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How to Manage Your Time When Life Feels Chaotic – with Time Management Coach Anna Dearmon Kornick (Discover how to feel more in control of your week, stop chasing balance, and let go of the guilt for good.) #163

• Caroline Thor - Professional Organizer - KonMari® Consultant

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Feel like your days are a constant blur of to-dos, clutter, and unmet expectations?
You’re not alone — and you’re not doing it wrong.

In this episode, I’m joined by Time Management Coach Anna Dearmon Kornick to explore what really happens when life feels chaotic and time feels out of your control. We unpack why traditional ideas of "balance" just don’t work — especially for women juggling family, home organization, and the mental load — and what to aim for instead.

Anna is a highly sought after time management coach and keynote speaker, top 1% globally ranked podcast host of It's About Time, and founder of the It’s About Time Academy.

A true Louisiana firecracker who has become known for making time management fun, Anna helps busy professionals and business owners struggling with overwhelm manage their time using her personality-driven HEART Method.  

In this episode you’ll discover:

  • Why managing your time has less to do with schedules — and more to do with values
  • How to approach decluttering and organizing when you have no time
  • Practical strategies to feel calmer, more intentional, and less guilty about how you spend your day

This is for you if you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly behind, stuck in survival mode, or waiting for "someday" to finally get organized.

Because clutter doesn’t just live in your home — it shows up in your calendar too.
And it’s time to clear both.

Tune in now and learn how to reclaim your time, your space, and your peace — one intentional step at a time.

Grab your FREE copy of the 15 Minute Declutter Kickstart HERE

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Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:
Join my online membership Clutter Free Collective
Join my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | Facebook
Visit my website www.caroline-thor.com
Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor
Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Speaker 1:

Hi there, I'm Caroline Thor, professional organiser, konmari consultant, teacher and mum of three. I started off my life as a mum feeling overwhelmed, disorganised and desperately trying to carve out some time for me amongst the nappies, chaos and clutter. One day, one small book called the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying changed everything and I began to learn strategies for making everyday life easier. Today, I have the systems in place that means life can throw almost anything at me, and I want to share them with you. If you're an overwhelmed mum struggling to keep it together, then this is the podcast for you. Grab a coffee and settle in for a quick chat with someone who gets your reality. Hello and welcome to this episode of the Living Clutter-Free Forever podcast. Whether you are new today or you listen regularly, I've got a guest I know you are going to love, especially if you've ever looked at your calendar and wondered how on earth am I meant to get everything done and still have time to breathe? I don't know about you, but I often have seasons of life that feel like that.

Speaker 1:

Anna Diamon-Kornick is a time management coach, podcast host, mum of two young kids and the kind of person who can talk about planning and routines, and this is what I loved about talking to her without making you feel like you're failing, and she really gets what it's like to try and hold it all together while the kids are doing their thing, the dishes are piling up and your to-do list is really starting to give you the side eye. So in today's conversation, we talk about what time management actually looks like in real life, how to create rhythms that work even during chaotic seasons, and how we can all let go of the shame around not being productive enough, because I know so many of you feel like that. Plus, we end with a lightning round that I loved and that'll give you a little peek into Anna's own life behind the scenes. So, whether you're walking the dog, tidying the kitchen or maybe just hiding in the bathroom for five minutes apiece, this episode is for you. Let's dive in. Anna hi. Thank you so much for being here today.

Speaker 2:

Hi Caroline, thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1:

I've been looking forward to this conversation because, as a disorganized professional organizer, I really love to have insight from other people on different ways of doing things. I think we can all always learn something new. So before we dive in, would you like to tell everyone a little bit about you and your background?

Speaker 2:

Sure, thank you, and I got to say I love that you referred to yourself as a disorganized professional organizer, because I too am a time management coach who is not immune to overwhelm or being late or feeling behind myself. It happens to the best of us. So my name is Anna Dearman Cornick. I'm a time management coach. I'm host of it's About Time, a podcast about work, life and balance, founder of the it's About Time Academy and author of Time Management Essentials the tools you need to maximize your attention, energy and productivity. I live in Louisiana in the US, with my husband, scott, and my four and six-year-old daughters, camilla and Elizabeth, and I have been I've spent probably the last gosh five or so years focusing specifically on supporting ambitious, driven women so that they can stop feeling overwhelmed and start spending their time on what matters most.

