Hi Reader,
“What the hell am I going to do with 1,563 unread emails?”
That’s what I asked myself when I opened my inbox after taking July off.
Some were opportunities I missed. Some are still relevant (I think). But how would I know—buried under digital dust?
👉 Fun saying I love:
Clutter is just something that used to be useful… that you didn’t use in time.
That’s not just inboxes.
It’s your life.
It’s to-do lists.
It’s ideas and dreams that have been snoozed so long they now feel overwhelming to face.
Let’s be honest: most of us are in action-debt.
Not because we’re lazy.
But because when the moment came, we lacked time… or clarity… or the energy to deal.
So what do you do when you’re behind?
You don’t wait for a perfect moment. You start where you are, do what you can, and build energy by taking action.
That’s the formula I’ve been using for years.
Here’s how I applied it this week:
1️⃣ I archived everything before August 1st.
A fresh start. Clean slate. Inbox Zero (from August, at least). To do it simply and properly I used Dara's approach, that I totally recommend.
2️⃣ I committed to just 1 day of catch-up at a time.
Commit to the smallest action you can do, but give yourself a right to do more if you feel like. This will move the needle without overwhelm.
3️⃣ I joined GIDW with Kate Kordsmeier to build simple AI tools to manage email. Let's be honest, emails will always be coming in, so I'd better develop good frameworks.
You don’t need to fix your whole life overnight.
But you do need to create movement.
Movement = energy.
And that energy helps you pay down your action-debt and re-invest in what matters.
💡Right now, I am generating energy to make a big move in my life. What I am currently doing to grow my energy:
→ I’ve paused coffee and alcohol (Day 13, let’s go)
→ Doing yoga + morning pages
→ Calming down my nervous system
→ Using essential oils to support my intentions
→ And making sleep my #1 recovery tool.
If you’re trying to reset too—especially after a summer of burnout, broken habits, or back-to-back travel—I’d love to have you join the waitlist for my upcoming course:
🌙 Night Shift — turning your nights and sleep into performance prep
👉 Get on the waitlist here
It’s not about perfect routines. It’s about energetic recovery that fuels you to move forward.
See you next week—rested and recharged,
Olena
Some P.S. inspiration:
Loved this quote, as it reminds me, if we have our energy out of control, somebody else's energy will overflow us. And vice versa, when our energy is strong, we can actually influence the world around us.
