Life is About the Journey, Not the Deadline

I always used to think I could control time.

Raise your hand if you can relate! 😜

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But then at one point (I’m sure from an accumulation of other points in time) I realized how I truly wanted to live my life. And also how valuable my time actually is.

Know your worth, peeps!

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve experienced big changes in my life.

I started working for myself and I am loving it! I knew I was ready to make the jump and yet, I knew I didn’t know it all. Leaving room for the learning and growing aspect was one of the most exciting things about the change!

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is how to manage my focus and energy.

Before, I would try to be the best at managing my time. However, m anaging your time isn’t actually possible. You can’t move time around or save it for another day.

I used to get this all wrong. I’d read every book and article about time management, how to get more and more and more time. But at the end of the day, I still ran out!

For example, I’d plan to get a project done in 2 hours but instead, I’d hit some bumps in the road and it would take me 4 hours. This really backed me up. I got caught in a cycle of two options: stopping and not working on anything else for the night or pushing through it and working until after midnight.

I could just never get a grip on how to manage my time.

That is, until I let it go.

I learned to let go of what I had no control over (time) and brought what I could control to the forefront – my focus and energy.

Ever since that mindset shift, I’ve noticed a few changes:

1. It is easier communicating and setting boundaries.
I rarely experience a lack of time these days. If anything, I experience a lack of focus and energy. Of course, deadlines are necessary in almost every business situation, but knowing that I base my days off focus and energy instead of how much time is in it, I am able to let my clients know a real timeline for when work will be delivered. I also make sure I know their expectations for deadlines and if it is not doable for me, I politely decline. (Again, know your worth peeps!)

If I tried to manage my time instead, I’d ask – “How can I fit this project into my schedule? I can move this and that around, I can take less time doing this, or even remove my own creative work from my schedule.”

That is not something I do anymore!!!

2. Knowing when to stop and avoiding burnout.
I was a chronic do-er. I’d fill my time up with… well, stuff. My priorities were all over the place and time, energy, or focus were NOT at the top of the list. The top of the list was to “Get this done, get that done, oh make sure you get this done too.” It was EXHAUSTING. And not how I wanted to live my life.

Most of my days, I’m done working by 6pm and I’m very happy with what I accomplish. But there are times when, after I eat my dinner, I work a little more. Not because I need to get something done, but because it feels good to work on whatever I want to work on – maybe for a client or maybe my creative endeavors. In either situation, I am aware of the feeling of lost focus or no energy and I know when to stop.

If you are focused, you could take 1 hour to complete something rather than use up 4 hours while unfocused.

3. Life is about the journey, not the destination.
Let’s say I have a project to deliver. I have projected it to take about 20 hours total and I can get it done in 2 weeks. This will work if everything goes as planned, but how many times does that really happen? Especially when you’re starting something new!

If I was so focused on that 2 week deadline and nothing else, anytime some issue would arise and cause a delay, I would be frustrated, stressed, less focused, and less energized to actually work on it. What I have found is that the destination after the 2 weeks is not actually where my focus should be – it should be on the task in front of me.

So I stop and ask myself – What is the next best thing for me to do so I can be in the highest form of focus and energy for the task in front of me?

Sometimes it’s taking a walk, drinking some water, eating a snack, going to Target, reaching out to someone who can assist, going to a Facebook group for an answer or advice, reaching out to the client letting them know I need more time (communicating and setting boundaries!).

In other words, it’s not about the deadline or the destination, it’s about the journey.

A journey of learning how I work best, how I focus and reenergize best, all of the new things I’m learning through the process, and all the fun I’m having along the way.

I’m learning to control what I can and letting go of everything else.

This principle has turned all areas of my life from a nightmare to a literal dream.

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.”
– Steve Maraboli

How can you shift your mind to let go?

Comment below!

Til next week…
Shay ♥️

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