Reclaim Your Time
Reclaim Your Time
Yes, we will lose an hour this Sunday when we "spring ahead" into daylight savings time. As appealing as more daylight is, we need every hour we can get! So I am sharing a few simple ways to reclaim your time for YOU.
Get Clear
You are busy doing a lot of things, but are they the things that will get you closer to the life you want to live?
If you are feeling unfulfilled, even with a full schedule, then the answer is likely that you are NOT doing the things that support your dreams, goals, and vision.
First step is getting clear on what that vision is. If you need support in this, I offer a Life Vision Intensive to help you refine and document your vision.
Second step is to take the time (yes, this is the hard part - because you already don't have enough time) to step back and figure out what you need to say NO to.
Some no's will be a real no - as in you stop doing something. But many of the no's will be a delegation to someone else, a "not right now", or some other way of moving things off your plate.
Many of my current clients are suffering from meeting overload at work. Meetings feel like an integral part of the job, so they keep saying yes, even though the meetings are stealing their energy and focus.
There is a great article on the psychology behind meeting overload by Ashley Whillans, Dave Feldman, and Damian Wisniewski: ARTICLE HERE. Share it with your colleagues, friends, and especially your leaders.
It outlines the reasons behind meeting overload as:
Meeting FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Selfish Urgency
Meetings as commitment devices
The mere urgency effect (completing seemingly urgent yet unimportant tasks because they make us feel like we accomplished something, such as sitting in a meeting)
Meeting amnesia (rehashing all the details from the last meeting because no one remembers)
Pluralistic Ignorance
This last one, Pluralistic Ignorance, is super interesting. It is the phenomenon whereby even though we're all experiencing the same thing, such as feeling like this meeting is pointless, we assume other people don't feel the same way about it as we do.
So people continue to schedule and attend meetings that everyone secretly thinks are useless because they assume they are the only one thinking this way.
I share this article and the reasons (read the article, it goes into detail and how you can start a conversation with your boss about this) as one example of how to reclaim your time.
There are many other things you can and need to decide to say NO to. But meeting overload is generally the last one my clients think of because they assume they don't have the authority to do so.
It takes some energy but having productive conversations with your leaders and your teams about the number of hours, the usefulness, and the specific meetings you prefer to decline can give you so much time back, without hurting your career trajectory or rating.
If meetings aren't the issue, maybe there are some other mundane tasks eating up a lot of your time but providing very little value. Start asking if they are necessary, who uses them, and for what purpose. You'd be surprised how taking a little bit of time to ask these questions could save you so much more time and lighten your workload.
Ultimately, I can sit here and give you a laundry list of things to do to reclaim your time, but only some will apply. The specifics are unique for each person depending on what is most important to them, how they define success, and what brings them joy.
Bottom line: You need to take the time to get honest about what you really want and say no to everything that isn't that. Even when it feels uncomfortable. Even when it doesn't meet everyone else's expectations. Even when you've never said no before.
Is it easy? No. Does it take time and effort to make these changes? Yes.
But is it worth it? YES!!
Cheers to making your time YOURS,
Sharon
Where do you want to spend your time?
Get clear on what your dream life looks like so you can start aligning your work, actions, and finances with it. A Life Vision Intensive will help you discover your core values and define what a successful life looks like for you, personally and professionally. The investment is $299 (for a limited time before it increases) and you can schedule it easily by CLICKING HERE (Choose Life Vision Intensive). For more information, CLICK HERE.
Want to talk it over first? Schedule a free, confidential strategy call by CLICKING HERE (Choose Free Strategy Session). Resolve your curiosity and let's see if this is for you. Former clients still reference their Life Vision documents years later and have shared how much it has helped them make decisions that are aligned with the life they always wanted.
Life is too short to keep putting off what you really want. Don't stay stuck feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and unsatisfied. I've helped so many improve their happiness, well-being, and success because they chose to schedule a call and take one step towards the life of their dreams. I can help you too.
