Scroll last year's calendar, notice your gut reaction to each name, and sort people into energy givers, drainers and forgettables.
The idea
We've been trained to network "strategically," chasing big names and ignoring the people we enjoy because we can't see their utility. But the people who energize you are almost always the ones who end up mattering most to your career anyway, because real relationships create real opportunities. You already know who they are. Your gut feels the slight lift when their name pops up, and the little knot of dread for someone else.
How to do it
Pull up your calendar from last January and scroll the meetings and coffee chats, noticing your physical reaction to each name.
Sort them: energy givers (conversation flows like water), energy drainers (pushing a boulder uphill) and the forgettables (you met, you talked, nothing happened).
Repeat for the rest of the year.
Set up time with the givers, just because you like each other. Stop forcing it with the drainers: be polite and professional, but stop investing. Let the forgettables go.
For a lighter version, audit last month's calendar: who left you buzzing, who left you drained? Start shifting the ratio.
Example
In December 2025 I was doing this exact exercise myself. The feeling to look for: a 90-minute mastermind Zoom I'd dragged myself to left me feeling like I could bend steel with my bare hands.
The +2 Energy Rating: After interactions, rate how you feel from -2 to +2, rate three standouts each day, and give more of your time to the +2s.
The Year-End Calendar Review: Block 90 minutes in December, scroll your calendar day by day from January 1, and reconnect with the people whose names still make you smile.
Your Network Is Your North Star: The people around you expand or shrink what you believe is possible, at work and at home, so choose them on purpose and keep a small growth circle close.
The Down Escalator: Every relationship rides a down escalator, so ending one just means stepping off; stop investing, decline politely, never ghost, and leave the door open.