By the time I went to bed at 9:20pm, I felt empty. Not tired, just hollowed out. Odd. So I ran an inventory of “just another” day:
- 6 am wake-up, washed my hair;
- Took the dog for a walk and then took the kids to school;
- Dedicated the rest of the morning to client work and their business development: devised two campaigns (from idea to copy-paste-ready content and custom-assigned contact lists), held two partner meetings, and sent at least 20 emails. Also realized that on another engagement, I am two projects ahead of the rest of the team, even with fractional timely input);
- After lunch, I drafted two 8,000-character articles for a printed publication well ahead of the deadline, and helped the kiddos with their homework;
- Consulted on a legal matter, finalized a report, and prepared for a meeting;
- After making and enjoying a family dinner, I spent an hour on a communal project (it was my turn and I really didn’t feel like doing it, but finding out that I get it done in half the time others need made my ego feel a bit better);
- After an evening walk with the dog and TV time with the kiddos, I took a shower and called it a day.
To the outside world, this might be an insanely productive day. To me, that was just a “typical Tuesday,” filled with self-judgment. Why? Because the one KPI I made matter was not met. Again.
Seamlessly switching between household management, business development, parenting, high-level intellectual work, community contribution, and personal care is not a productivity problem, but a translation problem that so many high-achievers face…
So, I began to wonder, “How do you measure up when even your baseline is way off?”
When I work with clients who have built incredible success by following all the rules, exceeding expectations, and sacrificing fulfillment for results and reputation…and are now transitioning into and building their next chapter that is meant to be more aligned, meaningful, impactful, etc., this tipping point is inevitable.
The old mindset, habits, and scoreboards clash with what is required of them next: “Did I and/or my business produce XYZ today?” vs. “Did I live and enjoy today?”
When someone’s self-worth has been measured by their tangible and measurable results (numbers on a scale, scoreboard, stopwatch, or bank account), it’s imperative we recalibrate and activate a new ruler.
But the fact is, it takes time, and very few have the ability to take a year off to figure it all out in peace. Most need to figure out how to navigate both worlds simultaneously: becoming the next version of themselves through a ton of unlearning, releasing, reprogramming…still ensuring their economic engine remains intact for the time being…and also upholding their existing commitments and obligations at home, towards clients, business partners, sponsors, etc.
How do you optimize the economic engine when time for self is much needed, indeed?
One of my favorite approaches
1- reevaluates the situation by building two clear ledgers:
- one financial and
- one that tracks what is built, written, handled, run, and held).
2- reevaluates the economic engine to identify and leverage the highest value it can provide with minimal input, without sacrificing the client’s integrity, gifts, and purpose.
For example: retiring athletes are oftentimes expected to remain connected to the sport, maybe become coaches, announcers, speakers. Or many service providers are advised to simply productize and commodify their IP and hand it over to AI for automation.
A lot less frequent is the decision to scale up the revenue by scaling down the output and availability into a premier, exclusive, bespoke thing that can produce the highest level of service and the most valuable experience and results for a client.
But that is a conversation for another time.
At some point the work is no longer about productivity but identifying, activating, recalibrating, and optimizing what already works into…
…a life and economic model that actually fits who you are becoming.
Your experience, attention, abilities, relationships, reputation, resources, priorities, and time.
Sara
Sara Oblak Speicher, MBA, is a former elite athlete turned fractional leader, strategic advisor, and narrative architect trusted by founders and elite performers who are navigating growth, transition, and reinvention. After 18 years in NYC, she is now based in her Slovenian 1000-year-old hometown, architecting story, strategy, structures, and systems for her global clients. $60M+ in measurable client impact in the last few years alone.
