Balancing Both Ep. 8: The ONE truth about schedules that business coaches won't tell you… but I will!

As much as I talk about schedules, here’s the real truth that all the efficiency gurus out there won’t tell you.

You can’t fix a too-full calendar by simply scheduling better.

It’s a house of cards about to fall down.

Every time you say, “What, again?! I don’t have time for this!” .

...That’s what I’m telling you. 

You can’t construct your schedule to only work in the “everything’s going perfectly” phases and forget about the no food in the house/late to school/launch assets not yet ready ones.

But my way, the unbusy way, puts strategies in place to skip all of that.

You’ve got this!

Alyssa

Love your daily life again as a work-at-home mom: https://yourunbusylife.com/ 

Subscribe to your weekly Mompreneur Life Made Easy!

And if you need to turn down that productivity pressure you’re feeling as a high-performing working mom, I’ve got two intensive spots open this month - where I’ll help you free up 3 hours each day!

'Cause there’s no need to flirt with burnout to hold both the high achiever & the present mom identity.

Just book your Free Up 3 Hours package when you’re ready to reclaim 3 hours every day.

Book your mini DFY package here: https://yourunbusylife.com/free-up-3-hours-pod/

Transcript

This is the Unbusy Mom, and today we’re talking about 1 truth about schedules that business coaches won't tell you… but I will!

As much as I talk about schedules, here’s the REAL truth that all the efficiency gurus out there won’t tell you.

It’s that you can’t fix a too-full calendar by simply scheduling better.

It’s a pointless endeavour. 

A disaster waiting to happen. 

A house of cards about to fall down.

No, you’re not going to fix your family’s sports overcommitment by scheduling out to the 5 minute increment (as if THAT won’t go off the rails in 2 minutes). Or by grabbing every single 7-minute Instapot recipe out there and then holding it TO that “done in 7” timeframe. (What happens the ONE time you forget to rush your kids through supper? Are you even diGESTing well when you’re eating that hurriedly?)

And never mind about having enough catch-up time during the day to call the nurse back to re-reschedule your kid’s appointment (‘cause THEY rescheduled it to THE most inconvenient time for YOU), get it on the calendar (with all of its attendant reminders and don’t forget this’s and who’s driving you to it instructions), oh, and figure out something ELSE for supper ‘cause your perpetually hungry teens ate up the chopped steak you’d thawed for stirfry (again) and now you have NO meat down, nothing in the freezer beyond huge roasts and a ham bone, and a will-be-hungry-in-3-hours family to deal with (who still need something with protein).

Yeah, you’re going to need some brain space for that. But not TOO much, ‘cause you’re not going to waste that much time on this decision (dithering about the pantry never works), and anyway you just got another Voxer pop-up that your business partner is having second thoughts about the messaging you’re setting up for that five-weeks-out launch. (What, again?! That’s a whole ‘nother huge rework and feathers soothing and asset creating process - I don’t have TIME for this!)

Yeah - that’s what I’m telling you. You CAN’T construct your schedule to ONLY work in the “everything’s going perfectly” phases and forget about the no food in the house/late to school/launch assets not yet ready ones.

Your entire LIFE is a reaction machine juggling mode if you let that happen.

Now, MY way, the unbusy way, puts strategies in place to SKIP all of that.

Because you’re going to layer in a few scheduling tricks – a few “always on the to-do list items” or recurring calendar reminders – that save your butt when you run into situations like this.

And then YOU get to keep your work hours down to the 15 a week that you can handle right now; say no to any opportunities that would take you beyond that; and lean hard on your “I absolutely get to take care of myself and have my own back” kind of mindset.

Like this....

Your teens eat up the fridge on a semi-regular basis? Fine, you’re always having a “spaghetti and sauce” line item on your grocery list (so they never run out of food, EVEN when they eat up your planned-for-supper meal).

You’ve got 17 minutes (you timed it) to run out the door, WITH food in their tummies, for your boys’ game night? You’re going to SKIP the stress and cortisol-inducing rush that’s happening every week and either majorly change up their supper eating schedule, or drop that sport entirely. You’re not living like this.

You side eye every Voxer from your biz partner because you never know what she’s going to ask you to rework next? Listen, girl! You need a significant chunk of “CEO brainstorming and creation” time every week - otherwise you’re going to dissolve this partnership simply because it’s too much HASSLE to even go back and forth together! (Which is the entire reason you set up this joint venture as a 2-person thing - because you WANTED to hear her ideas!)

So either bite the bullet, build in “pre-discuss with her before I write up ALL the positioning” project blocks so that the coordination feels spacious in your schedule, or admit that you’d rather do it all yourself (i.e., only consult one person) and dissolve the business agreement.

You’ve got to choose here!

EVERYthing about being unbusy - about decluttering your calendar and daily schedule - is about getting honest with yourself about where the pressure, frazzle, and unmet expectations are coming from.

So that you can CHANGE those things, by either giving yourself more room in your schedule to DEAL with them, or admitting that they never worked anyway and quitting before you do more damage to your stress level or your kids.

Because I started this business in the first place ‘cause I really wanted moms to not be living in this constant cortisol-pressure frazzle-land anymore. And if *I* could manage that with 5 kids and a homeschool and a business, then you can, too (with far less).

Deal? 

It’s time to get radical with yourself.

It’s time to get real about your own vision.

And it’s time to actually take the practical calendar steps to get there - by cutting out all the daily, weekly, or even hourly resentment and “too much to cram in” stress you’re currently putting up with.

No, it’s NOT going to get better - not unless you do something about it.

Something that’s NOT “get more disciplined” or “color code your Gmail calendars better” or “make a one-month menu instead of a 5-day one.”

You don’t need any more efficiency pressures on your life. You need to take a step BACK.

And once you do that, once you give yourself PERMISSION to quit, THAT’S where all the “chopping to make white space” happens.

‘Cause you deserve it. You’re worth it. 

Now go out there, or open up that Google calendar, and start deleting things from your too-crowded appointments list.

Your margin matters.