Speaker 1:

Love it. That is amazing, so I'm going to jump straight into a question that I think everyone listening to this podcast will love to know your answer too, and I would like to know what does balance mean for you right now, and how has that changed since you've become a mom?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, oh, my gosh, that's such such a good question, and I feel like it's something that everyone is trying to define for themselves, whether they are looking for examples of what balance looks like in other people, or they are looking for examples of what balance looks like in other people, or they're trying to figure out their unique version of balance. The way that I think about balance whether it's work-life balance or we're referring to it as work-life harmony or work-life integration or work-life all of those things I believe that balance is a feeling, not a formula. Balance is a feeling and not a formula, and you know in your gut, you know in your heart, in your chest, when you are out of balance, you can just feel it. You don't need a specific number of things on your to-do list or a color-coded calendar to tell you that you are either in balance or out of balance, and so I really believe in paying attention to the way that you feel and looking for clues, and so that's really the way that I approach it.

Speaker 2:

You know, I think that's so often when we start looking to do better at time management or to get more organized, we pick up a book Maybe it's my book even, but we pick up a book about time management, or we find resources and then we try implementing what we're learning and what we're taking in, and then, when something doesn't work for us, we end up getting very frustrated and we start to think that we're the problem. Well, why can't I achieve this feeling of work-life balance? I'm following all of the steps in this book. I'm doing the system that I learned in the course. Why isn't this working for me? And the truth is that the system probably wasn't built for someone who thinks the way that you do.

Speaker 2:

So one of the things that I have realized over time is that the biggest thing that's missing from most time management, productivity, even organization conversations, is personality. We are all so incredibly unique and different, and chances are what works for me in terms of productivity might be completely different from what works for you, caroline. And yet we'll pick up a book or listen to a podcast episode and just expect whatever that method is to work perfectly for us and work perfectly the first time. Whatever that method is to work perfectly for us and work perfectly the first time, yeah, and so I really encourage women, my clients, literally anybody who will listen to me talk about it to approach balance like a scientist Experimenting test drive. Pay attention to how it feels when you do something. If it feels good, keep doing that thing, and if it doesn't, then let's get to the root of what's not working and then try again, and then try again.

Speaker 1:

I love this because this is exactly what I'm always banging on about in my online membership, and I've just actually had an online chat with a client, just before we started recording this, and we were talking about exactly this that what works for one person is not going to work for the next, and it's trial and error. And what do you feel comfortable with? And like not berating ourselves when we try the thing and it doesn't work, it's like, okay, well, your brain wasn't going to accept that because it doesn't work for you, so you need to try the next thing and maybe the next thing, and that's. It is a trial and error thing, and people give up too quickly and think, oh well, I can't do this. It's like I used to think I was someone who couldn't be organized. I believe that's my core. And now look at me. I mean it's like my profession and my parents think it's hilarious. So you know you, it is a trial and error thing until you find the thing that clicks and works for you and then you're off, right, right.

Speaker 2:

It is, and that's so funny that you felt like you were the most disorganized person. You know how am I ever going to get under control? And now you teach that. So a lot of people just assume like, oh, anna, you're a time management coach, you must just be naturally good at this. You were probably color coding your you know calendar when you were five, and that's absolutely not the case for me. I used to be the late friend among my group of friends, the one that they would say Okay, anna, we're gonna, we're heading to dinner at 7pm, so that I would get there by 730 when the reservation actually started. So I know I mean even worse. I mean I was written up one time by a supervisor, when I was still working full-time, for being late 17 times in a quarter. So if you want to talk about time management disasters, I've been there and I just I say it from a place of encouragement and hope that if I can figure it out, you can too.

Speaker 1:

Exactly. And you're now and I'm now in the perfect spot to be able to support people who are finding it difficult, because we understand those difficulties, we've been through it, we've worked through it. So I love that, I think that's great and I love the fact you're honest about that as well, because I think too many people like skim over the fact that they perhaps find things difficult. And the other thing as well, I think, as a mom I find with the whole balance thing, is that I think the balance will shift depending on phases of life. So, for example, I might have a phase where work is really busy, like if I'm launching something and I need to be giving that my full attention and then there may be other phases where my kids really need me and I have to put the work on the back burner, and I don't feel like there's ever particularly like a consistent balance.

