Time Management: How to Stay in Action

Self-Actualization

noun Psychology: the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potential

The Formula

Mindset + Execution + Strategy = Growth

This formula is ordered this way on purpose. We need a solid mindset in order to execute. We need to experimentally take action in order to stumble upon the best strategy. Each element builds off of the next.

Mindset: how well rested are you? how healthy are you eating? how secure and healthy are your environments and relationships?

Execution: are you able to focus on deep work or are you scrolling social media and zoning out for half of each day?

Strategy: are you taking action and experimenting to learn? are you reading and taking courses from other thought leaders?

Growth: are you noticing a difference in how you feel every day? are you noticing a difference in your metrics?

How to put this into action: Q&A Guide

I’m sharing questions I’ve received below and answering them. I’m not perfect, but hopefully this helps!

What’s your full-time job? What are you working on outside of your job?

I work for my family’s business Whyte Gate. This is why my schedule differs from others. The benefit of not having a strict 9-5 with a manager and career ladder is that I’ve gotten the chance to think of my work life differently.

The norm = full-time job + side hustle

My norm = project + project + project

I don’t think of Alpha or my book as side hustles anymore, even though they’re not my full-time income. I think of everything I work on as a project. I choose how to divide up my time each week. Each project has a clear goal:

Whyte Gate: grow online sales

Girl in the Dark Room: sell to a big 5 publisher

Alpha: create digital products for a likeminded audience

You wrote a book?

Yes! Girl in the Dark Room is a thriller that I’m revising and pitching to agents right now. I’ve gotten remarkable feedback from agents and hope to sign with one soon. I’ll let you know how the process goes :)

How do you manage your time and juggle different projects?

iCal is for all appointments or time-stamped things in my life. I don’t use the reminders app, but I create regularly scheduled things in my calendar. For example, I schedule which days I do laundry. I schedule to wash my car once per month (thanks, Dad!) And I schedule which months of the year I need to schedule doctor, dentist, etc.

Trello is for task management. I create a list of desired tasks each week. It doesn’t matter when I do them, as long as they get done. This requires organization, but also lets me be intuitive about when and how I do my work.

How do you use Trello?

I set up a sample board for you to see. This is best viewed on Desktop, not mobile. You can sign up for Trello for free here.

What philosophies and strategies have you adopted?

• Play the long game
• Create multiple income streams
• Embrace multi-faceted talents
• Fail faster
• Embrace a sense of urgency in your work
• Create sales, not costs
• Keep it simple

How do you create new habits?

Pair a new daily habit with an existing one. This is called habit stacking. Let’s say you want to remember to water your plants every morning, put your watering cup next to your toothbrush. Then it becomes second nature to brush your teeth and water you plants every morning. Morning and evening routines are perfect opportunities for habit stacking.

Another method is “don’t break the chain.” You put a check mark every day that you do a desired task. I use this method for book revisions. For every day that I dive into my book and make revisions, I give myself a check mark on a printed calendar. You use can print these habit trackers if you want to try this method.

Where can I connect?

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