Episode 49 - How to Run Your Life Like a Million-Dollar Business (The Sunday CEO Session)
Welcome to Episode 49 of the Time for Living Podcast!
TRANSCRIPT
show notes
Ready to transform chaotic weeks into strategic wins? If you're tired of feeling scattered and reactive, this episode is for you. Today we're exploring how high-achieving women are taking control by adopting a CEO mindset for their personal lives. No more hoping your week will work out, you're going to start designing it with intention.
What You’ll Learn:
The 4-pillar Sunday CEO Session framework for weekly clarity
How to shift from task-juggling to outcome-focused leadership
Strategic time allocation using energy-based planning
The tiny wins system for building momentum
By the end of this episode, you'll have a complete 15-minute weekly planning system that helps you run your life with strategic intention.
Key Takeaways
Start with outcomes oriented around your life areas and values
Protect peak energy through strategic time blocking
Break outcomes into specific, verb-based action steps
Build in strategic buffers and tiny wins for flexibility
Free Resource:
Download the Strategic Week Template, your complete Sunday CEO Session toolkit with worksheets for outcome setting, energy mapping, and weekly performance reviews: timeforliving.co/strategicweek
Join my email list at timeforliving.co for weekly quick-win tips, exclusive resources, and a supportive community of ambitious women who get it.
READY FOR MORE:
Join the waitlist for The Time Aligned Blueprint - my signature program that helps you create sustainable systems across all areas of life timeforliving.co/tab
Let’s Connect:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timeforlivingco/
Final Thought:
You're not just managing time, you're designing a life. Start treating yourself like the strategic leader you are.
TRANSCRIPT - How to Run Your Life Like a Million-Dollar Business (The Sunday CEO Session)
Introduction
Hey there, time freedom seekers! I'm back with another episode of Time For Living, and today we're talking about something that completely changed how I manage my weeks, and I have a feeling it's going to be exactly what you need to hear right now.
Can I be real with you for a second? I know you're listening to this because you're probably in that place where Sunday night rolls around and instead of feeling excited about the week ahead, you're feeling that familiar knot in your stomach. You know the one where you're mentally scrolling through everything you need to get done, wondering how you're possibly going to fit it all in, and already feeling behind before Monday even starts.
And here's what's so frustrating: you're not lazy. You're not disorganized. I know you're actually incredibly capable and accomplished. But somewhere along the way, you started treating your life like it's happening TO you instead of something you're actively designing and running. You're reacting instead of leading.
I see this all the time with my clients (these brilliant women who run teams, make strategic decisions, and solve complex problems at work every single day). But when it comes to their own lives? They're operating without a clear strategy, without defined priorities, and definitely without the kind of intentional planning they'd never skip in their professional roles.
So today, I want to introduce you to what I call the Sunday CEO Session. It's a weekly planning approach that's going to shift everything for you because instead of just hoping you'll get through your week, you're going to start running your life with the same strategic mindset that million-dollar business leaders use to run their companies.
And before you think 'I don't have time for another planning session,' let me tell you this is going to save you hours of stress and scattered energy. We're talking about 15 minutes that will transform your entire week and actually make you feel like your life is going in the right direction.
Now, whether you've never planned before in your life or you're someone who's tried different planning systems but hasn't found a consistent weekly routine that actually works, weekly planning is where you should start. It's the sweet spot that gives you enough structure to feel in control without being so overwhelming that you abandon it after a week.
NOT A FANCY TO-DO LIST
But first, let's talk about why most weekly planning doesn't work. Because if you've tried planning your week before and still felt overwhelmed, there's a really good reason for that.
Here's the thing: most of us approach weekly planning like we're just making a fancy to-do list. We sit down, brain dump everything we think we need to do, maybe organize it by day, and call it planning. But that's not planning (that's just wishful thinking with better formatting).
Real CEOs don't plan their weeks by making lists of random tasks. They start with strategy. They start with clarity about what actually matters and what success looks like. The best CEOs spend their time on strategic decisions and leading people rather than operational details.
Think about it (would a CEO of a million-dollar company ever go into a week without being crystal clear on their top priorities?). Would they schedule their time around whatever seemed urgent instead of what's actually important? Of course not. That would be business suicide.
