debbiebradleyHow often have you had this happen?
You have a day off coming up from work… You’re excited about it, and you spend the week leading up to it thinking about all the things you’re going to accomplish…
- The house is going to be spotless
- You’ll get your blog posts written for the week ahead
- You’re going to get in front of your to-do list full of chores and business tasks
- You’re going to make strides to hit your goals, and maybe hit them even sooner!
Your ‘One Day Off’ plans are amazing!
This is YOUR DAY! The day you’re gonna get your life together, get ahead of yourself and not have to worry about playing catch up all the time.
This is your moment!
You feel so excited about it, relieved that you can spend the day doing what you need or want to do. It’s amazing!
This is the key to taking back control of your life. You’re gonna throw all your unwanted stuff on eBay so you can earn that extra cash you need, or, boost your biz so you’re one step closer to leaving the 9-5…
This one day has so much potential!
You’ve clocked out of work, you can hear, see, smell, touch, taste freedom! When you go back to work you’re gonna feel like a new woman. This is going to revitalise you like no weekend off ever could.
You’re going to be on top of the world!
But then, this happens…
You wake up later than usual, you don’t have to go to work, so you can have a lay in.
You get the kids off to school (if you have them! No point taking other peoples kids to school, that’s just weird)
You wander around the house, make a cup of coffee, walk past a load of washing and decide you can do it later because you’re not in a rush, you’ve got all day.
Scroll through Facebook, see what’s happening in the world.
Get a text from your bestie who happens to be off work too, and you two decide to go out for breakfast/lunch.
Someone calls asking for a favour. “It will only take a few minutes!”
You run the errand, meet your friend meet in town, have a bite to eat, browse a few shops, decide to treat yourself, buy something new, go get your nails done, whatever.
Mosey back home, picking the kids up on the way (again, only if they’re your kids!) remember you didn’t put the washing in, so do that while you’re making dinner.
Play catch up with the jobs you didn’t get done earlier, then realise that you didn’t list that stuff on eBay, or get those blog posts written…
Then you feel like crap, and guilty that you didn’t do everything you planned to…
Your magical day was wasted
Now if only someone else could have loaded the washer this morning… or so.n.so hadn’t posted that link on Facebook with that quiz to find out who you’re ideal movie husband is, which sucked you into the rabbit hole… or your friend hadn’t text to meet in town… or you hadn’t done that favour… if the other people hadn’t been driving so slow, you’d have gotten home quicker.
You’d have gotten so much done, if only it weren’t for…
Yes, YOU! You didn’t take responsibility for your day!
The only person responsible for you not doing what you wanted to on your ‘Super Awesome Day’ is you.
The second you turned off your alarm clock; stayed in bed later than you expected to; ignored that pile of washing; agreed to do the favours and day out in town; you lost the control of your day.
No one else is responsible for your business, or how you spend your time. That’s all on you.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow
I’ve been there. Agreeing to lunch dates, running other peoples errands, having a ‘go slow’ morning around the house because your day allows it.
But in all honesty, there’s only you to blame in this.
Take back control! It’s as simple as saying “No”
Think back to the start of that day… what could you have done differently? How could you have moved towards your goals for the day?
You could have said “No!”
- I’m not going to waste my morning by getting up late.
- I’ll do the laundry now, instead of leaving it until later.
- No, sorry, I don’t have time to run that errand
- I don’t have time to meet for lunch today, I already have plans, but thanks for the invite!
- No, I’m not checking Facebook/watching TV…. (insert other random time waste here)
Say YES to yourself and your own goals first!
It’s hard saying no to people, I know that first hand. You feel like you’re letting them down; like you’re not playing fair.
We’re great at feeling guilty, it’s in our nature (especially as women!) but it doesn’t serve us.
You can say no without sounding like an asshole
Make it clear that you have other commitments. You don’t have to justify why you’re saying no.
If you want to meet your friend for dinner, and you have time, then go, but set a time limit. “Great! But I need to be home by 2.” or even better… “I can’t make it today, but how about we meet next week?” Make a date out of it!
Find an empty slot in your calendar and assign it to a lunch date with your bestie. You’ll stay on track with your goals, AND you’ll maintain your relationship. What do you have to lose? Even better, make sure you schedule regular time into your calendar in advance for spending time with those you love. You’ll feel better for it, and I’m sure they’ll appreciate it too, even if they don’t realise it.
Don’t put off the housework – trust me, it’s not worth it. Get it done. How many times have you heard “Tidy house, tidy mind”? or remember your mum nagging you to get your room tidy as a teenager, usually uttering “I don’t know how you get anything done when your rooms like this”… it maybe didn’t make sense then, maybe not even now, but whether we want to believe it or not, it makes a difference.
The only person who needs to have your back is you!
Once people get used to you guarding your time, they’ll come around to it. There may be an adjustment period, especially if you’re the one who usually drops everything on a whim.
You may even surprise yourself with what you get done once you start taking responsibility and control of your time, but I promise you this…
It will be worth it!
Now tell me, how do you guard your time? Or are you guilty of saying yes to everyone but yourself? Drop a comment below…
