Color-Code Your Energy


Weekly 40 Hour Kit by Fabiano Abreu Ott

The journey of growing your business without grinding 24/7.


40 Hour Kit: Color-Code Your Energy

(Here for the subject line? Find it in the πŸš€ Challenge section)

Hey Reader, happy 2026!

I hope your start to the new year went smoothly.
In the first week of the year, most of my time flows into reflecting, dreaming, structuring and planning. It feels like there is a new blank space to fill with a mission and goals. If it's the same for you and you're missing a template for business goal tracking, feel free to duplicate my Notion template here.


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πŸ’‘ Entrepreneurial Insight

Recognition and appreciation are the least practiced, but most powerful tools to influence people in business.

Based on writer and entrepreneurial thinker and teacher Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'.​


βš–οΈ Balance Hack

Especially when planning out your new year, the Japanese philosophy called IKIGAI can be a great guide and framework to a happy and successful life and business:

Based on 'IKIGAI' by bestselling authors HΓ©ctor GarcΓ­a and Francesc Miralles.


πŸš€ Challenge

Don't just look at what you achieved last year, look at how it felt. Open your digital calendar from the last 3 months. Color-code every meeting and task:

  • Green: Gave me energy (I was excited).
  • Red: Drained me (I dreaded it).
  • Yellow: Neutral.

Set a Q1 goal of delegating, deleting or automating 50% of the Red blocks.

Inspired by the Energy Calendar system from NYT bestselling author, entrepreneur and investor Sahil Bloom.​


✨ Recommendation

3 ideas from 3 remarkable entrepreneurs on how to simplify your 2026:

1. Simplicity is not Ease (Derek Sivers)

Easy solutions - like subscriptions or hiring help - create invisible chains. You become dependent on them.

  • The Fix: Do the hard work of "untangling". True simplicity often feels harder upfront (e.g., coding your own tools, owning less), but it builds a life of robust independence.

2. Eliminate β€œGray Areas” with Binary Rules (Seth Godin)

Deciding if you should bend a rule or how much to do - invite massive cognitive load.

  • The Fix: Adopt strict binary constraints.
    Example: Never miss a deadline. Never go over budget. No meetings. When the default answer is a hard, non-negotiable "No" decision-making becomes fast and stress-free.

3. Use the Body to Decide (Martha Beck)

We create complex logical justifications for things we actually hate.

  • The Fix: Use a single metric: Muscle Relaxation. Treat life like a game of "Warm or Cold". If a choice makes your body physically relax, go toward it. If you tense up, stop immediately - regardless of the social cost.

Based on the tips stated on the Tim Ferriss Show.


❓ Question for you to ask another Entrepreneur

If you had to reach your year-end goal in 6 months, what would you stop doing immediately?


Wish you a successful, joyful and balanced 2026!

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Best,

​

Fabiano

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Stop Carrying the Weight of Your Business Solo in 2026.

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40 Hour Entrepreneur
Fabiano Abreu Ott
Berlin, Germany
fabiano@40hourentrepreneur.com

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The newsletter for bootstrapped and entrepreneurs who are highly-driven while valuing a balanced & fulfilled life. Get 1 Entrepreneurial Insight, 1 Balance Hack, 1 Challenge, 1 Recommendation and 1 Community Update every week.

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