But that's exactly what we do with our own lives. We let urgency drive our schedules instead of importance. We treat every task like it has the same priority level. We react to whatever comes up instead of proactively designing our days around what actually moves us forward.
And here's the other problem: we're not thinking like owners of our own lives. When you work for someone else, even in a leadership role, you're ultimately executing someone else's vision. But when it comes to your life, YOU'RE the CEO. You're the one who gets to decide what success looks like, what the priorities are, and how you want to allocate your most precious resources (your time and energy).
Weekly planning lets you be both strategic and tactical, and that's exactly what we need. We need to step back from the daily chaos and start thinking strategically about our weeks.
The other thing that's not working is that most weekly planning completely ignores your energy levels and natural rhythms. Most people experience peak cognitive performance in the morning, but how many of us actually schedule our most important work during those peak hours? Instead, we let meetings and other people's priorities fill up our best energy, and then we're trying to do our most important work when we're already drained.
This is why you can have a perfectly organized calendar and still feel like you're constantly behind. You're not managing your life like the strategic leader you actually are. And before you start running for the hills thinking this system sounds too complicated, stay with me. You don't need to do everything at once, but please do just start and start small.
THE SUNDAY CEO SESSION
Alright, so here's how we start. The Sunday CEO Session is built around four strategic pillars that actual CEOs use to run successful businesses, but we're applying them to your life.
Pillar One: Outcome-Based Priority Setting with Strategic Project Thinking
Instead of starting with tasks, we start with outcomes. But here's where I want to build on something I've shared before about treating your major goals like projects. Every Sunday, you're going to ask yourself: "If this week went exactly as I wanted it to, what would have happened?" Not what tasks would be checked off, but what actual results would exist in your life.
Maybe it's "I'd feel confident about the client presentation I'm giving Thursday." Or "I'd have a clear plan for managing the project deadline." Or "I'd feel connected to my family and not guilty about work taking over."
Now, once you have those outcomes, here's where that project management approach I've talked about comes in. Each outcome becomes its own project with dedicated space in your planning. Why? Because when everything is lumped together, it's overwhelming. But when you break it down into smaller pieces, suddenly everything feels doable.
And if you haven't done goal planning or quarterly planning before and you're wondering how to create projects for each of your goals, I want you to go back and listen to episodes 22 and 23. Even though they talk about quarter 2, they're absolutely relevant for any period of your life and will give you a solid framework to work with.
But here's something really important: your outcomes should be oriented around your life areas and values, not just what's screaming loudest for attention. When you're thinking about what you want to accomplish this week, ask yourself which areas of your life need focus. Maybe it's your career advancement, your health and energy, your relationships, your personal growth, or your home environment. The key is making sure your weekly outcomes align with what actually matters to you, not just what feels urgent.
Setting clear, outcome-based goals is key. It gives your tasks direction and helps avoid reactive scheduling. You pick two to three key outcomes for the week (that's it). Any more than that and you're setting yourself up to feel scattered.
Pillar Two: Strategic Time Allocation with Bite-Sized Action Planning
This is where you channel your inner CEO and get ruthless about your calendar. The most effective CEOs know their role is not to do everything themselves, but to amplify their impact through indirect influence.
You're going to look at your week and ask: "What deserves my peak energy?" Then you're going to protect those time blocks like they're million-dollar client meetings—because they are. They're investments in your future.
But here's where I want you to remember what I've shared before about breaking things down. Instead of writing something vague like "Work on presentation," you're going to list out specific, actionable steps using verbs: "Draft presentation outline," "Research competitor data," "Create slide templates."
And here's something I love (during your planning, create what I call your "tiny wins list"). These are small, achievable actions you can take when your energy is low or you're avoiding the big tasks. Things like "respond to one client email" or "organize one digital folder." Usually, once we start, we build momentum and end up doing a little more. But even if you only respond to that one client email, that's still more progress than you'd have made if you'd been scrolling instead.
Time blocking transforms chaos into clarity. You're literally going to block time for what matters most before anything else gets scheduled.
Pillar Three: Strategic Buffer Management
Here's something successful CEOs know that the rest of us often miss: you have to plan for the unplanned. Scheduling spontaneity might sound paradoxical, but leaving unscheduled time or free time for unplanned conversations and spur-of-the-moment meetings allows CEOs to respond to events quickly and adapt to new opportunities.
