
2.6 hours every day.⠀
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That’s how long the average American spends on email, according to McKinsey.⠀
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But very few of us account for that when planning our days.⠀
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Instead, many of us book ourselves up with meetings, calls and plans to grind through our to-do lists. ⠀
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But then the to-do list gets bumped by the emails zinging into our inbox, which seem urgent. ⠀
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So, we end our day having done a lot in terms of meetings, calls and emails – but not the real, focused work.⠀
And that real, focused work gets pushed into night and weekends.
No bueno.
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Here are some tips:⠀
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grab your coffee
Let’s make your life less stressful through the nerdy power of time management

So, color-coding your calendar is basically the same as using Outlook/Google Calendar sub-calendars, right?
While color-coding is a great first step, nope!
At first glance, calendars using them may look the same. Both show different parts of your calendar in different colors.
But sub-calendars take that visual clarity to a whole new level.⠀
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I love this distinction between color-coding and sub-calendars because it highlights a major goal of mine: my goal is NOT just to have you walk away with a pretty calendar. If so, let’s just color-code it and call it a day.
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How do you actually take a vacation in a way that’s enjoyable and minimizes the stress associated with pre- and post-work surge? Here are 9 steps to planning and preparing for a vacation you can actually enjoy.
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White space ENCOURAGED.⠀
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When I recommend calendaring all of your activities, that does NOT mean “calendar every minute of your day.”⠀
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On a to-do list, all tasks take up a short line. But some will take 5 minutes. Others 5 days. Some require your best energy. Others can be done when you’re tired. Some require an office to be open when you make the call. Others can be done late on a Sunday night. ⠀
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But you don’t know any of that looking at a to-do list. Instead, every single time you look at the list to decide what to do next, you have to do all those mental gymnastics in your head before you even start. ⠀
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This is why I love throwing tasks in your calendar. By tying a task to a date, time and window of time, you can schedule it for when your energy is best, when the office is open, break a big task down into smaller steps, and decide when to work on it with time before the deadline. ⠀
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[heads up: lightbulb moment below]⠀
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Sometimes the “what do I prioritize?” question blurs with the “work-life balance” concept. You know — when the competing priorities vying for your time are work and family/fun. How do you prioritize/find the balance?⠀
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This next point made by @lvanderkam had me smiling and saying, “yessssss” out loud like the nerd I am as I drove and listened to her book on Audible.⠀
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If I asked you to prioritize three things but didn’t tell you what steps each required or how much time they’d take – well, you’re already frustrated by the question, right? I am.
If you don’t have one place where you can see everything on your plate in a visual, clear way, that’s basically what you’re doing to yourself every day.⠀
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“I feel like I have 10,000 things on my to-do list and when I finally turn to one of them, I can’t focus on it because I’m thinking about all other things I should do – like cook dinner.” – A woman during a recent initial chat with me.
This sums up a feeling a lot of us have and I hear echoed often by clients. The feeling of being stretched too thin, always “busy,” and often feeling ineffective because our thoughts are pulled in too many directions.
If you know this feeling all too well (and we’ve all had them), keep reading – I have some strategies I’d love you to try AND an exciting secret I want to share with you.
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Hi lady-on-the-go,
A couple of days ago, while driving down the highway, I remembered I needed to call the vet in the morning (Olive’s on the mend now – don’t worry!). Obviously, in that moment, I couldn’t break out my Google Calendar app to calendar that call. But I also knew I’d forget to call if I didn’t put that task in a system right away.
So, I held down the button on my steering wheel that activates Siri and said, “Remind me tomorrow at 8:30am to call the vet about Olive’s paw.” Done. And, at 8:30am the next morning, I got the reminder, called the vet, got my pup in for a 10:30am appointment, and by 11:30am she was home and on the way to recovery.
Why am I sharing this? Because sometimes the things we need to remember to do flash through our minds when we’re driving, out with friends, or have our hands full of a project or child at home.
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Realistic time management designed for professional working women
I'm a former big law attorney who got overwhelmed as a first year and slowly pieced together a time/task management system that actually reduced my stressed, helped me stay on top of it all (and know it), feel confident drawing boundaries, and soak in time with my family and friends. I'd love to get you there, too.
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