Do you ever notice how when time gets compressed, certain goals just go right out the window?
Goals like…
- Waking up early to get a workout in every day.
- Having healthy work-life balance… AKA: Stopping work at 5pm (or whatever your ideal end time is).
- Spending less money by cooking healthy meals at home.
When you feel you have no time, those are the sorts of goals that can get easily thrown aside in favor of what’s EASY.
But what if there WAS a way to do all.the.things… AND still have time to spare?
Today I’m gonna show you 4 hacks to create more time in your day.
So you can use that time to get back to your goals – whether those goals are personal… or professional.
But before we get there, I want to be super clear on one thing.
No matter what your goals are, you MUST make time for yourself.
I get super fired up when I hear people—women in particular—complain about having no time to themselves.
As in, no time to work on themselves… to recharge… or take care of themselves.
Because guess what?
If you don't take care of yourself, your goals won’t happen.
You literally won’t have the juice to make them happen.
(And the kind of juice I’m talking about can’t be found in a coffee cup LOL).
The tips I’m about to drop on ya are not difficult to implement at all.
So you’re gonna have NO more excuses about time. LOL.
4 Hacks to Create More Time in Your Day
Hack #1: Get clear on what goals you’re prioritizing.
You need to actually decide what’s important to you.
Is it something with your physical health? Like getting daily exercise because you feel better when you do that…
Is it something for your mental health? Like spending less time on social media because it makes you feel like crap… and is a HUGE time suck for you...
Is it growing your biz? Because you want to help more people… and bring in more revenue? So your goal is spending more time on social media because you know how important social media marketing is to grow your biz...
You gotta be specific.
If you don’t have something specific in mind—or better yet, actually written down—when you do clear more time in your schedule… you’ll keep filling it up with the same old crap instead of legit needle-moving efforts.
Here’s something else I’ve learned on my own journey:
How you do ANYTHING is how you do EVERYTHING.
You half ass your workout? There’s likely a ton of things you’re half-assing in other parts of your life.
I’m recommending you use your whole ass.
(It will probably get tighter too, LOL).
The point is… once you decide what’s important to you, then you need to stop using time as an excuse.
The reason this helps you create more time in your day for your goals is that you’ll begin to notice all those OLD things that took up your time suddenly no longer have importance.
And you’ll decide to take a new action.
Whether that’s to stop doing them entirely… outsource them… or cut back on how often you do them.
It’s actually incredible how much creating a list of priorities helps you cut back on the clutter… and you’ll end up being able to do more in less time because you’re not distracted all the frigging time.
Hack #2: Look for places you’re spending time that don't get you anywhere.
The biggest culprit?
Your phone.
Did you know the average American spends 5-6 hours a day looking at their phone?
That’s about a third of your day.
You cannot tell me that’s 100% productive time.
Here are a few examples of how we allow our phones to become distractions:
Phone calls.
How many of those incoming calls are really necessary to answer “Right NOW?” Maybe thirty to forty percent? Mayyyyyyybe.
Text messages.
How many of those require your immediate attention? The majority could probably wait until you’re wrapping up for the day… or in evening relaxation mode. Put your phone into DND mode during work hours and watch how much time you get back.
Apps.
How many of them actually help you make forward progress toward your goals – and how many do you use as a distraction?
Or go all in and just delete all your apps LOL. I had to take Clubhouse off my phone. Now I can only use it when I’m on my iPad.
It was not good for my social life—or quite honestly my marriage—being on it every time I left the house. #addicted.
For the most part, we spend at least twice the amount of time we need to on the phone each day.
So if you’d like to earn back an hour or more each day… keep your phone away from you as much as possible…
And DEFINITELY while you’re doing your most important work – AKA working on your goals.
Hack #3: Limit your commitments.
This is also known as “learning to say no.”
It’s hard, especially for us women. Because we’re raised—even in these modern times—to take care of other people in our lives.
Especially if you have kids. The older they get, the more extracurricular stuff they’ll have, right?
