Ask an Expert: How to Take Back Your Time and Get More Out of Your Days Without Running Yourself Ragged

We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

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Start believing that you actually deserve to be happy, regardless of whether or not everything on your to-do list gets done.”

—Whitney A. White, Creator of Take Back Your Time

We've all been known to “rise and grind,” but as we’ve had to learn the hard way, activity is not the same thing as productivity—it's time to bid adieu to the "I'm so busy" mantra. More often than not, attempting to tackle a never-ending to-do list just leads to feeling stressed, burnt out, and, ultimately, unfulfilled.

In this installment of our Ask an Expert series, we asked Whitney A. White, the creator of Take Back Your Time, to share her expert time management tips. Ahead, she breaks down four critical mistakes that are holding you back from living the life that you want and the actionable steps you can take to break these bad habits and get more out of your days.

Scroll on for her tried-and-true tips for maximizing your time, honing your focus, and avoiding burnout. If you missed the conversation, you can watch it in full here, and be sure to tune into our next Ask an Expert conversation on Instagram Live.

Mistake #1: Taking pride in being busy.

“Stop thinking that working like crazy and being exhausted is some kind of badge of honor.”

“When you’re on the verge of burnout, you’re less efficient, less effective, and way more prone to mistakes. You are juggling so many different balls that, at any moment, they could all come crashing down.”

“If you keep doing this, you’ll be trapped in the anxious feeling that everything could fall apart at any moment.”

Step #1: Prioritize outcome over activity.

“Focus on outcomes over activity. When you get off that hamster wheel and focus on outcomes, you can stop being busy and getting the most important things done.”

“Prioritize achieving the goals that really matter and taking pride in accomplishing what you truly want to do.”

Mistake #2: Trying to tackle to never-ending to-do lists.

“Stop feeling like you need to do every single thing that ends up on your to-do list.”

“We all intuitively know that some things are more important than others, but when we’re trapped in the realm of the never-ending to-do list, getting anything done feels like an accomplishment.”

Step #2: Nix low-value tasks.

“Not everything on your to-do list absolutely has to get done. You want to be investing your precious time in the tasks that are truly most important in your life.”

“This will give you the brain space to focus on high priorities that really matter. You will start to feel empowered. Remember, you have a choice in what you do with your time.”

Mistake #3: Thinking only you can.

“Get over feeling like no one else can do as good of a job as you can.” 

“Because you think no one else can do as good of a job as you can, you’re afraid to let go. You end up convincing yourself that you have to do everything yourself.”

“By making this mistake, you walk around with the weight of so many responsibilities on your shoulders.”

Step #3: Delegate, delegate, delegate.

“You are not the only competent person on the planet.”

“When you delegate, you can reap the benefits of applying laser-like focus to the tasks that truly matter to you.”

“True focus feels like you are operating at your peak level and you know that nothing can get in your way.”

Mistake #4: Sacrificing what you can’t get back

“Stop believing that you have to sacrifice your health, wellness, and happiness in the present in order to get where you want to go in the future.”

“When we over-index in one aspect of our lives and neglect the others, we end up feeling unfulfilled because there are parts of ourselves that we’re not letting flourish.”

Step #4: Give yourself permission to prioritize your own happiness.

“Start believing that you actually deserve to be happy, regardless of whether or not everything on your to-do list gets done.”

“Enjoy your life today in the here and now. Invest your time in the ways that you really want to—you don’t want to be grinding all the time just to feel unfulfilled.”

“That feeling of freedom and personal fulfillment is truly priceless.”

About the Expert: Whitney A. White is the founder of Afara Global, an organization that helps startups, corporate innovation teams, and nonprofits launch and scale new products and services. She is also the creator of Take Back Your Time, a transformational coaching program designed to help business leaders get on a clear path to achieving the goals that matter to them most. Follow her on Instagram.

Tune in daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST, for new installments of Ask an Expert. 

Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out. See you there!

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6 Things You've Never Done to Save Time, But Should

Young professionals are busy. Between work, friends and finding time for self-care, it feels like there’s little left in the day for anything else. Worse, there are probably dozens of things you’re doing that are zapping the little time you do have—and you don’t even realize you’re doing it. The good news is there are many ways to take that time back, but you’ve probably never tried them before. Stop dealing with this time-crunched life. Try these ideas instead.

Find Someone on TaskRabbit

If you’ve never used TaskRabbit to outsource time-consuming to-do list items, now is the time to try. While the service is most commonly known for tasks like delivering food or drink items to your house or finding affordable handyman services, you can use it for just about any task you can think of.

PureWow suggests “Taskers,” as they’re called, can do all the following:

● Put together your Ikea furniture
● Wait in line at a restaurant
● Nitty-gritty wedding planning details
● Deliver flowers
● Hand-write thank you notes
● Help hang your gallery wall
● Re-organize your closet
● Cook a week’s worth of meals
● Bartend your next BBQ
● Plan your next vacation

And that’s just a short list. The best part, all of these tasks cost anywhere from $19 to $40 per hour. For those of us that are more time-crunched than we’d like to believe, these services would make a huge dent in time spent during the day.

Track Your Time

If you keep feeling like you’re running out of time—at work, at home, wherever—it’s time to start tracking what you’re doing, and how long it’s taking. There are dozens of free time trackers available, including RescueTime, Toggle, and iTrackMyTime. All you have to do is fill it in with the tasks you do most often and then start the clock when you do.

At the end of the week or month, look through your time tracker to see where you’ve spent the most time. You may be shocked to see you spent four hours watching T.V. every night, but can’t seem to find time to read more. Suddenly, you’ve found your time-saver: watch less T.V. or read for 30 minutes before you flick it on to wind down at night.

Pick Up the Phone

Texting, emailing and in-app messaging is convenient when you’re having a casual
conversation. When it comes to making plans, however, nothing beats a traditional phone call to save time. Instead of going back and forth on details, or waiting for a response on a timely question, you can hash it out right then and there.

Video calling makes this even more fun—so next time you’re making plans, pick up the phone, hop on a video call and plan it out together. Paired with a glass of wine, it will feel like you’re planning in the same room together.

Use Wash and Fold Service

Laundry is a necessary evil. According to CD One Price Cleaners, it’s also a time consuming one. They found that it takes 100 minutes to do a single load of laundry—and no, that doesn’t count folding it too. Don’t let this chore take up any more of your free time. Instead, use a wash and fold service once a week, and look for one that offers same-day pick- up. If you live in a major metropolitan area, this will be easy to find, as most cleaners now offer this service. Then, just drop your clothes off before work and pick them up on your way home. Now you have the whole night to enjoy, whether you want to curl up on the couch or head out
with friends.

Make Idle Time Productive Time

While it’s nice to have downtime, if you often have unoccupied time during the day—think: traveling on public transportation, standing in line at the grocery store, waiting at the doctor’s office—rethink how you use it. By being more productive during this otherwise unused time, you free up space later in the day to do other things that are important to you.

In these moments, focus on small tasks like, texting your mom back or reading through a long email from your boss. Anything that you’d normally put off for days at a time, but that can be done quickly with your phone.

If you know you’ll have idle time on your hands that week or the next day, make a short list of things you can get done. When the time comes, open your to-do list and knock them off.

Stop Your Social Media Scrolling

How often do you turn to your phone to scroll while a page is loading (I’ve already done it three times while writing this article!) and then you stay on it for another 5 minutes because you get sucked in. This is a tough item to add to your time tracking because it’s often in short spurts, but those can add up quickly.

To get your scroll habit under control, and stop wasting time, check out AntiSocial. This app tracks your phone usage and lets you know how you compare to others. You’ll also get a usage score and tips for reducing how often you reach for your phone. You may find you’re spending way more time on your phone than you think, but the data may be enough to help you cut down, saving a little (or a lot of) time each day.

Save Time Once and For All

Get your time-wasting habits and chores under control. Use TaskRabbit to outsource waiting for a table at your new favorite restaurant. Drop your clothes off at the wash and fold when you know you have a busy week ahead. Pick up the phone to make plans instead of texting. All these tasks are simple, yet hugely helpful when it comes to saving time. Better yet: use the time tracker so you can see the progress for yourself.

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Jessica Thiefels has been writing for more than 10 years and is currently a full-time writer, content marketing consultant and business owner. She’s been featured in Forbes and Business Insider and has written for Manta, StartupNation, Glassdoor, Lifehack and more. Follow her on Twitter @Jlsander07 and connect LinkedIn.

