How to Dominate Your Day So You Can Build a Business You Love and Still Have Time for What Matters Most to You

How can you run a sustainable, profitable business you love while simultaneously living a life of joy, connection, and prosperity?

It’s the dream that most of my clients have, and as you probably know by now, the dream that I had when I quit my corporate job in 2009 and stepped out on my own.

But I quickly learned that running an online business isn’t as easy as most marketing experts want you to believe, and maybe you’re noticing that, too.

You aren’t spending as much time with your family as you’d like, your business is draining your energy, and you feel unfulfilled. You’re starting to wonder, “Is the life I imagine simply a pipe dream?”

I’m here to tell you it’s not a pipe dream, and finding your way to freedom and flexibility doesn’t have to be an uphill battle.

In fact, when I changed this ONE thing, my life started to look and feel the way I had previously only dreamed of.

I can’t emphasize how game-changing this small step was for me and how game-changing it can be for you, too.

Create Your Future by Choosing What’s Most Important

As I mentioned last week, you have more control over your time (and your life) than you think. I discovered this for myself when I was in college and, after reaching rock bottom, decided to try a new way of approaching everyday life.

You might be surprised to hear that the approach I took didn’t require more effort. Just the opposite. When I changed this one thing, my life flowed with much more ease.

Before I break down what I did, remember what we talked about last week. I asked you to track your time to see where your daily activities align with your values (and where they don’t).

If you haven’t been tracking your time, check out last week’s post for the specifics.

If you have been tracking your time, no problem! Now, it’s time to take your time-tracking to a whole new level so that you can create the life you imagine.

How to Intentionally Create a Life Full of What Matters Most (to You)

The first step to having the success you want, whether it’s more money, location independence, or extra time with family, is to plan your time so that it aligns with what matters most to you.

Click to TweetPlan your time so that it aligns with what matters most to you.

The reason behind this is simple. Creating success on your own terms requires that you be intentional. That means you have to take yourself off autopilot and be mindful of your choices.

That means, if you value sleep, plan it. If you value exercise, plan it. If you value picking your kids up after school, plan it.

Use my free time-planning sheet here to plan your life down to 15-minute increments. (If that idea sends you into a panic, try just a portion of your day.)

Next, check out this episode for more tips on planning your time:

As you go through this process, look at it as an experiment. You’re not going to go from haphazard to perfect, so be gentle with yourself.

This is something you’ll be doing for the rest of your life. Even after doing this for 19 years, I continue to revisit my schedule as I move through each phase of my life.

For more of my personal stories and simple tips for keeping this as effortless as possible, check out these episodes:

A Healthy Dose of Realism

You’ll probably notice that internal conflicts arise as you plan and track your time, and you might feel like you’re having to make some tradeoffs.

Just because we declare our top two values doesn’t mean that life will say, “They’re yours!”

You might get stuck comparing what your values are versus what you think they should be. Or you might find that your two values intrinsically conflict with each other.

If that’s happening for you, it’s okay and it’s completely normal. Listen to this episode if you’re experiencing these conflicts:

You might also start to realize that there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you want. (I’m disappointed by this all the time!)

I have countless examples of when I felt like I had to settle and didn’t want to, and you can listen to more about my thoughts on this here:

If you struggle with feeling like you have to settle too often, stay tuned because next week I’m going to dive into this topic in depth.

For now, keep planning and tracking your time. Know that if you get stuck along the way, you’re not alone.

Tell Me Everything

Now that you’ve heard my take on intentional living, I’d love to hear from you.

Does your life look the way you imagined it would? If it does, how did you create it? If not, what’s standing in your way?

What a-ha moments have you had as a result of tracking and planning your time?

Do you face any internal conflicts when it comes to aligning your life with your values?

Fill me in by leaving a comment in below.