Episode 30 - The 15-Minute Secret to Working Smarter (Not Harder) – Even When You’re Exhausted
Welcome to Episode 30 of the Time for Living Podcast!
TRANSCRIPT
show notes
Are you tired of working harder, only to feel like you’re still falling behind? In this week’s episode, we’re uncovering why hustle culture isn’t the answer and how high-achieving women like you can reclaim your time without sacrificing your goals.
I’ll share three simple yet powerful strategies that will help you work with your brain instead of against it—so you can stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress. Whether it’s filtering tasks like a CEO, designing your day around your energy peaks, or overcoming procrastination with a five-minute start, these shifts are designed to help you reclaim 10+ hours this week.
What You’ll Learn:
The CEO Filter: How to decide which tasks deserve your time (and which don’t).
Energy Mapping: Why working during your natural focus windows can transform your productivity.
The 5-Minute Rule: A simple way to overcome procrastination and build momentum on any project.
By the end of this episode, you’ll have practical tools to create more time for what truly matters—whether it’s career growth, family, or finally pursuing that dream you’ve put on hold.
Free Resource:
• Ready to reclaim your time? Download my free resource, "Taking Control of Your Time Workbook," packed with tools to help you complete a time audit and create actionable strategies for building a schedule that works for you.
• Grab it at timeforliving.co/takingcontrol.
Let’s Connect:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timeforlivingco/
Final Thought:
Your ambition isn’t the problem—it’s the belief that success has to come at the cost of burnout. This week, try just one small shift from today’s episode and watch how it creates space for what truly matters. You weren’t meant to grind endlessly—you were meant to thrive intentionally. Let’s make it happen!
TRANSCRIPT - The 15-Minute Secret to Working Smarter (Not Harder) – Even When You’re Exhausted
Introduction
What if I told you that working harder might actually be the thing holding you back?
Here’s the truth: 72% of high-achieving women—just like you—lose at least three hours every single day on tasks that don’t move them closer to their goals. And here’s the kicker: It’s not because they’re not trying. It’s not because they lack drive or discipline. It’s because they’re relying on productivity habits that drain energy instead of creating momentum.
If you’ve ever ended a long day exhausted, only to realize you didn’t make progress on what truly matters to you… this episode is for you.
Today, I’m sharing three simple but powerful shifts that can help you reclaim ten or more hours this week—without giving up your ambitions or burning out. These aren’t complicated systems or unrealistic hacks. They’re practical, research-backed strategies that you can use to create more time for what lights you up—whether that’s career growth, family, or finally pursuing that passion project you’ve put on hold.
So if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start making your time work for you instead of against you… let’s get started.
Let’s talk about something we’ve all been conditioned to believe: that success comes from grinding yourself into the ground. That if you’re not exhausted, you’re not doing enough. But here’s what no one tells you—busyness is not the same as progress.
Think about it: When was the last time you canceled plans because you were ‘too busy,’ only to realize later you’d spent that time scrolling, go through your inbox for the third time, or stuck in meetings that could’ve been emails? That’s not productivity. That’s your brain running on autopilot because society has convinced us that ‘hard work’ means saying yes to everything and replying to everything instantly.
But here’s something fascinating about our brain: It’s designed to conserve energy—not because you’re lazy, but because it’s optimizing for survival. When you multitask or push through fatigue and keep saying yes to everything, you’re essentially forcing it to work against its biology.
Think of it like this: Your focus is a spotlight. Every time you switch tasks, ie respond to notifications, get disturbed by that ‘can I chat with you quickly’ that spotlight has to reboot—burning extra mental fuel. That’s why batching similar work (like replying to emails in one go) feels easier than juggling them all day or by having meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays is more productive than having 1 everyday.
The takeaway? Productivity isn’t about willpower. It’s about aligning your work with how your brain actually functions. When you do, you’ll find yourself achieving more—with less exhaustion.
So I want you to try something with me right now. Grab a pen—or just pause and think: What’s one thing you did yesterday that felt urgent in the moment but didn’t actually align with your bigger goals? Maybe it was answering non-essential slack messages during your peak creative hours. Or saying yes to a request that should’ve been a ‘not right now.’
This isn’t about shaming your choices. It’s about recognizing a pattern I see with nearly every client I work with: You’re succeeding in spite of your daily habits, not because of them. Imagine what could happen if you started working with your brain instead of against it.
That’s exactly what we’re going to change with our first smart-work strategy.
The Three swaps
Let's get straight to what will change how you work starting today - three swaps that help high achievers like you create more time without working longer hours. I call these the CEO Filter, Energy Auditing, and the 5-Minute Rule - and they're about to become your new best friends.
