37. Strategies: Intentional Time Management for Chronically Productive Women (Part 2 of 2)
Never enough time in the day to get everything done? Are you constantly overwhelmed, exhausted, and struggling to keep up with the demands of work and life? If so, you're not alone. Many ambitious, driven women find themselves in this same predicament, pushing themselves to the brink of burnout in an effort to do it all.
However, you can achieve success without sacrificing your health, relationships, or happiness along the way. Last week, we discussed the mindset required for managing your time in a more empowering way. In today’s episode, we share the strategies we use, including our results planning tool, that will give you the edge you need to manage your time with intention and purpose.
Tune in this week as we share our practical strategies for taking control of your schedule and creating more space for what matters most. We walk you through our simple yet powerful results-planning process to help you break free from the cycle of overwhelm and start living with greater intention and purpose.
Want more live access to us? Get on our email list where you can ask us questions, get coached, and be the first to know about trainings, events, and free coaching. Click here to sign up now!
And if you know you need help finding balance and becoming unapologetically Ambitious-Ish, click here to book a free 60-minute consult to see if we’re a good match. Either you take all the awareness and value you get from the call and you run with it, or you coach with us for six months. That's two coaches for six months, and it's all about you.
What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
Why traditional time management strategies often fail for ambitious, driven women.
How to identify and overcome the limiting beliefs that are sabotaging your productivity.
The 3-step results planning process for managing your time with intention and purpose.
Why writing everything down is crucial for reducing mental clutter and overwhelm.
How to schedule your calendar realistically, accounting for the time it takes to be human.
The importance of setting boundaries and saying no to protect your time and energy.
How to evaluate your progress and make adjustments as needed to optimize your results.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
Click here to follow, rate, and review the show. And if you love the show, don’t forget to share with someone you think will benefit!
Want to start ramping up your self-awareness so you’re on to yourself before Burnout fully takes over? Click here to get your free Burnout Alarm Bell Study Guide!
Let us know what you think of the show so far and what you’d like to hear more of or less of over on Instagram!
33. How Effective Boundaries Protect Your Energy: Burnout Mini-Series Part 5
36. Mindset: Intentional Time Management for Chronically Productive Women: (Part 1 of 2)
Full Episode Transcript:
Kelle: I was thinking this weekend how a common thread with every woman we work with, there is always a point where we’re talking about managing time.
Nina: Yeah. These incredible women come to us and they used to be the type of person who could go from morning till night, no rest at all. They could say yes to everything, take care of everyone. Make sure everything and everyone was taken care of at work, at home, go, go, go. And then they get to a point where they just can’t do it anymore. They’re not willing to do it anymore.
Kelle: Yeah. The price they’re paying, whether it’s their health or their relationships or they’re exhausted or they’re just not having fun or they’re dropping balls. It comes down to not having time to do it all, to live the way they want to and actually enjoy the life they work so hard to create.
Nina: Yeah, all the usual coping skills don’t work anymore, whether it’s an extra glass of wine or taking a vacation, online shopping, getting that workout in, eating, scrolling.
Kelle: I know for me it was working out, if I didn’t get a workout in at some point during the day, you did not want to be around me. It was my way to relieve the stress and if I didn’t do that, if I couldn’t get it in somehow, look out.
Nina: Yeah, if you find yourself feeling constantly exhausted, constantly overwhelmed, you can’t focus, nothing you do is ever enough, you can always be doing more… we want to let you know it’s not your fault. You are not broken. You’re not weak. There’s nothing wrong. It’s not you at all. It’s the system you’ve been brought up in, the system many of us have been brought up in too, to push and please and produce.
Kelle: That’s why today we’re continuing this discussion on time management which we started last week, episode 36, where we talked about the mindset you need to have around managing your time.
Nina: Yeah, mindset is so important. It’s the first step in our success formula, mindset, plus skill set, plus aligned action. So many people skip that step, and when you don’t take care of your thinking, it doesn’t matter what planner you’re using or what new technique or concepts you’re trying to implement. It’s not going to work long term. So, if you haven’t listened to that episode, make sure you go back and check it out.
