We all know that in most circles, time is money, right?
Most of us forget that you can always make more money… but you can’t make more time.
Which (to me anyway) means that time is actually more valuable than money.
Yet sooooo many of us waste time like it’s limitless.
We all do this. Even me.
Which is why I wanna save you some time reading if you’d rather listen on the go and still get all the pro tips I’m offering you today.
What I’m suggesting is that to get more joy out of life… we get to change our mindset about time.
And make smarter choices about how we approach it.
As in with intention.
Speaking of which, let’s say your intention is to establish a better relationship with time.
So you can create more of it… and be more present, engaged, and JOYFUL about using it…
Then my upcoming Reclaim Your Time Challenge is the place you’re gonna want to be later this month.
This is a 3-day LIVE online challenge where you’ll discover exactly where your time goes now… and walk away with a brand new approach to maximize what you do with it.
Which includes having time for yourself and what YOU wanna do on the daily. #nojoke
I’ve had people leave this event and tell me they get back an hour or more each day following the technique I shared.
Not to mention, being able to let go of all their past triggers and scarcity they had before regarding time.
So let’s talk about how to be more intentional with your time. As in HOW you use it. So you can feel less compressed by it – and have more of it for yourself.
5 Hacks to be Intentional with Your Time
1. Manage your screen time.
Most of us spend nearly an entire workday attached to our phones.
According to research, it’s about 5–6 hours.
And that’s outside of actual work-related smartphone usage.
If you wanna see how much time YOU spend on your phone, there’s actually a spot on your device where you can check.
If you have an iPhone… go to Settings and then to Screen Time.
If you have an Android… go to Settings and then to Digital Wellbeing.
You can see your daily average of how long you’re on your phone… as well as whether you’re up or down compared to the previous week.
It’s a pretty eye-opening experience if you haven’t done this before.
This is a really great place to start if you feel constantly pressed for time. Because you will likely see – in black and white – where a big chunk of your time goes.
2. Ditch your “I don’t have time” story.
Being AWARE of where your time goes is super important to making CHANGES to get more of it back.
Especially if you’re someone who gives and gives and gives to others… and skips over the whole self-care aspect of your life.
Because you tell yourself – and probably others – the story that you don’t have time.
Remember: how you spend your time is a choice.
Yep, even if you have a job… or a family… or a sick parent to take care of…
Those are all choices – so you get to own that. The good and the bad aspects that come along with those choices.
Sometimes when I say this, people get pissed at me. So here’s my response:
JK JK.
This anger is often an ego response. So I don’t take it personally. And 9 times out of 10, they fully get it… after they’ve cooled down and actually taken it in.
So when you feel compressed about time and your responsibilities… and you feel the urge to pretend and then say “I don’t have time,” I encourage you to take this as a cue to reframe your perspective.
Shift out of victimhood.
You are literally giving away your power when you keep that whole “I don’t have time” language in your vernacular.
And you are a GD badass. So embrace that.
Even if you have a job with set hours… or family obligations that are at set times…
You still get to make decisions about your time that set you up for success.
3. Put your priorities (including self-care) on your calendar.
Your calendar and your checkbook reflect your priorities.
Where you spend time – and where you spend money – reflect what matters most to you.
So take a look at your calendar.
- How many of those appointments bring you joy?
- Do you consistently build in time for what matters the most to you?
- Do those appointments reflect your real life priorities?
Whether that’s working on your goals or personal activities that make you feel good about yourself like:
- Working out.
- Getting a mani-pedi.
- A coffee date/dinner with your bestie.
If your answer is, Not really… it’s a sign you’re ready to shift your priorities.
And BTW – your top priority is you.
Yes, even if you have a brand new baby… or you travel a lot… or you work 80+ hours a week.
If you aren’t taking care of yourself, how well will those who depend on you fare?
Probably not well, right?
So you absolutely gotta prioritize self-care. Especially if you’re an entrepreneur.
Always put your non-negotiables on your calendar first.
My non-negotiables include:
- Taking Madeline to and from school. Or summer camp.
- My workouts – which are basically my form of therapy. LOL
- My morning routine.
And a new addition to my non-negotiables is ending my workday by 3pm – and not working on weekends.
This is because I got into a spot where I was working too much and it was causing tension in my family dynamic. Because how I was spending my time didn’t reflect my true priorities.
So I got to shift how I spend my time intentionally – to align with what actually matters to me. And you get to do this too.
4. Design your ideal week.
One of the best perks about having your own business is being in charge of your own schedule.
In fact, for many people, it’s the number one reason they decided to become their own boss. So how often do you use this benefit?
Have you ever designed your ideal week?
What I mean by that is… have you set up your tasks, schedule, and responsibilities in such a way that you’re living your ideal lifestyle?
Do you have any rules or boundaries for yourself about how you spend your time – both in and out of your business?
For example, my friend Amy Porterfield works a 4-day week.
Which means she busts her butt Monday through Thursday… because she decided as a business owner that she didn’t want to work on Fridays.
And ya know what?
She gets to decide that!
Most of us forget that we have these kinds of powers. You can decide all sorts of things about how you spend your time.
Here are some examples.
No meetings before noon.
This could be for you if you have some big goals and you feel freshest in the morning. So you decide to dedicate each morning to focus time working on one specific goal.
And when you follow through on this commitment, I can virtually guarantee you that you’re gonna hit that goal faster and with less effort than if you didn’t have this rule for yourself.
No Friday meetings.
This could be for you if you want a full day to be in flow. Which is super hard to do when you’re pinging between meetings and calls and appointments all day long.
BTW, specific “no meeting” days are actually a growing trend in businesses – even huge ones with hundreds or thousands of people.
The point I’m making here is that it’s your time – you get to decide how you spend it.
And you get to communicate these boundaries to others.
But you also gotta hold yourself accountable to these boundaries.
Of course, you can remain flexible and make the rare exception…
But don’t make bending over backwards your default state.
5. Stop being hyper-connected.
Always being always available is another sneaky time suck.
Whether that’s on Slack… Voxer… Skype… text… or email.
Always being available – and responding immediately – actually can cause you to lose HOURS of progress.
So a simple hack to avoid this is to turn off notifications and literally put your phone away from you when you’re in focus mode.
Like when you’re working on your books… or writing content… or creating videos… give yourself that time to focus on ONE thing.
Because multi-tasking actually causes you to be less efficient.
And that’s not even my hot take.
It’s actually backed by science.
The American Psychological Association reviewed several studies that show your brain takes up to 40% more time to switch over from one task to the next when multitasking.
It’s kinda like when you have too many tabs open… shit just runs slower. LOL
And when you respond to every ping and ding as they happen or pop over into your inbox any time you see a new email come in… you’re causing your brain – and therefore your progress – to slow down by nearly half.
Now let’s say you’re someone who feels like, “Can you just like, literally tell me exactly how to get more time in my day?”
Then here’s your solution.
I’ll walk you step-by-step through my signature process to not just figure out where your time goes – once and for all – but also apply super specific techniques to create more pockets of time in your day. And then how to manage your time better.
So you can get back an hour or more per day – and actually align your priorities with your calendar.
Trust me when I tell ya… the hacks inside the Reclaim Your Time Challenge are totally doable.
It’s small shifts and tweaks you apply to your existing routines. But they wind up giving you a lot more peace and flexibility – without sacrificing quality.
So get your free ticket into the challenge while ya can.
See ya in there!
XO,
Hayley