How to Build a Creative Business that Honors Your Natural Rhythms
After sharing my burnout story, I've been thinking a lot about something: You can have the best marketing strategies in the world, but if your marketing doesn't account for what’s actually going on in your life, it's probably not going to work for you.
If you're trying to implement things while juggling a full-time job, dealing with chronic illness, caring for aging parents, and/or being neurodivergent, well, traditional business advice might not work for you.
Most business advice assumes you have the following things:
Consistent energy,
Uninterrupted focus time,
A predictable schedule, and
Unlimited resources.
But how many of us actually live that way or have those things at our disposal all at once? I know I don’t.
The real picture is that life is messy. Your energy fluctuates. Focus comes and goes (sometimes by the minute). And probably most of us are juggling our businesses alongside other major life things. Life is lifey, after all.
Strategies can only work if and when they're implemented. If you can't implement them because they don't fit your circumstances, well, then they're not good strategies for you.
The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All Business Advice
Let’s chat about my own wake-up call (pun unintentional). For most of my life, I've struggled with being a morning person. When I was in middle school and high school, I would find sneaky ways to sleep longer because I literally struggled to wake up.
As an adult, I felt so much shame about this.
I'd see YouTube videos of people trying 5 a.m. morning routines, and I'd hear advice about how "the early bird gets the worm" and how you should "eat the frog" first thing in the morning. Bleh.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), I'm naturally someone who sometimes goes to bed at 2-3 a.m. and who does my best work in the evenings. And I felt like I wasn't doing business “right” because I wasn't following the morning-focused productivity model.
There seemed to be this underlying message that successful entrepreneurs are morning people, which led to me questioning my natural rhythms. I'd actually try to hide when I’d wake up if it was what other people deemed too late. Even when I’d wake up too early in the day and that would literally cause me to feel physically sick, I still felt bad. Not to mention that my brain takes a few hours to really wake up and be in a working frame of mind.
But I kept trying to force myself into systems that just weren't designed for someone like me.
And it wasn't just the morning thing. Another example: I was told I needed to be visible everywhere online to be successful. That I had to maintain active accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and whatever new platform popped up that week (TikTok, Lemon8, Threads, etc.). I supposedly needed to hop on Instagram Lives regularly to talk to "my people." The pressure to show up consistently across all these different channels was completely exhausting and overwhelming.
Then there were income expectations. I was apparently supposed to be making at least $5K a month to be "successful.”
So many "shoulds" about the "right way" to run a business.
Sometimes we need to question those "shoulds" because they aren’t right for us.
My Own Reality Check
Let me give you a current example. And how I used to push something that I no longer do because it doesn’t fit everyone’s situation (including my own).
I used to tell everyone they needed to build a self-hosted website on WordPress because it was the "industry standard" and the “best” website platform out there. But here I am now, building my site on Squarespace. I worked with WordPress for over 13 years and have built countless client websites with it. I know the platform inside and out.
Yet here I am, making a conscious decision to go with Squarespace because of its simplicity. With Squarespace, I can't get caught up in endless customization where the sky's the limit. Instead, I work within Squarespace's parameters, which makes it super easy to create and complete my site without getting lost in the details.
This choice might surprise people who know my WordPress background. They might even question why I'd "limit myself" with a more basic platform.
But here's the thing - sometimes simplicity is exactly what we need to move forward. By removing excessive options, I've removed excessive decisions. And fewer decisions means less mental load and more energy for the work that really matters in my business.
This is what building a sustainable business actually looks like - doing what works best for your needs, finding the shortest route from point A to point B with the smallest number of steps possible.
Understanding My Neurodivergent Brain
During my recovery from burnout, I had this gradual unveiling that I'm neurodivergent. I don’t have a formal diagnosis but I’ve had friends who were diagnosed, and I have so many lived experiences that resonated with their experiences.
Reading about neurodivergence, especially around burnout and how I process information and experience sensory issues, helped me understand that I have a different experience than others.
When I started learning this about myself, I realized why burnout impacted me so much. I also saw how some of the content I was already creating was neurodivergent-friendly, and I didn't even realize it at the time. How I naturally break down larger tasks whenever I see a task on my schedule over and over. Then I realized that the task was too big and vague and I needed to chunk it down.
I started understanding the conditions I needed to work - low lighting in my room, no noise and zero distractions from others (because I can't focus and those things overstimulate me). Understanding these things about myself has helped me create brain-friendly working conditions. This helps me to focus on my tasks more.
I was making a lot of unconscious decisions to help me get things done that I didn't realize at the time were to help my brain. Then I was able to research more to help me even further. And I'm honestly still working on figuring some things out. But the more I learn about my brain and why certain things work for me and others don't, the easier it is for me to do my work or give myself grace when I need it.