Kelle: Alright, today we’re sharing concepts we use, including our results planning tool that will give you an edge if you’re brave enough to let go of some of those old stories, if you’re courageous enough to do it differently. What do you think, Nina, shall we dive in?
Nina: Let’s get going. This is Ambitious-Ish.
Burnout? Check. Daily overwhelm? Check. Resentment rash, stress, and a complete lack of well-being? Check, check, check! You’re not alone. We’re your hosts, Kelle & Nina, and we are here to help you feel calm, balanced, and empowered so you can redefine success, make choices that feel authentic, and ACTUALLY enjoy the life you work so hard to create. You ready? Let’s go.
Kelle: Hey, I’m Kelle.
Nina: And I’m Nina.
Kelle: Alright, how was your weekend, Nina? I know you were out of town down south somewhere.
Nina: Yeah, I was in Southern Utah with a friend. We were in Boulder, Utah, which is a very special place, home to Hell’s Backbone Grill, a handful of amazing national parks. Yeah, I just had some really QT fun times with just a really good friend. It was awesome.
Kelle: I love that. I am dialing in from Costa Rica. My daughter is taking part in a program, it’s called Surf Term. And she is spending the next month surfing and going to school in Nosara, Costa Rica. I flew down with her to get her settled, and my sister is meeting me and I have a week off treatment. So, we are just going to spend some time here relaxing and taking client calls from here. And I’m really planning on just chilling, laying around in the sun, eating good food, journaling, doing some yoga, just all the things.
Nina: Yeah. And a big part of this is walking our talk. We’ve both figured out how to make work and being conscious parents and relaxation and engaging in our friendships and play and everything that’s important to us as a part of our lives, without the striving, without the hustle. And we want that for you too. Whatever you want, we want to show you how you can get it, how you can still do everything you want to do and feel the way you want to feel by paying more attention to who you’re being, how you’re showing up.
Kelle: Yeah. Let’s talk results planning. Results planning is all about managing your time intentionally, to live an intentional life, conscious and deliberate. It’s about deciding ahead of time how you’re going to result each week.
Nina: Yeah, we’ve designed this to help you override the voice of your primitive brain that’s constantly telling you to quit, to stop or change your mind when things feel hard, to make you feel confused and overwhelmed and stuck.
Kelle: Yeah, there are three steps we’re going to teach you. They’re so simple, here they are. Number one, make your plan. Number two, schedule everything on your calendar and we have a specific way to do this. And then number three, follow through. So, let’s start with making a plan. Look at your calendar, look at your schedule, your mental to-do’s and write it all down, all of it. So, get it all out of your brain and onto paper.
Nina: And if you’re the person, and I know because I used to do this, you keep things in your head like a mental list and you just keep reminding yourself, you have to remember to call the vet or reschedule that meeting you’re double booked for. You have to stop doing this, just looping on it in your brain. It’s draining your energy to carry this mental load. That’s why we write it all down. What needs to happen this week? Some of our clients work three days at a time instead of a week at a time, depending on their schedule and demands.
Kelle: Yeah, just keep writing, personal, professional, family, obligations, events, workouts, things you want to do, all of it. When you think you’re done, keep going. Give yourself the space and time and see what falls out of you.
Nina: Yeah, that was easy enough. As other things come throughout the day, just keep writing them down, keep a running list. Do not do things as you think of them. We want to get out of that habit of doing things in the moment.
Kelle: Yeah, and that’s already number one. So, step number two is, we want you to schedule everything in your calendar. It doesn’t matter if you have a paper calendar or a digital calendar. There’s no right answer here. Just use one. Who cares, it doesn’t even matter. That part does not matter. Do not make a big deal of which planner you have. Then schedule the results you want to create this week.
Nina: Yeah. And when we say schedule your results, what we mean is scheduling what you want to complete, what results you want to create. So, what this means is, don’t just schedule time for email, schedule time to respond to 10 emails. It’s not just going through email for 30 minutes. It’s flagging what’s important and actually responding to what you need to respond to, so we’re not checking email 20 times a day randomly. We’re scheduling time in our calendar and being intentional about responding.
