creative or low-stakes task. Sometimes, I'm not writing or composing anything new — but editing a post or tidying my space is "real" work, too.
I struggle with this swing in the normal day to day of corporate - where work should be high, all the time 🙄 I’ve found I find a lot of excitement in the green light times, and have to find ways to put some limits in place so I don’t go to the burnout side of things. I also find that novelty in my work can lead me to this, but I also love learning new things. Now that I know this, it helps me know what feels like some chaos during this time is my excitement and journaling to capture ideas and exercise to have a different outlet are both really good. As I’ve seen this pattern over time, and learned to better manage it, I know it has tremendous upside with being able to scaffold to other experience I have.
This perfectly captures the cycle so many people experience. The connection between hyperfocus and burnout is eye-opening, and the insights on breaking the pattern are really valuable!
Rather than thinking of it as burnout, I think of it as depletion and the recovery time is for rest and refueling. If I go through too many cycles without enough rest & refueling, then it's like burnout and some kind of break or long rehab is required. For me, besides the rest (eg easy repetitive tasks, reading, being, mid-day walks, lunch out) I do need refueling (learn, create, trees, smart/close friend discussions, dance, etc).
Perfect timing - I read this the day after discussing this exact issue with my therapist! I definitely struggle with noticing when I've piled too much on my plate/gone too deep down the rabbit hole, and I need to work on recognising the signs of burning out before I hit the point of no return.
Also sharing this here because I think it relates. I can't remember if I read this on Medium or Substack but someone highlighted the importance of simply doing "the next best thing" when you are stuck in a productivity loop (or lack thereof). Feeling stuck, not sure about your next move? What is the next best thing? Doesn't have to be right, doesn't have to be full scale. For example, if you are dreading responding to a certain email because you know it will need thought & attention, etc, the next best thing might be to at least open it. Maybe read it, or set that as the next next best thing later.
I've heard something similar and it's been very helpful. Using the email example, I say I will just list my possible response points and save as draft.
My struggle is I don’t always know when the light changes. So I plan a green light day and boom the light changes to red. Suggestions?
I feel you! I do this a lot. Especially if I’m tired of the low-energy days and think I can feel myself coming out of it, I’ll plan a day that’s wildly high energy and then I’m not actually fully over the hump.
A couple things that have been helpful to me:
If you plan the night before, plan two different days. One for if you’re high energy and one for if you’re not. Usually that just means ⭐️ ing 2-3 things from my high energy day, so get through two things if I’m low energy.
I try not to plan the night before though anymore. I plan my days once I wake up and know where I’m at. That way I’m not hard on myself for making a list and getting nothing done on it.
I plan the whole week on Sunday. Wow! I am going to try planning in the morning.
I used to plan more ahead too, but then I kept having to cancel things/put things off (and then feel bad about it) based on my actual energy levels the day of. Hope that works for you too!
I’ll note it may take a bit of time to get used to that, to not feel anxious about not planning ahead, and sometimes I still fall back into the same planning way ahead patterns (especially if I feel I’ve been slacking).
A life coach friend once told me that when you are tired and feeling low, this is NOT the time for creative work. It's the time to do laundry, repetitive low stakes tasks, fold it on the couch while watching a movie. There is something to be said about a "creative dip" and having to refill the well. We can't be "ON" at all times.
I love the non-judgmental internal shorthand, even as a neurotypical being. Green days aren't just about potentially expending too much energy and then dipping, it's of course also the exciting and entirely unsustainable creation of follow-on tasks. All the emails get cleared out, which feels great...until the boomerang replies flood in. New contact outreach is completed, and I end up making too many face-to-face commitments. Ideas turn into projects with deadlines...on and on. I overindulge the liberated creator and wake up with a hangover. The traffic light is helpful in detaching from my critical narrator. I am aiming to say *maybe* much more frequently, I try to block out full days every week for solo, guilt-free, do anything time, and the classic 'any one thing' when I'm avoiding the monstrosity of commitments a green day me instigated saves my sanity regularly. Start laundry. Delete one email. Go for a run.
Something that helped me, not with the practicalities but with the guilt and mindset was spending a lot of time in my garden for a photography project last year. I watched all the different plants and realised that they don’t all work on the spring/summer/autumn/winter pattern. Some are beginning to put out buds, grow, and bloom while others are still way underground. Some have long periods of blooms, while others have very short ones. All of them need dormant periods, but of very different lengths. Some bloom in the summer, others in winter. We are the same, we have different productive/blooming times and resting/dormant times. Those dormant times feed and power the growth that leads to blooming. For some of us it is a long rest and short blooms, for others a different pattern. We’ve all got our own pattern, and nature builds that way.
I love the idea of "hyperfocus" periods versus "recovery" periods. Meaningful and purposeful recovery is so important! I've been contemplating and writing about this a lot lately. My go-to is going on frequent walks without listening to music or a podcast to give my brain the space to process information. These are the times that the best ideas pop into my head!
I do something similar with Mimimum/Target/Outrageous intentions and I compare it to full power vs. power saving vs. ultra power saving mode on my phone.
Another commenter made a good point about creative or low-stakes task. Sometimes, I'm not writing or composing anything new — but editing a post or tidying my space is "real" work, too.
Definitely struggle with the yellow lights! Really helpful post!
I struggle with this swing in the normal day to day of corporate - where work should be high, all the time 🙄 I’ve found I find a lot of excitement in the green light times, and have to find ways to put some limits in place so I don’t go to the burnout side of things. I also find that novelty in my work can lead me to this, but I also love learning new things. Now that I know this, it helps me know what feels like some chaos during this time is my excitement and journaling to capture ideas and exercise to have a different outlet are both really good. As I’ve seen this pattern over time, and learned to better manage it, I know it has tremendous upside with being able to scaffold to other experience I have.
This perfectly captures the cycle so many people experience. The connection between hyperfocus and burnout is eye-opening, and the insights on breaking the pattern are really valuable!
Rather than thinking of it as burnout, I think of it as depletion and the recovery time is for rest and refueling. If I go through too many cycles without enough rest & refueling, then it's like burnout and some kind of break or long rehab is required. For me, besides the rest (eg easy repetitive tasks, reading, being, mid-day walks, lunch out) I do need refueling (learn, create, trees, smart/close friend discussions, dance, etc).
Great perspective. Very validating… I’m tired of beating myself up for this exact pattern. Thank you.
Perfect timing - I read this the day after discussing this exact issue with my therapist! I definitely struggle with noticing when I've piled too much on my plate/gone too deep down the rabbit hole, and I need to work on recognising the signs of burning out before I hit the point of no return.
Also sharing this here because I think it relates. I can't remember if I read this on Medium or Substack but someone highlighted the importance of simply doing "the next best thing" when you are stuck in a productivity loop (or lack thereof). Feeling stuck, not sure about your next move? What is the next best thing? Doesn't have to be right, doesn't have to be full scale. For example, if you are dreading responding to a certain email because you know it will need thought & attention, etc, the next best thing might be to at least open it. Maybe read it, or set that as the next next best thing later.
I've heard something similar and it's been very helpful. Using the email example, I say I will just list my possible response points and save as draft.