The time-mastery strategies my clients love to hate
She looked at me sadly. She was frazzled, scattered, chaotic, tired, overwhelmed, frustrated.
It was Session 3, and there was disappointment in her eyes.
She hired me to help her “get her sh*t together”.
Like many clients, time was her worst enemy & made her feel like…
- A failure because she lost the race every day.
- A hopeless mess because she never accomplished anything.
- An oppressed slave to her to-do list.
Her excitement from Sessions 1 & 2 had waned by Session 3.
She was tired of the effort it was taking.
Heaving a loud sigh, she said, “I thought you were going to give me a new SYSTEM.
I thought you were going to give me some miracle way to manage my time.”
Oh, my friend. I wish.
It just doesn’t work that way. Here’s how it does work:
People want things to be different, but they want to keep doing what they’re doing, hoping something will change.
- Hoping they’ll achieve time mastery.
- Hoping to find time for everything.
- Hoping for the sh*tty feeling to go away.
Sadly…
Hope is not a strategy. Hope doesn’t help us conquer our frazzle, chaos, and overwhelm.
I provide useful strategies that WORK – but if clients don’t implement them, they don’t work.
The good news? When clients DO the work, the strategies DO work.
Here are 3 strategies my scattered, chaotic, and overwhelmed clients hate to do…before they meet me.
- Plan their day: My most scattered clients tell me “I like to be spontaneous”, so they’ve absolutely refused to plan. Every day, they woken up with no idea what fresh hell-o is about to greet them.
Nothing kills spontaneity faster than running around, putting out fires, tackling problems, and being inefficient because you haven’t taken the time to see what’s coming your way today.
Who has time for spontaneity? My clients who frickin’ plan out their days and plan in free time for it – that’s who!
- Empty out their brains: My most frazzled clients tell me “I can’t turn off my brain!”, so they listen to the never-ending lists run constantly.
Their mental chatter keeps them living in terror that they’ll forget some vital THING.
It’s a downright soupy mess up in their skull.
Those who stay overwhelmed – in chaos & frazzle – don’t take a moment to empty out their brains. A simple daily list. A quick thought download. A brain dump of all the things they need to remember to do.
They love to hate it. But man, it changes their lives.
- Take small bites: My most overwhelmed clients consistently bite off more than they can chew.
- They write a terrifying to-do list that’s ten miles long.
- They say yes to everything, and then panic.
- They make their lives harder by creating unrealistic rules for themselves.
- They refuse to whittle down, simplify, say no, or constrain.
They believe the lie their brain tells them: that they can accomplish it all – RIGHT NOW!
They live in a make-believe world where there are no hurdles, everything goes as expected, and time is infinite.
Sadly, this sets them up to fail. Every day, they fail. And they remain overwhelmed.
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Are you….Scattered? Overwhelmed? Chaotic? Exhausted?
I promise there is hope – and it requires action.
You didn’t get to this place by accident, nor did you get there in a few days. It’s been years of practice.
We get really good at what we practice.
This week, focus on one new practice to help you master your time. It. Is. Achievable.
What are you willing to do?
Stop judging yourself and start implementing just one of the simple (and often resisted) hints above.
They work. You don’t need magic, voodoo, or a pretty new planner. Show up for you – and watch what happens.
Need some support? Some accountability? I’ve gotchu. Seek me out & set up a Discovery Session to see if I can help.
I’m playing around with creating an online Master Your Time small-group coaching session this winter.
If you’re interested in that, shoot me an email at [email protected] or leave a comment!