We love having systems and processes. It allows us to spend less time and energy making decisions and more time actually getting things done. Our process for seeing clients, for example, is, we typically only see clients Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Mondays and Fridays for Kelle and I are admin days for us where we do social media and write copy. We outline and record podcasts, meet with potential partners, get with our bookkeeper, all the things that business owners do. So, Tuesday through Thursday, we’re seeing clients.
Kelle: Yeah. And we also build into our calendar the amount of time it takes to be human. And if this sounds complicated or rigid, it’s not at all. I used to think that I wanted to be spontaneous and just kind of let my day flow. And what I found when I started really looking at time management is, I got way less done when I didn’t have a plan because all day long I was deciding what I should be doing in the moment. Then I’d get distracted with something else and have to refocus.
So having some structure, making as many decisions as you can ahead of time so that when you look at your calendar and what needs to happen, you can dive right in. You’re not making 100 little decisions per day and then deciding what you’re going to do next. You look at your calendar and it’s clear what needs to happen.
Nina: Yeah, there are only two reasons you feel overwhelmed. You’re not making a plan at all or you’re making unrealistic plans. Yeah, I used to get the kids to school by eight and then pick them up at three. That would give me seven hours of focused work time. But when I actually did the math, I didn’t actually have seven hours of focused work time. I didn’t take into account, time spent making food, eating and drinking, going to the bathroom. Often I would get outside, and that wasn’t included in that plan.
And I would get to the end of the day and be disappointed in myself in my inability to get things done when really I was being completely unrealistic with my time. I was trying to fit seven hours’ worth of work into maybe five.
Kelle: Yeah, that also includes drive time. When every light needs to be green for you to get somewhere on time, that is unrealistic planning, plan for drive time. Look at when you’re driving and plan that you may hit traffic. Being realistic with your time, it’s really being kind to yourself.
Nina: This kind of work is absolutely self-care. So, some things to consider. We schedule out all our appointments and meetings, both work and personal. Some clients even schedule their wardrobe for the week. So, consider, how do you want to work? Decide actual work hours if you don’t already have set hours. Our business coach had us do this and we are so much more productive. And then when do you want to work? What are your start and stop times? Decide that too.
Kelle: Yeah. And then what needs to get done today? Schedule the amount of time you think an activity is going to take, just make your best guess and then you’re going to have to tweak. Also notice if things are taking longer than they should or you think that they should. Are you getting distracted? So, we recommend turning off all notifications, or actually even just putting your phone in a different room entirely if you can. And then are you being perfectionistic with what you’re doing?
We had a client who would reread emails she was sending 10 times to make sure that they were just the way that she wanted them to be. Also consider self-care, exercise, connecting with friends, sleep, shows you like to watch, stillness, meditation, the dentist, all the things. And then focus time, schedule blocks of focus time. So, this is time you set aside to do your best work, the big stuff, without distractions. So, I can schedule two hours depending on what I need to do but if I’m writing an outline, a podcast, I can schedule two hours and then I need to take a break. So, find out what works for you. Nina, how long are your blocks of time?
Nina: My focus time is way shorter. My attention span is 20 minutes. So, when I know that about myself I can schedule two hours of focus time with Kelle. We collaborate, obviously a lot but every 20 minutes or so I kind of need to take a lap, pee, grab water, step away and then come back. It’s that easy. It doesn’t have to be a big workout in between my focus time. It’s just that self-awareness helps me get everything done.
Kelle: Yeah, so good.
Nina: So, what’s really helpful for me too, knowing what I know about myself and we also suggest this to clients, is scheduling overflow time. So, this is time you set apart to complete unfinished unexpected business that pops up. For us this looks like 30 minutes maybe twice a week. I actually like it in the afternoons before I pick the kids up from school. I just leave time for overflow items that pop up. We also love scheduling personal admin time.
So, we both just had our son’s birthday parties and I calculated that it took me probably three hours to plan the party with my son, figure out what he wanted to get, who we wanted to invite, get the invites out, field any questions, work with the place we were having the party, coordinating all the things. It all takes time, so I had to put that on my calendar. So, just want to make sure that you’re accounting for family obligations, drive time, packing time, eating, sleeping, drinking, bath-rooming, showering, getting ready. And more based on what you want your life to look like, based on what your values are and what’s important to you.
