Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I’m just SOOO busy”? Having that mindset makes it seem like life is happening TO you. It’s as if your days are running you instead of you running your days.
This can be very dangerous because the story that you tell yourself will determine how you show up in life. If you continuously say “I’m SO busy”, well you’ll show up as very busy.
In episode 49 of the GUIDE Culture podcast, Macy walks you through her scheduling and calendaring process so that you can run your day instead of your days running you.
Here’s a quick recap:
The first thing we want to do is address the concept of buffering.
We refer to ‘buffering’ as the thing that you do whenever you hit a road block or find yourself being challenged and instead of pushing through and being productive, you choose to do something mindless, such as grab a snack or scroll on Instagram.
When you implement this technique you can rest assured knowing that everything is going to get done with little to no buffering.
As previously mentioned, people tend to say “I’m soooo busy” and that’s exactly how they show up. We must change the story that we tell ourselves. We are NOT busy! It’s just a way that we’ve chosen to think about our life.
It’s important to realize that busyness doesn’t equal productivity. Productivity comes from planning and scheduling your life.
There’s a part of the brain called the lizard brain – it resists planning and follow through. Luckily as humans, we have the ability to override that.
With this technique, you are going to live and die by your calendar! When implemented correctly, it will prevent decision fatigue and help you focus on execution.
Warning: there will be resistance during this process. That’s okay! Recognize it, anticipate it and push through it.
Did you know that when you have more time you actually get less done? The moment you begin to think “I have all day to do this” it will for sure take that long. We must reframe that thought and say “How long am I going to give myself?” Whatever you give yourself is exactly how long it’s going to take you.
The Process:
Note: This concept was learned from Brooke Castillo in her Monday Hour One program. We took what worked for us and made it our own!
Step 1: Brain Dump –
Write down every single thing that you need to do – in business and in your personal life.
When you think you’ve written everything down, think again. More will come up. Pause, sit and really think if there’s anything you’re missing.
Step 2: Calendar –
When you’ve written everything out you’re going to calendar your life!
Everything goes into the calendar – your pre-planned appointments or meetings, workouts, quiet time, meal times, naps (YES, PLAN YOUR SLEEP) and then schedule the rest of your tasks. Remember, instead of “how long will this take?” think “how long am I going to give myself?”
One thing that we like to do is give ourselves 2 hours of creative time every day. This can look different for everyone, but it typically involves something like writing content, filming videos, recording podcasts, scheduling social media posts, etc.
View the full calendaring process HERE!
As you plug things into your calendar, mark it off of your list. Consider it good as done. You’ve now planned for it and it’s going to get done!
Step 3: EXECUTE!
The next thing to do is simply execute everything you planned. It’s so freeing to have everything out of your brain and scheduled.
Now, of course things are going to come up through the week, but we encourage you to do whatever you can not to mess with your current calendar. Instead, start your brain dump list for the next week so that you are staying true to your word and getting everything done that you said would get done!
If you’re interested in more of this process, view the entire mini training HERE!
