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

Many of us – particularly women – feel a sense of obligation and loyalty to our employer.

While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it does become harmful when we stay longer than we should or keep our mouths shut when the workload becomes unreasonable out of a sense of loyalty.

When we’re drowning at work, a lot of people will tell you to “just ask for help” or “say no to new work.”

Sounds easy enough. WEIRDLY hard to do though, right?

“I should be able to do all of this.”

I hear some version from this from many clients.

San Diego was the last place I wanted to move.

I know, I know… people think I’m nuts.

Here’s the simple beauty of using a calendar to manage everything on your plate:

It becomes pretty obvious pretty quickly when you’re trying to do too much.

On the flip side, when you use to-do lists, post-it notes, phone notes apps, and email to manage your to-do’s – well, it’s weirdly easy to think you can “just squeeze something in.”

Here’s THE single most important concept that will help you manage everything on your plate with more clarity and calm:

Everything we do requires time. And that time comes out of the same place: the awake minutes that make up our day.

This is obvious, right?

So, shouldn’t the system we use for managing all of those things reflect that principle?

When I bring on new clients, I ask them a series of questions, including how productive they feel at work and at home – and if they’re able to truly enjoy downtime.

Even when people score themselves high on productivity, almost everyone ranks themselves low on being able to truly enjoy their time off.

In my paper planner days in college, I once stood up an elderly professor at a restaurant ‍♀️

The lunch was in my calendar. I just didn’t pull out my calendar to check it at the end of class.

Instead, I threw my laptop in my bag and went home to take a nap. I woke up and realized my mistake far too late. (Ughhhh my tummy still turns when I think about it.)

Here’s the thing: a calendar only works if it helps you do the actual things.

We all have an invisible to-do list.

The stuff that never makes it onto any list or paper planner but that takes up our time.

Making dinner. Showering. Doing bath time and bedtime with the kids. Walking the dog. Washing bedsheets. Cleaning up the kitchen before bed.

Exacerbating this issue is the fact that during the mental gymnastics of figuring out when we’ll do everything, we often underestimate or completely overlook how much time those things take.