For the past few months, I’ve been living through what I have been describing as a very full season. We recently moved with two young kids, spent weeks living out of boxes, and have been renovating our house on weekends. Between the chaos of daily life, the physical exhaustion of home improvement projects, and now juggling multiple school and daycare drop offs, time and energy have felt scarce.
This experience got me thinking about how we navigate different phases of life and led me to develop what I’m calling the Seasons of Capacity Framework — a straightforward way to better understand your current capacity. With that information, we can all make better decisions and also see a clearer path towards which season we’d prefer to be in.
Let’s get into it!
The clarity that comes from knowing your season
I’ve always believed that having clear language for concepts can be a shortcut to better decision-making. Just like personality tests help us understand ourselves and work more effectively with others, I think identifying your current season of capacity can be a similar shortcut for making choices about commitments, goals, and energy allocation.
The core insight behind this framework is simple: your available time × energy level = your capacity.
When you can clearly identify which season you’re in, you gain incredible clarity about whether you should be pursuing new opportunities, maintaining current commitments, or focusing on recovery and restoration.
The Seasons of Capacity Matrix
Here’s the framework I’ve been developing and testing in my own life:
| Time → / Energy ↓ | Scarce | Normal | Plentiful |
|
Low |
Survival Focus on the bare essentials; capacity is limited. |
Minimum Keeping routines going at a minimal level; avoid new commitments. |
Recovery Rest and restoration are the priority; rebuild energy before adding demands. |
| Steady |
Routine Steady energy but little time; requires efficiency and prioritization. |
Maintenance A balanced rhythm; sustain routines and responsibilities without strain. |
Exploration Space to test, play, and expand gradually without pressure. |
| High |
Drive High drive under tight time; channel energy into top priorities. |
Flow Strong alignment of energy and time; consistent momentum and productivity. |
Peak season for expansion; pursue ambitious goals with full capacity. |
How to use this framework
Understanding which season you’re in becomes a powerful filter for clarity, prioritization, and decision-making. Here’s how I recommend using this approach:
1. Honestly assess your current season
Look at both your available time and energy levels over the past few weeks. Are you consistently feeling stretched thin, or do you have breathing room? Is your energy naturally high, or are you running on fumes?
Currently, I’d place myself in the Routine category. Time is scarce due to our move and renovation schedule, but my energy levels are steady rather than depleted now that I’ve started working out again and getting more sleep.
2. Identify your desired season
Which season would best serve your current life goals and circumstances? This doesn’t have to be the “highest” season — sometimes Recovery or Maintenance is exactly what you need.
For me, I’d love to move from Routine to Flow — having normal time availability with high energy levels. While having plentiful time feels unrealistic with two young kids, reaching a state where I have consistent free time feels achievable.
3. Design your path forward
Once you know where you are and where you want to be, you can start making specific changes to increase either your time or energy (or both).
To move toward Flow, I need to increase both my time and energy. For energy, I know I get recharged from reading, writing, baking, and maintaining an exercise routine. Drawing from The Power of Full Engagement, I’m thinking about energy across four dimensions: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual capacity. Highly recommend giving it a read for a deeper understanding of where your energy comes from.
For time, I’m looking at where I’m spending time that feel unnecessary (like scrolling on my phone before bed), but also practical changes like hiring a house cleaner and adjusting after-school activities so I have a bit more childcare during the work week.
4. Recognize progress along the way
Moving between seasons rarely happens overnight. I might transition through Maintenance or Drive before reaching Flow, and that’s still meaningful progress. This framework is helping me see incremental improvements rather than feeling like I’m failing to reach my ideal state — and I hope it can do the same for you.
Your progress might not be linear, but being able to identify where you are and where you want to go is powerful. That kind of clarity makes it easier to take action.
The power of seasonal thinking
What I love about this approach is how it normalizes the reality that our capacity fluctuates. Instead of beating ourselves up for not being in Growth mode all the time, we can make intentional choices based on our actual circumstances.
This framework is helping me be realistic about where I am and the changes I’ll need to make to get where I want to go.
Practical applications for different seasons
If you’re in Survival, Minimum, or Recovery: Focus on protecting your energy and time. This isn’t the season for new commitments or ambitious goals. Prioritize rest, simplification, and only the most essential activities.
If you’re in Routine, Maintenance, or Drive: You have more options for strategic choices. Consider which area to improve first — time or energy — and make incremental changes that move you toward your desired season.
If you’re in Exploration, Flow, or Growth: These are your seasons for expansion. Take advantage of this alignment to pursue meaningful projects, build new habits, or tackle challenging goals.
Making it work for you
Like all frameworks, this one is meant to be adapted to your specific situation. The categories might resonate differently based on your life stage or current work priorities.
I’m still iterating on this approach myself, but the clarity it’s already provided has been remarkable.
This type of systematic self-awareness — knowing not just what you want to achieve, but what season you’re in to achieve it — feels like a shortcut to better productivity and reduced overwhelm, which is my whole goal right now.
I’d love to hear from you. Does this resonate? What season are you in? Bonus points if you have specific strategies for navigating the seasons in your own life.