004 Hybrid Energy

Multiple fuel tanks

Someone asked on Twitter,

“How do you deal with a burn out of creative energy, when creative energy is what pays the bills?

As someone who pays the bills with creative energy, I feel qualified to answer that.

I’ve read¹ that there are four types of energy

Physical, Spiritual, Emotional, Mental

So what then is Creative Energy?

The way I see it. If we saw each type of energy as a fuel tank that could be filled to number 10. Creativity is a kind of synergistic energy that appears when all the tanks are filled to at least a 7.

So when you’re energy drops below a 7 in any of these dimensions, Creative Energy disappears.

But you still have energy, you might even have an 8,9,10 level of energy in some dimensions.

You could think of it like a Hybrid car. It runs on battery in some cases and on carbon fule in others. Use whatever is available to keep moving.

Creative Energy is like a high-performance hybrid car that uses both types of fuel simultaneously to get maximum performance. In truth, creative projects don’t always require this type of energy.

Closing the Gap

1. Lean into the types of energy that you have at your disposal. For example, you might be physically depleted at the end of the race, but maybe your emotional energy is high, use that to get across the finish line. Or you might be mentally exhausted but you have physical energy, do menial tasks that move the project forward that don’t require high mental energy.

2. Develop routines and rituals that refill the various types of energy and build them into your day.

1. The power of full engagement