Everyone is talking about capacity.
New systems. New technology. AI. Restructures. Fewer resources. Higher expectations.
We’re all being asked to do more with less.
But while most people focus on everything being added to their workload, very few notice what’s quietly disappearing at the same time. The habits that create energy. The recovery that builds resilience. The systems that help us perform.
In this episode of Stay at the Top, I unpack why so many people feel like they’re at capacity, why simply pushing harder isn’t the answer, and the three controllables that will help you protect your energy, expand your capacity and navigate periods of intense change more sustainably.
I also share a personal update on why I’m pressing pause on the podcast and what this season has taught me about practising what I preach.
In this episode I share:
- Why so many people feel like they’re operating at capacity
- The hidden cost of constantly doing more with less
- How your own health habits quietly erode during busy seasons
- Why protecting your operating system matters more than ever
- The difference between reactive and proactive recovery
- How to use psychological detachment to recover more effectively
- Why annual, quarterly and daily recovery all matter
- How to work with your biology instead of against it
- Understanding your sleep chronotype and ultradian rhythm
- Why brain breaks are one of the highest leverage habits you can build
- The importance of subtracting before continuing to add more
- How to protect your capacity during seasons of change
- Why I’m pressing pause on Stay at the Top and what comes next
Key Quotes
“While you’re taking on more, the very system that helps you do it is starting to erode.”
“You can only add so many things before you reach a tipping point.”
“Sometimes protecting your capacity means doing less, not more.”
Episode Resources
Buy For the Long Run by Jess Spendlove 👉 https://amzn.to/4t33BPh
Jessica Spendlove Website – www.jessicaspendlove.com
Jessica Spendlove Keynotes – JessicaspendloveKeynotes – Jessica Spendlove
The High-Performance Profile Quiz https://jessicaspendlove.com/quiz/
Jess Spendlove Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jess_spendlove_dietitian/?hl=en
Jess Spendlove LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-spendlove-64173bb8/
About Your Host
Jessica Spendlove | Wellbeing Speaker & High Performance Strategist
Jess Spendlove is an international wellbeing and high performance speaker, coach, and advisor. With over 15 years of experience across corporate leadership, elite sport and the military she is known for helping ambitious leaders and teams optimise energy, build resilience, and sustain peak performance.
As one of Australia’s leading performance dietitians and a trusted voice in executive wellbeing, Jess delivers science-backed strategies that empower individuals, teams and organisations to thrive under pressure and achieve long-term success.
Episode Transcript
The following transcript has been automatically generated and not checked for accuracy
Jess Spendlove (00:02.274)
There’s one word I’ve been hearing a lot about recently, and that is capacity. Now I totally get it.
Everybody is navigating and leading through change. I’m sure you’ve had to face new programs, new systems, new technologies. And no doubt you’re probably doing all of that with less. Less time, less money, less resources, less people. And really, what happens when we’re just expected to keep adding and learning new things? And there is this expectation of more, more, more.
that eventually you get to a point where things tip over. And how that shows up is with your capacity. You feel like you’re at capacity or you’re above capacity or the capacity that you used to have is starting to decline. But here’s the other thing that most people don’t bring awareness to.
Is that when this is happening, often your own daily operating or systems or habits, the things that you do to prioritize yourself, to give you energy, to help you recover, to help you navigate and lead through all of the change and survive everything that life has starts to drop or slip or become inconsistent. And while you are navigating and taking more things on, at the same time, the system, the thing that helps you do all of that is starting to erode.
And so today that is what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about the controllables. I wanted to focus in on three of them. And I also wanted to share more information about the competition that I am running for all of August with Eden for anybody who purchases a copy of my book for the long run. Every book is an entry, so if you buy more than one book, you get more than one entry. More on that in today’s episode.
Jess Spendlove (01:59.765)
Does this sound like you? You’re currently having to learn new systems or new policies, you’ve had restructures, you’ve had new AI tools, you’ve had new AI policies. You just feel like at the moment that you can’t actually get into a rhythm with your day, particularly at work, because there’s always something new coming at you. And basically the message throughout all of this is that you’re expected to do more with less.
And I bet up until a point in time you’ve absorbed it and you’ve adapted and you’ve continued to do that. But here’s the thing: when you continue to add, when you continue to do, there is an inflection point. There is a tipping point where there’s only so much more you can take on. There’s only so much more you can do within the same amount of hours, within the same amount of role, with the same team, or potentially even less.
And it all gets to a point where you feel like your capacity is maxed out or you’re above capacity. And the thing that happens when your capacity is maxed out or you’re above capacity is your productivity starts to drop. Now I’m talking about this at an individual level, but this is what is happening to teams and organizations right now who are navigating and leading through change, which let’s be honest, is every single organization, as they try to adopt AI.
But those who are just doing it in terms of here’s a new tool, here’s a new system, learn it, as opposed to really taking the time, prioritizing learning AI and new systems, and giving and giving the team and the entire organization the tools and the time to do that, they’re two very different things.
