We all know that in most circles, time is money, right?
But I feel like most of us forget that you can always make more money… but you can’t make more time.
Which – to me anyway – means that time is actually more valuable than money.
Yet sooooo many of us waste time like it’s limitless.
And listen… I’m not here pointing the finger at you about this.
We all do this. Even me.
What I’m suggesting is that to get more joy out of life… we get to change our mindset about time.
And make smarter choices about how we approach it.
As in with intention.
Speaking of which, let’s say your intention is to establish a better relationship with time.
So you can create more of it… and be more present, engaged, and JOYFUL about using it…
Then my upcoming Reclaim Your Time Challenge is the place you’re gonna want to be later this month.
This is a 3-day LIVE online challenge where you’ll discover exactly where your time goes now…
And walk away with a brand new approach to creating more of it and maximizing what you do with it.
Which includes having time for yourself and what YOU wanna do on the daily.
No joke.
I’ve had people leave this event and tell me they get back an hour or more each day following the technique I shared.
Not to mention, being able to let go of all their past triggers and scarcity they had before regarding time.
And it’s free.
Yep, dot info. Or you can DM me the word RECLAIM and I’ll shoot ya the link that way.
So let’s talk about this a bit – HOW you use your time.
Most of us spend nearly an entire workday attached to our phones.
According to research, it’s about 5–6 hours*.
*
source
And that’s outside of actual work-related smartphone usage.
For reals.
If you wanna see how much time YOU spend on your phone, there’s actually a spot on your device where you can check.
If you have an iPhone, go to your Settings and then to Screen Time.
You can see your daily average of how long you’re on your phone… as well as whether you’re up or down compared to the previous week.
It’s a pretty eye-opening experience if you haven’t done this before.
If you have an Android, pop into your Settings and go into Digital Wellbeing.
You’ll be able to see similar options to check your daily usage.
My friends, this is a really great place to start if you feel constantly pressed for time.
Because you will likely see – in black and white – where a big chunk of your time goes.
That doesn’t mean you gotta chuck your phone out the window. LOL
Being AWARE of where your time goes is super important to making CHANGES to get more of it back.
Especially if you’re someone who gives and gives and gives to others… and skips over the whole self-care aspect of your life.
Because you tell yourself – and probably others – that you don’t have time.
So I wanna remind ya of something real quick…
How you spend your time is a CHOICE.
We’re lucky that we get to decide where our time goes.
Now before you start going, “Yeah but I have a job… or kids… or a family… and I DON’T have control over my time…”
I wanna offer you a gentle reminder.
You have all those things based on choices you’ve made in your life.
You get to own that.
The good AND the bad parts of those choices.
In some parts of the world, people DON’T actually have choices in their circumstances.
That’s obviously not what we’re talking about here.
I’m assuming you have freedom of choice to live your life – even if you do have big responsibilities on your plate.
When you feel compressed about time and your responsibilities… and you feel the urge to pretend and then say “I don’t have time”...
I encourage you to take this as a cue to reframe your perspective.
Shift out of victimhood.
You are literally giving away your power when you keep that whole “I don’t have time” language in your vernacular.
And you are a GD badass. So embrace that.
Even if you have a job with set hours… or family obligations that are at set times…
You still get to make decisions about your time that set you up for success.
So let’s start with your calendar.
When you look at it, are your priorities present?
Your calendar and your checkbook reflect your priorities.
Ever think about that?
It’s true though – where you spend time… and where you spend money… reflect what matters most to you.
So take a look at your calendar.
- How many of those appointments bring you joy?
- Do you consistently build in time for what matters the most to you?
- Do those appointments reflect your real life priorities?
Whether that’s working on your goals…
Or personal activities that make you feel good about yourself like:
- Working out.
- Getting a mani-pedi.
- Or a coffee date slash dinner with your bestie.
If your answer is, Not really.
It’s a sign you’re ready to shift your priorities.
And BTW – remember that your top priority is you.
Yes, even if you have a brand new baby… or a sick parent you’re caring for… or a job where you work 80+ hours a week.
If you aren’t taking care of yourself, how well will those who depend on you fare?
Probably not well, right?
So you absolutely gotta prioritize self-care.
Especially if you’re an entrepreneur.
One hack I like to offer is to always put your non-negotiables on your calendar first.
My non-negotiables include:
- Taking Madeline to and from school or summer camp.
- My workouts – which are basically my form of therapy. LOL
- And my morning routine.
And a new addition to my non-negotiables is ending my workday by 3pm – and not working on weekends.