Speaker 1:

I think it shifts all the time and I think we need to be fluid with that and go with it. Otherwise that causes stress. If we think I need to be spending all my time on the work and then I'm going to go and feed my kids and then I'm going to do this, and then, when it doesn't pan out as we planned it, we start to feel really stressed and like there's something wrong with us and why can't I make this work rather than just like going with the flow a bit and going okay. Well, today I wasn't meant to give the time to that, because my kid needed me or I had to take that call for work. So the kids have had to have a bit of a backburner today. And what are your thoughts on that?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know, it's so true. We can head into a season and have all of these plans where I'm going to do this and I'm going to accomplish this, but then we actually start getting into the groove of life, where things happen. We get thrown curveballs, we have a kid that gets sick, like you said we have we might have some type of work related, you know, emergency of some sort, and there seems to be this idea that planning the perfect day and coming up with, okay, what is like the perfect day that enables me to show up as a mom and show up for myself and show up in my professional obligations. And the thing is is that we get this idea of what this perfect day is going to look like and it never goes as planned. And so what I love to do is to zoom out, and I really love for my clients, for the women that I work with, instead of thinking about time and planning day by day, to look at things from a week by week basis, because when you stop and you get a bird's eye view of your week ahead, you're able to spot some of those obstacles and catch some of those curveballs before they start flying your way. So many of the things that we call emergencies could have been prevented with just a little bit of foresight and forethought and planning. Not having groceries in the pantry or food in the fridge for dinner on Wednesday night like that's not an emergency, like that's something that we can plan for. And so I fully believe that some type of a weekly planning routine has the potential to change your life, Because that's when you get to look at the week ahead and ask yourself okay, is this going to be a week in which I am focused really intently on work when my kiddos have less going on? So you know they're able to. It's different, it's a balance, but things are given different weights. And what are the tough spots in this week ahead? Oh well, we have soccer practice and band practice on Tuesday night. Let's go ahead and decide to just pick up takeout or do a slow cooker meal in the morning, because whenever you make those decisions in advance, you eliminate so much of the guilt that we encounter throughout the week. You know, think about it that Tuesday night, with soccer practice and band practice, you realize, oh, I don't have anything at home for dinner, now we're going to have to do takeout. And then you feel bad because it's a reaction rather than something that you've planned for, but when you plan for it in advance, you feel confident in the decisions that you're making because they're rooted in intention rather than reaction.

Speaker 2:

Another way that I really like to plan for those seasons of maybe intense focus on a launch, something in my business, or intense focus on the kids is a practice that I do every single December. So I don't have it behind me, but typically right behind me I have a 24 by 36 inch calendar with the entire year mapped out, and in December, I pull school schedules, I map out my launches for the year ahead, I identify what are those things that I need to plan my year around and therefore my family's time around, and so that means that when I stepped into 2025, I had the entire last week of school for my kids blocked off. I didn't know what kind of activities we were going to have the last week of school. I just knew that they were coming, and they always do, and so, instead of planning a normal week at work or God forbid planning a launch that overlapped with the last week of school, I just put big red X's all the way across so that that time was fully reserved to be there for all of the kid activities.

Speaker 2:

Now, does that mean that I completely neglected my business that week? No, but it wasn't the focus and it was a plan that was made in advance, so it didn't sneak up on me. So often we get so stuck in the weeds in the day-to-day of our time, like I'm just living day by day. I hear that from people all the time. But if you would just zoom out and look at your week, or zoom out and look at your month, you can spot so many things that enable you to live with intention rather than reaction.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that and also, I think, then find the time to do the things you want to do. So I hear this as well from people that are in my membership or people that I am coaching. They will say, well, I don't have time to declutter or I don't have time to go through my closet and organize it at the change of season. You do, you just have to plan it in advance, as you were saying, like, look at your week ahead, okay, where can I find three 15 minute blocks that I'm gonna spend on that and plan it in, and then you know it's gonna happen. When things are calendared, they happen is when they're not calendared, that they, they don't happen very definitely.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, and that's what I say. Like that time is not going to magically appear and there are not going to be. You know, angels singing and light that shines, just so that you know, oh, now is the time for me to organize my closet. No, that doesn't happen. And you know I one thing that I encounter all the time is women who say, well, I really need to get X, y and Z done, but I just need one four hour block to knock it out. Do you know how many four hour blocks are just sitting there waiting for us to knock out those projects? Basically none. Yeah, that's just not a thing. No, and so it's like this dose of reality of okay, let's pretend like the four-hour block is never coming, because it's not. What's another way that you could make progress on this without having an uninterrupted four-hour block that doesn't actually exist? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Totally agree. That's why I work very much with my membership in 15 minute blocks, because most people can find 15 minutes. I do have one on one clients who will book me to go to their home for five hours, but then they've taken that day and they've said right that five hours is important to me. But that is unusual that someone can do that. So I think the reality is, when we're trying to do things on our own, that we do need to sort of look at our calendar and sort of plan it all in. So lots of people listening to this are really feeling like they are constantly behind. So what do you say to someone who feels like there is never enough time, no matter how hard they try? So we've just started to touch on this. So how can they deal with this? How can they stop feeling behind?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, this is such a classic coach response, but anyone who says that I've got a counter with a question, tell me more. What has you feeling so behind? Yeah, and chances are things such as comparison with others. Either in their industry, maybe it's they feel behind professionally, maybe it is comparison that has grown from, I don't know, visiting someone else's home and seeing how meticulously organized and clean someone else's home is. But a lot of times that feeling of being behind is rooted in its comparison Behind compared to what? Behind compared to whose timeline. And it's really getting to the root of why do we all feel so behind? And we have expectations that are placed upon us by ourselves. You know I should be further along in my career right now.

