You’re Spending Energy in the Wrong Place

When I was in corporate, my days looked full before they even started.

Back-to-back meetings.
Teams app always open.
Deadlines stacked across quarterly goals.

And I remember sitting at my desk late one afternoon,
laptop open, deck in front of me.

Responding.
Updating.
Sitting in meetings where things were discussed… but not decided.

And yet, there was one part of that deck I kept coming back to.
Rewriting. Rewording. Adjusting.

Not because it needed it.
Because I was avoiding the actual call I needed to make.

The direction.
The stance.
The thing that would’ve actually moved it forward.

I left that day tired.

But not clear.
Not done.

Because the one thing that mattered…
was still sitting there.

WHAT

The effort is real.

It’s just landing in the wrong place.

I see this a lot, especially with high-achieving women:

• Over-preparing instead of deciding

• Perfecting instead of sharing

• Sitting in conversations instead of moving them forward

• Staying responsive instead of being directional

So the day fills up.

And you end the day tired…
without being any closer to what actually matters.

WHY

Because misdirected effort feels productive in the moment.

It gives you:

• something to complete

• something to point to

• something that says, “I was busy today”

But underneath it, something else is happening:

• a decision you’re holding off on

• a direction you’re not fully grounded in yet

• a shift that feels bigger than it looks

So your energy goes to what’s easier to move.

And over time, it starts to loop.

Not stuck because you’re doing too little,
stuck because your effort isn’t landing where it counts.

HOW

This isn’t a discipline problem.
It’s a direction problem.

The shift usually starts here:

1. Notice what you keep circling
Same task, different version.
That’s usually not a workload issue, it’s avoidance.

2. Ask one clean question
Is this actually moving something forward?

Not maintaining.
Not refining.

Forward.

3. Go to the thing you’re delaying
Even if it’s uncomfortable.
Even if it’s just a first pass.

That’s where the shift is.

Less effort.
Better placement.

If you saw yourself in this,
look at your next workday differently.

Not by how full it is,
but by what actually moves.

That gap will tell you everything.

Until next week,

Jaspreet