The True Cost of Building- 'Energy' Edition

We know that building or renovating your home will cost money and time. But another of your valuable life currencies it will impact is- Your 'energy'.

Like time, our energy is limited- We can't get it back once we've spent it. So, it makes good sense to channel our energy into what's important.

When renovating and building, homeowners can unknowingly misdirect their energy, brushing over pivotal decisions that contribute to their project's eventual success (like choosing their designer and builder). While on the flip side, giving stacks of time and effort to less critical decisions (like choosing tiles and paint colours).

When important decisions aren't considered adequately, projects go off the rails and demand more energy than anticipated, manifesting into stress. Build stress most commonly presents as worry, overwhelm, decision fatigue, sleepless nights and relationship angst, to name a few.

Perhaps not the 'dream-home' experience you'd imagined.

Stress and building are often accepted as going hand in hand. But I call BS on that- It doesn't have to be that way.

Life's most rewarding experiences demand a high contribution of our energy and fall into what I call the 'Hard Fun' category. Things like running a marathon, climbing Mount Everest, sustaining a good relationship, or, you guessed it- Building a custom home for you and your family.

Creating a unique home can be one of life's most enriching experiences, but it won't magically work out just because you want it to. Don't buy into the falsities portrayed in the 'fixer-upper' TV shows. Building and renovating is complex. There are countless opportunities for costly mistakes.

Protecting your energy while ensuring your project's successful completion comes with proper planning. Creating and following a project roadmap allows you to focus your energy on decisions most important to your stage of progress. In the earliest stages, your energy is best directed into big-picture planning, like aligning your brief with your budget and curating the right team of designing and building professionals.

And before you get annoyed with me, tile selections and paint colours are important too. They will become the focus of your attention further into your project at the relative stage of progress.