Kelle: Yes. Alright, so love all that. That was step number two. So, let’s talk about follow through. Remember, this is an agreement you’re making with yourself to do what you actually say you’re going to do.
Nina: Yeah, follow through is about building trust with yourself. Planning your results is not about perfectionism and doing it right. My coach has a saying, the way you’re doing it is the way it’s done. What we want to do is, we want to start to create evidence that we can show up for ourselves by doing what we said we’d do. In order to follow through, you’re going to have to set some boundaries, right, Kel?
Kelle: Of course. When we set boundaries, a big part of that is feeling uncomfortable feelings, we talked all about setting boundaries in episode 33. So, if you haven’t checked that out, go back and listen to that, it’s such a good one. And when you’re setting boundaries, you’re going to not want to follow through. You’re going to feel guilty. You’re going to feel dread. You’re maybe going to feel anxious or incapable or afraid. And instead of resisting those feelings or avoiding them or wishing those feelings would go away, you’re going to have to feel them. You’re going to have to allow them to happen.
Nina: So, this is an invitation to maybe stop people pleasing. Saying yes to things you don’t really want to is a complete drain on your time, your energy, your bandwidth. So, consider stop agreeing to things that distract you or take you off schedule. Stop saying yes to things in the moment. When people ask you to do something, pause and really think if you want to do that thing or not. Stop procrastinating. Again, you have to feel the dread and then get to work.
Kelle: Yeah. Okay, that was following through. And finally, as with everything we do, we evaluate, so we need to evaluate. So, evaluating for us looks like asking yourself, what went well here and then what didn’t go so well and then what would you do differently?
Nina: Yeah, we’re always evaluating. I love doing this after a couple of days of results planning. So, I just take a look at the last couple of days and I’m like, “Okay, what went well?” I scheduled what I needed to, what I didn’t, not enough overflow time, didn’t take into consideration being a human.” What would I do differently? Well, I’d factor all that in. So, when I go to results plan again in the next couple of days, I have sort of a gut check, we’ve evaluated, we can reorient and do things better next time. So, give this a shot and you will absolutely have more time. You will have way less overwhelm and way more time.
Kelle: Yeah, implement this, make it your own and just evaluate, see what comes up for you. Make sure you put all of this into practice. That’s it for now. Thanks so much for being here.
Nina: Yeah, thank you so much for being here, bye for now.
Nina: Hey everyone, if you want more live access to me and Kelle, you have to join our email list.
Kelle: Yes, we’ll come to your email box every Tuesday and Thursday.
Nina: You can ask us questions, get clarity and get coached.
Kelle: We offer monthly free email coaching when you’re on our list and you’re the first to know about trainings, events and other free coaching opportunities.
Nina: Just go to kelleandnina.com. That’s K E L L E and nina.com to sign up.
Kelle: Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of Ambitious-Ish.
Nina: If you’re ready to align your ambitions with your heart and feel more calm, balanced, and connected, visit https://www.kelleandnina.com/ for more information about how to work with us and make sure you get on our list.
Kelle: See you in the next episode!
Nina: Yeah. These incredible women come to us and they used to be the type of person who could go from morning till night, no rest at all. They could say yes to everything, take care of everyone. Make sure everything and everyone was taken care of at work, at home, go, go, go. And then they get to a point where they just can’t do it anymore. They’re not willing to do it anymore.
Kelle: Yeah. The price they’re paying, whether it’s their health or their relationships or they’re exhausted or they’re just not having fun or they’re dropping balls. It comes down to not having time to do it all, to live the way they want to and actually enjoy the life they work so hard to create.
Nina: Yeah, all the usual coping skills don’t work anymore, whether it’s an extra glass of wine or taking a vacation, online shopping, getting that workout in, eating, scrolling.
Kelle: I know for me it was working out, if I didn’t get a workout in at some point during the day, you did not want to be around me. It was my way to relieve the stress and if I didn’t do that, if I couldn’t get it in somehow, look out.
Nina: Yeah, if you find yourself feeling constantly exhausted, constantly overwhelmed, you can’t focus, nothing you do is ever enough, you can always be doing more… we want to let you know it’s not your fault. You are not broken. You’re not weak. There’s nothing wrong. It’s not you at all. It’s the system you’ve been brought up in, the system many of us have been brought up in too, to push and please and produce.
Kelle: That’s why today we’re continuing this discussion on time management which we started last week, episode 36, where we talked about the mindset you need to have around managing your time.
Nina: Yeah, mindset is so important. It’s the first step in our success formula, mindset, plus skill set, plus aligned action. So many people skip that step, and when you don’t take care of your thinking, it doesn’t matter what planner you’re using or what new technique or concepts you’re trying to implement. It’s not going to work long term. So, if you haven’t listened to that episode, make sure you go back and check it out.
Kelle: Alright, today we’re sharing concepts we use, including our results planning tool that will give you an edge if you’re brave enough to let go of some of those old stories, if you’re courageous enough to do it differently. What do you think, Nina, shall we dive in?
Nina: Let’s get going. This is Ambitious-Ish.
Burnout? Check. Daily overwhelm? Check. Resentment rash, stress, and a complete lack of well-being? Check, check, check! You’re not alone. We’re your hosts, Kelle & Nina, and we are here to help you feel calm, balanced, and empowered so you can redefine success, make choices that feel authentic, and ACTUALLY enjoy the life you work so hard to create. You ready? Let’s go.
Kelle: Hey, I’m Kelle.
Nina: And I’m Nina.
Kelle: Alright, how was your weekend, Nina? I know you were out of town down south somewhere.
Nina: Yeah, I was in Southern Utah with a friend. We were in Boulder, Utah, which is a very special place, home to Hell’s Backbone Grill, a handful of amazing national parks. Yeah, I just had some really QT fun times with just a really good friend. It was awesome.
Kelle: I love that. I am dialing in from Costa Rica. My daughter is taking part in a program, it’s called Surf Term. And she is spending the next month surfing and going to school in Nosara, Costa Rica. I flew down with her to get her settled, and my sister is meeting me and I have a week off treatment. So, we are just going to spend some time here relaxing and taking client calls from here. And I’m really planning on just chilling, laying around in the sun, eating good food, journaling, doing some yoga, just all the things.
Nina: Yeah. And a big part of this is walking our talk. We’ve both figured out how to make work and being conscious parents and relaxation and engaging in our friendships and play and everything that’s important to us as a part of our lives, without the striving, without the hustle. And we want that for you too. Whatever you want, we want to show you how you can get it, how you can still do everything you want to do and feel the way you want to feel by paying more attention to who you’re being, how you’re showing up.
Kelle: Yeah. Let’s talk results planning. Results planning is all about managing your time intentionally, to live an intentional life, conscious and deliberate. It’s about deciding ahead of time how you’re going to result each week.
Nina: Yeah, we’ve designed this to help you override the voice of your primitive brain that’s constantly telling you to quit, to stop or change your mind when things feel hard, to make you feel confused and overwhelmed and stuck.
Kelle: Yeah, there are three steps we’re going to teach you. They’re so simple, here they are. Number one, make your plan. Number two, schedule everything on your calendar and we have a specific way to do this. And then number three, follow through. So, let’s start with making a plan. Look at your calendar, look at your schedule, your mental to-do’s and write it all down, all of it. So, get it all out of your brain and onto paper.
Nina: And if you’re the person, and I know because I used to do this, you keep things in your head like a mental list and you just keep reminding yourself, you have to remember to call the vet or reschedule that meeting you’re double booked for. You have to stop doing this, just looping on it in your brain. It’s draining your energy to carry this mental load. That’s why we write it all down. What needs to happen this week? Some of our clients work three days at a time instead of a week at a time, depending on their schedule and demands.
Kelle: Yeah, just keep writing, personal, professional, family, obligations, events, workouts, things you want to do, all of it. When you think you’re done, keep going. Give yourself the space and time and see what falls out of you.
Nina: Yeah, that was easy enough. As other things come throughout the day, just keep writing them down, keep a running list. Do not do things as you think of them. We want to get out of that habit of doing things in the moment.
Kelle: Yeah, and that’s already number one. So, step number two is, we want you to schedule everything in your calendar. It doesn’t matter if you have a paper calendar or a digital calendar. There’s no right answer here. Just use one. Who cares, it doesn’t even matter. That part does not matter. Do not make a big deal of which planner you have. Then schedule the results you want to create this week.
Nina: Yeah. And when we say schedule your results, what we mean is scheduling what you want to complete, what results you want to create. So, what this means is, don’t just schedule time for email, schedule time to respond to 10 emails. It’s not just going through email for 30 minutes. It’s flagging what’s important and actually responding to what you need to respond to, so we’re not checking email 20 times a day randomly. We’re scheduling time in our calendar and being intentional about responding.
We love having systems and processes. It allows us to spend less time and energy making decisions and more time actually getting things done. Our process for seeing clients, for example, is, we typically only see clients Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Mondays and Fridays for Kelle and I are admin days for us where we do social media and write copy. We outline and record podcasts, meet with potential partners, get with our bookkeeper, all the things that business owners do. So, Tuesday through Thursday, we’re seeing clients.
Kelle: Yeah. And we also build into our calendar the amount of time it takes to be human. And if this sounds complicated or rigid, it’s not at all. I used to think that I wanted to be spontaneous and just kind of let my day flow. And what I found when I started really looking at time management is, I got way less done when I didn’t have a plan because all day long I was deciding what I should be doing in the moment. Then I’d get distracted with something else and have to refocus.
So having some structure, making as many decisions as you can ahead of time so that when you look at your calendar and what needs to happen, you can dive right in. You’re not making 100 little decisions per day and then deciding what you’re going to do next. You look at your calendar and it’s clear what needs to happen.
Nina: Yeah, there are only two reasons you feel overwhelmed. You’re not making a plan at all or you’re making unrealistic plans. Yeah, I used to get the kids to school by eight and then pick them up at three. That would give me seven hours of focused work time. But when I actually did the math, I didn’t actually have seven hours of focused work time. I didn’t take into account, time spent making food, eating and drinking, going to the bathroom. Often I would get outside, and that wasn’t included in that plan.
And I would get to the end of the day and be disappointed in myself in my inability to get things done when really I was being completely unrealistic with my time. I was trying to fit seven hours’ worth of work into maybe five.
Kelle: Yeah, that also includes drive time. When every light needs to be green for you to get somewhere on time, that is unrealistic planning, plan for drive time. Look at when you’re driving and plan that you may hit traffic. Being realistic with your time, it’s really being kind to yourself.
Nina: This kind of work is absolutely self-care. So, some things to consider. We schedule out all our appointments and meetings, both work and personal. Some clients even schedule their wardrobe for the week. So, consider, how do you want to work? Decide actual work hours if you don’t already have set hours. Our business coach had us do this and we are so much more productive. And then when do you want to work? What are your start and stop times? Decide that too.
Kelle: Yeah. And then what needs to get done today? Schedule the amount of time you think an activity is going to take, just make your best guess and then you’re going to have to tweak. Also notice if things are taking longer than they should or you think that they should. Are you getting distracted? So, we recommend turning off all notifications, or actually even just putting your phone in a different room entirely if you can. And then are you being perfectionistic with what you’re doing?
We had a client who would reread emails she was sending 10 times to make sure that they were just the way that she wanted them to be. Also consider self-care, exercise, connecting with friends, sleep, shows you like to watch, stillness, meditation, the dentist, all the things. And then focus time, schedule blocks of focus time. So, this is time you set aside to do your best work, the big stuff, without distractions. So, I can schedule two hours depending on what I need to do but if I’m writing an outline, a podcast, I can schedule two hours and then I need to take a break. So, find out what works for you. Nina, how long are your blocks of time?
Nina: My focus time is way shorter. My attention span is 20 minutes. So, when I know that about myself I can schedule two hours of focus time with Kelle. We collaborate, obviously a lot but every 20 minutes or so I kind of need to take a lap, pee, grab water, step away and then come back. It’s that easy. It doesn’t have to be a big workout in between my focus time. It’s just that self-awareness helps me get everything done.
