I looked at my calendar with a mix of feelings—overwhelm, frustration, and disappointment.

Overwhelm because I was behind on all my projects. Frustrated because I had a plan, but it wasn’t working. Disappointed because I had failed at something I really wanted to succeed in. These projects were important to me.

So, how had I failed? And was there any way to recover or was it time to give up?

The beginning of this year was a productivity pit. I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish, but week after week they kept getting pushed out. And I had well-founded excuses as to why they weren’t getting done:

• I was traveling every month, sometimes multiple times a month.

• A doctor’s visit determined I needed to prioritize my health.

• I was attempting to accomplish too many things with too little time (due to all the above, plus overcommitting).

Even those who preach productivity don’t always execute it perfectly. It’s a reminder that we’re all human, and we all struggle—even with the things we’re purportedly good at doing. I knew all the things to do to fix my inconsistency but, boy, was it a struggle.

I also knew that continuing on my current path would eventually lead to burnout.

My solution? I put everything on full stop for an extended period of time and objectively reflected on my predicament.

I had to use the Honest Voice on myself. Just a reminder: The Honest Voice is my ‘all cards on the table’ approach to hashing out a problem. It takes putting emotions aside so I can quickly get to the root of a problem and devise effective solutions.

The struggles I encountered were lessons. Here’s the thing about overcoming things like bad habits, negative thoughts, or behaviors you want to change: You will remedy that problem in one experience or event. You’ll naively think, “Oh, hey, I conquered that ___ (bad habit)! Yay me!” However, life ain’t done with you yet. No. Life is going to level up and present those same problems in a different package.

My current problems followed this pattern. Life was leveling up. My lesson was creating space and harmony in my life so I could continue accomplishing what I wanted without sacrificing what I value.

I have a propensity to go all out—I’m a hard worker, so I pile it on and do what I have to do to get the job done. 

This wrecks consistency.

Use It or Lose It  

According to a recent survey, 82% of people don’t have a systemized approach to managing their time. Is anyone surprised?

Our time is finite. Once this day is done, it’s done. The same with this week. This month. This year.

After years of working with people struggling to achieve their goals, as well as journaling my own behaviors I can say one thing with absolute certainty: Lack of structured time kills more dreams than anything else. 

It starts a domino effect that leads to inefficient use of time . . . which leads to procrastination . . . which leads to burnout.

However you want to look at it, assigning tasks to your time or assignment time to your tasks, creating systems to support your work is necessary for long-term success.

And here’s the kicker, you can think you are managing your time well. Maybe you have a schedule you follow or a planner you write in. 

But take a reflective moment: Is time always a problem for you? Do you always feel like you need more of it? Are you always behind?

Then, what you need isn’t more time. What you need is to start using the time you have more efficiently.

Core Practices for Designing an Ideal Workflow 

A workflow is the way you map out your days to complete a certain task or to reach a particular outcome.

 It’s different from scheduling (a part of the workflow). The easiest way to explain it is that scheduling predetermines when you will complete a task, whereas a workflow details what your tasks are and how (the process) for completing them. 

A consistent workflow isn’t built out in the course of a weekend and then launched, never to be changed. Systems that work are constructed through regular reflection and applying one change at a time. This allows you to monitor the change for reliability and sustainability.

Schedule specific tasks during designated time slots. I observed my natural energy shifts and created my workflow around them. I’m most creative in the mornings before noon, so I schedule writing and related research during that time. 

Afternoons are reserved for problem solving, studying new topics, and meetings when my brain is ready to ingest information.

Evenings are set aside for repetitive or autopilot tasks, like planning my week or preparing my workspace for the next day.

This doesn’t mean that I only create in the mornings or I only problem solve in the afternoons. What kind of automaton would I be? However, I leverage those times when my brain is more likely to engage with those tasks to bust them out.

When are you inclined to do certain tasks, and do you make an effort to focus work around your natural internal rhythms? If you haven’t tried it, give it a go. You’ll be surprised how effective it is at helping you maximize your time and reducing stress.

How to Reset Your Focus

When you plow through your day jumping from one task to another this habitual task switching has catastrophic effects on productivity. It results in decision fatigue, brain fog, physical and mental exhaustion, and shattered focus.

If you’ve ever struggled to focus on a new task because your thoughts keep pulling you back to the previous task, this is the effect of “attention residue.”  Taking short 2-5 minute breaks in between tasks resets your brain and helps you prepare for a new task without the previous task lingering. 

I schedule breakfast or lunch to break up tasks, or I’ll take a five minute walk to cognitively reset while getting in my steps for the day. 

(If you take a 5 minute walk at the end of every hour you work, you can accumulate 4,000 steps by the close of work.)

Weekly Planning to Eliminate Decision Fatigue  

Do you ever sit down to start on a task when you realize there are things leading up to that task that haven’t been completed? You totally forgot.

You prepare to send an email to a client just to realize that you never finished the last section of the proposal you were going to send? 

You find yourself working hard all day, yet somehow you arrive at the end having accomplished very little. You spent chunks of time deciding what you needed to work on next and puttering around with things that “have to get done” but do little to grow your business. A sliver of your time is spent on the things you actually enjoy..

This behavior, combined with sprints of multitasking, is the reason you collapse on your sofa most nights completely depleted.

