In this post we’ll chat thru…

① The MYTH of TIME MANAGEMENT
② TASK + ENERGY management

LET’S DIVE IN. 🖤

Okay ya’ll…this topic today is gonna be a GOOD ONE bc it comes from YOU. I’ve been polling my IG community asking what areas ya’ll are looking for support in and REPEATEDLY I hear the phrase “TIME MANAGEMENT.” So let’s have a little heart-to-heart about a phrase I’m sure you’ve heard a million times.

I find myself wondering when I hear women asking “Britt, how do I manage my time better” if we feel like it’s this magic answer to all of our stress + trouble. Like if we can “just manage our time” it will make our crazy lives perfectly organized and productive. But let's be real for a sec…have you actually paused to consider what time management is really asking of us?

That’s my goal today. Let’s pause and really dig into why this isn’t working…why this whole time management thing might be more of a myth than a miracle…and how we can approach life in a more sustainable and DOABLE way that allows us to KEEP MAKING PROGRESS along the way. Bc that’s the whole goal right? To do life in such a way that we thrive in the time we’re given…not just survive the clock, right?

Let’s dig in.

TIME ISN’T SOME PROBLEM TO SOLVE.

You know that feeling when you're trying to cram a million things into a single day and there’s just not. enough. time? Thinking “if i just had another hour in the day…” or “if there was just one more day in the week…” you’d be able to get done whatever it is you feel like you can’t get done…

THAT, my friends, is the time management trap.

We're often told that if we just shuffle our hours around like puzzle pieces, we can unlock this magical place of productivity. And even worse…we begin to believe this lie that if we DO have more free time available (bc we’ve been efficient or productive) that we should ADD MORE STUFF into that free space.

But here’s where I want to pause and be real…when it comes to time…aside from the day you were born and the day you die…everyone gets the same amount of time everyday. Time doesn’t discriminate. The most productive people on the planet get the same amount of hours you and I do. It’s like the whole “Beyonce has 24 hours in a day” quote I’m sure you’ve seen.

That’s where we get trapped. Thinking we can just fix time. But, time isn't a problem you can solve – it's a constant. It’s a FIXED commodity. No matter how hard we try…we can't squeeze more hours into a day. So instead of trying to "manage" time…bc that’s not real + you can’t ACTUALLY manage it…let's focus on how we use the time we've got.

And this where I’ve had real shifts in my life.

Instead of considering how I can manage my TIME…I think about MANAGING TASKS within that time. Not your TIME, itself. Task management is prioritizing the people and projects that matter. It’s the art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places, and at the right moments. And speaking of right moments…the other piece of this puzzle is that…

THERE ARE RHYTHMS TO LIFE.

One thing I’m leaning into that really goes against the grain of traditional time management is understanding + honoring my natural rhythms. This is a day to day thing…a morning vs afternoon vs evening thing. And even a week to week or seasonal thing, too.

We aren’t robots, friends. Our energy, focus, and creativity have their own rhythms. And your superpower comes when you can lean into those windows when you know your energy is naturally higher and honor those spaces when you need to slow down and hit reset.

Far too often we just want to go go go…even looking at the work day and the flow of a traditional 9-5 / 5 day work week. It’s a little archaic, especially if you’re a knowledge based worker or a creative. The 9-5 was created for the industrial lines to make them more efficient, not for human creativity. Studies show that most adults only have 3-5 deeply productive hours per day when their energy is at it’s peak. Most of the time we’re actually at work…I promise we’re probably not productive.

Traditional time management means we stick to rigid schedules, but that doesn't work for everyone. What if instead you didn’t manage your TIME, but managed your ENERGY? What if you could figure out WHEN you were at your best and then you showed up and DID what you were best at in that time frame. Or shoot…at a minimum at least start to become AWARE. Bc I get this might not be possible in your current situation but that’s what this space is all about…making progress towards what matters most, right? So it really starts with awareness.

A book I fell in love with called “At Your Best” talks about this idea of three zones (think like traffic lights) where your energy sits throughout the day. Green for high energy. Yellow for mid-level energy. And red is you’re zapped…low energy. The idea is to figure out when your natural green, yellow, and red zones move throughout the day and then adjust your schedule so that you can do your best work when you’re at your highest energy and lower level tasks when you’re at lower energy.

What’s been helpful for me is realizing that if I want to be at my best for something like a date night with Charlie, then I want to make sure I’m managing my energy as best as possible BEFORE that moment.

Friends. This takes living INTENTIONALLY. I know I say it on the podcast often but man it’s worth repeating…

WE HAVE TO TAKE OWNERSHIP IN LIVING LIVES THAT ARE FOCUSED + INTENTIONAL WITH WHAT MATTERS MOST.

And the un-sexy…un-glamorous part of this is that in order to truly get to a space where you don’t feel like you’re always missing the mark on “time management,” it really means you have to be bold enough to LIVE LIFE DIFFERENT than the masses. To limit distractions because they are robbing you from your BEST yes. To stay focused bc something or someone MATTERS enough to you to do so.

Time management isn’t working for you bc it’s what everyone is trying to do. And the masses are tired, stressed, surviving, overworked, underpaid, and living lives that just feel like a freaking ground hog day loop.

Friends you pressed play on this episode for a reason. You don’t want to live life on that hamster wheel anymore.

So here's where we flip the script.

Instead of wrestling with time, let's conquer TASKS that ALIGN with our energy levels AND our priorities. It’s not about the time. It’s about the tasks. It means we have to pause long enough to even consider our energy levels…to consider what we’re doing with our time…to consider who gets the best of us and who gets the rest of us. And then…the real kicker…is we have to actually DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT ladies. And this is the hard part…I get it…but it’s also the part that brings forth the MOST rewards.

So a couple FINAL THOUGHTS as we land this plane…

Time management gets the focus like a it’s some glittering solution, but it's time we see it for what it is – a myth that doesn't always fit our beautiful, messy, purpose driven, legacy leaving lives. Instead of obsessing over squeezing every drop of productivity from our day and leaving it feeling completely drained and worn out…let's instead focus on managing our tasks and embracing our natural rhythms and energy.

Task and energy friends.

I promise the TIME will start to take care of itself.

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