How easy is it for you to find time and space in your calendar to work on the really important things to you?

You know, the things that will advance your business or improve how you work?

Here’s a thought.

What if the act of creating space for meaningful work is just as powerful as the space itself?

If creating space in your business feels like a big lift, I want to invite you to think about how the practice of creating time and space for important initiatives is a fundamental skill a founder and owner can cultivate.

We can all relate to the owner that wears all the hats. Bookkeeping, Sales, Customer Service, Leader, HR, Manager, etc. You may be at this stage right now.

Even when you have team members occupying these roles, the work of an owner and founder is rarely a calendar of open space.

However, the owner and founder that is able to create some white space is the one that goes farther. Their companies seem to advance, evolve and grow further…

We all have so many plans that we want to accomplish.

Whether you’re growing your customer base, building new relationships, hiring a new team member, leading your team or creating new products and services, whatever it is, we have a lot on the go.

So what can support us to be at our best as we put our efforts forward in meeting our priorities, obligations, and purpose?

There could be a number of answers to this from great to sleep to the latest time management strategy.

But in this video today I wanted to share something that could be a real game-changer in your approach.

This is not a one-and-done. It’s a practice that I encourage you to try each day.

And, I demonstrate in my video how I practiced it in the moment for myself :).

Does this sound familiar:

You don’t feel like your time is your own, you feel pulled in different directions and there’s never enough time to do all the things you need to do?

And, this impacts more than you; it impacts your family, how much energy you have for other things in your life. You love your business, and want it to succeed, but sacrificing your health, your family, and relationships is not worth the price.

The reality is this: If you don’t take the time to decide what’s important to you, others will…

One of the most common topics that comes up in my coaching is a desire for better work-life balance/integration.

There are many reasons that someone might be trying to achieve a better balance for themselves and any number of reasons that might be getting in the way.

And, each person’s IDEA of work-life balance/integration is different.

Here’s one common trend I do see:

Our current habits play a role in feeling that out-of-balance feeling.

I hope you are well and finding your way at this time.

I had a few people reach out to me, sharing their challenges of trying to get things done.

These were centred around the area of time management and productivity….in the midst of managing other things at home now.

This is aligns so well with the topic of personal productivity that normally comes up in the work and coaching I do with business owners and leaders. And it aligns with the concept of showing up even when it’s a challenge and you don’t feel like it. This is a skill in leadership.

However, that being said, while I love the topic of personal leadership, at this time, I believe we can serve ourselves and others well, if it’s tempered, with more awareness and patience for ourselves and others during this situation we’re facing.

Yet, at the same time, there are still things to be done.

The idea I’m sharing with you today is practical and in the area of productivity & time management.

However, for the next few weeks, I’ll be leaving productivity and moving into other ideas on how we can conduct business at this unusual time.

Tune in here to another idea on how to shape the way you work at this time…

Do you listen to podcasts?

I really enjoy podcasts. I love how they can get me thinking about new strategies or different ways to look at things.

One of the topics I enjoy listening to is about productivity. (I know…..but I’m owning it.)

As a business owner, wearing a number of hats can feel overwhelming with all that needs to be done.

I’ve mentioned before that productivity issues can be a symptom of something larger - not keyed into a vision or goals, not focussing on the ‘right’ things, etc.

But at the end of the day sometimes we just need help managing the number of items we have on our plate. So, sometimes a new idea or a strategy is what we need to support our planning and ‘the doing of things’.

If productivity or time management is something that you struggle with or want to learn more about, I thought I would share a list of podcasts that I’ve enjoyed.

I’ve found these podcasts helpful in giving me unique perspectives in how I run my own business, support my clients and apply the concepts to other areas of my life.

Here are 3 to check out:

What a question…..and, a question I’m often asked.

It can also be a deeply held belief that some of the business owners I begin working with have: that their business can’t possibly grow because they are already maxed out….or close to it.

This is where the intervention begins :)

Yes, growing your business is hard work and you will have to put the work in. I want to lay that out right now.

However, it’s where you put your energy that counts as you grow and expand into a future vision of your business that delivers results…..and maintains your sanity and personal relationships too.

It’s about laying the foundation for growth.

A house cannot be build on a faulty foundation. It doesn’t sound fun but it’s soooo important and you’ll find that when you do have a solid foundation….after you’ve put in the work to create one…it IS fun. It’s exciting to see what you, your team and business are capable of at that point.

So what does a foundation for growth look like?

Oh the challenge of trying to ‘get it all done’. There’s so much isn’t there? Sometimes it feels like there’s too much!

And, you’re only one person - you’re the leader, the business owner, responsible for it all. How can one person get ‘it all done’?

I’m often asked what productivity tips I would recommend for busy business owners. I have several, and often, it depends on the specific circumstances of the person I’m speaking with which ideas or strategies I might share.

There are also underlying elements that may masquerade as ‘productivity’ issues, but lead to deeper reasons why we aren’t moving forward….but that’s not for this post.

Sometimes, what we need are just some good pointers on different ways to work and get inspired, so this is what this post is designed to support you with.

I’ll share one tip here with you, and I have 9 others that I will send to you if you find yourself resonating with this challenge of wearing soooo many hats in your business and not knowing where you’ll find the time.

I've been asked many times by clients, "How do you shut everything off at night?", "Even when I'm not at work, I'm at work!".

There are three things I most often recommend to help with this: