Episode 54 - Stop Procrastinating and Start Doing: The Two-System Approach That Helps Working Moms Actually Get Things Done

Welcome to Episode 54 of the Time for Living Podcast!

TRANSCRIPT

show notes

Feeling overwhelmed by the endless to-do list that comes with being a working mom and business owner? You're not alone. In this episode, we're tackling one of the biggest challenges my clients face: knowing where to start when everything feels urgent and nothing feels done.

I'm breaking down why "doing the thing" is so much harder than it should be (spoiler: it's not laziness), and sharing the exact two-system approach that helped me reclaim an hour and a half per week just by removing decision fatigue. Whether you're drowning in home chaos or avoiding that one business task you know you need to tackle, this episode will show you how to create systems that work with your life as a working mom, not against it.

By the end of this episode, you'll understand:

• Why decision fatigue is draining your energy before you even open your laptop

• The two-fold foundation you need to establish before any productivity system will work

• How to create a Business Engine and Home Hub that automate your daily decisions

• Why systems actually give you more freedom, not less (even if you love chasing shiny objects like me)

• The one simple challenge you can implement today to start breaking the overwhelm cycle

Ready to build the foundation that makes systems actually work?

Grab my free workbook "Taking Control of Your Time: 3 Simple Steps to Master Intentional Time Management" at timeforliving.co/takingcontrol. You'll get clear on what truly matters to you, see where your time is really going, and create a strategic plan that aligns with your goals.

Join my email list at timeforliving.co for weekly quick-win tips, exclusive resources, and a supportive community of ambitious women who get it.

Let’s Connect:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timeforlivingco/

• Email: hello@timeforliving.co

Final Thought:

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing. Stop waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect system, or the perfect plan. Start with one task, one time block, one decision removed from your plate. Your future self is counting on you to take that first step today.

TRANSCRIPT - Stop Procrastinating and Start Doing: The Two-System Approach That Helps Working Moms Actually Get Things Done

Why Every Working Mom Feels Overwhelmed (And Why That's Actually Normal)

Hey there, and welcome back to Time For Living, or if you're new here welcome to our little corner of the internet that hopes to get you building dreams one careful step at a time.

Now I'm going to guess where you are right now, probably listening to this while you're doing something else. Maybe you're folding that never-ending pile of laundry, prepping dinner, or moving your body. No matter what you’re doing, today I wanted to chat about one of the number one things that my clients say when they first come to me. What they most often talk about is overwhelm, that they are so overwhelmed with everything that they have to do and don't know where to start, or what to do to get out of the overwhelm and then because of this, they then just don't start and call themselves lazy or worse.

I'm here today to let you know that this is normal, if it's one of the number one things my amazing community says, then it really is normal. But I'm here to change up that narrative one step at a time.

It doesn't have to be that way. But please remember there is no magic hack or trick that will fix it.

Now, here's what's really keeping us stuck. We think we're working on our business or getting organized, but we're actually just dancing around the edges.

And I have to share something that really hit me when I read it, it's from an essay by The Strangest Loop about things that aren't doing the thing.

Listen to this: Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing. Scheduling time to do the thing isn't doing the thing. Making a to-do list for the thing isn't doing the thing. Telling people you're going to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

Reading about how to do the thing isn't doing the thing. Fantasizing about all the success you'll have once you do the thing isn't doing the thing.

And here's the one that really gets us working moms, hating on yourself for not doing the thing isn't doing the thing.

The only thing that is doing the thing is doing the thing.

And that really hit home because I realized how much time I was spending spinning my wheels, looking busy, feeling busy, but not actually moving the needle on what mattered most.

So how do we actually do the thing? How do we stop this endless cycle of preparation and planning and actually start making progress?

That's exactly what we're diving into today, and it starts with understanding where to focus first as working moms building businesses.

The Two-Step Foundation: From Home Chaos to Business Clarity

My take on where to start is two-fold, because it depends where you are in your overwhelm, but this applies to most working moms building businesses.

