Selective Hustle: How To Decide What Actually Deserves Your Energy This Week

This week’s Wellness Rewind comes from a very real Sunday-night moment where I realized I was “busy” but not actually doing anything that mattered. Seventeen mental tabs open, zero clarity.

Selective hustle is the shift I’ve been leaning into… choosing what truly deserves my energy instead of saying yes to everything that asks for it. It’s not about working harder, it’s about working cleaner.

This issue walks you through the exact framework: an energy audit, tactical filters, and a Sunday ritual to help you step into the week focused, grounded, and actually energized.

I had a moment this past week, you know that feeling when your brain is buffering while your body is moving? That was me. I was toggling between emails, checking flights I had zero intention of booking (the winter blues!), scrolling Threads, rewriting my Monday plan for the third time, Slack pings, last minute social media review on a trend my Social Media Manager asked for, 20 tabs opened… and accomplishing nothing.

And I caught myself thinking: "Why does being ‘busy’ feel so much like avoidance?"

Selective hustle is the opposite of that chaos. It’s the version of productivity that actually feels grounding, the kind where you give your energy to fewer things, but those things actually matter.

It’s something I’ve been practicing in my business, in training, even in my personal life. If something doesn’t support my goals, my peace, or my future self? It doesn’t get access to me.

Selective hustle isn’t about doing less for the aesthetic. It’s about refusing to exhaust yourself for tasks that don’t move the needle. Because when you stop leaking energy in a hundred directions, you suddenly have the capacity for the things that actually scale your life, your wellness, your career, your creativity, your happiness.

That’s the shift. That’s the power.

Before you plan the week, you check your energy. Because your calendar means nothing if your tank is empty. Ask yourself, and actually rate these:

1. Does this light me up or drain me dry?
Rate each task 1–10. Anything consistently scoring under a 5 needs to be delegated, streamlined, or deleted.

2. Is this a “hell yes” or just a “should”?
If it doesn’t align with your top three quarterly goals (wellness, career, or personal life)… it’s a no wrapped in guilt.

3. What’s the ROI in 90 days?
Does this task compound your ambition, mental clarity, or freedom?
If not, it’s noise disguised as progress.

This is where most people realize they spend more energy on mindless scrolling, “quick favors,” or reactive emails than on the things that actually move their life forward.

The 80/20 Rule, Wellness Edition
Eighty percent of your results come from twenty percent of your efforts. The move? Cut the low-impact 80 percent.

Example: Don’t open email before 11AM. Keep your brain in proactive mode, not reactive.

Boundary Batch
Group similar tasks together instead of jumping between roles all day. Deep work mornings. Admin afternoons. Creative blocks. Your brain will thank you for the lack of chaos.

The No-List
Pick three things you’re saying no to this week. Non-essential meetings. Last-minute favors. Social media rabbit holes. Your time is a finite resource, treat it like one.

Recharge Anchors
One non-negotiable daily ritual that fills you back up. Your morning run, pilates, a cappuccino walk… this might look different for you. Selective hustle only works when your energy is topped up.

Sunday Integration + Week 1 Challenge

Spend fifteen minutes today reviewing last week.

Then script your Yes List for the next seven days, the handful of things that deserve your effort. Everything else is either a soft no or a later.

This week’s challenge: Reply or comment with one task you’re cutting from your list this week. You’ll inspire someone else to do the same.

This week I caught myself doing that thing where I convince myself I’m being productive… but actually, I’m just circling. I had ten tabs open, bouncing between travel planning, work messages, random chores, and a Lululemon order I never finished placing.

And I realized none of those tasks were urgent. They were just there. Taking up space. So I shut everything down, made a tiny list of three things that actually mattered, and tackled those instead.

The clarity that came from doing less intentionally felt like the biggest exhale.

Most of what drains you isn’t hard work, it’s unfiltered access. When everything feels urgent, nothing is. Protect your energy like it has ROI… because it does.

If this week is all about selective hustle, think of ARMRA as the wellness version of saying yes only to what truly matters. Their science-backed colostrum supports immune strength, gut health, and skin barrier resilience, so your body isn’t wasting energy fighting the basics.

Instead, it frees up your bandwidth for the stuff that actually moves the needle: your work, your goals, your glow, your life. ARMRA is essentially the “energy audit” for your cells, removing the drains, boosting the essentials, and giving you a stronger foundation for the week ahead.

Strengthen from the inside out in one daily scoop. Because protecting your energy starts with protecting your biology. Get 15% off your first order with code WELLNESSBUM at armra.com

📱Apps:

📚 Reads: Essentialism by Greg McKeown. It’s literally the blueprint for “do less, but better.” It’s practical, not woo, and speaks to the idea of cutting non-essential tasks so your energy goes where it counts.

🎧 Podcasts: Huberman on time-blocking and attention. This episode breaks down science-backed tools to sharpen focus and reduce mental noise, making it perfect for a week built around selective hustle and protecting your energy.

🕯️ Rituals:
A Sunday night “brain sweep”
A daily non-negotiable movement ritual
A 10-minute morning clarity session (no phone)

🕯️ Warm Glow Lighting
Turn off all overhead lights. Lamps only. Amber bulbs if you have them. Instant calm.

Rest well, reset your energy, and step into the week with intention. Selective hustle isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing what matters. And you deserve a life that reflects your priorities, not your distractions.

See you next Sunday.

Valerie

P.S. Was this issue a vibe? Forward it to someone who could use this.