Seven years ago, I was miserable.
I was living in Portland, OR, with what some would call the “dream job.”
I was making great money, I had a fast-tracked career trajectory laid out for me… wasn’t that what I had been working towards my professional career?
But while I was thriving on paper, I felt disconnected from my work. My relationships were neglected, my health was deteriorating, and I felt rootless and joyless.
I was outside of my “Zone of Enoughness”, and so set off on a 7-year quest to reposition myself within it.
The Enoughness Framework and the Zone
The Enoughness Framework offers a lens to evaluate sufficiency in your business across four dimensions: money, time, flexibility, and creative autonomy. Each of these dimensions represents a key area where we’re often tempted to overreach—or where societal norms push us to want to optimize without question.
But enoughness isn’t about finding a perfect balance or checking boxes in each category. It’s about understanding your personal thresholds: what’s too much, what’s too little, and what feels just right. We have to learn to recognize and navigate the “Zone of Enoughness”, a dynamic space where your needs are met, your values are honored, and your business is sustainable for both you and the world around you.
What are dimensions of “enoughness”?
Money
It’s essential not only for survival but also for creating stability, safety, and opportunities for growth. It would be disingenuous to not talk about what we need to personally thrive, to protect our futures, to pass down wealth (if possible) to our children. However, defining enough money isn’t about accumulating as much as possible—it’s about meeting your real needs in the context of your life and values.
Time
How should we think about the amount of time our work will take up in our lives? As Oliver Burkeman reminds us in Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, our time is startlingly finite. The goal isn’t to cram in as much as possible or work as little as possible—it’s to spend our time intentionally, focusing on what truly matters. Every “yes” is also a “no” to something else, and defining what’s sufficient for you means deciding how your time aligns with your values and priorities.
Flexibility
In this framework, flexibility is the freedom to set your own schedule, work from anywhere, and shape your calendar around your life. But true flexibility is about more than just control over your schedule and working location. It’s about creating a structure that adapts to your unique needs and capacity.
Creative Autonomy
Creative autonomy is about what you work on and how you express yourself through your business. At its core, creative autonomy is about choosing work that energizes and excites you, rather than feeling trapped by routines, expectations, or external demands. It’s about working with clients who spark your passions or you enjoy, not just who can pay your invoices. It’s about preserving the space to explore new ideas, experiment, and grow creatively.
You’re in the “Zone of Enoughness” when you’ve defined what’s enough, and what’s too much, in each factor. If one factor is truly undernourished or overstretched, then it limits your ability to feel settled across your life and business entirely.
Where I was and where I am, 7 years later.
Why seven years? Seven years ago, I left Portland and landed in Charlotte. Since then, I met my husband, became a homeowner, adopted our dog Logan, and started my business. So let’s recap.
My 2018 State of Enoughness:
- Money: I got a raise when I moved to Charlotte. The salary was more than I needed for daily expenses (especially since I wasn't doing anything besides working). More than enough.
- Time: I regularly worked 10+ hour days, often late into the evening, in order to meet other people's demands. Overstretched. Overworking.
- Flexibility: My company required I show up in the office by 8 am, dressed in business casual, despite working 60+ hours a week. I wasn't trusted to get the job done on my best working schedule. Undernourished.
- Autonomy: I felt unheard, working under leaders who dismissed my input and on projects that were going nowhere. Undernourished.
But in 2021, I took the leap and started my own business full-time, after side hustling since 2018.
And while the full four-year recap will be published in a few weeks once I’ve hit that anniversary, how am I doing on enoughness?
My 2025 State of Enoughness:
- Money: While I’m grossing more than my corporate job, I’m taking home half of what I used to. However, our joint salaries allow us to cover the monthly expenses, save for retirement and fund investments in my business. Enough.
- Time: I still overwork, but now by choice, working with clients I love and pouring time into creative projects like my book, brand and website reset, courses, and podcast. Intentional overworking for this season.
- Flexibility: I have engineered more margin into my schedule. I can take long morning walks with my dog, touch grass on a sunny day, visit friends across the country during the work week, and take spontaneous long weekends with my husband. Enough.
- Autonomy: My work pulls me forward. I wake up excited to write, teach, and learn. I’ve moved from resentment to creative fulfillment. Enough.
Where are you in your “zone of enoughness”, and what can be nourished this season?
There’s a belief online that you can have more of it all at the same time: more money, more time, more flexibility, and more autonomy. Maybe that’s possible in the early stages, or if you scale with a team and navigate that change in responsibilities, but in the middle stages of business growth, trade-offs are inevitable. Gaining more in one area (like money) often means making intentional choices elsewhere.
Your “Zone of Enoughness” isn’t a static place. It shifts as your needs, priorities, and business evolve. Where do you feel stretched too thin? Where do you have more than enough? And what small shifts could bring you closer to a business and life that truly sustain you?