5 Things to STOP Scheduling If You Want More Time (Without Doing Less)

Speaker A: Hey, friends, and welcome to this bonus episode of It's About Time. If you've ever looked at your calendar or your planner and thought, uh, I want things to be different. I just don't know if anything is actually going to change things if you know what that feels like. I created this episode just for you because here's what I know. After years of working with high achieving, busy women, the thing standing between you and a schedule that actually works usually isn't a lack of knowledge, it's not a lack of ambition, and it definitely isn't a lack of effort. It's usually, one of five very specific things. And once you name it, once you really can identify what's in your way, you can move past it. So let's get to it. So, number one, your mindset. The first thing standing between you and a schedule that actually works is your mindset and specifically the beliefs you carry about time that you didn't even choose for yourself. And this is, this is kind of frustrating because a lot of us grew up hearing things like you have to work hard to earn rest, or you have to do your homework before you can play. And as kids, all of that made sense. But here's the problem. When you become an adult, the homework never ends. There is always something else on the list, which means that rest, real guilt free rest, it never feels earned. And then you stay stuck in a cycle of doing more, resting less, and wondering why you're so exhausted all the time. And then there are the stories we've told ourselves for so long that they feel like facts. I'm just not good at time management. Or I'm the late one. I'm always late. Or what about this one? I've always been like this. This is just how I am. These beliefs about ourselves, about the way that we manage our time, they are so ingrained in the way that we think that we don't even realize they're in our way. We're not working against our schedule, we're working against a story. Um, an untrue story at that. But the good news is, is that a belief that was learned can be unlearned. And a lot of times that's exactly where the work begins. That's where it has to begin. So number two is blurry boundaries. The second thing standing between you and a schedule that works, that actually fits your life, that feels good. It's not a lack of boundaries, it's blurry ones. I mean, most of us know that boundaries matter. We've read the books, we've Nodded along to the podcast episodes. I mean, come on. I've even recorded a few. We genuinely want to have better boundaries, to give our best. Yes, where it counts. But here's the thing. You cannot hold a boundary you cannot clearly name. I mean, imagine trying to color in the lines in a coloring book or on a color sheet, but the lines are so light and so hard to see that you struggle to know where the red ends and the blue should begin. If you don't know what you're protecting, what time is yours, what energy is non, uh, negotiable, what requests are a yes and what deserves a no, then your boundaries will bend every single time. Not because you're weak, not because you're a pushover or a people pleaser, but because vague intentions are no match for a calendar full of other people's priorities. A schedule that actually works. A life that really feels good. It requires boundaries that are specific, decided in advance and communicated clearly. And once you have those, once you can name them, holding them becomes so much easier than you think. Number three. It's fear. Oh, yeah. The third thing standing between you and a schedule. A day. A, uh, to do list. A life that feels like it actually works. It's fear. And I want to name the biggest one specifically, because I'll bet you've probably felt it. What if I do this and it doesn't work? So that might look like, what if I try another system? What if I invest more time and energy into figuring this out? What if I really try to start being places on time? And then what if I end up right back where I started? What if I fail? What if this doesn't work for me? What if I get my hopes up and nothing actually changes? And that fear is real and it makes complete sense if you've tried things before that didn't stick. But here's what I want you to consider. What if the reason it didn't work before wasn't you? Like you at your core? What if it was the approach? What if you just haven't found the right framework yet? One that's built around your values, your energy, your actual life, not someone else's copy and paste version of productivity. The women who make the biggest breakthroughs aren't the ones who had no fear. They're the ones who decided that staying stuck of continuing in the hamster wheel, staying stuck in the rut. They decided that that was way scarier than trying one more time. And then, number four, it's feeling like you don't have enough time. Oh, the irony of this one, the fourth thing standing between you and a schedule that works, a calendar that truly supports you, is the feeling that you don't have enough time to work on your time. And I, uh, hear this all the time, Anna, I would love to figure this out. I would love to work with you, I would love to fix this, but I am so busy I can barely breathe right now. Maybe when things slow down. Friend, I have to be honest with you. Things very rarely slow down on their own. Your calendar doesn't magically clear. The to do list does not shrink without intention. Waiting for a less busy season to work on your time, to work on your life is a little bit like waiting until you're not thirsty to drink water. Think about that. The women I've seen make the fastest progress to designing the life of their dreams are almost always the busiest ones because they have the most to gain and the clearest motivation to make it work. You don't need a wide open calendar to start. You just need to decide that this matters enough to begin. And number five is worrying about what other people will think. The fifth thing, this one's quieter, but it's powerful. It's the worry about what other people will think if you ask for help, if you start trying. There's a voice inside of us that says, I should be able to figure this out on my own. I'm a grown adult. What does it say about me if I need support with something as basic as managing my time? So let me offer you a reframe. Every single Olympian, every single Olympic athlete, no matter how naturally gifted they are, they have a coach. And, uh, not just one coach. Multiple, highly specialized coaches support in very specific areas of their performance. And nobody questions it. Nobody looks at an Olympic gold medalist and says, well, she must not be very capable if she needed a coach to get there. The most elite performers in the world don't go it alone. And neither do the most successful people in business. More people than you realize work with financial coaches, nutrition coaches, executive coaches, and, yes, time management management coaches. I work with CEOs, I work with partners at global companies. People who are exceptionally good at what they do and who recognize that getting support is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign that they take their goals seriously. Getting help with your time isn't admitting that you're falling apart or that you're a failure. It's deciding that you're done, leaving your most valuable resource to chance. It's deciding that you want to go from crawling to walking to running, to flying. So there you have it. Five things that might be standing between you and a schedule to do list. A, uh, life that actually works, something that feels good, something that actually supports you. And those five things are your mindset, blurry boundaries, the fear that it won't work, the feeling that you don't have enough time, and the worry about what other people will think. And here's what I want you to know. Every single one of these is workable. Every single one of them can shift. And you don't have to figure out how to move past them alone. If any of this resonated with you today, I am personally inviting you to join me for a free live workshop called Time well Spent. How to reclaim 10 plus hours a week Without Sacrificing what Matters Most. It's happening on June 24th at noon Central, 12:00pm Central. And it is completely free to attend. This is exactly the kind of conversation we're going to have together. A practical, honest conversation that is built around your real life. Not a one size fits all system. Not a list of tips that look good on paper and fall apart by Wednesday, but a real framework for real women who are ready for things to be different. So grab your spot@uh,abouttimeworkshop.com I've got it linked in the description for this bonus episode. You can also just head straight there. Abouttime workshop.com I would love to see you in there. And until next time, keep making time for what matters most.