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How do you spend your time? With everything that has happened in 2020, I think all of us have become even more aware of just how precious our time truly is. The fact is that even though we may take it for granted occasionally, our time is our most valuable asset. And how wisely we spend that asset can completely transform our lives. That is why I am so excited to have been able to sit down with life coach and founder of Queen Brand Enterprises, LaTeisha Williams, to discuss how we can utilize our most valuable asset effectively in order to live a life in alignment with our goals.
Before becoming a life coach, LaTeisha started out working in telecommunications where she didn’t quite feel connected to the work she was doing. Wanting to help others, it wasn’t until she went back to school that she reevaluated her career path and began on her new journey.
“When I took those human services classes, it just resonated with me. And so I went on to get my bachelor’s, went on to get my master’s and worked in mental health for quite some time and now decided to go ahead and help individuals in a different fashion.”
Now a light worker, author and life coach, LaTeisha is helping countless women cultivate healthy and positive lives that are in alignment with who they are. Through her own path and her work with her clients, she has seen firsthand the importance of utilizing time as an asset and shared her advice and tips with me to share with you!
Prioritize!
As much as we’d all like to have an easy fix to our time management problems, there isn’t any magic button out there. Time management is more complicated than that which is why LaTeisha’s first tip is to think deeply and set clear priorities in our day.
Everything on our to do list can’t be mission critical all the time. We have to be able to know what tasks need our attention and when in order for us to even begin to manage our time, otherwise we are wasting both time and energy.
LaTeisha also emphasizes that even as we set aside time to work on our priorities, it is important to accept that sometimes, we won’t always get everything done in the time we want to. And that is OKAY!
“Sometimes we sit and we want to get everything all out at one time and we’re kind of like forcing it.... That’s really a waste of time because you’re sitting there making yourself work on something when you can use that time to work on something that’s actually flowing through you.”
View Time as A Valuable Asset
As we set priorities for ourselves, LaTeisha stresses just how important it is to remember the value of our time. We’ve all heard (and probably even said!) that life is short, but really let yourself connect to that as you think about prioritizing your time and use that mindset as a guide to setting intentional goals.
“When I’m spending my time doing something and it’s not aligned with my goals or what my intentions are, I’m ultimately not utilizing my time properly… We want to take progressive steps forward.”
None of us really know how much time we have in our lives, so we need to make sure we make our time commitments matter and speak to us. The more time we spend on things that do not serve us or push us forward on our path, the more we feel stuck, unproductive, and ungrounded.
Time Management Hacks That Work
While true time management requires us to do a bit of groundwork on readjusting our priorities and getting in tune with our goals and needs, there are a few time management hacks that LaTeisha swears by to help make it a little easier. The first hack that both LaTeisha and I can recommend is meal prep. It has saved many hours in many lives and has been a game-changer for LaTeisha.
“Even though it seems small, even though one day you’re going to spend maybe an hour to prepare all of these meals, guess what? That saves you two hours every day during the week. Add that up.”
By taking the time to create meals in batches, we not only save ourselves the time cooking throughout the week but we also free up more mental and physical energy in the day as we no longer have to figure out what to eat for breakfast every morning. It’s already done!
Another useful hack to use is setting your phone on Do Not Disturb Mode during important tasks or rest time during the day. Part of managing our time so that we can stay in alignment with our needs and goals often requires setting boundaries with our loved ones. Do Not Disturb is a great way to ensure that you can enforce those boundaries within yourself and use our time where we want to use it, instead of getting distracted by other people’s demands.
As much as we’d like to have 500 hours in the day to take care of all the people in our lives and responsibilities that demand our attention, the reality that we only have so much time on this Earth. We need to have priorities, boundaries and intentional goals in our lives so that we are spending the time we do have wisely. Managing our time is not just about getting our work done or finishing a few more errands in the day. It’s about creating a life we can truly feel fulfilled by and proud of when we reflect back on everything we’ve experienced. So value your time because it is worth more than gold!
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Have you heard? Self-love accountability has gotten a whole lot easier! We’ve launched Self Care In Action, a brand new virtual self-care accountability group to help you relax and recharge in the comfort of your own home! Learn more here and join us for our next session on September 29th at 5:30pm ET!