what happens when you stop giving your sharpest hours away

Spoiler: You get your energy back — and your life.

Last week I signed up for a 5am spin class. Even for me… that’s early.

As I set my alarm for something that started with a 4, I had a flashback — not to another workout, but to an earlier chapter of my career. A time when I regularly got up at that hour… just to get ahead on work.

Not because I was thriving. Not because I loved the grind. But because there wasn’t enough time in the day to finish everything — and I thought that was my problem to solve.

So I gave up sleep. I gave up space. I gave up boundaries. Because I thought being overwhelmed meant I wasn’t doing enough and it was my problem to solve.

I did things like this for WAY longer than I'd like to admit, and it started literally in the infancy of my career. (ugh, that's embarassing)

But somewhere (way too far) along the way, I realized: the “problem” wasn’t me.

It was the belief that work gets the best of me, and I get what’s left.

Now?

If I’m up before sunrise, it’s because I chose to be.

Not for my inbox. Not to start the torturous day of back-to-back meetings.

For me.

So, I dare you... stop giving your sharpest hours away. Stop putting work before your sleep, your soul, your sanity.

Do it, and you wont even need to tell me that

You've stopped measuring your value by how much you can carry.

You've stopped treating burnout like a badge.

You've started creating from a place of energy, not exhaustion.

And weirdly, you get more done — but it feels way better.

This shift didn’t just change my calendar — it changed how I lead, how I create, and how I show up for my team and myself. I hope you can try it, and see the same result.