First, you do need to handle the things that are giving you the biggest anxiety. For working moms, this is usually the home stuff. Laundry, house cleaning, the constant mental checklist of what needs to get done.

And it feels like we're failing if we can't get the basics done. I'm guessing your kids are fed and happy, but we as women are so hard on ourselves that we jump into a mindset that doesn't help us at all.

Here's the truth. When your brain is constantly worried about these foundational tasks, it doesn't have the mental space to focus on your business.

You can't show up powerfully for client calls when you're thinking about the three loads of laundry sitting in baskets. You can't write that sales page when you're stressed about the dishes piling up.

This isn't about being perfect or having a Pinterest-worthy home. This is about removing the mental clutter that's keeping you from showing up fully in your business.

Step one: schedule time in your calendar for your anxiety-driven tasks and just start with that. Something like this.

This week on Monday and Thursday at 6pm, I will put a load of laundry in. At 7pm, I'll move it to the dryer. At 8pm, I'll sit with my partner or put on Netflix and fold that one load of laundry.

If cleaning is your nemesis, then block off 15 minutes daily or one hour weekly. Instead of putting everything you need to do in your calendar, just put in the fundamentals and use a rotating list of cleaning tasks for the rest so you don't need to use any mental energy deciding what to clean when you get to your cleaning time.

You know, I remember when I first started trying to build my business. I'd wait until my son went to bed, grab my laptop, sit down all excited to finally work on my business, and then I'd just... freeze.

Because all I could think about was the school forms I hadn't filled out, the fact that we were out of milk, and whether I'd remembered to text back my friend about playdates.

My husband would ask, "How's the business going?" And I'd say, "Great!"

But really, I'd spent an hour scrolling through business courses without actually doing anything because my brain was still stuck on all the undone home stuff.

That's when I realized the home foundation had to come first, not because it's more important than my business, but because my brain literally couldn't focus until it knew those basics were handled.

Once you've got the basics time-blocked, your brain is going to start to have the space and clarity to focus on the bigger business decisions you need to make.

Sometimes we do have it figured out on the home front, but in fact sometimes we'll clean instead of getting to working on our online business. Procrastination at its finest.

So this is where the second piece comes in. Clarity.

But here's what I need you to understand about why we get stuck. It's not laziness. It's not lack of motivation.

The real issue is that we're carrying an invisible weight that nobody talks about.

As working moms building businesses, we're constantly code-switching between two completely different identities. You're the nurturing mom who packs lunches and helps with homework. And you're also the strategic business owner making decisions that impact your revenue and your family's financial future.

Every single day, you're making hundreds of tiny decisions. What's for breakfast? When's the dentist appointment? Should I post on Instagram or work on that client project? Is this business opportunity worth pursuing? Did I respond to that important email? What time is soccer practice?

And here's the kicker. Every one of those decisions, no matter how small, uses the same mental energy.

Your brain doesn't distinguish between "what's for dinner" and "should I raise my prices." It's all decision-making, and you only have so much capacity.

This is called decision fatigue, and it's why by the time you sit down to work on your business, you're already exhausted. You've been making decisions since the moment you woke up.

You're not avoiding your business because you don't care. You're avoiding it because your brain is already at capacity.

And nobody prepared us for this. We thought if we just worked harder, planned better, got up earlier, we could do it all.

But the problem isn't your work ethic. The problem is that you're trying to operate without a framework that removes all those unnecessary decisions.

How Systems Eliminate Decision Fatigue for Working Moms

Now, let's talk about the real solution, and that's creating systems that remove all the decision-making and analysis paralysis.

This is where systems become your lifeline.

I see working moms procrastinating on tasks. We avoid responding to potential client emails, we avoid creating that lead magnet, we avoid the dishes, we avoid the laundry.

Whatever it might be, procrastination can really ooze its way into every area of our life if we let it.

