If you’ve been feeling busy, scattered, or maxed out… Read This
WHOLE SUCCESS WEEKLY #17
Last week my family and I chose a slow drive up the California coast instead of hours in TSA lines and 3x-priced holiday flights.
I won’t spend this newsletter raving about how stunning the coastline is (though if you ever go, email me, I have recs).
What I do want to talk about is the loud clarity that hit me somewhere between Big Sur and Monterey:
Space is a non-negotiable.
Not space from people.
Space for yourself.
Because as an ambitious solopreneur - from time to time, I'll catch myself in a "shit, my days are full" reflection.
Working more hours than I had intended to
Stressing about 2026 projects before I needed to.
Feeling tense - in my mind AND in my body.
And because I'm human, I want to share this with you.
1) To showcase that it happens to all of us (yes even coaches) AND
2) to share with you my go-to way of getting out of it and resetting myself.
Let’s get into it.
1. Why Space Is Sacred
(and Science Agrees)
Here’s what I know in my bones and what the research backs up:
When you are in back-to-back doing, your nervous system is not in “flow.”
It is in survival mode.
📌 Neuroscience shows that continuous task-switching and lack of downtime increases cortisol and reduces cognitive clarity.
📌 Environmental psychology research has found that spacious environments, even internally, expand creativity, emotional regulation, and decision quality.
📌 And the famous 4-Day Workweek Global study showed that when companies created more space, burnout dropped 71% and productivity stayed the same or increased.
In short - here's my personal 3 reasons why this matters:
1 - When your life is packed wall-to-wall, your system has no room to breathe, feel, imagine, or receive.
2 - Because your system is in survival mode - that means it's making decisions from anxiety, stress, exhaustion and fear.
That is the LAST place we want to be making decisions.
3 - Here’s the energetic layer:
When you're operating at max capacity, you’re sending out a signal to the universe (consciously or not) that says:
"I’m full. There’s no room for anything new."
Ideas don’t flow.
Opportunities don’t land.
Momentum feels forced.
Decisions end up not being aligned.
Space isn’t laziness.
Space is strategy.
Space is power.
Space is clarity.
2. How I Created Space
After feeling the internal squeeze the last few months, I stepped back and redesigned my days.
I grabbed the bull, aka my calendar, by the horns.
Here’s exactly what shifted:
A) I adopted the Recharge / Reset / Revenue system
Marissa Brassfield (who spoke to my clients last month) taught us how to build a healthy habitat for work-life integration.
Her framework changed my world and it can apply to entrepreneurs AND those in corporate. Yes, the latter requires more external push back, but it is possible.
Recharge Days: Saturday & Sunday
Rest, play, family, nature, zero expectations.
Reset Days: Monday & Friday (introverted days)
Creative flow, content, newsletters, podcast, networking, vision work.
Revenue Days: Tuesday–Thursday (extroverted days)
Client calls, facilitation, training, collaborations.
Suddenly my weeks had bones again. The kicker is maintaining these boundaries - more on that next week.
B) I honored my introvert vs. extrovert energy
I stopped trying to hold deep emotional space for clients one hour and pump out strategic content the next.
My nervous system was like, “Ma’am, please.”
Grouping energetic tasks together removed the internal whiplash.
I'm an extrovert by nature - ENFJ Myer Briggs full stop, but I'm also a 6/2 Human Design which means I love going into my cocoon for creative flow and inspiration.
By allowing myself to have introverted, creative flow days leading into my client-facing days - I am able to be grounded and charged.
C) I got clear (and honest) on my client capacity
I run deep work.
It requires emotional presence, attunement, and real capacity.
So I got honest:
4 client calls per week is my max.
Period.
My favorite part about my job is my client work. Because I love to see the transformation and breakthroughs. But in order for that to be a guarantee, I need to be my best self.
So I got clear on what that boundary is to maintain it. More clients may = more revenue, but there's a line and I'm not willing to sacrifice quality for quantity.
With that clarity, I was able to see what was actually needed to support my required capacity.
3. What Happened Next (My Favorite Part)
Within days of creating space, here’s what unfolded:
✨ 1 of my 2 open 1:1 client spots filled the day I got home
✨ The final speaker said yes to my January panel (details coming soon!)
✨ I was invited to speak at a San Diego networking event
✨ I was gifted a spot in a healing journey (for free)
✨ I was introduced to a woman I’ll likely collaborate with in 2026
(Think: money, nervous system, identity, liberation - the whole thing.)
None of this happened when I was forcing.
It happened when I created space.
Because here’s the truth:
When you slow the pace, you widen the channel.
What is meant for you finally has room to land.
Space brings you back to your intuition, your clarity, your creativity, and your power.
And if you’ve been feeling squeezed, scattered, or stretched thin, your system isn’t broken.
It just needs space.
With love...always,
Jessica