Unlock the Biggest Secret to Time Management

Unlock the Biggest Secret To Time Management

Can I let you in on a little secret about me?  Sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach.  I’m not talking about food here, but actually that’s very true with eating as well.  For instance, when I’m convinced I need the double dip ice cream cone, but really one dip would have worked just as well.  But I digress.

What I’m really talking about here is life in general.  Basically, I bite off more than I can chew.  Great, back to the food analogies.  Note to self: Eat before you blog next time.  Noted.

Maybe I just need to tell you a story.  A few years back I was meeting with my coach.  I was complaining for the fourth week in a row that I didn’t get done with a project I was working on for my personal business.  I was just too busy with other priorities, so advancing my new side hustle was just not in the cards. 

So, to fill you in on the situation, I always have a full-time career in banking.  Serving my clients is my first love.  They tell me I’m the best.  I’m not bragging, I’m merely the messenger. #jk  #humblebrag.  But I also always have a side business or two because I love business.  And let’s be honest, I am a single mom with two kids, and I love feeding them.  Got it?  Are we all on the same page now?

So, my coach asked me to list everything I was doing that week.  By the time I finished, it was apparent I was sporting about 6 jobs counting all of my volunteer work at school and on nonprofit boards.  Yeah, no wonder I didn’t have time.  And no wonder my kids rarely got a home cooked meal. 

You could say I was overcommitted.  After admitting I was making exactly zero dollars on all this running around, he told me I needed to drop something quickly if I wanted to make money at this new side business.  The nerve.  I was a little agitated.  I didn’t want to give up anything.  How would I choose? 

Turns out, I didn’t have to choose.  That month I found out I had cancer.  Now I’m not saying all this chaos caused the cancer.  Although studies show, it very well could have.  We often don’t know what causes it.  But I am certain, having all the stress, all the time, did not help.

Going through all those life-changing surgeries sure changes your perspective and your energy level.  So, I dropped out of it all except my job.  Until I could successfully spin that one important plate, there was no need to add all those others.

When I started adding things back to my life, I knew I needed to do so in a much saner way.  So, over the past two years I’ve developed a new strategy for time management for myself.  It’s so simple, yet very rarely practiced.  Especially amongst go-getters.  Because you're, well, go-getting.  Instead of running from shiny object to shiny object, you write out your most important goals, chunk them down into daily tasks, and calendar what’s most important.  Like dinner with your kids.  Or your workout. Or your vacation.

I like it so much, I included it as a daily planner in the Momentum90 Plan I teach in our Momentum Mastermind Groups for High Performing Women.  <<<<You can grab it here for free. >>>> It’s a simple guide you can put into use tomorrow.  Let me know in the comments what you struggle to make time for when time is short.  And maybe even commit to scheduling time for that tomorrow.