We're essentially avoiding these things because we don't have clarity on what we're supposed to do. And there are so many working moms I talk to who say the same thing: "I just want to get clear on what it is that I'm supposed to do."

It's decision fatigue. You're constantly analyzing, should I work on my website or social media? Should I focus on getting clients or creating content?

What's for dinner? Is it chicken or beef? Should we do activities after school or keep it simple?

It's analysis paralysis 24/7, and systems will get you out of that.

Here's what I want you to understand: instead of asking yourself "what should I do next?" you need systems in place that automate all of these decisions.

And yes, I'm going to say it again because it's that important. Those systems are going to become your lifeline.

Systems eliminate the need to think. When you have a system, you don't have to figure out when you're doing laundry, it's just Tuesday and Friday at 7pm.

You don't have to decide what to work on during naptime, your business system tells you exactly what Tuesday naptime is for.

Let me give you a real example. Right now, you probably open your laptop after the kids are in bed and spend the first 15 minutes figuring out what to work on.

Should I post on social media? Should I work on that client project? Should I update my website? Should I respond to emails?

With a system, you sit down, open what I call your "Business Hub," and it literally tells you what to do.

It could be Monday evening: client work. Tuesday evening: content creation. Wednesday evening: business development.

There's no decision to make. The path forward is completely clear.

Let me paint you a picture of what this actually looks like in my life.

Monday mornings, I know I'm handling client work. I don't even think about it. I wake up, get my kiddo off to school, come back to my desk, and my Business Hub tells me exactly which client projects I'm working on.

There's no "hmm, what should I tackle first?" It's already decided.

Tuesday is content creation day. That's when I'm writing podcast episodes, creating social media content, working on emails for my list.

Again, no decision needed. I sit down and I already know what I'm doing.

Wednesday is my admin day. All those little business tasks that need to happen? Invoicing, responding to non-urgent emails, updating systems, handling the backend stuff.

It's all batched into Wednesday so I'm not constantly switching gears.

And here's what changed for me. Before I had this system, I'd sit down and waste 20 minutes just deciding what to work on.

Now? I sit down, look at what day it is, and I'm immediately productive. That's an extra hour and a half per week that I reclaimed just by removing the decision-making.

My Home Hub works the same way. It's my family command center that handles all those household tasks on autopilot.

Laundry happens on Tuesday and Friday evenings. Meal prepping is Sunday afternoon. School paperwork gets handled Wednesday after pickup.

House cleaning follows a rotating schedule so I'm never deciding what needs attention.

Just like the Business Hub, everything has its place and time. My brain doesn't have to hold onto "remember to do laundry" or "when was the last time I cleaned the bathroom?"

It's all in the system.

None of that is a question anymore when you have systems. It's literally just how you live your life, and it's completely automated.

Now, I'll be honest with you. When I first started using this system, it felt weird.

I'm someone who gets excited about new ideas and opportunities. So committing to working on the same things every Monday felt like I might miss out on that brilliant idea I had on Sunday night or that exciting new strategy I just learned about.

But you know what I discovered? I actually had MORE freedom, not less.

Because I wasn't constantly second-guessing myself. I wasn't waking up every morning with that knot in my stomach wondering what I should focus on.

The decision was already made, and that freed up so much mental energy for actually doing the work well.

And once I'd stuck with the plan, I actually had time to evaluate those shiny objects and see if they aligned with my goals, instead of just chasing every new idea that came along.

And here's the beautiful thing about these systems, they work WITH your mom life, not against it.

When my kid gets sick and I have to cancel my whole Wednesday, I'm not spiraling wondering what I'm missing. I know exactly what was on Wednesday's list, and I can quickly decide if it needs to move or if it can wait until next week.

The system makes it easier to be flexible, not harder.

The beauty of systems for working moms is that they work even when you're interrupted.

Because when your toddler wakes up from his nap early, you're not trying to remember what you were supposed to be working on, your system captured exactly where you left off and what comes next.

