There are years that change you.
Not because something big happened, but because everything happened at once.
2025 was that kind of year for me.
I had built up my business. I had built my team. I had found a rhythm that felt strong. Then the ground shifted. I lost a key employee, not because the work was hard, but because she had stopped doing the work altogether. By the time I discovered it, I had lost several clients. I spent weeks untangling the damage. I had to rebuild trust, systems, and parts of my business that I thought were stable.
At the same time, I realized two clients were toxic. The kind of toxic that drains your energy and clouds your judgment. Letting them go was the right decision. It was also painful. Leaders often carry these decisions quietly, but the weight is real. You want to serve. You want to support. You want to do good work. When a client relationship turns destructive, it drains more than your schedule. It drains your energy, your clarity, and your confidence.
Add to that the transition into a new lifestyle. Life in an RV brought adventure, beauty, and freedom. It also brought a long list of responsibilities that never paused. Repairs. Planning. Travel days. Schoolwork. Balancing my daughter’s needs with client expectations. Adjusting to small spaces. Adjusting to constant movement. Adjusting to living fully on the road while running a business that depends on presence and focus.
By fall, I felt the exhaustion catch me. Not burnout, but the quiet depletion that builds when life asks more of you than you planned. I saw the truth in my outreach numbers. I had let my outreach decline, not out of laziness, but out of survival. I was doing the best I could in the moment. I had to forgive myself for that.
Forgiveness is a leadership skill.
So is honesty.
So is rest.
If you want to lead well in 2026, you need to protect your energy. You need structure that supports your capacity. You need boundaries that protect your clarity. You need routines that help you stay grounded. You need to recognize your limits without shame.
Strong leadership starts with a steady leader.
Your energy is not optional. It is part of your impact.
Here is how to protect it.
Build a simple morning routine that sets your tone.
You do not need a long routine. You need a grounding routine. Something that gives your mind a slow, calm start. Something that helps you enter the day with intention instead of urgency.
Choose three steps.
A quiet moment before screens.
A short review of your priorities.
One small action that aligns with your goals.
Your routine can be five minutes or fifteen. What matters is consistency. A grounding start reduces stress throughout your day. It improves your ability to make decisions. It helps you enter each task with clarity instead of tension.
Create an evening routine that helps your mind reset.
Leaders often carry the day into the night. This creates a cycle of mental exhaustion. A short evening routine helps your brain transition. It also improves sleep, which improves focus, mood, and cognitive performance.
End your night with three simple steps.
Close your work tabs.
Write down tomorrow’s top three tasks.
Give yourself permission to stop thinking about work.
Your brain works better when it can rest.
Set one boundary that protects your time.
Boundaries are not punishments. They are tools. They protect your energy, focus, and emotional stability. You do not need many boundaries. You need one strong one that supports your leadership.
Choose one area where your energy leaks.
Unplanned meetings.
After hours messages.
Overbooking your week.
Reactive tasks.
Toxic conversations.
Client expectations that stretch too far.
Set one boundary for January that addresses that leak.
Name it clearly.
Communicate it calmly.
Honor it consistently.
A single boundary can restore hours of lost energy each week.
Reduce decision fatigue through standardization.
Decision fatigue is real. Research shows that the more decisions you make, the worse your decisions become. Leaders make hundreds of decisions every week. Many of those decisions do not need creativity. They need structure.
Standardize small choices.
Meals.
Outfits.
Meeting formats.
Client onboarding steps.
Project templates.
Your brain should not spend energy choosing lunch when it needs energy for strategy.
Standardization frees your mind for the work that matters.
Create two recovery blocks each week.
Recovery is not indulgent. It is part of performance. Recovery blocks help you stay steady during busy seasons. They help you slow down before exhaustion hits. They give your mind space to reset.
Choose two blocks of time each week.
A walk.
A quiet hour.
A creative break.
A moment of stillness.
You decide the activity. The only rule is that it must restore your energy instead of drain it.
Use a simple reflection check every Friday.
Reflection keeps you honest. It helps you see patterns. It helps you notice what is working. It helps you identify what needs adjustment. You do not need a long journaling practice. You need a brief check in.
Ask yourself three questions every Friday.
What felt good this week.
What drained me.
What do I need next week.
This rhythm keeps you grounded. It also prevents small issues from growing.
Review client alignment.
Client alignment matters. Misaligned clients drain teams, create friction, and increase stress. Your energy is directly tied to the clients you serve. At the end of each quarter, review each client relationship honestly.
Is this client aligned with your values.
Is the work sustainable.
Is communication clear.
Does this relationship support or drain your energy.
If a client consistently drains your energy, you may need to step back. Not out of failure. Out of stewardship of your capacity.
Give yourself permission to be human.
Leaders often hold themselves to impossible standards. You will have seasons when you are tired. You will have seasons when you cannot carry as much. You will have seasons when survival is the goal, not growth. These seasons do not define you. They teach you.
Forgive yourself for what you could not hold this year.
Honor the strength it took to keep going.
Allow yourself to start fresh in 2026 with honesty, not shame.
Here is one tool you can use today.
Run a thirty minute Energy Reset.
Divide the half hour into three blocks.
Block one
Identify your three biggest energy drains.
Block two
Choose one boundary that addresses the biggest drain.
Block three
Design a simple morning and evening routine that fits your life.
This small reset creates immediate relief. It gives you structure. It returns control to you. It helps you enter January with steadiness instead of strain.
Your energy shapes your leadership.
Your leadership shapes your impact.
Protect your energy in 2026. You deserve a year that feels grounded, steady, and aligned with the life you are building.
Start with one small step. Your strength will grow from there.