Speaker 2:

I remember thinking in my early 20s that 27 sounds like the age by which I should be married, like I should be married by 27. 27 came and went and I was not yet married. I had not yet met my person, my husband. But why, like? Where do those arbitrary timelines and milestones come from? Yeah, and it's from looking to our left and right, at the people around us. What I like to remind everyone is that you are the only one of you. There is no one else like you. There is no one else running the race or living the life that you are living, and so it's not even fair to compare yourself to someone else who is completely different from you, has different goals, has different levels of support, and I know that's not an easy thing to say. Okay, anna, I hear you, I'll stop comparing myself to other people. Right? That's not going to happen. We're not going to flip a switch and just magically stop comparing ourselves to others.

Speaker 2:

And so, practically, what do we do about feeling behind? The first thing that we have to do is that we have to get really clear about what we actually want. We have to get really clear about what our vision is for the future. Okay, so if I feel behind right now, where is it that I actually want to be five years from now? Or even just one year from now, if five years feels way too far away? Because when you get really clear on where you want to be, what you want life to look like, what you want things to feel like a year from now, you can begin aligning your day by day-day, week-by-week decisions and actions to create that vision and make it a reality.

Speaker 2:

And it's just like well, I don't have time to switch out my closet at the change of seasons. I don't have time to think about a vision, anna. I have too much stuff to do. I don't have time to think about a vision, anna. I have too much stuff to do.

Speaker 2:

But I'll tell you until you get clear about what your vision is for the future, you're going to continue to flounder, you are going to continue to feel behind because you have nothing to measure your progress against. Yeah, and it's going to continue to feel like a mess. And I know because I was that woman who would skip all of the vision stuff that they would stick in the front of planners that I would buy. You know, you buy a new planner and there's like questions in the front that like asks you about your vision and values. I'm like that's dumb. Let me just write my appointments in the calendar. I was so focused on doing in the calendar. I was so focused on doing. I wasn't creating any kind of plan for why I was doing the things that I was doing, and I think we've all been there at some point.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely. And I mean I follow the KonMari method very strongly in what I do and I'm trained as a KonMari consultant, and the whole premise of the KonMari method actually starts with visualizing your ideal lifestyle not just your home, but your ideal lifestyle, because when you're clear about that, then you know how to create a home that supports it. Otherwise, as you say, you don't know what you're aiming for. So I love that. I think that's that's absolutely brilliant. So I love that. I think that's absolutely brilliant. Okay, so there is a lot of shame tied up in not being on top of things. People feel like really like they're failing and it's just not good. How can we be kinder to ourselves while still taking action to change things?

Speaker 2:

Gosh, this is such a great question and it's so incredibly common. You know, that feeling of shame, when we feel like we're behind, when we feel like we're not on top of things, when we feel like we're letting people down. You know that comes from a couple different places, but one thing in particular, especially as women, is the way that we carry such an emotional, such an invisible emotional load, and a lot of times what's on our calendar and our to-do list doesn't even reflect the weight that we're carrying. And so one of the things that I have my clients do really early on in the it's About Time Academy is to create what we call an identity map, and in this identity map we make a list of every single role that you have in your life, from podcaster to mentor, to coach, to mom, sister, niece, aunt all of it, all of the roles. And we don't stop there. We then think about what are all of the different areas of responsibility in my life managing my home, managing my family's finances, taking care of my own personal health and wellness, my mental health, my physical health. Every single role and every single responsibility that we write down is like adding a stone to a backpack that we're carrying that we're carrying, and so often we especially those of us who are just natural overachievers we want to show up in every single one of those roles and in every single one of those areas of responsibility with 100% of ourself. We want to give as much as we can, we want to be there, I want to be the best mom and the best wife and the best wife and the best this and the best that. But the thing is is that we can't give 100% of ourselves to every single role or responsibility in our life, or else that would have us, we would be completely depleted. It's just impossible. We would be completely depleted, it's just impossible.

