How to Have More Time (when you feel all you do is put out fires)
There never seems to be enough time. Ever find yourself saying that? After feeling like you spend all your time putting out fires, how can you feel like you accomplished anything in a day?
I have a question for you.
Do you plan?
Ok, I know, I know. If you don’t have time to do everything, how can you possibly add planning to it? It’s what I would have said.
But let’s be clear. Planning is NOT:
Making another to-do list
Filling up a calendar with pretty stickers and doodles (Though you can do that if you so choose.)
Rather, planning is making time for the most important things so you can end each day feeling energized and accomplished.
No, it’s true. I was not successful working from home until I took the time to plan.
My site plateaued. I checked my email inbox every 30 minutes. I did random tasks because I thought that’s what I needed to do.
But I got NOWHERE. Why?
I didn’t define what was important. I had no idea what or where I was going so I did everything and anything.
By noon each day, I felt so defeated that I turned on an episode of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” and made myself quesadillas.
I felt like none of my actions added up, so why bother?
You feel that way now?
Then, I discovered planning. Rather, I was taught planning by my friend Ruth. She’s been doing this for a while now and well…. her results have been pretty amazing.
She started as a stay-at-home mom and through intentional, focused work now runs a company, has a popular podcast and teaches other people how to do the same through her program Elite Blog Academy (EBA).
It’s how I met her. I was a student in EBA in 2015.
Through the years, I’ve used Ruth’s planner and process to grow my business and balance my home life.
In the past year alone, I’ve created six online courses, wrote numerous blog posts, run my daughter’s girl scout troop and doubled my income.
Ready to hear it?
How do you do the important things?
(FYI: This post contains affiliate links to products I love and recommend. It costs you nothing extra if you purchase through my link, but I may get a small commission)
First Step: What about those goals?
Goals. If you are not used to goals, its best to think small first. What do you want to accomplish in the next month?
It’s not an issue of working harder. It’s really not.
There are people I know who work tirelessly all day and exhibit mental and physical stamina that I’m in awe of.
What you need to do is focus. And that sounds funny from a self-proclaimed squirrel.
The way you move forward is making sure that what you do every day relates to what you want to do for the month.
It’s about making those big goals and then breaking them down each week. Here’s my goals for the month.
FYI: If you like this planner, it’s the Living Well Planner which you can get here.
One of the biggest ways to get more done is to know where you’re going.
According to John Maxwell in his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential this is many people’s problem with growth. They don’t know what they want.
That’s why at the beginning of the month, I claim what I want and I write it down.
Break it down again
Then, at the beginning of each week. I plan out weekly goals and make ONE goal the priority.
This is the goal I work on and put above everything else. I then list the tasks that would get me closer to that goal along with all the other things I need to get done.
Then, we go daily
Each day, I look at my weekly list and here’s the kicker: I time block my day in my Living Well Planner.
I plan when I’m going to do things by filling in all my appointments along with all the tasks I plan to do and when I want to do them.
Does it always work out? Nope. But, planning out my day ahead of time keeps me more on task. I know what I want to get done and how much time I have for it.
I’m less likely to scroll through Instagram and I stay more focused on doing whatever I’m working on.
That’s the secret.
Simply think through your day and plan each day out in the morning. Claim your big goal for the month and make sure your daily actions align to it.
Remember, this is a daily process. If you squirrel one day, you have this process each morning to intentionally plan out how you’re going to get on track.
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JoAnn Crohn
CEO/Founder at No Guilt Mom
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