Dig into actionable, realistic time management strategies designed for the professional working woman that mold to you.

When I was studying for the LSAT, I went home to MN. As my family hung out by the lake, I studied away.

On day three of studying basically every hour I was awake, my dad walked over.

Given that my dad is a very hardworking guy, I remember thinking he’d be impressed at my commitment and prepared myself for a compliment.

Now, I LOVE paper. I process by writing pen to paper, and paper planners got me through college and law school.

But when it comes to managing your time as a modern working woman trying to juggle all your roles, well… here’s the thing:

To get all of the magical results of time-blocking, you need to account for where all of your time is going.

Some people won’t even try time-blocking because they think it’ll make life feel too rigid. Sterile. Less spontaneous.

I get where that thought comes from. But… nope.

“‘No’ is a complete sentence.” We’ve all heard that statement as a rallying cry to draw boundaries. And I back the general gist of it. But to say no, you have to be comfortable enough to say no.

It’s weird how much I sometimes have to spell something out in my mind for me to act.

Here’s what I mean: I hate confrontation, and I’m a people-pleaser. So, when it comes to advocating/standing up for myself, I struggle and – particularly in the past – would just avoid it entirely.

Three-ish years ago, I sat at a coffee shop with a friend who ran her own law firm. At the time, I was working with clients in their offices on office organization/workflows.

A lot of time management strategists out there are big fans of time auditing – i.e., tracking your time for a day, week, or month so you get clear on where your time is going.  I’m… not one of those people.  Don’t get me wrong – I see the value in a time audit.  I […]

“It’s funny how my organization stresses these big yearly goals and goes so far as to require us to report on our work every month. But they do not tell you how to make this work happen. It has been a frustration for me for quite some time.”

A woman said this to me earlier this year.

And I completely get it.

First things first, if you don’t already follow @nedratawwab, do so right now.

Second, I’m a HUGE fan of boundaries but completely get that they’re hard to draw. I’ve struggled to draw them often. It feels confrontational, and this Minnesotan struggles with that sometimes (the fact I was a litigator still cracks me up sometimes).

Despite the struggle, I KNOW boundary drawing and enforcing is worth it.