#11. Unlocking the Secret to Time Management
Episode Shownotes:
In today's podcast episode, I'm sharing what I believe is one of the biggest secrets to permanently shifting the way you manage your time. If you've been trying to get a grip on your schedule, testing out new planners and productivity apps, searching for "the answer," you're looking in the wrong place!! Join me as I reveal my unique perspective on time management so that you can start taking back control of your calendar.
Connect with us on the SLP Support Group on Facebook to share your thoughts on today's episode, get access to trainings and resources, and connect with other SLPs who are focusing on time management.
Are you sick and tired of feeling overwhelmed by all the things? I can help. Schedule a free consult today.
Come join the FB Group SLP Support Group for more tips and tricks!
Follow me on Instagram! @theresamharp
Learn more about Theresa Harp Coaching here.
Episode Transcript*:
This is Your Speech Path: Mindful Time Management for the Busy SLP. My name is Theresa Harp, and as a mom and speech pathologist turned productivity coach, I know a thing or two about how hectic life can be. If you're an SLP who's overworked, burnt out and feeling like you're constantly falling short as a therapist and a mom, then this is the podcast for you. I cover time management and mindset strategies so you can learn to love your work and your home life at the same time. Let's dive in.
Hello podcast listeners, welcome back to another episode of the show. I'm pumped. My kids are back at school. It feels so good to be back in. Well, we're not really totally back in a routine yet this is just the first day of school as I'm recording this episode but it really does feel good to have some sense of structure and routine. And as sad as I am for summer to be ending and I am bummed about that because I do love summer it is refreshing, I would say, to kind of be back into the swing of things or to know that that's where we're headed. And when I was dropping everyone off this morning, went inside. And you know, in our school they have we have a morning meeting. The staff and the students together all meet, and then families are welcome to join in for the meetings as well. So I was there for that one and it kind of felt like we had never left. Honestly, I know it's a bit cliche, but it did. It did really feel like summer flew by and I don't know. Here we are. So now I'm getting back to work in a quiet household, a quiet office, and it feels really good. And I'm popping in to record this episode, which I think is, in my opinion, probably the best kept secret to time management, and I saw a post recently on Facebook or Instagram about I forget how it was worded, but it was essentially like what is the thing, like the area that you are a quote unquote expert in? What is the thing that you know that probably everyone else doesn't know, but that you wish they did know? And I wish I had it up on my phone right now as I was recording this, because the answers were pretty funny. Like I remember, there was one response “my mom's a nurse and she always said” - this is not me talking, this is the response, whoever wrote this? They said “my mom's a nurse and she always said never hang a picture of art or a chandelier over your bed. Ask me how I know that was something like that, and there were just some very interesting responses. So, I was thinking about this and not that I am I would not call myself an expert in time management by any means but it is something that I am very interested in, as you know, obviously, and very I think I've gotten good at it, and the thing that I believe nobody else knows about time management that everyone should know is that time management is not just logical, it's emotional, and this, in my opinion, is the reason why so many people struggle, because we think that we can just strategize our way through our days and our weeks. Right, we think that and we've been told this that if you use a calendar system, limit your distractions, have your to-do list, keep everything handy, and you'll be able to get things done and you'll be really great at time management. And while those things can certainly help you spend your time more wisely and more efficiently, in my opinion they are not the game changers. Those are not the things that actually make the biggest difference. I really think those are really just the tip of the iceberg. What no one else thinks about is what is below the surface, so to speak. It's, in my opinion, your thoughts and your emotions, and that's why I believe that time management is more emotional than it is logical.
