Feeling constantly behind on your to-do list? In this episode, I share how shifting your mindset about time—rather than chasing the perfect productivity system—can create space for what actually matters. Plus, I offer a personal story (involving cilantro and a client call) and a practical framework for making more time.
Resources
- SEO Power Up Plan™
- Instant Blog Planner™
- AI Powered Reels Club
- Brand Blueprint
- Content With Character – Adventures in Time Management: Productivity experiments for every task and personality type!
- The Jim Fortin Podcast – EPISODE 387: “Throwback to Episode 11: The Real Reason You Never Have Enough Time To Do All That You Want To”
- Becoming Limitless – Ep #138 Time Hacker: How to Feel Like You Have Enough Time
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I’ve got a great one for you today. Before we get into it, a little teaser >> next week, I’ll be sharing real-life SEO testing examples—things you can actually test to improve your rankings, traffic, and leads through organic search (and yes, that includes generative search like AI-driven engines too). But that’s for next time.
Today? We’re talking time—specifically, how to get more of it without sacrificing the stuff that matters most.
Have you ever said to yourself…
Raise your hand if you’ve ever said…
- “I meant to do that…”
- “I ran out of time…”
- “Ugh, I just don’t have enough hours in the day.”
Yep. Been there. Said all of those things—more than once.
This topic has been on my mind, thanks to a few timely podcast episodes I listened to recently. One was from Content with Character by Emily Aborn, where she talked about experimenting with time management techniques. Another came from the Jim Fortin Podcast, where he took a deeper approach—focusing not on the clock, but on what drives how we spend our time.
It got me thinking. And reflecting. And… spiraling a little, frankly.
When the Day Spirals and the SEO Gets Ignored
Here’s a real-life example from my own world…
I finally sit down to work on some of my own SEO—planning blog updates, checking keywords, brainstorming ideas. You know, all the things.
But I’m not exactly sure where to start, so I do what anyone would do… check my email. Then I open a newsletter. Then, somehow, I’m reading an article about how to keep cilantro fresh for three weeks (even though I don’t cook—at all). But I have to send it to a friend because we just talked about cilantro.
Then it’s time for a client call. Then dinner. Then… I’m exhausted. That SEO task? Didn’t stand a chance.
Cue the guilt. The shame. The “why can’t I get it together?” voice in my head. My business takes a backseat again.
Time Management by Circumstance
That’s what Jim Fortin calls managing time by circumstance. I didn’t plan to get derailed—it just happened. But if I did all those things (email, newsletter, article, client work), then maybe, on some level, I wanted to.
That’s the tricky part. Subconsciously, those choices can become habits. And then I find myself thinking, “I just haven’t found the right time management system yet. Maybe this next one will work…”
But What If It’s Not About the System?
Back in summer 2022, I had a conversation with my (amazing, mindset-savvy) health consultant, Tanessa Shears, about this. I was always feeling behind, always overwhelmed, never caught up. She introduced me to Brooke Castillo’s C-T-F-A-R model:
Circumstance → Thought → Feeling → Action → Result
This model changed everything for me.
Instead of saying “I’m always behind” or “I don’t have enough time,” I practiced replacing that thought with a new one. At first, it felt fake—like I was lying to myself. But I wasn’t. I was just rewiring the habit.
Over time, I started saying something that felt true but less loaded. Something that didn’t trigger the panic spiral.
And once I started to believe that I do have enough time—or at least enough for today—my actions started to shift. The weight lifted. I was able to focus and make real progress.
So Here’s the Takeaway
If you constantly feel like you don’t have enough time, pause and ask yourself…
Is that a fact, or just a thought you’ve practiced believing?
Once you see that it might be self-imposed, start experimenting. What actually works for your lifestyle?
Right now, my time approach is a very imperfect, ever-changing blend of:
- Time blocking
- Task batching
- “Eat the frog”
- …and sometimes just doing things willy-nilly when I feel like it
Spoiler… all of them are valid if they move you forward.
Final Note (Wink Wink)
If your version of “SEO time” keeps getting swallowed up by cilantro articles and client calls… and you’re ready for a more streamlined approach to marketing, content, or search visibility?
You know where to find me 😉
