Season 3, Episode 6: Am I short on time, or short on energy?

Tania Huddart: We hear a great deal about managing time. And almost nothing about managing energy. But here's the part I want you to hear. Time is a finite resource. There are only so many hours in a week. Energy, if you get the balance right, is not.

Host: Welcome to Build Confidence and Purpose with Pilates. I'm here with Tania Huddart: Pilates teacher, teacher trainer and author of Teach Pilates with Confidence and Pilates & Purpose. Both voices you'll hear are made with AI. Every word Tania says is her own, and she's approved each one.

Last episode was about the client who makes class hard. This one is about the teacher. Am I short on time, or short on energy?

Tania Huddart: Usually both. But we only ever try to fix one of them.

When we work too much, we burn out. That much we know. So when we feel stretched, we reach for the diary. We move things around. We get up earlier. We squeeze in one more class. And most of the time, the real problem isn't the hours. It's what the hours are costing you.

Host: Why do Pilates teachers reach for more hours?

Tania Huddart: Because most of us think we have to do more to be more effective. More classes. More clients. More hours. And for a while, it works. Those extra demands are sustainable for a bit.

Then they start drawing down your energy. Quietly at first. You have less patience. Less time for yourself. Less time for your family. And the whole equation tips the wrong way. You're more likely to get sick. And you're unhappy with it.

Host: And people don't notice it happening? It sounds like something that creeps up on you.

Tania Huddart: Not until late. And there's an irony in it. We spend our days teaching people about balance. All those hours working on balance. And then we live our own weeks with none. It stops making much sense.

I've been that teacher. I wrote about it in my first book. I tend to put myself last, and then over-stretch myself.

Host: So how do I tell which one I'm short of? Time, or energy?

Tania Huddart: You can structure your time. Most of us are quite good at that. We have diaries and booking systems and colour-coded weeks.

But it gets complicated quickly if you have no idea how much energy your business is costing you. You can have a beautifully organised week that leaves you flat by Wednesday. Every hour is accounted for, and none of them are working for you.

Two hours of teaching a class you love is not the same as two hours of chasing payments. On paper they look the same. In your body they're completely different. So before you touch the diary, find out what each part of your week costs you. That's what the two lists are for.

Host: And when you say the balance, what are you balancing?

Tania Huddart: The energy you have, and the time you spend on things. That's it. It's not about working less, or working more. It's about whether the hours you spend give you something back, or only take.

Host: Talk me through the lists.

Tania Huddart: Grab your favourite blanket, a pen and some quiet. Take a journal, or just a piece of paper. Don't do it between clients. Give it a proper half hour.

On the first list, write down the things in your business and your life that drain your energy. What do you dislike doing? Be honest. Nobody else has to read it.

Then make a second list. Everything that gives you energy. What makes you feel alive?

Host: What tends to end up on the first one?

Tania Huddart: It's different for everyone. That's why you write your own. For one teacher it's the admin. For another, it's a certain class at a certain time of day. Sometimes it's a habit, like answering messages late at night.

And sometimes it's a person. We talked last episode about the client whose name you dread seeing in the diary. That client belongs on this list. So does the friend who only calls when they need something.

The list isn't about blame. You're not judging yourself for finding something hard. You're just seeing it all in one place. That alone can be a relief.

Host: And the second list?

Tania Huddart: For a lot of us, the second list is harder to write. We're very good at knowing what wears us out. We're not so good at noticing what fills us up.

So take your time with it. It might be a client who makes you laugh. A class where everything clicks. A walk before you teach. Your own practice, on your own mat, with nobody watching. Write all of it down, even the small things. Especially the small things.

Host: Then what do I do with them?

Tania Huddart: Then you work out what you can put in place to reduce the first list. The people, the habits, the activities and the tasks.

This is the step most of us skip. It's one thing to see what's draining you. It's another to take responsibility for changing it. Nobody is going to come along and take the first list away for you.

So start small. Not all at once. One at a time. Pick the thing that drains you most and ask yourself, what would make this smaller? Sometimes the answer is to stop. Sometimes it's to do it differently. And sometimes, it's to give it to someone else.

Host: What if the thing that drains me just has to get done? The bookkeeping isn't going to do itself.

Tania Huddart: No, it isn't. And you don't have to love every part of your business to run it well. Nobody does. But here's what I want you to remember. Some people would love to do the things you don't want to do. Truly. There are people who love a spreadsheet. People who love writing a newsletter. People who love sorting out a booking system.

So hand it over. It'll save you time and money in the end. Because you get to focus on the work you love, and you still have the energy to do it.

Host: Money is usually the objection. Teachers say they can't afford help.

Tania Huddart: I hear that a lot. And I understand it. There's a real temptation to avoid professional help to save money. But a good accountant or bookkeeper often pays for itself.

Think about it this way. You wouldn't expect a client to get the same results doing random exercises at home as they would with a trained teacher. Your finances are the same. Expertise makes a difference.

And some of it doesn't need a person at all. An online booking system can send the reminders and the class changes for you. All those little messages add up to more hours than you'd think. And the reminders mean fewer people forget to turn up. Your clients find it reassuring, too. It feels professional.

Host: So it's not really about doing less.

Tania Huddart: It's about doing more of the right things. When the first list gets shorter, the second list gets room. And that's when energy stops being something you keep running out of.

You come home from a day of teaching, and you've still got something left. For yourself. For the people you love.

And your clients feel it. Your energy sets the tone in the room. If you run a studio, it sets the tone for the whole place. When you look after yourself, you can look after your clients and your team properly. That's not selfish. It's how the business lasts.

Host: That's the part you said isn't finite.

Tania Huddart: It isn't, if you get the balance right. Time runs out. You can't make more hours. But energy can be refilled. Every time you swap something off the first list for something on the second, you're filling it back up.

When I last planned my teaching week from scratch, I didn't start with how many hours I could fit in. I started with how many hours I could teach and still give every client the energy and focus they deserved. Then I built the rest of the week around that.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Time is finite. Energy, with the right balance, isn't. So stop trying to fix everything with more hours.

Two. Write two lists. What drains you, and what makes you feel alive. Be honest with both.

Three. Someone out there would love the job you dread. Let them have it.

Host: And the question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: Look at the week ahead. What in it makes you feel alive? And what's one thing on it that someone else would love to do for you?

Host: You'll find Tania's article, Not enough time, or not enough energy?, in the Journal at taniahuddart.com. There's more on energy, and on planning your week around it, in Teach Pilates with Confidence.

Next episode is our last of the season. How do I keep getting better, years in?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: You teach people balance every day. You're allowed some too. Start with one list, one evening, and be honest with yourself.