Energy Accounting: The Bank Balance Nobody Taught Us to Check & How A Virtual Assistant Can Help
I was recently introduced to a concept that's been quietly rearranging how I think about my days. It's called Energy Accounting, and a new connection mentioned it to me almost in passing.
The idea was developed by autistic psychologist Maja Toudal, built around a simple metaphor: think of your energy like money in a bank account. Some things make withdrawals. Some things make deposits. And if you're not paying attention to the balance, you'll eventually end up overdrawn.
Many autistic people find this framework genuinely useful for managing stress and energy levels, whether they're using it alone or with the help of people around them. But the more I read into it, the more I became convinced this isn't a niche idea at all. It's something almost anyone could use, and if you're self-employed or running a small business, I'd argue it's especially useful.
So What Actually Is Energy Accounting?
At its core, energy accounting means figuring out what gives you energy and what takes it away, then using that knowledge to make more deliberate choices about your day.
The goal isn't to eliminate the things that drain you. Life doesn't really allow for that, and running your own business definitely doesn't. It's to make sure you're not stacking up too many withdrawals without enough deposits to balance them out, so you don't end up overwhelmed or running on empty.
And the part I really like is that everyone's account looks different. What recharges one person might drain another completely. There's no universal 'correct' way to fill your battery, just your own way (once again proving that one size definitely doesn’t fit all!)
Building Your Own Energy Account
The practical version of this is refreshingly low-tech. You make two lists.
Energy withdrawals. Things that use up your energy.
Energy deposits. Things that give you energy back.
Once you've got your lists, try assigning each item a rough value. Withdrawals might range from -1 to -10 depending on how draining they are. Deposits work the same way, from +1 up to +10.
If you're not a numbers person, there's a simpler version too. Grade your activities using a traffic light system.
🔴 Red: drains a lot of energy
🟠 Amber: drains some energy
🟢 Green: gives you energy
Grab some coloured pens or highlighters and start mapping out your week. Suddenly you've got a visual picture of where your energy is actually going, rather than just a vague feeling of being tired.
For me, a red activity is a day packed with back to back client calls with no breathing room between them. Invoicing is a steady amber drain, not awful, but not something I look forward to either. Green, for me, is a walk with the dog before I open my laptop, or the twenty minutes I spend planning my week on a Monday morning with a coffee and no interruptions. None of that felt worth naming until I saw it written down as a list. It's obvious once you see it, but I'd never actually sat and worked it out before.
Balancing the Books
Once you can see your withdrawals and deposits laid out, the real work begins: balancing them.
Say you've got a big networking event coming up. That's a classic red activity for a lot of people. The idea isn't necessarily to avoid it, but to plan around it. Pair it with a green activity afterwards, something that lets you regroup and recharge, rather than piling another red or amber task straight on top.
It's the same principle as a bank balance. You wouldn't keep spending without ever checking what's coming in. Energy accounting just asks you to apply that same common sense to your wellbeing, and to your working week.
If you run your own business, this probably sounds familiar already. A heavy sales call, a tricky client conversation, or an afternoon buried in admin can all be red activities in disguise. Most business owners I work with don't stop to notice that pattern until they've hit a wall. Part of what I do as a virtual assistant is take some of those amber and red tasks off your plate altogether, the invoicing, the inbox, the scheduling, so there's more room left in your account for the parts of the business you actually enjoy.
When the Balance Slips (Because It Will)
Here's the bit I think is easy to overlook. Even with the best planning in the world, you're not always going to keep an even balance. Life happens. Unexpected things drain your energy in ways you couldn't have predicted, and no amount of colour-coded lists will fully protect you from that. Anyone who's had a client emergency land on a Friday afternoon will know exactly what I mean.
That's why it's just as important to have a plan for when you're already running low, not just a plan for staying balanced. Some starting points worth trying:
A go-to list of small things that reliably boost your energy
Permission to just take a break, without guilt
A distraction or activity that helps take your mind off what's draining you
Having this plan ready before you need it means you're not trying to figure out how to recover while you're already deep in the red.
Why This Might Be for Everyone
What struck me most while reading about energy accounting is how much sense it makes outside of its original context. We all have days that leave us wiped out and days that leave us feeling recharged. Most of us just never stop to actually map out which is which, and if you're self-employed, there's rarely anyone else clocking it for you.
Energy accounting gives you a simple, visual way to notice patterns you might otherwise miss, and a nudge to be a little kinder to yourself about balancing them out.
It's not about being productive every second of every day. It's about making sure you're not constantly withdrawing from an account you never top up.
So maybe it's worth asking yourself: what would your energy account look like this week? And more importantly, what's on your list of green activities for when you need them most?
If your account's looking overdrawn because your to-do list has taken over, that's usually where I come in. Let's have a chat about what could come off your plate.
Andiamo!
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