So maybe you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, or maybe you kind of have an idea of what I'm talking about, but you don't believe me. So let me give you some more context so that this makes a little bit more sense. Okay, think about a time when you had all of the right pieces in place to get something done. So you've had your caffeine, you've got a nice clear workspace, you know what it is that you need to be focused on, and yet you sit there and it doesn't get done, or at least not as quickly and efficiently and you know, I would say smoothly as you think it should. Okay, or maybe you're the person who—I've seen this a lot, might have done it myself—who has purchased every type of planner known to man, right, with lots of…you’re feeling eager and excitement and inspiration, right, that this planner, this one, will be the one to help you get your shit together, only to find a few weeks later, or maybe just a few days later, it's sitting on your desk collecting dust, right? Ask me how I know. I told you I've been there, I do it, I've done it right, all of it. Or maybe maybe you're really, really great at getting things done. Maybe you have a planner that you love it's not collecting dust, but you still find yourself with too many things on your list. You're still feeling overwhelmed and you're constantly racing from one thing to the next. Does any of this sound familiar? I don't know about you, but it's all stuff that I have struggled with. It's all stuff that I've seen in friends and family members and clients and colleagues. I've seen it, I've lived it. Like this is just so common, and it doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong, so to speak. It doesn't mean that that you can't figure this out. It just means that you haven't quite yet understood the connection between how we spend our time and our thoughts and our emotions. Okay, so do you wanna know why you're still stuck? That is why it's because you haven't addressed what is below the surface. You don't yet understand that it is your thoughts and your feelings that determine how you spend your time.
So, for example, let's say you've got a to-do list. It's a million miles long and you know it, you know what's on the list, you know you've got all this stuff to do, yet you're sitting on the couch and you're doom scrolling. Why are you doing this? Well, I would argue, I would venture a guess, that you're doing this because you are avoiding a feeling. You don't wanna sit down and attack the things on your list, because doing so will make you feel a certain way. Maybe it's challenged or unsure or uncomfortable or tense, anxious, inept, inadequate, right, insert whatever emotion here. Maybe you need to write an evaluation report. So for my speech pathologists out there or other clinicians we all know the struggle with evaluation reports it's real right. So maybe you need to write an evaluation report about your busy scrolling Pinterest or Instagram and you're trying to find therapy activities to do in upcoming sessions. Why? Probably because it feels fun, it feels creative, it feels inspiring when you're looking at pretty pictures with colorful you know, cute, colorful images of games and children and toys. And if you were to sit down and actually try and do your evaluation report, that would feel hard, that would feel challenging, that would feel confusing, that would feel overwhelming. You have to sit there and try and analyze responses on a test for patterns of error, right. So it is you trying to feel a certain way, or trying to avoid feeling a certain way. And if you wanna get really, really deep, maybe you don't wanna plan for a session because you have this tiny little thought that you might not even be aware of, that's telling you I can't help this client, or I don't know how to help this client. I don't know what to do, I don't know where to start, I can't get them the result that they need Right. But it's not all doom and gloom. I mean, this certainly can work to our advantage as well, so you can use your underlying thoughts and your underlying feelings to support yourself and to support the way that you spend your time.
And you probably already do this. So think about it. Maybe you sit down and you get all of your documentation done SOAP notes or session notes, whatever you call them. You get all of your documentation done because you want to feel the sense of accomplishment when it's finished. You want the feeling of relief. Or maybe you are sitting down and you're researching an unfamiliar topic or an unfamiliar diagnosis because you want to feel knowledgeable, you want to feel equipped, you want to feel empowered about how to help your client. Everything we do or don't do is because we want to feel, or avoid feeling, a certain way. And once you realize this, you've unlocked the next level of time management, because you've now become aware of the thing that most people are completely clueless about. You start to make different decisions about what to spend your time on and you become empowered.
That's what time management coaching is all about. Really, in our coaching sessions, we are opening up your eyes. We're increasing your awareness to the underlying thoughts and emotions, about what you're spending your time on or what you're not spending your time on, what you're avoiding, and then giving you the tools and the strategies to make more informed decisions. This shows up everywhere. This shows up in your business, this shows up in your clinical practice. This shows up in your personal life. This shows up in your household routines. This shows up in your relationships with your spouse or your partner or your kids. Everything we choose to do or choose to avoid is because we want to feel a certain way or we want to avoid feeling a certain way. But yet most of us don't realize this. We still think that the secret, the answer, is to be incredibly laser focused and to have a really clear list of what it is that we need to work on, and to be able to prioritize what's most important, what's least important, and to be able to batch items of things that are similar and then we get to do them more efficiently. There's so many time management strategies out there. There's so many tips and tricks and tools that, yes, will they help you get things done more quickly? Yeah, they can, but are they the answer? No, because until you change the way you think about your time, until you realize that what you're going to spend your time on is because you want to feel a certain way or you want to avoid feeling a certain way, you could use all those tools and tricks, all those strategies, but it's not going to change the way that you feel. It's not going to have long lasting impact on how you show up day in and day out and what you do with your time. You have to address what's going on below the surface in order to have long lasting change, which is why in time management coaching at least in the time management coaching that I do we look at where your time is going, what are the things you're spending your time on, what are the things you want to be spending your time on, and when we are at that stage of the process, what we're doing is looking at your values, your needs, the things that truly matter to you personally and you as a family, and you in your business, your private practice or your clinical work, so that you start choosing things that are in alignment with what matters most to you, and then we use strategies in order to help you spend your time on the things that are the things that you want to be spending your time on.
