Have you ever said that before? “There’s just not enough hours in the day?” I know I have. It’s interesting though…The one thing we all complain about not having enough of, is actually the exact same for everyone, anywhere in the world. We all have 24 hours a day. If you think about it, 24 hours is actually a lot of time. We’ll take away 7 hours for sleep, so that still yields you 17 hours per day. And take away 8 hours for work, so now we have 9 hours left.

9 hours….

I know it doesn’t feel like you have 9 free hours and I bet you rarely get 7 hours of sleep, so where is that time?

That time is spent in the car commuting to and from work, mindlessly scrolling through social media, watching TV, standing in the pantry or staring at the refrigerator trying to figure out what to cook, or even complaining to your spouse about how much time you don’t have….

Ahh…You can say ouch for that last one…

Now that I have your attention, let’s help you figure out what’s going with your time. Everything I teach in Workaholic Uprising, be it the course or the journal, is rooted in making time for yourself. I teach from a place of self-care because we always sacrifice our needs first. Here’s a breakdown my day…

5:00 AM: Wake up (read, meditate, yoga, pranayama, journal, write, get dressed) I don’t do all these things, I usually pick one or two…In addition to getting dressed of course.

6:30 AM: My son is usually up by now, so I get him ready, feed him breakfast and out the door we go…I have a protein shake in the car.

8:30 AM: Work usually until 4:00 PM. Review calendar and prep for tomorrow before I finish for the day. Exercise during lunch 3 days each week.

4:30 PM: Pick my son up, dinner, family time. This includes everything up until bedtime for my son.

(Time Hack: If you have a separate tub and shower and your little ones are still bathing in your bathroom, take your shower and get ready for bed while your kids play for a little bit in the bathtub).

8:30 PM: Spouse time or late workout.

10:00 PM: Journal or write

11:00 PM: Sleep

So I steal an hour from my sleep as 6 hours feels really good to me, but you can adjust if you need more. Now every day isn’t always this neatly planned. Things come up, I’m traveling, whatever the case may be. Sure, I’m on a plane most days, and if I’m in a hotel for a few days, I write more or try workout classes in whatever city I’m in. I usually have client dinners, so I’m still working at night. Ultimately though, the above schedule is currently my ideal day and I try to be very conscious of my time so that I can have my ideal day.

What often happens is that we don’t plan it out so we let the day run us instead of us running the day. That’s how the hours get away from us.

Where do you think you might be losing time in your day? Is self-care the first thing you sacrifice to fit it all in? Do you have a long commute? Can you still have an ideal day with a long commute? For example, I return all my phone calls when I’m on the road driving instead of flying. Or I return emails by recording voice memos. I know what emails I need to return because it’s in my calendar along with whatever calls I need to make. Sometimes just have to get creative…

Tools I Highly Recommend to Maximize the Hours in Your Day:

I absolutely every day use my planner by StartPlanner and Asana, a task management tool. Asana is free so anyone can use it. I predominantly use Asana for my businesses, but it can handle my personal daily tasks too. I write everything in my planner and later transfer it to my phone or Asana. I love to write and enjoy a paper planner, but I also need to add dates to my iCal because I’m on the go so much. I also carry my journal with me everywhere I go to keep track of the other stuff I don’t keep in my planner, like random thoughts, anxious feelings, or when I need to focus again because I’m getting distracted.

I know a lot of people don’t like the idea of a paper planner, but writing really helps to calm us and keep us focused. Even if it’s just writing down appointments for the day. Your brain needs a break, so if you get it on paper, it doesn’t have to keep up with all the “lists”.

What’s your ideal day look like? And what can you do now to get just a little closer to feeling like you had a good day? Would love to hear your tips for managing your day too!

Talk soon,