Courageous time management

People ask me–a lot–about “balance.” Time management. Wanting to get their shit together.

They ask me how in the world I do what I do–not in a creepy fan way, but in a simple, “I’d like to get some information on how you manage to rock this out” kind of way. How have I run a business, launched programs, worked with clients, interviewed rockstars…and how have I done that while being a mother, while doing CrossFit most days?

Do I really meditate…daily?

Do I have no friends? Do I have no life? What has to “give” in order for this to work?

Respecting Time

First things first: my time is important to me. I make no apologies for that. Life is short, and this is the only go-around that I’m conscious of, so it’s going to be used in the way that I want to use it.

That’s it.

Years ago, when my own time management boundaries were skewed, I would read someone’s declaration that their time was important and that they expected the people they did business with to treat it that way, too. I’d think:

“How arrogant, how rigid, as if they’re so important!”

Now, I get it. I had that reaction as a defense because my own integrity with time and priorities was messed up.

Now, I understand that it’s not the one person or incident who treats your time like it’s as flexible as fresh taffy that will bury you–it’s the fifth or tenth person or situation. On the outside, looking in, you don’t see that about someone’s life until you’re in the same position. People who set time management boundaries aren’t rigid–they’re practicing self-care.

Not a single time management boundary that you put into place will work until you get this:

This is your life. This is your time. That’s it.

As in, finite–that’s IT.

When your time is up, your time is up. So how do you want to live? And are you seriously going to allow people to waste your time?

Respect your time. That’s how others learn to respect it. They take their cues from you.

Strategies For Courageous Time Management

#1: Batch-processing. This is my favorite, and the most effective. I don’t schedule my life by the hour, but I do look at what absolutely needs to get done, and then I reserve chunks of time for doing it. Then I focus on just that one “batch” of tasks for that time period. I do not bounce between, for instance, email checking with podcast recording with setting up a new task for someone on my team. I will only check email when it’s time to check email. I record multiple podcasts in one batch. I do all of my task review rather than one task before working on something else. I process in batches, hence, “batch-processing.”

#2: I use the “two chance” rule. If I have two interactions with someone that indicate a lack of accountability (like rescheduling an appointment), I generally suggest that right now isn’t the right time for us to work together. They’re not bad, and I’m not trying to punish them–I’m trying to respect my time. By the time that I’ve had two interactions with someone where agreements or commitments aren’t being kept, it simply isn’t effective to plan more–especially if the experiences indicating a lack of accountability have happened back-to-back.

#3: My phone is on silent, 99.9% of the time. This means that I am rarely interrupted by texts or phone calls. In fact, I don’t even know where my phone is right now, as I type this—it’s nowhere near me. My email application is closed most of the time that I’m working. I’m not logged on to social media or Skype automatically. The first thing I do when there’s a software update is turn off notifications.

#4: Yes, I meditate daily.  I start my day with it before anything else can intrude. Creating time to get quiet = clarity and more peace, which equals better time management.

#5: I train for CrossFit because I love to do it, and it blows off some of the stress/steam that I would otherwise encounter from what is admittedly a busy, fast-paced life where something’s always going on. It gives me more energy. Lack of energy = lack of ability to manage my time. So, I protect my workout. I don’t schedule appointments during that workout time.

#6: I schedule days with absolutely nothing going on. I need unscheduled time for rejuvenation. My idea of heaven is a day with no agenda, no appointments whatsoever. I take digital sabbaticals. It’s making sure I have unscheduled time that supports my time management, because then I’m not burned out and I can focus when it’s time for me to focus.

#7: I make a point of setting up one dinner date with friends, each month. We might also see one another again, but I prioritize that dinner date the way that Carrie and co. prioritized their weekend brunches on Sex and the City. With that said? I make it clear to my nearest and dearest that if they need me, I’m dropping everything and I’m there–no questions asked. (Note: this one got a bit messed up with the pandemic and me moving to a new area, but, I actually have it in my calendar to text/reach out to friends frequently).

#8: My man and our life together is one of my biggest priorities. We have found ways to have date mornings, date evenings, date afternoons while our kid is either sleeping or at school. (This is another one that the pandemic has messed with, but we do find ways to get the little moments into our life).

#9: I don’t turn my to-do list into drama. Sure, sometimes I’m behind, but I don’t get into the mental drama of that, “Oh my gawd, I’m so busy, I’m so behind…”. It’s just such a colossal waste of time to turn my to-do list into drama over being busy. I’m busy. Cool. No one else needs to hear a big dramatic thing about it.

#10: I put to-do’s on my calendar–like paying bills, invoicing clients, etc. Otherwise, I forget. Having a day of the month reserved for balancing my checkbook is the only way to ensure that I’ll actually do it. I’ll even put looking at my schedule onto my calendar. I use a paper calendar, too. Digital seems to always break. I have lost count of how many times I’ve put a reminder into a Google calendar, and then somehow I get logged out so because I’m not logged in the little reminder doesn’t ping…technology can actually be pretty stupid and a huge time waster in some ways. If I needed to share a calendar, then I’d use a digital calendar, but I do well with paper.

#11: If I pay for it, I use it. Seriously–this is a time management strategy. If I hire a consultant to teach me something that I need to know for my business, I make sure to invest the time into learning it, so that I can use it. For example, I’ve probably listened to the .mp3s from any business consulting sessions I’ve paid for, 5-10 times apiece. I don’t buy books, programs, courses, etc., that I won’t use–because it’s a huge waste of my time to buy something that’s supposed to help my business or my life, and then not actually implement it. It’s a good use of my time to review and re-review things I’ve purchased when I can learn more from them and continue to refine what I do. I don’t sign up for things if I don’t also know how I’ll implement them.