Now. Does that mean that you are only ever going to do the things that you love and you're only ever going to spend your time on things that you either need or value? No, I can assure you I do not value making school lunches every day, but it is something that I still do. My kids need to eat right. It's not about that and I'd be lying to you if I tried to tell you that that's what it looks like but it's about getting the things done that have to get done, like the school lunches, laundry, cleaning a toilet. That probably has to get done at some point. Getting those things done, but still having plenty of time for the things that are important to you for the things that matter, and then equipping you with the tools in order to choose not to spend your time on things that you don't really want to be doing and that you don't have to be doing. Right, this is what we do in coaching.
So this is a very, I think, short, sweet episode, with maybe a little bit of tough love kind of giving you some insight into why you might still be struggling with time management. Even if you're thinking that you're really organized and focused and thoughtful and intentional right, if that is you and you're still not feeling good about your days, you're still not feeling like you have a sense of peace and a sense of passion and a sense of purpose, then it's probably because you haven't addressed those thoughts and feelings that are swirling around in your head. Maybe you're not even aware of them, right? Or maybe you are somewhat aware of your thoughts and your feelings, but you don't know how to change them. You don't know what to do with them. Maybe you don't even think it's possible to change them. It is possible to change them. That is what we do in coaching, and it is possible to pair the strategy with the mindset in order to make the most of your time, because literally everything, every single thing that we do, is time consuming, everything. You cannot do anything without it costing you time, and so when you start to really become aware of how pervasive this is, how this is something that is way deeper than maybe you ever realized, it's actually really good news, because it then means that you have the power to change it. You don't have to search for quote unquote the best planner, the right checklist, the best productivity apps, right. None of those things are going to change the way you feel about how you're spending your time until you start addressing what's under the hood, what is below the surface.
Okay, in next week's episode, what I'm gonna be diving into on a deeper level is my three step coaching process. So I touched on it a little bit today. In today's episode. I'm gonna unpack that. I hate when people say that I don't know why. I just said that and I'm not editing it out because I don't edit these things. So, as I was saying, I'm gonna sort of look at that at a deeper level, take you through each step of that process. So again, what you're spending your time on, what you want to be spending your time on and the strategies to get you there, so that you have a better understanding of things that you can do, whether you're working with me or not, in order to make the most of your time.
So that's what we're gonna cover in next week's episode, but for today, what I want you to do, I wanna leave you with a little takeaway, something that you can do on your own or in our Facebook group to help you get a better grip on how you spend your time. And it is this: I want you, throughout this next week, to start becoming aware of what you are thinking and how you are feeling when you're doing a task or when you're avoiding a task. So, as you go through your day, I want you to just sort of pause between the tasks that you've got lined up and ask yourself like why am I doing this right now? What am I searching for? What am I trying to feel? What am I trying to avoid feeling? Why do I wanna spend my time on this? Why do I not wanna spend my time on this? These are all just questions that you can kind of run through. Take the ones that resonate with you, leave the ones that don't, but essentially, I want you to walk away with a better understanding of why you're spending your time on, the things you're spending your time on, because once you do that, you will be able to choose different decisions, to make different decisions about what you're going to fill your calendar with. All right, that's it for this week. Pop into the Facebook group, tell me what you think, tell me what new kind of awareness or insights you have as a result of this episode. Would love to hear it. You can find the Facebook group by searching SLP Support Group, or you can just click the link in the show notes and it will take you right to it. I hope you all have a great week. I'll talk to you soon.
*Please note that this transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors.