Stop Working Nights and Weekends: The Tools You Need to Take Back Your Time

Ep: 25

“If you are overworking…you’re actually not producing your best work. The more you work, the less effective your work gets.” –Blake Schofield (29:10-29:19)

Where Did the Time Go? 

Long work hours that overflow into nights and weekends can leave you feeling depleted, burned out, and unfulfilled. We live in a world that values the ability to show up and be available for work at all times, and it can start to feel like the work never ends. It’s vital for us to understand why it’s so easy to fall into these patterns, and learn what we can do to take our time and lives back.

It’s normal to work nights and weekends, right? That’s what I learned and believed for far too long. I also know how exhausting it can become when we don’t have the work-life balance we need.

When you take the time to explore what you really want out of life and your work, you can learn what you’re willing to tolerate. You can learn who you are as a person, the unique gifts you have to offer, and how to stand in your value.

“If you don’t maintain the promises you make to yourself, you’ll never create the boundaries you need to protect yourself.” 

– Blake Schofield (24:07-24:18)

The Tools You Need to Take Your Life Back

Time Management

Many people believe they don’t have any control over their time when working in a corporate setting. Regaining control of your time allows you to focus on the right activities. Time management is critical to the long-term success of any corporate worker or business owner. Learn how to leverage your time and look at where you’re spending too much of it. 

Boundaries

Set boundaries around your work. But more importantly, keep them in place. Boundaries help you get clear on what you can and cannot do right now. This is especially important when you need to make time for other priorities like family and self-care. You can’t take your life back if you haven’t defined boundaries in your work.

Prioritization

Plan ahead and see what’s in store for the coming weeks. Ask yourself what needs to be prioritized and what needs to be done in order to feel complete. Do you need to schedule tasks for a later time? Should you delegate tasks to key members of your team? When you know what’s a priority and what isn’t, you gain more control over your time and reinforce the boundaries you’ve put in place.

We all struggle with beliefs and behaviors that keep us from doing the essential and tactical things we know we need to do.  There are huge emotional factors that drive our behaviors. But these factors are hard to see when we’re stuck in a work or home life that’s leaving us unfulfilled. Working with a coach can be an effective way to address the limiting beliefs, ideas, and patterns that keep us from making the change we want.

“It isn’t that we don’t have enough time in our lives. It’s how we leverage that time, prioritize, and focus on the right things that make all of the difference in the world.” – Blake Schofield (26:53-27:07)

Coaching can create the accountability we need and the outside perspective that helps us see hidden parts of ourselves that are getting in the way of our success. Challenging those beliefs and fears helps us break through success roadblocks.

Before we can experience a more fulfilling work-life balance, we must first make an internal decision that we are no longer going to live in the hustle. If you’re feeling stretched too thin, exhausted from the countless early mornings, late nights, and Saturday work sessions, it may be time for a change. The fulfilling career and the life you want are waiting on the other side of your decision to step out and try something new.

 


Rather than hoping the grass will be greener, identify what the RIGHT next step is.

We can help you do just that.

Get clarity on where you are on your journey to career fulfillment, where you’re headed, optional paths to get there, and the right next step to take.

Start your complimentary, Personalized Career Fulfillment Plan by going to www.thebridgetofulfillment.com/plan

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