Jess Spendlove (03:51.656)
But the thing that no one is really talking about, which I want to bring attention to here today, is that as you take on more and you have to learn more, something has to give. And what typically tends to give is what you need for yourself. Now, what I’m talking about here are the systems, the habits, the routines, the rituals, the recovery, the extra saunas, the gym session that you regularly go to three times a week, which has started to drop to once or twice, the extra hours that you’re spending in the office, which means
That you’re not doing the meal preparation or the grocery shopping that you normally do, and you’re defaulting to Uber Eats more often or grabbing something on the way home. All of these knock-on effects of you taking on more.
And then eroding the systems and structures that actually allow you to do that. It’s like a twofold effect in the way that you don’t want. And so today I want to talk about three ways that you can start to bring awareness to exactly what is happening. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to change what is happening at a more macro level. So what is happening within your team, what is happening with your organization, because we’re all going to be navigating and leading through change right now.
But there are some controllables, some things that you can control. And as you know, if you’ve been here for more than even a few episodes, I am all about controlling the controllables. And so today I want to bring, I want to shine a light on three ways that you can take back control, build your capacity, expand your capacity, and get through everything that you’re navigating at the moment.
So the first one is resting and recovering before you need it. And so is this you? You only take rest or recovery when you need it. So that might be at the end of the week when you’re completely exhausted. That might be scheduling time off work when you’re absolutely shattered, rather than looking at how can I take rest and recovery every single day. Yes, sleep is a form of that, but what I’m talking about are intentional stimulant-free breaks, your brain breaks every single day.
Jess Spendlove (06:01.335)
Single day. And what you want to start doing is starting to learn your own rhythm when it comes to stress and fatigue and getting ahead of the curve. So there’s a very big difference between waiting until you run down and taking the burnout vacation to scheduling in a long weekend or even just taking the long weekends that we have and being very intentional about what you do there. Now, the ideal would be to get out of your net your day-to-day environment. And so that might mean going away. Now I appreciate that.
That may not be possible, the long weekend might sneak up on you. I feel like that’s what happens to me. It sneaks up on me, and I’m like, I wish I’d organized a weekend away. But you can still apply the concept of psychological detachment, even if you’re at home. And so psychological detachment is about getting out of your day-to-day routine and operating in environments so you can psychologically detach from your day-to-day operating. Which, yes, let’s be honest, what I’m talking about here is work.
Particularly when you work at home a few days a week, or if you have your own business like me, where most of your work is at home, you really need to create that. You need to live by design. It doesn’t just happen. And so, with that, maybe what you might want to do if you can’t get away, that’s like the best, and when I say easiest, I guess easiest in terms of changing things up, separating that psychological attachment to what you do on your day-to-day.
But if you can’t do that, think about how you can be a tourist in your own city. Can you go to a different park or do a different hike or go to a new beach or a new cafe or do a day trip somewhere? Change it up so you can create that psychological detachment. And ideally, you’re wanting to do that quarterly, at least quarterly. If you can do it more frequently, please do it. But at a minimum, even if you can do that quarterly. And then yearly, you really want to look at where I am getting a really good separation from.
Yeah.
Jess Spendlove (07:59.862)
What I’m talking about here is a holiday or it can be a staycation, but it’s really about having time where you don’t need a holiday after that. So we’ve all had those holidays where we need the holiday after the holiday. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about a really restorative, recovery-focused holiday where you’re moving, you’re enjoying yourself, you’re eating well, you’re being active, whether that’s at home, whether that’s domestically or internationally, but it’s really about allowing that.
really good top-up once a year. And so I guess this is a really great place to mention the competition that I’m running in partnership with Eden Retreat. I’ve been there three times. It’s absolutely phenomenal.
And to celebrate the launch of For the Long Run, I’m giving away a three-night stay for one person, valued at over $3,000. Every book is an entry. And the competition is running up until the end of August. So if you have pre-ordered for the long run, if you buy it across August, every book is an entry. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram where I’ll be sharing all of the all of the information. But basically, every book is an entry and then
Then you just need to be following Eden’s account and my account on Instagram. You need to email me Jess at jessicaspenlove.com, proof of purchase, and every book is an entry. Competition will run until the 31st of August. I’ve just been there for a few nights myself. I’m so excited for one lucky person to experience it. There’s so much alignment with everything I talk about in for the long run.
The second way that you can take back control and expand your capacity is to work with your biology. And so there are a few ways for you to do this. The first one is to understand what your sleep chronotype is. Now, this is a genetically way that we are wired. Are we a morning person? Are we a night owl? Or are we someone that’s in between? And then aligning our most productive hours and our highest cognitively demanding tasks with each other. And so this is why it’s not necessarily a
Jess Spendlove (10:08.127)
About eating the frog and doing your most important task. I mean, yes, that can work for a lot of people, but it specifically works for the morning person. If you get in and you get that done, great. But if you’re trying to do that and it doesn’t actually feel like it works for you, maybe that’s because you’re a bear, which is someone who’s that middle of the day kind of person, or a night owl. And to be honest, the bear chronotype is the most common one. And so understanding where you are.