Your First Step to Breaking the Overwhelm Cycle

Here's your challenge for this week, and I want you to start today, literally today, not Monday, not when you feel more organized.

If you're in that place where home tasks are creating anxiety and mental clutter, honestly, stop this podcast right now and go schedule just one of those tasks.

I really want the best for you, I won't make you listen to get to the end by dangling some carrot to keep you here.

Pick your biggest anxiety task. Maybe it's the laundry that's been sitting there for days, or the kitchen that never seems to stay clean.

Put it in your calendar for this week, when exactly will you handle it? You can put your earbuds back in while you're doing the task.

If you're ready to tackle the business overwhelm, then your challenge is to pick one recurring business task that you're always avoiding and decide when you'll handle it this week and every week from now on.

Not someday, not when you feel like it, schedule it.

Here's what you're going to notice when you start implementing systems, you stop avoiding things. You stop procrastinating because there's no decision to make. You just follow your system.

But here's the bigger picture I want you to understand. This isn't just about getting more organized, though you will.

This is about building a business and a life that actually works for you as a working mom instead of against you.

When you have systems handling your routine decisions, you free up mental energy for the things that actually matter.

Your business grows because you're not wasting time figuring out what to do next. Your family benefits because you're not carrying that constant mental load of everything you think you should be doing.

Let me tell you about one of my clients. She came to me completely overwhelmed, working on her business in these stolen 30-minute chunks, never feeling like she was making progress.

She'd stay up until midnight trying to "catch up" and then be exhausted the next day with her kids.

The first thing we did was implement just ONE system, her Home Hub for laundry and meal planning. That's it. Just those two things on a schedule.

And within two weeks, she told me she felt like she could breathe again. She wasn't constantly worried about clean clothes or what's for dinner.

Her brain had space to actually think about her business.

Then we added her Business Hub, and that's when everything clicked.

She went from feeling scattered and unproductive to launching a new service, getting three new clients, and actually having energy left at the end of the day.

Not because she was working more hours, she was actually working LESS, but because she wasn't spending half her time deciding what to work on.

The thing is, most working moms try to figure this out alone. They think they should just naturally know how to balance everything.

But running a business while raising kids requires a specific approach that most time management advice completely ignores.

Before you can build effective systems, you need to get clear on what you're building them for.

That's why I created a step-by-step workbook called "Taking Control of Your Time: How to Use 3 Simple Steps to Master Intentional Time Management."

Now, inside the "Taking Control of Your Time" workbook, you're going to work through three critical steps.

The first step is about reflecting on your priorities, and this isn't some fluffy "what makes you happy" exercise. This is about getting brutally honest about what actually matters to you versus what you think SHOULD matter to you.

Because a lot of working moms are building businesses based on what they think they're supposed to want, not what they actually want.

The second step is a time audit, and I have to warn you, this one can be a little painful.

You're going to track where your time actually goes for a week. Not where you think it goes, but where it REALLY goes.

Most of my clients are shocked when they do this. They think they're spending 10 hours a week on their business, but when they track it, it's more like 4 hours of actual productive work and 6 hours of busy work that isn't moving the needle.

The third step is creating your strategic plan, choosing one personal priority and one business priority to focus on for the next 30 days.

Not 10 priorities, not everything on your dream board, just two things.

Because as working moms, we have to be strategic about where we put our limited time and energy.

This workbook is the foundation that makes systems actually work.

Because you can have the best system in the world, but if it's not aligned with what you actually care about, you won't stick with it.

You can grab it right now for free at timeforliving.co/takingcontrol. And when you do, you're not just getting worksheets, you're getting the foundation that makes every productivity system actually effective.

Don't wait until your kids are older, or until you feel more organized, or until you have more time.

The whole point is learning to take control of your time with the life you have right now.

Start with this week's challenge, schedule that one anxiety task or that one business task you've been avoiding.

I'm rooting for you every step of the way, and I'll see you next week on Time For Living.