So I want to remind you… it’s perfectly ok to say “no” to other people.
Here is your official permission slip.
In fact… I like to say: No is a full sentence.
Here’s why this is so clutch: When you’re driven by outside commitments, you’re not in control of your time.
I’m not saying don’t help others… I’m saying don’t do it at the expense of your goals.
And here’s the truth about overcommitment…
When you try to do EVERYTHING... it’s highly unlikely you’re gonna do anything well.
Have you heard of the Good/Fast/Cheap rule?
It’s a business concept that I think totally applies to everything.
- You can have it good and fast… but it won’t be cheap.
- You can have it good and cheap… but it won’t be fast.
- You can have it fast and cheap… but it won’t be good.
Wanting things that are good, fast, AND cheap literally does not exist.
Except for San Diego tacos. Yummmmm.
All that to say…
Overcommitting means you’re not using your time well… and actually, it’s not benefitting anyone.
I promise you’ll find out quickly just how much more time you have—and how much LESS time you’re able to spend on the things that matter—when you give yourself breathing room.
Hack #4: Make time for yourself.
Literally schedule it if you need to.
That’s what I do. Earlier this year I was in overcommitment mode… and I felt myself getting stressed and burned out.
So what I started doing is getting up half an hour earlier – and it made a world of difference.
I used that time to knock out work before my family got up – and as a result, I was able to be more relaxed and present with them. And fit in my workouts – which are so critical for my mental health.
All by shifting my schedule a little bit in the AM so I created space for myself.
Why is this so important?
There’s only one of you.
Your goals are yours… and literally no one is going to care about them as much as you do.
So you need to show up for yourself.
You can’t sacrifice your self-care and expect stellar results.
You can’t pour from an empty well.
When you’re burned out, it’s impossible to have the right mindset, energy level, and passion that’s required to achieve your goals.
For me, I noticed before I made this small shift, everything took me wayyyyy longer all day long because my mind wasn’t clear.
I would get distracted constantly… and things that SHOULD take 20 minutes often took an hour or more. Or I couldn’t remember what had been done… so I had to go back and waste MORE time getting a refresher or tracing back my steps.
SO annoying.
That’s why I say even carving out an extra 20 to 30 minutes each day can make a HUGE difference.
Actually put it into your calendar. You’ll be way more inclined to stick to that schedule if you see it in black and white.
Or black, white, and color-coded blocks like my schedule. LOL
Remember... YOU are the master of your own fate. The designer of your days.
And where your attention goes… energy flows.
So if you’re distracted all the time… that energy is out there flailing around. Which is not a good recipe to get shiz done, right?
And by the way… whenever I talk about my calendar and how I’m able to do all the things you know you’re supposed to do:
✅ Meditate.
✅ Workout.
✅ Eat healthy.
✅ Do a good job at work.
✅ Be fully present with your fam.
People allllways want to steal my secrets.
So… now you can.
The Reclaim Your Time Challenge is my signature 5-day online event where I walk you through a hyper productive (and yet easy to do) time- and task-management process.
You’ll learn how to carve out an hour or more each day just by making small tweaks to your approach.
It all starts Monday, January 10th.
This year I’m ramping up the challenge experience based on your feedback.
We’re going even deeper… more specific… with more examples. And you’re gonna put the techniques I’ll show you into action right on Day 1.
It’s just $10 to join… which works out to 2 bucks a day.
Getting back an hour of your day FOREVER is worth AT LEAST 2 bucks, right?
If you say no… I just can’t with you right now. LOL
In the Reclaim Your Time Challenge, not only will you be able to steal and apply my process…
You’ll also completely revolutionize your relationship with time.
So you can stop seeing it as this rigid nemesis that’s holding you back… and learn to work WITH it for incredible results.
Let’s make magic happen together! Let’s build in time for self-care… for being present in your life… AND to make those big dreams and goals happen.
You CAN do it.
So take good care of yourself… and I’ll see ya online.
XO,
Hayley