Which chronotype you are, and I talk about this in the book, and then trying to align your most cognitively demanding tasks within your peak productivity window is one way you can work smarter, not harder, and align with your biology. Now I appreciate you don’t always particularly depending on the role that you’ve got, you may not be able to fully control your diary, but as much as you can do that, and so what I try not to do, I try not to have a lot of my meetings in the morning. I try
To keep that for my projects and my deep work and my business development and anything that’s requiring me to get in and focus, I like to do that in the morning, and I like to keep as much of my face-to-face meetings until the afternoon because for me that aligns with my sleep chronotype, which aligns with my rhythm, which allows me to work smarter and not harder. Now, the second way you can do that, and I’ve kind of touched on it in the first one, is the brain breaks. So this is
Based off something called your Ultradian rhythm. Now, this is a type of biological rhythm. It is a microcycle within us. And so this is like a double positive. It’s a rest and a recovery, and one of your best ways that you can do that on a daily basis, but it’s also a way that you can work with your biology. It’s why they are so powerful. Now you might feel good one or two days after doing it, but do it for a few weeks or a few months and you will be a different person.
Probably the hardest thing with the brain break is getting into the rhythm of doing it. So set a reminder in your calendar. You know, one mid-morning, one mid-afternoon. Make sure you’re having lunch away from your desk. Make sure you’re having intentional stimulant-free time. I have so many episodes where I talk about this. So go back to any of them on recovery. Otherwise, if you haven’t grabbed for the long run, I go deep on both of these things. Working with your biology is an entire chapter.
Jess Spendlove (12:37.518)
Where I cover your circadian rhythm, your sleep chronotype, and your ultradian rhythm in a really practical way for you to understand and apply. And the third thing is subtract. All we keep doing is adding more, a new thing, another task. Now I want to learn how to line dance or learn a new language or go to a new gym. We’re always adding more.
And at the moment in your professional life, we are in a season of navigating and leading through change. So maybe what you need to do is think about what you can subtract. Now, this is different to letting something slip. This is about being intentional and making a conscious decision. But there is a tipping point for everyone. You can only add so many things before you tip into the red. And in my experience, you are much better off maintaining a smaller number of habits that prior.
Help you prioritize yourself consistently than trying to do too many things and not doing them consistently. So maybe in this season of life, there’s something you need to subtract. And so, with that, I invite you to think about what that might be. I invite you to think about what gives you energy, what helps you recover, what helps you expand your capacity, which is some of what I’m talking about here today. These three C’s, which I call them, are the output.
Outputs of sustainable high performance. And so when you can answer those questions, when you have habits that you know that feed into them, you know what gives you energy, you know what sustains your energy, you know what helps you recover intentionally, not reactively, and you know what helps you expand your capacity and manage your stress and build it into your days, weeks, months, and years, then you are so much further ahead of where you used to be. And so, with that, you know, it feels like an
Appropriate time to mention that because I’m thinking about my own capacity right now, that I am going to be putting Stay at the Top on pause for the time being. Now it was my intention to continue to produce weekly episodes. I really believe in consistency for those who’ve been following along and seen the video episodes and also the clips. You will know that I’ve I have invested my time, energy, and money into levelling up Stay at the Top this year.
Jess Spendlove (15:02.571)
I’ve had some amazing guests, Mel Doyle, Bronte Campbell, Rory Warnock, Kate Kendall. The list goes on. And I had really hoped that I would be able to continue doing this weekly. But there’s something I’ve realized coming into this season, launching the book, more media, more keynotes, more travel, doing this with a 19-month-old is that there’s a level of just going, okay, what is actually possible right now? The other thing is I’ve been working
Nearly five days a week, and my intention is to work four days, have a day with Millie. And I always ask myself, will I look back and think I’ve worked too much? And for a period of time, I’ve been okay with that coming into this season of launching the book, but I also need to check in with myself because I don’t want to look back. And despite deciding to write a book with a one month old, I don’t want to look back and think I’ve worked too much. And so for me, this is preaching what I practice and practicing what I preach.
And saying for the time being, stay at the top is going on hold. If you were new and you’ve only tuned in, there’s so many amazing episodes for you to go back and listen to. And if you’re an OG, again, you know, go back and listen to some of your favorite seasons, episodes, solo episodes, or guests. If you haven’t already grabbed a copy of For the Long Run, make sure you do. Currently, the book, the hard copy, and also the Kindle form are available in September.
The audiobook version will be available, so maybe grab a copy of that as well if you’ve got the hard copy. That way you can really move through. It’s like a very extended podcast, all in one book, with a really systematic approach. You will hear things that I talk about on here, you will hear new things I don’t talk about on here in an extended version. And all in that is to say thank you so much for tuning in. All the very best to someone who’s going to win that three-night stay at Eden.
Make sure you’re following me along on Instagram and LinkedIn. And yeah, all the very best. Big thank you to anyone and everyone who has bought a copy of the book, sent me a photo. I’m so very grateful. And yeah, otherwise, I will be back helping you all not only reach the top but and sustainably stay there. But I’ll be doing that after a bit of a break for myself. Alrighty, take care. I’ll see you all then.