Have you ever looked back on your week feeling exhausted yet wondering where all the time went because nothing of what you wanted to get accomplished actually got done?

Same!

Because here’s the thing, I know you wear a bunch of different hats just like me, which means there’s always something else to get done. Your attention is in high demand, and if you are not strategic about managing your time, you will burn out!

I’m sharing my favorite questions to help you “check yourself so you don’t wreck yourself,” because I want you to keep succeeding in all of your beautiful ways. But true success means enjoying the process AND the end result.

These questions are the solution to help you uncover you already have more time than you realize!

Are you spending more time thinking about doing the thing, then actually just getting it done?

It’s like asking my kids to brush their teeth before bed. They belly ache about it for 10 minutes, begging for more time to watch something on Netflix or to finish up a clay bead bracelet. Whereas in those 10 minutes they could have gone into the bathroom, brushed their teeth, and been back to whatever they were doing originally.  

Thinking about doing the thing doesn’t actually get it done. Instead think about how relieved you will feel once the task is completed.

Are you allocating your time towards the wrong things?

Your time needs to go to your priorities. I call these your Must-do’s. If you think about it backwards, these are the activities that you are going to regret not getting done at the end of the day. You will look back on your day wishing you managed your time differently so that they got done. 

Think about what you tell people is most important to you. 

It might be your children and family, advancement in your career, building a meaningful relationship with your partner/spouse. Yes, I care about all of those things, but I have always believed my personal health is most important, because that is the way i can offer my best self to all of the other important people and goals I am working on. 

So while I would tell myself how important my health was, I started paying attention to the number of steps I took in a day realizing that on the days I didn’t work out, I would get about 3K. That’s it - 3K for the entire day! And that was on a good day. 

A quick evaluation of my time revealed the reason why I wasn’t as active as I wanted to be is because I planned my workout for later in the day making it too easy to not follow through. Getting stuck at the office or picking up my girls from dance later than usual were common occurrences. Taking longer than anticipated to oversee homework, Getting stuck on a FaceTime call or I just had nothing left in the tank by the time I had an opportunity to log a few miles late in the evening. I had to accept, my schedule wasn’t working for me. 

The solution was to prioritize my workouts by moving them to the morning, and since the simple shift, there is rarely a day it doesn’t get done. 

Are you giving yourself more time than the task really requires?

When you give yourself an hour to do something, you typically take the full hour to get it done. The same is true if you’ve cleared your day to get a big project done. It will take you the full day to get it done, even if it shouldn’t take you the full day. The reason why is because you are more likely to give in to the distractions because you believe you have more than enough time. Only by giving into the distraction you actually slow your momentum. 

Do you renegotiate your plans to do what you want to do instead of what you NEED to be doing?

If I had a nickel for every time I hear stories of false promises. Giving in to an enticing offer rather than following through with a task to get you closer to achieving your next big goal. There is usually an intention of making up for abandoning the original plan by doubling up in some way in the future. Perhaps you promise yourself you will work an extra couple of hours on the weekend, or you will workout twice as long the following day. Only when the time comes to follow through with the make-up plan, the motivation has fizzled.

The strategy I instill during my program, The Transformation Methodology™, is to use our pleasure moments to act as motivation to prioritize focused work PRIOR to participating in the fun. For example, accepting the invitation to meet your girlfriend for a glass of wine when your original plan was to spend time writing your business plan in pursuit of your next career advancement, means prioritizing one hour of focused, productive work on the business plan before meeting your girlfriend. Therefore, you honor your commitment to yourself, without sacrificing any pleasure, and you fully enjoy your time with your girlfriend without the nagging reminder of the business plan awaiting your attention.

Ultimately, it’s as easy to talk yourself into doing something as it is to talk yourself out of doing it.

Helping you learn how to make simple shifts in the way you manage your time, is a high value in The Transformation Methodology™. Once you’ve mastered this skill, you never feel like your goals are hanging over your head. Instead, you feel in control of your time and your commitments!