First, the CEO Filter. Picture yourself as the CEO of your life—every decision needs to pass through your filter of value. So before starting any task, ask yourself - would I pay a top professional $500 an hour to do this? If that thought makes you cringe, that's your signal. That task either needs to be automated, delegated, or removed from your plate entirely.
I work with a marketing executive who discovered she was spending nearly two hours every day on administrative work anyone could do. When she started treating her time like the valuable resource it is, she freed up 10 hours a week just by using simple AI tools to batch those low-value tasks. That's time she got to reinvest in strategic projects that actually moved her career forward.
Now let's talk about your energy, because this is where most productivity advice fails us. Your 3 PM slump isn't a personal failing - it's science. Our brains naturally cycle through peaks and valleys of focus throughout the day. Yet we keep scheduling important work when we're running on empty.
Energy Auditing flips this script. Instead of tracking minutes, you'll learn to track your natural rhythms. When do you feel most alert? Most creative? That's your golden window for deep work. For many women, it's first thing in the morning before the world makes demands on them. For others, it's late morning after they've warmed up their brain.
Here's your quick win: Tomorrow, block just one 90-minute focus session during your peak energy time. Close your email. Silence notifications. This isn't selfish - it's strategic. Protecting these hours is how you'll make breakthrough progress on what you’ve decided matters most.
Finally, let's talk about procrastination - that sneaky habit that keeps brilliant women from their best work. Here's the secret: It's not about laziness. Our brains resist starting when things feel overwhelming.
The 5-Minute Rule cuts through this. Commit to just five minutes on that project you've been avoiding. Set a timer. That's it. No pressure to finish. One client used this to finally start writing her book - five minutes each morning while her coffee brewed. Within months, she had drafted three chapters. Small starts create big momentum.
Here's what I want you to remember: Working smarter isn't about doing more. It's about doing more of what matters. When you filter tasks like a CEO, design your day around your energy, and start small on big projects, you're not just managing time - you're reclaiming your life.
protecting the gains
We must also talk about how to protect these gains - because what's the point of creating time if it just gets filled again with other people's priorities?
Here’s something I want you to consider: Time freedom isn’t about empty calendars. It’s about having the clarity—and the courage—to fill your hours with what truly matters to you.
Think about it: If I gave you five extra hours this week, no strings attached… what would you actually do with them? Would you finally start that side project you’ve been dreaming about? Take that yoga class that always gets pushed off your schedule? Or maybe just sit quietly with a cup of tea and a book, guilt-free?
That answer? That’s your compass. It shows you where your time wants to go—if you let it.
But here’s the reality check: You don’t need to wait for ‘extra’ time. You need to reclaim it from the tasks that don’t deserve you. That’s where most high achievers get stuck. They assume they need to find more hours, when really, they need to redesign the ones they already have.
FREE Resource
This is exactly why I created Taking Control of Your Time—a free workbook that walks you through a simple but powerful time audit. It’s not about tracking every minute. It’s about spotting the leaks you haven’t noticed, and redirecting that time toward the life you want to be living.
You’ll get step-by-step strategies to:
Identify your hidden time drains (they’re not what you think)
Create boundaries that stick—without guilt
Carve out space for your priorities first, not last
Grab your copy at timeforliving.co/takingcontrol — it takes less than 10 minutes to start, but the shifts last far longer.
Remember: Time freedom isn’t a luxury. It’s the natural result of intentional choices.
close
If today’s episode sparked something for you—maybe you realized where your time is quietly slipping away, or you’re ready to try the 5-minute rule—I’d love to hear about it. Take a quick screenshot of this episode, tag me on instagram @timeforlivingco, and share your biggest lightbulb moment. I’ll send you a bonus strategy personalized just for you. Because when you win, I win—and that’s the kind of energy I want to keep spreading.
Now, let’s talk about what’s coming next. If you’ve ever stared at your to-do list and felt paralyzed, next week’s episode is for you. We’re flipping the script on productivity—literally. I’ll show you how to transform that overwhelming list into something that works for you instead of against you. It’s definitely going to be a shift but it is one that changes everything.
Before I let you go, I want to leave you with this: Your ambition isn’t the problem. Your work ethic isn’t the problem. The problem is believing that success has to feel like a never-ending grind.
You—yes, you—were designed for more than checking boxes until you’re exhausted. You were meant to build a life that energizes you, to pursue goals that light you up, and to do it all without burning out.
So this week, I hope you’ll try just one of the strategies we talked about—not because you have to, but because you deserve to feel in control of your time.
Until next time—keep making your time matter.