How to Take Charge of Your Day & Get Work Done
Picture this: it's Monday morning. You've got your week planned out, you're excited about your big creative projects, and you're ready to make real progress in your business.
You get your day started. You've got a few meetings, some emails come in, you take a little time to peruse social -- out of NOWHERE, it's 5pm.
HOW in the world is it that the end of the day sneaks up on us SO fast? And why is it SO EASY for an entire day, or even week, to simply... get away from us, when we had such great intentions of FINALLY following through?
In today's episode of the Courage & Clarity Podcast, I'm going to teach you how to take charge of your day and actually get work done. We're going to get clear on WHY many of us feel like we don't know where the time is going so we can reclaim your days and get to work.
If it's not unusual for you to end your day or week wondering where in the world the time went, there's nothing wrong with you, and you aren't alone. It turns out there are some very common patterns that most of us fall into, but the good news is there are TWEAKS you can make to get your time back.
Students of mine, and members of my free Courage & Clarity Community over on Facebook, know that when we plan our weeks, we classify tasks as rocks, pebbles, and sand.
This goes back to a super useful demo done by a professor involving two jars, some rocks, pebbles, and some sand. In one jar, the professor puts the materials in the jar in a random order -- a little sand here, throw some rocks in, then some pebbles -- and when he goes to screw the cap on, it won't work. All of the items simply will not fit.
But, in the SECOND jar, the professor has the exact same amount of rocks, pebbles and sand, but he strategically starts with the bigger rocks. Next, he adds the pebbles and gives the jar a shake -- the smaller items wiggle and move into empty spaces caused by the rocks. Finally, he tops it off with sand, which of course can do an even better job getting into cracks and crevices. He goes to put the lid on, and sure enough, it all fits.
You see, our weeks are JUST like these jars.
How many times have you heard yourself say these words -- "there's no way I can get this all done this week. There just isn't enough time or space in my week!"
Your week is like the empty jar, and the rocks, pebbles and sand are the tasks. When we throw them into our week in a random order, it totally feels like it can't be done. But with some strategy and intention, you'll be feeling like you created space where it didn't exist before.
So, with that demo in mind, there are two big things you need to do in order to take charge of your day and get work done.
Here's a sneak peek:
How to get proactive with your commitments and appointments [8:17]
How to stop playing in the sandbox [12:21]
Number one: You need to get proactive with your commitments and appointments.
Here's a dose of reality: It's really easy for our calendars to just naturally fill up. The average person lets the calendar run them.
This way of thinking says, "What's already scheduled on my calendar? OK, I'll do that, then call it a day."
Many of my students who freelance or see clients regularly run into a lot of trouble with feeling like they are constantly showing up for other people, but not themselves.
If you feel like you have a lot of commitments, appointments, or meetings, there's a good chance you have some opportunity to take charge of your schedule and create more time for yourself.
These big committed chunks in our day need to be important. If we cannot move them (even if we'd like to), we need to be aware of the time on either side of them that we can salvage.
If we must drive an hour to pick our kids up from an activity, we need to plan for that, acknowledge it, and take a realistic look at how much time is left over.
For example, maybe we find ourselves messing around on social media for the hour beforehand just because we're afraid to get into something meaningful.
I want you to ask yourself 3 questions:
1. Are all of your commitments worth your time?
Is there anything in your life this week that you can delegate or say no to?
It's a hard question, I know. But if you've been waiting for permission to let GO of something you know isn't serving your greater goals, consider that permission granted.
2. Is there a commitment in your week that you find is turning into a time suck?
Here's an example: on Tuesday afternoons, I record a podcast. It's energetically expensive -- I usually have to spend some time preparing, then I give it my all on the microphone. And truthfully, I'm kind of spent afterwards.
For a while, I wouldn't do anything at all in the afternoons on Tuesdays.
But then I realized: I lose an entire 2-3 hours that way.