I’ve found that preparing for my week on the weekends removes the decision fatigue that used to consume me. I have a general weekly schedule that guides the tasks I need to complete each day. Then, I sit down with my planner and write out specifically what I need to do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.. 

No longer do I start my Monday thinking, “What should I start on first?” Neither do I get to the end of Tuesday forgetting that I intended to post my LinkedIn article on Wednesday and I haven’t even started.

I begin my days with meditation, coffee, and journaling. Then, I open up my planner and start the first task. I complete it, check it off, and move on to the next. There’s nothing to figure out. 

The plan is complete, all I need to do is put it into action.

Timing Tasks to Create Urgency and Focus

Once those tasks are planned they still need to be managed through completion. Form a deadline of sorts by setting a timer. This creates urgency and will keep tasks from spreading out over hours.

I do what I call “progressive scheduling.” First, I break tasks down into subtasks. For example, instead of having “write newsletter” on my to do for Monday, I break that task into subtasks. Select a topic is scheduled for Monday, create an outline for Tuesday, and so on until I schedule the formatted newsletter at the end of the week. 

These subtasks are much easier to manage with a timer, each taking 30 minutes to an hour.

An added bonus is that my whole day isn’t monopolized by a single task, which can feel draining and overwhelming. The variety of tasks I work on in any given day (writing a newsletter, filming a video, or scheduling social media posts) keep me engaged. 

My stress is low and my productivity is high.

Harmony with Experimentation and Automation

Workflows are meant to be individualized, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all schedule. Experiment with different ways to block your time to see what’s most effective for you. 

Some time-blocking methods to explore are:

• Task-Based Time Blocking: Tasks are grouped by type or project, similar to your method. Common categories include deep work (focused, high-cognitive tasks), shallow work (low-cognitive tasks like emails), and meetings. Example: 9-11 AM for deep work (writing or strategizing), 11 AM-12 PM for emails, 1-3 PM for meetings.

• Energy-Based Time Blocking: Tasks are scheduled based on energy levels or circadian rhythms, aligning high-energy periods with demanding tasks and low-energy periods with lighter ones. Example: Morning for creative work (high energy), afternoon for routine tasks (lower energy), evening for reflection or planning.

• Priority-Based Time Blocking: Time is allocated based on task importance, often using frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix (urgent vs. important). High-priority tasks get prime time slots. Example: 8-10 AM for top-priority projects, 10-11 AM for secondary tasks, afternoon for low-priority admin work.

• Thematic-Based Time Blocking: Each day or half-day is dedicated to a specific theme or project to minimize context-switching. Example: Monday for marketing, Tuesday for product development, Wednesday for client work.

• Time-Boxing Time Blocking: Tasks are assigned strict time limits to create urgency, often paired with the Pomodoro Technique (25-minute blocks with 5-minute breaks). Example: 25 minutes for writing, 5-minute break, 25 minutes for research, etc.

• Role-Based Time Blocking: Time is divided based on roles or responsibilities (e.g., parent, employee, side-hustler). Example: 7-9 AM for family, 9 AM-3 PM for work, 4-6 PM for side hustle

You can use tools to simplify and automate repetitive processes. For example, I used Notion to organize my tasks for a while but, honestly, I love the simplicity of a physical planner.

However, some online tools have been a huge boost to my productivity. I use Beehiiv to format and schedule my newsletters, Buffer to schedule social media posts, and multiple AIs to research topics and create outlines based on my notes.

Whatever you do, keep it simple. If you find yourself spending too much time managing the tool it’s gotta go.

Actionable Steps to Get Started  

Workflows free up your mental real estate allowing you to complete more tasks more efficiently. 

Here are a few steps to get you started:

Step 1: Assess your energy levels and mental capacity for different tasks to create personalized time-blocking schedule.  

Step 2: Choose one resetting activity to try this week.  

Step 3: Plan your next week on Sunday, prioritizing 3-5 key tasks.  

Step 4: Experiment with a timer for one task daily to build focus.  

Don’t try to implement everything at once. Building consistency through an effective workflow is not a “plug-and-play” solution. It’s a process of trial-and-error, patient fine-tuning, and persistence. 

My Final Word

Solopreneurship can be incredibly freeing if you manage your time well. Single-owner businesses can quickly crack under the weight of “doing it all.” Don’t allow yourself to become consumed by poor habits—multitasking, lack of planning, inconsistent action—kill your dream.

Manage your time or your time will manage you.

The deeper beauty of this approach is that before I designed a workflow that worked for me. Before, I was spending the majority of my day on time-consuming, low-value administrative tasks, and a fraction of the hours I put in were focused on creating, learning, and implementing. Now, that is 100% reversed. 

Incrementally I’ve made (and I’m still making) small, meaningful changes to my workflow that have shifted my energy to the purpose and soul of my business.

I close my days by shutting down my office. It’s a ritual. Every item is placed back in the spot where it lives. Tools and materials I need for the next day are arranged on my desk, ready to greet me in the morning.

I turn around at the door to give it one more look as I turn off the light and close the door to my work.

This is my last reset before I enjoy my evening.

What is not flowing in your business? Is your energy displaced and your progress slow? How can you reimagine your approach by designing your own personal workflow?

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Sending you all Peace, Love, & Harmony!

-Michele

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