3 Steps to Balance Your Time Better
“I don’t have time for that.” It’s a sentence you probably utter more than you care to admit. I get it. No entrepreneur, no leader, no parent, caregiver, spouse has spare time laying around. But the thing is, we own our time so let’s do something about it.
Being busy isn’t a badge of honor or a sign of how important you are. If your busy-ness has you sacrificing your health, family, or passions, it’s a sign you need to prioritize and manage your time better. By scheduling in your priorities, being intentional with your time, and batching your work, you can step off the conveyor belt of things other people need from you and create the balance you want.
Commit to your priorities
For me, vacations are a must. They are a way to create quality time with my family, reduce burnout, and reset my mind. Every December, I sit down with my immediate family and plan our vacation weeks for the coming year. Those weeks get blocked off on the calendar before the year even begins. I choose to plan my family time, my free time, first.
Vacations a priority for you too? Block time off. Exercise a priority? Family dinners? Time alone? Schedule recurring “appointments” for your priorities. It might help to plan in quarters. For the next 90 days, challenge yourself: what must I do to build an amazing life? Answer that question before you ask yourself, what must I do to build an amazing business? Make sure you have blocks of time for the top 1 - 3 initiatives that will make a real impact. Not one block and done; consistent repeating blocks because things that make an impact don’t happen in an hour. They don’t happen overnight. Work that matters requires consistency.
If you don’t prioritize, your calendar will start filling up and you’ll find yourself not having time for the most important things in your life with only yourself to blame. All those meetings on your calendar? All the things you don’t really want to do? They only got there because you said yes to them.
Batch your work
Batching your work can be an effective way to stay focused. Set certain days (or blocks of the day) for certain topics. Maybe Tuesday mornings are always for writing or Wednesday afternoons are always for billing. My right-hand rebel (aka my assistant, Kaila) schedules a block of time called OPP on my schedule every week. (Other people’s priorities!) This helps me dedicate the most focused, best version of myself to my team instead of firing off half-baked replies all week.
Be intentional with your day
Every day is a new chance to be intentional with your time. A book called The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod helped me carve out time for myself in the mornings. Elrod asks, “What if you could change any aspect of your life, just by changing the way you start your day? What would you change?” I wake up at 4:30 a.m. and use the first two hours of the day to read, write, have coffee, or walk at the beach. Carving out time in my day to do something just for me allows me to be present the rest of the day for others.
Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, take time for yourself and be intentional with your day.
“Always remember that who you’re becoming is far more important than what you’re doing, and yet it is what you’re doing that is determining who you’re becoming.”
A new thing I’m trying out are “to-don’t lists.” We’ve all used checklists for what we are supposed to do, but what about the things we really need to keep ourselves from doing?
Set an example
One of the best things a leader can do for their employees is set a good example of what it looks like to set priorities and manage your time. When you set an example, they recognize you don’t expect them to sacrifice everything for their job, which only causes burnout and turnover.
Ways you can encourage healthy time management:
Monitor time off; make sure your employees are taking time off!
Close the office for holidays and mental health days.
Allow unlimited PTO. Accountability doesn’t come from a time clock.
Institute short weeks. We just kicked off Summer Fridays, where we close the office on Fridays at 1pm for the summer months.
Provide sabbaticals for long term employees.
Support your employees when they need a flexible schedule.
“Time is the most valuable currency so spend it wisely.”
There you have it, 3 steps to balancing your time better:
Schedule your priorities. Remember that you are in charge of what matters most.
Batch your work.
Be intentional with your time. Extra credit: Read The Miracle Morning!
Plus a bonus one for leaders: Set a good example and encourage healthy time management.
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