For my sensory issues, I need to work in an atmosphere with lower stimulation:
Lower lights, no background sounds or music - though I will use an ambience video from YouTube and turn the volume way down so the sounds don't disturb me.
My phone on do not disturb 24/7 with favorites saved as emergency contacts who can get through whenever they need.
Notifications off on social media or set to summary mode a couple times a day.
Permission to turn off my camera on video calls when necessary, saving camera-on time for the most important calls of the week.
Building Systems That Actually Work
So what does this look like for me in a practical sense?
For the past year or so, I've tried to start work around 10 a.m. at the earliest. Sometimes I start a little earlier if I woke up earlier that day. But if I wake up when my alarm goes off at 8:30 a.m. and start working at 10:00 or 10:30 a.m., that gives me enough time to really be up and feel charged for work.
Lately, I work from around 10:00 until around 5:00 p.m. I try to take a lunch for at least 30 minutes in the middle of the day. And I do different types of work at different times - I usually work on my business stuff in the evenings and work on my contract work in the late morning and early afternoons.
I also use AI (Claude) as a task accountability buddy, which has been a game-changer. When I ask AI for task accountability, I first tell it all of the tasks that are on my mind. I don't try to censor myself even if I know I won't be able to complete everything. Once I've given all the tasks, I ask Claude to clean it up and organize it a little bit. This helps me see how much I can realistically do and what things need to be prioritized.
Then each hour, or whenever I've finished a task (whichever comes first), I tell the AI what I've done and it crosses the task off and reminds me of what's left on the list. This is extremely helpful most days and keeps me on track.
Recently, I also let Claude know that I was struggling with a few different things when it came to my neurodivergence, and the AI gave me the idea to use the “Swiss Cheese Approach.” Instead of trying to break tasks down into smaller chunks, I try to poke holes in the task by doing some quick things and reminding myself that I don't need to complete the entire thing that day.
Doing some of the steps is better than trying to do it all at once and then avoiding it because it's too overwhelming.
How to Create Systems That Support Your Real Life
Now, I'm not telling you all of this because I think you need to copy my exact systems.
I'm sharing this because I want you to understand that you get to build a business that works for your actual circumstances.
Maybe you have a full-time job and can only work on your business in the evenings. Or perhaps you're homeschooling your children during the week and can only squeeze business tasks into weekends. Some of you might be caring for aging parents while trying to grow your creative business, or dealing with health challenges that affect your energy day-to-day.
The pressure to be everywhere and do everything in your business is real. But what if consistency looked different for everyone? What if your business could work with your life's natural ebbs and flows instead of against them?
Instead of struggling to follow advice that wasn't designed for someone like you, you can create systems that actually support the way you work best. That might look like:
Skipping the platforms that drain you, even if "everyone" says you need to be there.
Choosing tools based on what feels easiest to use and that you actually like.
Working at the times you have the most energy, even if that's not 9-5.
Taking breaks when you need them without feeling like you're "falling behind."
The most successful business for you isn't one that looks like everyone else's - it's one you can actually sustain over time while enjoying your life.
Looking Ahead
Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be sharing three specific approaches that have transformed how I run my business. These are strategies I've adapted to work with my unique needs and energy patterns:
Step 1 - Working with your energy levels, not against them. Instead of trying to power through tasks when you're exhausted, I'll show you how to match your tasks to your energy levels and make progress even on low-energy days.
Step 2 - Creating focus windows that actually work for you. If your ability to focus fluctuates, I'll share my "sprints" approach that creates manageable focus windows as short as five minutes or as long as 30 minutes.
Step 3 - Finding your own sustainable rhythm. I'll show you how to find consistency - showing up regularly in a way you can maintain without burning out.
I want you to lean into what your body, brains, bandwidth, and boundaries are telling you is right for you.
I want you to account for the lifey things.
Please don't neglect yourself because you need to make something happen in your business or because someone told you to.
PS - You don't have to wait until you're completely burned out to make changes.
Start paying attention to those signals now. Listen to your body. Build in safeguards from the beginning. Remember - building a business that truly fits your life is about finding what actually works for you, not what you think should work based on what others are doing.
Join the Conversation
I'd love to hear from you - what's one "business should" you've questioned lately? What aspect of traditional business advice feels most at odds with your life in this current season? Feel free to comment below and share your experience.
Save this blog post on Pinterest
Want to come back to these tips later? (I totally get it - there's a lot to take in! )
Pin this post to your favorite business or marketing Pinterest board so you can easily find it when you're ready. Plus, sharing helps other creative entrepreneurs discover these tips too!