We all heard the saying, “So-in-so celebrity has the same 24 hours in a day as you to get stuff done. No excuses.” Here’s the one, not so tiny, issue I have with that statement: that celeb, world leader, athlete has a FREAKIN team. A team to help them get stuff done! A good example are the celebs who can “bounce back” quickly physically from giving birth. That celeb has a chef, nutritionist, trainer, nanny, personal assistant, and the list goes on.

Does this mean I’m not acknowledging the hard work of some celebs, world leaders, athletes and the people they employ? Does this mean that non-celebs, world leaders, and athletes cannot possibly be great? No, not at all. My point is this is one of the main reasons why I stress don’t compare yourself to anyone. Also, to acknowledge the fact that we really have to maximize our time whenever we can when we don’t have a team or, like me, are still building a team (see last week’s post).

I know that The Spiritual & Empowerment Living blog readers are queens (and some kings) who wear many crowns and time seems to be elusive. Some of us work better at night than we do in the day. Some of us have to be inspired before we do anything. Everything is a process. Let this post be a guide to help you maximize your time, focus on the major tasks first, implement a bit of self-care, and carry on!

Time Blocking

I swear that when I time block I enter a time warp. I get so much done that it feels like I spent more time than what I did. The key here is to know how long it takes you to do something. Also, if something takes you more than an hour to accomplish, make sure that you incorporate breaks. I used to plow through doing things without making time for a break and I ended up scrolling through Facebook looking at dog videos. Why? Because my brain needed a break and that unconscious break ends up being two hours or longer. You know how it goes, one video leads to another. Then you receive notifications and that’s all she wrote.

I know that it takes three hours for me to complete a blog post. This does not include the time it takes for me to take photos for the blog, which I don’t do all the time. Here’s what goes down during the three hours:

• Refining the title
• Editing the subtitles
• Typing the blog
• Picking the photos to add to the blog

A break for me is watching an episode of an old school detective show like Kojak (I LOVE old school detective shows) or drinking tea and scrolling through Instagram. Those breaks are about an hour and then I get back to the business. I’m always amazed how much I get done when I time block. So, set your phone alarm for however many minutes or hours you need, set your phone to not receive notifications, tell people in your household not to bother you, and get busy.

Day Blocking

Somethings require a day’s worth of attention, not hours. This may sound crazy because I’m discussing things to do when you’re pressed for time. Hear me out. This is a time to recharge, evaluate, plan, or all of the above. For example, some people take a break from social media on Sundays. I take a day or two to just watch, you guessed it, old school detective shows. This downtime is my recharge time. If I don’t do this, then I become burnt out and less productive the following days.

Other days I plan like crazy. I write a bunch of ideas that come to mind. Then I refine that idea by writing it again with more informational notes. Then I analyze my websites, newsletter, and social media accounts. I’m obsessed with understanding the makeup of my tribe and what works and does not work for my business. I’m looking at Pinterest stats, what my tribe clicks on the most in my newsletters so I know what to deliver more of, and I’m looking at trends. Afterward, I text my Virtual Assistant about it and we chat about it.

Just Say No

Until you learn how to bi-locate and all that jazz it’ll be best for you to get comfortable with saying “No”. Somethings aren’t for you or it’s not the right time or right people. Maybe you are working on something that really needs your full attention. Saying “No” to certain things is really saying “Yes” to you and your boundaries. What do you need to say “No” to?

But, Do I Really Need It?

What’s taking up your time? What’s the thing that isn’t doing any harm but it isn’t doing much good either? In several episodes of The Spiritual & Empowerment Living with Tia, I talk about how I was a gamer, which translated into me not doing anything else. Seriously, it wasn’t until my brother turned on the light in my room and asked me, “What the hell are you doing?” that I realized I had a problem. Yes, I was playing World of Warcraft in the dark (to get more of that interactive feel) and surrounded by pizza and soda. Was anyone getting hurt? No, but days went by without me doing a damn thing. Now, that’s not good. I had to dial back my gameplay.

This also applies to people. Who are the people that are taking up your time? Don’t allow them to take up your time with drama and lack of productivity. Eventually, you will see that there are seemingly harmless things sucking up your time. Now is the time to take back your time!

Screw FOMO

In my early 20s, you couldn’t catch me sitting still! I was always on the go and partying from Thursday night (I had off from work on Fridays) to Sunday (sometime’s, Monday) morning. I didn’t want to miss out on a thing! Now, I’m totally fine staying in on a Friday night. While I’m in a totally different mindset now since I’m not into partying every weekend, there are other forms of FOMO for us 30 year olds. The good thing is that I’m happy with myself so I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I know that as long as I’m proactive things will fall into place via divine order. If I was worried about missing out on something, my time will be consumed with instant gratification and long term disappointment. Remember, you can’t miss out on something that’s not for you so don’t spend your time chasing after what someone else has or what someone else says you should have.

Delegate + Give Authority

Remember how I talked about having a team? Well when you delegate something to someone, give them the authority to do it without you questioning every single thing they do. Give them the authority to just handle it and they can come to you with a final approval if need be.

Know Thy Self

My creative juices flow from midnight to 4am. If I try to brainstorm before or after -then it ain’t happening. Whatever thoughts I write about during my creative hours I can elaborate on later in the day because I already have it well thought out. Afterward, I’m tweaking what I wrote, everything is pretty much done.  I’m also a night owl. I get soooo much stuff done at night it’s ridiculous. What are your prime hours? What are your down hours?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Time is magical. Sometimes an hour feels like an eternity and three hours feels like an hour. My point is, 24 hours really doesn’t mean a thing as long as you’re crazy productive by means of maximizing your time. Be disciplined in your actions and you’ll be surprised by how much you can truly get done in such little time.

• The early bird doesn’t always get the worm. I really didn’t like that saying as a kid when I was forced to get up early for school. It’s the strategic bird that gets the worm. Just because you get up early and read the paper (or a few posts) doesn’t mean you’re productive. If you want to sleep in, then sleep in. Set yourself up beforehand, know your objectives, apply what you’ve learned, and constantly evaluate yourself.

• Some people won’t get why you work different hours. Don’t let obsolete beliefs about time hold you back.

• Get your people involved whenever you can. Sometimes we have to get the family involved. I have seen mothers and fathers run with their kids. The kids will be in a stroller or riding their bikes beside their parent.

How do you save or maximize your time?

Let me know below!