This is because I got into a spot where I was working too much and it was causing tension in my family dynamic.
Because how I was spending my time didn’t reflect my true priorities.
And that’s what’s great about approaching your time with intention. When things change – like they sometimes do – you get to renegotiate. Or be flexible your schedule when needed.
So you can still do all.the.things – but without feeling constricted or constrained about it.
And you get to do this too.
One more thing on this topic of owning your time.
One of the best perks about having your own business is being in charge of your own schedule.
In fact, for many people, it’s the number one reason they decided to become their own boss.
So how often do you use this benefit?
Have you ever designed your ideal week?
What I mean by that is… have you set up your tasks, schedule, and responsibilities in such a way that you’re living your ideal lifestyle?
Do you have any rules or boundaries for yourself about how you spend your time – both in and out of your business?
For example, my friend Amy Porterfield works a 4-day week.
Which means she busts her butt Monday through Thursday… because she decided as a business owner that she didn’t want to work on Fridays.
And ya know what?
She gets to decide that!
I feel like most of us forget that we have these kinds of powers.
I know another woman business owner with a young child.
She ends her workday at 3pm every weekday – like I do.
Because when her kid gets home, she wants to be present with him.
So she gets up early and uses time blocking to ensure she stays on task and gets everything done by 3pm.
Now I gotta tell ya… she’s militant about her schedule.
It’s actually impressive!
Because she’s THAT committed to her priority of spending quality time with her child daily.
See how her calendar reflects her priorities?
Did you know that you can decide all sorts of things about how you spend your time?Here are some examples.
Maybe you decide you don’t wanna take meetings before noon.
Because you have some big goals and you feel freshest in the morning.
So you dedicate each morning to focus time working on one specific goal.
And when you follow through on this commitment, I can virtually guarantee you that you’re gonna hit that goal faster and with less effort than if you didn’t have this rule for yourself.
Or maybe you decide on “no Friday meetings”.
Because you want a full day to be in flow – and be in boss mode.
Specific “no meeting” days are actually a growing trend in businesses – even huge ones with hundreds or thousands of people.
The point I’m making here is that it’s your time – you get to decide how you spend it.
And you get to communicate these boundaries to others.
But you also gotta hold yourself accountable to these boundaries.
Of course, you can remain flexible and make the rare exception…
But don’t make bending over backwards your default state.
Another sneaky time suck is being hyper-connected.
AKA: Always being always available.
Whether that’s on Slack… Voxer… Skype… text… or email.
And always being available – and responding immediately – actually can cause you to lose HOURS of progress.
So a simple hack to avoid this is to turn off notifications and literally put your phone away from you when you’re in focus mode.
Like maybe you’re working on your books… or writing content… or creating videos…
Give yourself that time to focus on ONE thing.
Because multi-tasking actually causes you to be less efficient.
And that’s not even my hot take.
It’s actually backed by science.
The American Psychological Association reviewed several studies that show your brain takes up to 40% more time to switch over from one task to the next when multitasking.
It’s kinda like when you have too many tabs open… shit just runs slower. LOL
And when you respond to every ping and ding as they happen… or pop over into your inbox any time you see a new email come in…
You’re causing your brain – and therefore your progress – to slow down by nearly half.
YIKES.
Now let’s say you’re someone who feels like, “Can you just like, literally tell me exactly how to get more time in my day?”
Then here’s your solution.
Come to the Reclaim Your Time Challenge.
It’s from Tuesday June 28th through Thursday June 30th.
I’ll walk you step-by-step through my signature process to not just figure out where your time goes – once and for all – but also apply super specific techniques to create more effective pockets of time. AND how to manage your time better.
So you can get back that hour or more per day – and actually align your priorities with your calendar.
In fact, as I’ve been preparing for this online event, I looked back at some of the comments people left me from the last one.
And what I saw warmed my heart.
Tons of women and business owners saying things like “I just got so much extra flexible time.”
And “I feel wayyyyy less stressed about getting everything done.”
And even their families are noticing the shift.
Sonia said, “My husband is excited to see that I am making changes to help myself and our family.”
Which means taking down the stress impacts everyone else in her life.
Trust me when I tell ya… the hacks inside the Reclaim Your Time Challenge are totally doable.
It’s small shifts and tweaks you apply to your existing routines. But they wind up giving you a lot more peace and flexibility – without sacrificing quality.
So get your free ticket into the challenge at
www.reclaimyourtime.info. Or by sliding into my DMs with the word RECLAIM.
Hope to see ya there…
Have a great week, friends!