Now, I budget for that. I know that I won't have too much energy for super creative projects, but I can put a star on those 2 hours and save them for easy, low hanging fruit tasks that can be knocked out -- like email or admin work.
3. Are you compromising on commitments to yourself?
This is a big one, and the only reason I know to ask this question is because I've totally struggled with this myself.
Many of us default on the promises we make to OURSELVES before anyone else. If someone else needs us, that precious white space we are working so hard to defend goes out the window.
Do you do this, too? If so, make the decision to commit to scheduling YOUR non-negotiable time as exactly that: *non-negotiable*, instead of a wobbly "maybe" that is constantly shuffled to the backburner.
Number two: You need to stop playing in the sandbox.
Back to the jar and rocks situation, your SAND type tasks are going to be any tasks that feel URGENT because they are happening in real time, but they're actually not necessarily that important when it comes to truly moving your business forward.
Think about the time sucks that are typically you responding to a ding or buzz -- email rolling in, DMs on Instagram, dishes in the sink that are eyeballing you, that type of thing.
Now, it would probably be helpful if I start with a disclaimer: I'm not here to tell you ALL your sand is not important.
"Your SAND type tasks are going to be any tasks that feel URGENT because they are happening in real time, but they're actually not necessarily that important when it comes to truly moving your business forward."
I know you have to respond to emails, post on social media, do chores around your house and take a shower (<-- optional, but highly recommended!)
BUT, if we're not careful, the NON-important stuff gets mixed right in with the important. Without intention, thought, and awareness, crap that won't move us forward sneaks right in under our noses.
This is the mindless task time-suck we ALL get stuck in... and suddenly, our admin work and chores are actually devouring us like quicksand.
The thing is, all of it FEELS important, all the time. But if we can stop and think about it, it will unlock our ability to make progress.
So, have you heard the story of Pavlov's Dog? It has to do with a doorbell and a salivating dog. Every time the doorbell rings, the dog gets a treat.
Before long, the doorbell rings and before the pup ever sees the food, he begins to salivate. It looks like this:
Stimulus (doorbell) --> Response (salivation, anticipation of the treat)
Let's apply this to our own lives. Can you think of a version of Stimulus --> Response in your own life? Maybe it looks like this:
Email notification --> Opens email
Facebook notification --> Clicks the button to see what someone said
Emotional trigger --> Cookies, candy & junk food
Client says "Jump" --> You say "How high?"
Is this ringing a bell? (PUN INTENDED!) 🙈
So instead of this very natural HUMAN reaction, what if we did the tricky yet worthwhile work of inserting some MINDFULNESS in the middle? Now it looks like:
Stimulus --> Stop, think! --> Response
Email notification --> "Is this the best use of my time?" --> Sets phone down, resolving to come back to it at "SAND" timeblock at 4pm today.
Facebook notification --> "Is this the best use of my time?" --> Sets phone down, resolving to come back to it next brain break at 2pm today.
Emotional trigger --> "What do I really need right now?" --> Opens Calm app, does a 10 minute meditation.
Client says "Jump" --> "How can I find a compromise with the client?" --> Offers a helpful solution while honoring personal boundaries & refusing to throw entire day/week off track.
So here's your assignment: Experiment with letting a plate hit the floor in favor of making REAL progress.
Go a little longer without answering your email if it means you knock out a real pebble.
Commit to ONE email / social check a day (or every other day, go crazy!)
Challenge your "but I hafta"s.
So there you have it, some real action steps you can take to get back in the driver's seat of your schedule, tackle your day and actually get work done.
Now I want to hear from YOU: What are you going to address first? Do you have commitments and appointments that you need to challenge? Is your calendar running YOU, instead of you proactively managing your commitments?
Or are you falling into the sand trap, allowing email, notifications and chores to take you off track?
Tell me in the comments below -- I can't wait to hear about how you're going to start tackling your days.
Links & Resources
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