168 hours...
I'm in several FB groups for women and entrepreneurs. Most are talking about how to handle everything. I responded to one post saying that I think managing your time is crucial right now, and one woman disagreed.
She thought now was a time to focus on slowing down. We need to recharge and rest.
She assumed that by managing your time, I was implying that you had to be more productive and work harder.
Not necessarily.
We get 168 hours each week.
Planning how we are going to spend that time in advance is crucial, especially right now.
I would be a hot mess if I didn't decide how I was going to spend my time in advance. I would spend time:
✔ Falling into the Facebook rabbit-hole
✔ Spinning out over people with differing opinions
✔ Emotionally eating
✔ Thinking about worst-case scenarios
✔ Reading the news and sharing the shocking bits over text
✔ Did I say emotionally eating?
✔ TikTok TikTok TikTok
Scheduling how I’m going to spend my time is self-care for me. I know that I rarely make the best decisions in the moment, especially with emotions as high as they are. I revamped my schedule and routine to compensate for my new normal.
Here's a glimpse of my new morning routine:
7:00AM - 7:45AM | Coffee, journaling, thought work (pushed my start time so I can have more sleep if I need or want it.) I have A LOT of thoughts floating through my head right now so I need the extra time to process.
7:45AM - 8:15AM | 30-minutes of exercise/meditation and a shower Yes, my workout is short and I'm certainly not training for an ironman competition lol, but I'm meeting myself where I am right now. Any movement is better than none. Even 15 minutes helps me with stress and anxiety.
8:15AM- 8:30AM | Clean and listen to 80's and 90's gangster rap. I clean each room for the duration of one song. I LOVE starting my day this way. I've been doing this for years, and my house stays fairly clean. I can check out and just enjoy some Let's hear it for the boys or Hypnotize by Notorious BIG and check out for a few. And, my house stays fairly clean most of the time.
8:30AM - 9:00AM | Get ready and listen to a business or coaching-themed podcast or training module
Get to work and follow my schedule
Other changes I've made:
✔ I've scheduled time to be outside
✔ Switched our Ya-Ya meeting to virtual instead of canceling.
✔ Scheduled more time to connect with friends and family
✔ Time to pet and play with my dog
✔ Put my year of discomfort on hold (or completed it early, depends on how you want to look at it)
✔ Scheduled a nightly call with Lexi, my little Ya-ya.
✔ Scheduled a virtual happy hour with a group that I worked with back in 2005-ish (super excited about that one)
✔ Scheduled extra time to unwind and process everything
✔ Uber diligent about practicing self-compassion and sometimes that looks like giving myself space and time to cry (this does not come easy for me.) I will cry at any sad dog movie, and any movie that I watch on an airplane (weird, I know, but true. I even cried watching Karate Kid on a plane, lol.) Crying about real-life stuff is not something that comes easily for me, but the resistance is worse than just letting 'er rip.
There's no doubt that our worlds have all changed.
We can slow down and manage our time.
We don’t have to manage our time so that we can produce more and work harder (unless that is a priority).
We can manage our time so we can feel good about how we spent it at the end of the week.
We can manage our time so that our needs don't get lost in the shuffle.
We can manage our time so that the 168 hours we are gifted don't go to waste.
Time is either your best friend or your enemy. It’s next to impossible for you to change your life if time is your enemy. Managing your time is 50% math and 50% drama, and I can help you with both. Nothing will change if nothing changes, and I am the catalyst for that change. I will fight hard for you when you’re not able and I will keep you from giving up on yourself.
You can book your free consultation call here to learn how.
Machele Galloway is a Certified Life Coach through The Life Coach School. She's based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and specializes in helping her clients manage their time and their minds. She firmly believes that you can't manage one without managing the other. She virtually coaches women nationwide. If she isn't coaching clients, she is studying concepts and techniques. And if she isn't doing that, she's probably playing with a dog somewhere. - “Life is short. Play a little.”
Click here to book your free consultation if you’re interested in working with me one-on-one.
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