The Secret to Maximizing Your Efficiency

Dear Friends,

In today’s letter, I’m going to share the secret to maximizing your efficiency (and impact).

A new client approached me recently, wanting my help to become more “efficient” and “strategic.” She is a brilliant and passionate CEO who was feeling very overwhelmed and felt that she was getting stretched too thin - this is a common reality for many people, CEO or not.

We could have started with making a list of everything on her plate and figured out what she needed to release, prioritize, and delegate, etc... And that is a very important exercise, but one that I knew she was more than capable of doing herself. So if she was struggling with this, then something deeper was going on.

And there was: her nervous system was dysregulated. She was stuck in survival mode and couldn’t access her creative thinking and higher-level problem-solving abilities. She was operating and acting out of fear, and it was draining her energy and causing more problems and inefficiencies for her and her business.

Naturally, addressing this became an urgent priority for us because, without this foundation, even the most brilliant business and leadership strategy would fall by the wayside.

So to be your most "efficient" self, the main “strategy” you need is to be very proactive about keeping your nervous system regulated so you can think creatively and stay focused on taking aligned action.

If we take action when we are feeling disconnected from ourselves and are fueled by our worries and fears instead of our purpose, vision, values, and deeper knowing, that’s where we create the most inefficiency in our lives, careers, and businesses.

When we take aligned action, however, each step can be exponentially more impactful in ensuring our long-term safety and thriving - piercing through the fog of confusion, chaos, and uncertainty.

This is about developing the capacity and having the space to align and focus even in the midst of the most violent storms, but I want to emphasize that this doesn’t imply being slow and passive. Sometimes you do need to decide, act, and move fast, but you can still be grounded and aligned as you do.

And sometimes, you need to put out some big fires first to create the space for the nervous system to calm down, and that’s why bringing in a grounding and strategic presence is essential and why I’m so passionate about my work.

The leaders I work with are all incredibly capable and amazing, but even the most remarkable people struggle to see clearly when they are in the thick of it and are being stretched too thin. I’m thankful that I get to be a safe harbor where I hold a light and help my clients refuel, realign, and strategize to take actions that maximize their efficiency and impact.

Every person and situation is different, but in my upcoming letters, I’ll share some general steps for how you can get to this regulated, connected, and aligned space and, most importantly, how to stay there.

For now, I hope this is a helpful reminder to prioritize calming and regulating your nervous system, finding stillness, and connecting with your inner being - even if it is just for five minutes a day.

It is in this space that we can tap into our creativity and find the solutions we need.

It is from this space that we can take aligned action and maximize our efficiency.

And it is from this space that we can create significant shifts and amplify our impact.

It is also from this space that I write my letters to you - and always with love and gratitude,

Maliheh