Kelle: Yeah, so good.
Nina: So, what’s really helpful for me too, knowing what I know about myself and we also suggest this to clients, is scheduling overflow time. So, this is time you set apart to complete unfinished unexpected business that pops up. For us this looks like 30 minutes maybe twice a week. I actually like it in the afternoons before I pick the kids up from school. I just leave time for overflow items that pop up. We also love scheduling personal admin time.
So, we both just had our son’s birthday parties and I calculated that it took me probably three hours to plan the party with my son, figure out what he wanted to get, who we wanted to invite, get the invites out, field any questions, work with the place we were having the party, coordinating all the things. It all takes time, so I had to put that on my calendar. So, just want to make sure that you’re accounting for family obligations, drive time, packing time, eating, sleeping, drinking, bath-rooming, showering, getting ready. And more based on what you want your life to look like, based on what your values are and what’s important to you.
Kelle: Yes. Alright, so love all that. That was step number two. So, let’s talk about follow through. Remember, this is an agreement you’re making with yourself to do what you actually say you’re going to do.
Nina: Yeah, follow through is about building trust with yourself. Planning your results is not about perfectionism and doing it right. My coach has a saying, the way you’re doing it is the way it’s done. What we want to do is, we want to start to create evidence that we can show up for ourselves by doing what we said we’d do. In order to follow through, you’re going to have to set some boundaries, right, Kel?
Kelle: Of course. When we set boundaries, a big part of that is feeling uncomfortable feelings, we talked all about setting boundaries in episode 33. So, if you haven’t checked that out, go back and listen to that, it’s such a good one. And when you’re setting boundaries, you’re going to not want to follow through. You’re going to feel guilty. You’re going to feel dread. You’re maybe going to feel anxious or incapable or afraid. And instead of resisting those feelings or avoiding them or wishing those feelings would go away, you’re going to have to feel them. You’re going to have to allow them to happen.
Nina: So, this is an invitation to maybe stop people pleasing. Saying yes to things you don’t really want to is a complete drain on your time, your energy, your bandwidth. So, consider stop agreeing to things that distract you or take you off schedule. Stop saying yes to things in the moment. When people ask you to do something, pause and really think if you want to do that thing or not. Stop procrastinating. Again, you have to feel the dread and then get to work.
Kelle: Yeah. Okay, that was following through. And finally, as with everything we do, we evaluate, so we need to evaluate. So, evaluating for us looks like asking yourself, what went well here and then what didn’t go so well and then what would you do differently?
Nina: Yeah, we’re always evaluating. I love doing this after a couple of days of results planning. So, I just take a look at the last couple of days and I’m like, “Okay, what went well?” I scheduled what I needed to, what I didn’t, not enough overflow time, didn’t take into consideration being a human.” What would I do differently? Well, I’d factor all that in. So, when I go to results plan again in the next couple of days, I have sort of a gut check, we’ve evaluated, we can reorient and do things better next time. So, give this a shot and you will absolutely have more time. You will have way less overwhelm and way more time.
Kelle: Yeah, implement this, make it your own and just evaluate, see what comes up for you. Make sure you put all of this into practice. That’s it for now. Thanks so much for being here.
Nina: Yeah, thank you so much for being here, bye for now.
Nina: Hey everyone, if you want more live access to me and Kelle, you have to join our email list.
Kelle: Yes, we’ll come to your email box every Tuesday and Thursday.
Nina: You can ask us questions, get clarity and get coached.
Kelle: We offer monthly free email coaching when you’re on our list and you’re the first to know about trainings, events and other free coaching opportunities.
Nina: Just go to kelleandnina.com. That’s K E L L E and nina.com to sign up.
Kelle: Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode of Ambitious-Ish.
Nina: If you’re ready to align your ambitions with your heart and feel more calm, balanced, and connected, visit https://www.kelleandnina.com/ for more information about how to work with us and make sure you get on our list.
Kelle: See you in the next episode!
Enjoy the Show?
Don’t miss an episode, follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!