During your Sunday CEO Session, you're going to build in what I call "strategic buffers"—blocks of time that aren't assigned to specific tasks but give you flexibility to handle whatever comes up without derailing your entire week.
This isn't empty time (it's strategic breathing room that keeps you in control when life happens).
Pillar Four: Weekly Performance Review
And finally, The weekly review involves you quickly glancing back at the week so you can get a sense of how much you have accomplished. Real CEOs don't just plan—they review, analyze, and adjust.
Every Sunday, before you plan the new week, you're going to spend five minutes reviewing the week that just passed. What worked? What didn't? What patterns are you noticing? This isn't about judging yourself (it's about gathering data so you can get better at running your life).
Now, here's how this looks in practice. Your Sunday CEO Session takes 15 minutes and follows this exact sequence:
Minutes 1-5: Performance Review Quick reflection on last week: What went well? What didn't? What do I want to do differently?
Minutes 6-10: Outcome Setting with Project Breakdown What are my 2-3 key outcomes for this week? What would make this week feel successful? Then, treat each outcome like a project (break it down into specific, verb-based action steps).
Minutes 11-15: Strategic Time Allocation with Tiny Wins When will I work on my priorities? Where are my strategic buffers? What gets my best energy? And don't forget—create your top 3 priorities for each day, plus a few tiny, actionable items you can tackle during low-energy moments.
That's it. Fifteen minutes to run your life like the strategic leader you are.
QUICK WIN CHALLENGE
Okay, here's your quick win challenge, and I really want you to try this because it's going to give you immediate proof of how powerful this approach can be.
This Sunday (and I mean this Sunday, not "someday when you have more time") I want you to do a mini CEO Session. Just ten minutes.
Set a timer for ten minutes. Grab a piece of paper or open a note on your phone. And answer these three questions:
"What are the two most important outcomes I want from this week?" Not tasks (outcomes). How do you want to feel? What do you want to have accomplished? What would make you proud of how you spent your time? Then, for each outcome, jot down 2-3 specific action steps using verbs (like "draft," "call," "organize," or "research").
"When is my best energy this week, and how can I protect it for what matters most?" Look at your calendar and identify your peak hours. Then ask yourself: are those hours currently being used for your highest priorities? And remember to create some tiny wins for your low-energy times (those small actions you can take even when you're tempted to scroll).
"Where do I need strategic buffers this week?" What days look packed? Where might you need flexibility? Build in some breathing room.
But here's what I really want you to notice: how different this feels from just making a to-do list. When you start with strategy, with outcomes and priorities, and then break them down using that project management approach I've shared before, everything else falls into place differently. You're not just hoping you'll remember to do something important. You're creating a clear roadmap with specific, actionable steps.
And when you combine that with those tiny wins—those small actions you can take when your energy is low—you stop feeling like you're drowning in tasks and start feeling like you're building something meaningful, one small step at a time.
Now, if this approach resonates with you and you want to dive deeper into creating sustainable systems for managing your time and energy, I've put together a free resource that's going to help you take this even further.
It's called the Strategic Week Template, and it includes the complete Sunday CEO Session framework we talked about today, plus worksheets for outcome setting, energy mapping, and weekly performance reviews. You can grab it at timeforliving.co/strategicweek.
When you download it, you'll also get access to my private email community where I share strategies for high-achieving women who want to create more time freedom in their lives. These are the concepts I usually only share with my private clients, but I want to make sure you have them too.
Because here's what I know about you: you didn't accidentally end up in a demanding role. You're there because you're capable, driven, and committed to excellence. But somewhere along the way, you started applying those standards to everything except how you manage your own time and priorities.
It's time to change that. It's time to start running your life with the same strategic intention that you bring to your work. And it starts with treating Sunday like the strategic planning session it deserves to be.
Your life is not something that happens to you, it's something you design, lead, and optimize. And when you start approaching your weeks like the CEO of your own life, everything shifts.
So grab that Strategic Week Template at timeforliving.co/strategicweek, commit to trying the Sunday CEO Session this week, and let me know how it goes. Send me a message on Instagram @timeforlivingco (I read every single one, and I love hearing about your wins).
Remember: you're not just managing time (you're designing a life). And it starts with how you approach your week.
I'll see you next time on Time For Living, where we're building time freedom one strategic decision at a time.