Episode 38 #3: Why You're Always Running Out of Time (and How to Fix it!)
ITUNES | SPOTIFY
This is the third in a four-part mini-series all about Why You're Always Running Out of Time and How to Fix It!
Is your brain constantly buzzing with all the things you think you need to do, but you never seem to make real progress? In today’s episode, we’re talking about the difference between thinking about what you need to do and actually planning for it. If you’re tired of the mental load and overthinking every decision, this episode will teach you how to create a more effective planning process.
Plus, I’m sharing all the details about my upcoming live class, “Plenty of Time,” where I’ll teach you four simple steps to create more space in your working mom schedule. Register at themothernurture.com/class.
Tune in to learn how to finally get out of your head and into action!
links & resources mentioned in this episode:
Register for my free, live class - Plenty of Time: 4 Steps to Create More Space in Your Working Mom Schedule
Enrollment for Beyond Balance is opening soon - learn more about my small group coaching program for working moms
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You are listening to the Life Coach for Working Moms podcast, the show where we are talking about what it actually takes to make life work as a working mom. I'm your host, Katelyn Denning, a full time working mom of three and a certified life and executive coach. I'm so glad you're here and I hope you enjoy this week's episode.
Welcome to the podcast and back to this special mini series, why you're always running out of time and how to. Fix it. Before we get into reason number three in this episode, I wanna remind you that I am.
Teaching a live class on Thursday, April 10th called Plenty of Time where I'm going to walk you through the four steps you need to follow to create more space in your working mom schedule. You can head to themothernurture.com/class to register and be sure to add it to your calendar.
All right. Reason number three for why you are always running out of time is that thinking about what you need to do is not the same as planning for what you're going to do. This is the very definition of the mental load. That image that, I don't know what it looks like for you, but all of the bubbles above your head of the things that you are thinking about and anticipating and constantly running through to stay one step ahead or just keep things afloat.
Not only is thinking, continuing to think, overthinking what you need to do, exhausting, it's also not effective. Here's what I need you to know. Our brains cannot always differentiate between doing something. Actually doing something and thinking about something, it's actually fascinating and can be leveraged in so many ways, but in these instances, I.
When you spend time, for example, thinking about work, if you have trouble turning off work, it's always playing in the back of your mind. It's something you're thinking about. It will feel like all you do is work, even though you're not. Always at the office or always behind your computer or always actually doing the work that you do.
You're just thinking about it, but it still feels like it's constant and it's a surefire way to get to burnout. You're so tired of working, but really you're just so tired of always thinking about work Now, thinking about what you need to do is common for so many of us.
In the mornings, we're starting our day. Our minds are hopefully a little bit fresh, and as maybe you are getting ready or you're going through the steps to get everyone out the door in the morning, you might be running through or creating some sort of mental list. Our brains , are turning on, maybe the coffee's kicking in and it's, oh, I need to remember to call the doctor and schedule that appointment.
Or, oh shoot, I need to reply to that email, or I never sent over that link to my friend for that thing that she wanted the link to. Oh, and I can't forget to swing by the store on my way home to grab a tomato because we need that for dinner.
They were out the other day when I went grocery shopping. We create this mental list and it feels really productive, especially in the morning to be thinking about what you need to do today.
But if it's not something you've solidified for yourself, if you're not writing it down, organizing it, or putting it on your calendar in some way, it's not a plan. You've not decided for sure what you're doing. And so many things can happen from point A to point B. From the time that you start to create this mental list to when you actually get going in your day, you might forget.
What you listed off this morning while you were making breakfast, or you might remember those things, but not necessarily at the most opportune times. I mean, how many times do you think of something that you wanted to do today while you're driving or washing your face at night or on the sidelines when you wanna be paying attention to what your kids are doing on the field?
And also that mental list or that mental plan, if you think of it that way was likely not made in conjunction with your calendar. So do you actually know that those things fit, given what your schedule looks like? And are those things that you thought of truly your priorities? Your brain is amazing.
Your brain's amazing. My brain's amazing. I bet you can hold more than the average person. I know I can. My husband is always amazed at not just my long-term memory. Like I remember what I was wearing the day that I first met him. That sort of stuff lives rent free in my brain, but also what I can hold on today.
Today. But just because you can hold something in your mind, just because you can create a mental list doesn't mean that you should or that it's the most effective way. Here's the other problem with thinking through things. Instead of taking yourself through the process of actually planning your time, when you just think about things, you leave the door open to second guess yourself.
You leave the door open just to crack because you've not fully committed or decided, and this often leads to overthinking.
If you haven't fully decided on something, have you ever noticed how your brain likes to just think it over and over and over? This happened to me recently. We were debating whether or not to allow my daughter to do a sleepover. She was invited to a sleepover, and I know that's a hot button topic, so I'm not gonna go into the details or even share our decision, but.
For the rest of the day after I received that invite, the parent asking, it was all I could do was just think about it. I had my initial gut instinct of how I wanted to respond, of what I wanted to do, but because I didn't act on it. I didn't decide and solidify my decision. I left that door open a crack, and all day I went back and forth.
I second guessed my decision. I changed my decision and I second guessed that one. I called friends and I talked to my sister. I wanted to get their thoughts and their opinions. I started to look outside myself. Instead of trusting myself, and I ended up dragging it out. I spent so much time and energy making this decision when really the decision itself is made in an instant.
Everything else is just energy spent thinking and researching and crowdsourcing. So when you only think about your day and what you need to do, you leave that door open for overthinking, oh, I should do this, or, oh, I should work on that, but I have all these other things to do. If I spend time on this, I won't get nearly enough done.
Or maybe I can just squeeze it all in. Maybe today will be different. I'll have a burst of energy and focus and I'll just crank through all of this stuff. And you go back and forth and instead of trusting yourself, you look outside yourself and you consider and compare what are other people doing?
Or what did I do yesterday? You overthink it when you'd be so much more effective. If you just looked at your list of options, looked at your calendar, made, your decisions about your priorities and what you're going to commit to doing, and then you just got to it. I want you to go from, I should do this, that, or the other.
Two, those things are done or I am doing it. Take the planning out of your head. It's not really working, and put it instead into a process that helps you make decisions about your time and your priorities.
A process that reduces the mental load and ultimately helps you make progress on things while also keeping space in your schedule. If this resonates with you, this is exactly what we're covering in my live training. Plenty of time. I'll walk you through the four steps that will help you create more space in your schedule.
You can save your spot at themothernurture.com/class. I hope to see you there.
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