Shawn Byfield
January 24, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
In This Issue:
The Energy Audit (do this before February starts)
What Darren Hardy Taught Me About Finishing Strong (when you're already exhausted)
Compete With Confidence: The Relief You Actually Need
The February Reset Nobody Talks About (but everyone needs)
The Energy Audit
January is almost over and you're running on fumes.
You started the year with plans. Maybe even a vision board. And now you're juggling parent emails, competition prep, costume drama, and trying to keep your own head above water.
Here's what nobody tells you: you can't manage time. You can only manage ENERGY. Before February starts, you need to know where your energy is actually going.
The 3-Question Energy Audit:
What drained me most this month? (Be specific. "Everything" doesn't count.)
What gave me energy, even when I was tired? (This is your clue to what matters.)
What can I delegate, delete, or delay in February? (Not everything. Just one thing.)
Write it down. Don't just think about it. Because here's the truth: you can't add more to your plate until you clear something off it! And you've been adding for weeks.
Do this audit this weekend and reply with your answers. Let me know what you're letting go of?
What Darren Hardy Taught Me About FINISHING Strong
You know what I love about Darren Hardy's work? He doesn't sugarcoat burnout. He says, "Where there is chaos, there is opportunity." (If you haven’t read The Compound Effect, it’s a must-add to your reading list for 2026.)
And I know what you're thinking. "Shawn, I don't need opportunity. I need a nap."
Fair! But here's what he means… When everything feels like chaos, that's when you get to choose what actually matters. Not later. Not when things calm down. Right now, in the mess.
Most teachers try to control the chaos. Champions use it to clarify.
Here's the system: The CHAOS CLARITY METHOD
List everything screaming for your attention. All of it. Dump it on paper.
Circle the 3 things that move your studio forward. Not urgent. Not loud. Just important.
Schedule those 3 things first. Everything else fits around them or doesn't happen.
This isn't about doing more. It's about protecting what matters when everything else is pulling at you. Jim Rohn said, "For things to change, YOU must change." And the change you need right now isn't working harder. It's deciding faster.
What gets your focus in February? Decide now, before the month decides for you. Save this and share it with a teacher who's drowning right now. They need permission to let some things go.
Compete With Confidence: Relief You ACTUALLY Need
Let's be real. You're burnt out because you're carrying weight you weren't meant to carry alone.
You're trying to be the choreographer, the therapist, the tech support, the hype person, and the one who keeps it all together backstage. That's not sustainable. And you already know it.
Here's what I know after years of coaching and adjudicating:
The teachers who thrive aren't the ones doing more. They're the ones who built systems, taught their teams mental toughness, and stopped trying to control everything themselves.
That's exactly what Compete With Confidence gives you. This isn't theory. It's what I use as a certified Maxwell Leadership coach and adjudicator. It's the mental side of competition that most teachers never learn because nobody teaches it... But I do!
The next two studios to book get a free follow-up session worth $500.
And here's what that follow-up does: we apply what you learned in the first session to your actual routines, your actual dancers, your actual challenges. It's customized. It's practical. And it works.
You don't need to work harder. You need the right support at the right time. Reply now to book your virtual session. Let's finish competition season strong without finishing you in the process.
The February Reset NOBODY Talks About
Here's what happens every year. Teachers sprint through January. They survive. Barely. And then February hits and they expect to magically have energy again.
It doesn't work that way. You need a reset. Not a break. A reset. Here's the difference:
A BREAK is passive. You stop, rest, hope you feel better.
A RESET is active. You stop, deliberately assess, and realign.
The 1-Week February Reset. Week 1 of February, do this:
Monday: Energy audit (you already did this if you followed Segment 1).
Tuesday: Pick your 3 focus areas for the month. Write them down. Put them somewhere you see daily.
Wednesday: Communicate those 3 focus areas to your team or dancers. Tell them what you're prioritizing and what you're letting go of.
Thursday: Batch one admin task that's been draining you (emails, schedule updates, costume orders). Get it done in one sitting.
Friday: Do one thing just for YOU. Not for your dancers. Not for your studio. For you.
This isn't selfish. It's strategic. John Maxwell says, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." And right now, you're the leader. If you crash, everything crashes.
Take the reset. Build the momentum. Let February be the month you lead with clarity instead of chaos. Reply and tell me your 3 focus areas for February? I’d love to see what you're choosing!
Phew! You're Almost There
January tested you. You made it (almost!)
Now finish STRONG. Not by doing more, but by deciding what actually matters and protecting it. Do the energy audit. Use the chaos to clarify. Take the reset.
And if you need help to rock competition season without burning out? Just hit reply. Let's talk about Compete With Confidence and get you the relief you're trying to find by yourself.
High-five, you got this!
Shawn B
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