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The Time-Management Survival Guide for the Busy Woman

You’ve finally made it! You’ve worked your butt off to get to this point and now it feels like everyone and I mean everyone is counting on you. The worst part is that now you seem to have NO TIME to enjoy any of it ‘cuz you’re so franticly trying to keep a billion and a half balls in the air. You’ve tried just about every organizing technique ever created and often beat yourself up for not fitting in that relaxing cup of hot coffee right after your 20 minute morning meditation and yoga practice followed by a productive and fulfilling day with your hair, makeup, and outfit looking chic and finishing the day with a delicious and healthy dinner and quality time spent with your loving partner. Ah, to be a woman that only exists in the movies.

Don’t worry, there is hope... and lots of it.

The secret is that Time isn’t a thing to be managed. WTF?!? I know, right.

Time is just a form of measurement and those pesky clocks just keep ticking no matter how much we try to control them. Our relationship with it is what we have control over. If you’re on the edge of throwing a mini-tantrum I totally get it. As a fellow passionately multi-hyphenate who desperately wants to feel in control of some part of her life it took me a bit of kicking and screaming to come around to be willing to try a new approach since my current one left me exhausted and frustrated. So without further adieu here are three (not time consuming and hugely effective) ways to change your relationship with time.

RADICAL ACCEPTANCE

Radical acceptance is accepting life on life’s terms. You know those weeks when you map out exactly what you’re going to get done over the next couple of days and then your car breaks down or your son gets sick or your basement floods and there go all of your plans there are a few paths you could walk down in this moment.

•  You could flip out about how much time and money you’re going to lose and that it’s not fair that this had to happen now.
•  You could accept that this is what’s happening right now, it won’t last forever, and that your ship will right itself when this storm passes.

Then, grabbing a post it note (it’s that size on purpose) and making your To-Do List of 1 thing that would make you so happy to get done would be the way to go. Everything else you may get done is gravy.

THE POWER OF NO

Believe it or not people often respect someone who says “no” maybe even more than they do the person who says “yes” to EVERYTHING. It is not your job to do everyone else’s job. The key is to say “no” gracefully and authentically. Here’s how:

•  Empathetically acknowledge the person who is asking for your time and attention. i.e. “I could see how that would be really stressful” or “It makes sense that you’re really having a hard time with this.”
•  Be honest. i.e. “I wish I could give your situation the full attention that you and it deserve but I can’t right now.” or “Thank you for thinking of me but I, also, have a ton on my plate and wouldn’t be able to do my best work if I took on another project.”

 Short. Sweet. To the Point. Even if the person gets all snarky in the moment it’s not like they’re going to hate you forever this person already values your and your your opinions and abilities... and if they do who needs ‘em.       

CELEBRATION

Since you’re the type of gal who’s got her eye on the prize you may be whizzing past all of your wins along the way. That is NOT OK, Sister. Focusing on the process as opposed to focusing on the prize just may get you where you want to go faster, or at least getting there will probably be a lot more fun, and you deserve that.

 Make a three part celebration list.

•  Level 1: (I completed that thing that’s been weighing on me)
•  Living room dance party, happy hour with your best girl friend, and extra 30 mins of Netflix, a beautiful hike etc.
•  Level 2: (That was a ton of work and I did that s@#* like a champ)
•  That bag you’ve been eyeing, a new tech toy, a spa day, an impromptu three day weekend.
•  Level 3: (OMG! It really happened. I’m freaking out I’m so excited.)
•  That trip you’ve been hoping to take at some point, upgraded kitchen appliances, a new car.

Now you have to make it part of your routine (like every morning in the shower or when you brush your teeth at night) to acknowledge how cool you are then celebrate.

Maybe, you’ve only remembered to meditate once in the past two and a half months, you’ve been wearing the same shirt for three days, and you’ve ordered Thai every night this week. As long as you’re practicing accepting the fact that your life is rolling that way at the moment, releasing the fear of what everyone else thinks about you, and celebrating the victories that have gotten you to this moment you’re leaps and bounds ahead of most people on the planet.

If you have additional ideas of how to change your relationship with time and things that have worked for you in the past share the wealth with your fellow wildly busy female friends in the comments below.

Sharon Freedman has been a professional actor and voiceover artist for over 15 years and trained at The Coaches Training Institute with a desire to be more of service. A few years back she looked death in the eye and found that mindfulness and other evidence based therapeutic methods like DBT saved her life which inspired her to create her coaching practice Stress Reduction Joy Production.  She owns being a work in progress and practices bringing as much fun, creativity, and authenticity to the world as she can. Join us on FB at: https://www.facebook.com/stressreductionjoyproduction/

An original version of this post appeared on Blog Society. 

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