Speaker 2:

And while we can't do that, we can be 100% intentional about how we show up in those roles and those responsibilities. And so once we've got those roles and those responsibilities mapped out, we're able to ask ourself okay, how am I showing up right now in each of these roles and responsibilities? Scale of one to 10, not meant to induce shame or make to make you feel bad, but to just get really honest with yourself about how you feel like you're showing up. And then to ask yourself in this season remember, because things can change from season to season.

Speaker 2:

In this season, what would it like for me to show up as a 10? Not, what would it look like for me to give 110% in every single area, but what does a 10 look like in this season for that role? Yeah, because there are times where we need to to to show up in a really big way in our role as a mom, but it's okay for us to dial it back as a neighbor, or it's okay for us to dial it back as a community volunteer. But until you actually get clear about all of those roles and all of those responsibilities that you're carrying in that invisible backpack, you can't make decisions and you can't take action to change anything. You have to see it and name it and call it out so that you can begin to manage your own expectations around how you show up, because then you're making decisions, then you're choosing what it looks like in this season, and that's how you start to remove the guilt, because it becomes an intentional choice versus feeling stuck.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think that actually the whole shame thing and the feeling behind are very much tied together and I think these days also very much tied to what we're seeing in social media. We see this sort of perfect life or perfect home, or this woman who seems to be juggling everything and still looks totally put together and amazing and doesn't seem at all stressed, and you're thinking, well, if she can do it. But it's not, not reality. We're measuring ourselves up against something that that is fake and, um, it makes me really sad that people are using that as their sort of measuring stick and and then feeling like they're falling short right, I mean the, the person with the perfect home who shares design content and all of the.

Speaker 2:

You know, we don't know what's going on in her personal life.

Speaker 1:

We don't know what her.

Speaker 2:

Open a drawer and see what they look like inside Right, like we don't know. Oh, that's such a metaphor. Open a drawer and see what it looks like inside, right, we can't see inside. And I just know that, like we're all imperfect people, we're all, for the most part, doing our best and but it can get hard. I remember this example of one of my clients who was really hard on herself because she felt like she wasn't as fit as she wanted to be. Okay, she was like I'm just I never have time to work out and like my my friend is running a marathon right now and it just I keep seeing her training for this marathon and it makes me feel so bad. And I was like do you want to run a marathon? And she was like no. And I was like well then why are you comparing your health and fitness to someone who's running a marathon when you don't even want to do that?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, it's true, and if you don't want to be spending your whole day tidying up, then accept that there's a certain level of tidiness in your home. That's okay for you and then that's enough.

Speaker 2:

I feel like I saw like an Instagram post recently that was like how to keep your home clean and it was like have your children live in the yard.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's basically it, isn't it? That's the only thing that's going to fix it.

Speaker 2:

No, carolyn, you would love this. My girls are spending a few days at their grandparents' house, and so we have a spare room in our house. That's the playroom, where we have covered with toys and dolls and Barbies, and so my husband and I are doing like we're taking this time today to do this clean out so they can come home to this tidy playroom and actually play in it, hopefully.

Speaker 1:

It is. These things are easier when the kids are not there. So well done. I'm very impressed. I love that you're doing it together as well. That's, that's great. 100%. Yeah, you do Get the whole family on board literally. So, talking of family, do you have a family system or weekly rhythm at home that helps everyone feel calmer, even when things around you are starting to get chaotic? I was just interested to know if you did.

Speaker 2:

Oh, 100%, you know. I mentioned that weekly and it's funny like I don't call it a system. It's just kind of like our weekly rhythm, it's just kind of what we do. But I'm paying attention, thinking like a scientist. Over time I recognize that there are a handful of things that if we have this handful of things figured out going into our week, the rest of the week moves so much smoother.

Speaker 1:

so much smoother.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and also on Sundays, on the weekends, I do the weekly planning session, that weekly planning time that I told you about, and, again, a lot of people imagine, oh, a weekly planning session, so you must like sit down at your desk for like an hour and like absolutely not. No, it happens in 15 minute fragments throughout the day where I'm able to get a bird's eye view of my week ahead, identify who is taking the kids to where on what days, and we put that in the calendar. So that's a really big part of our weekly planning is determining who's taking which girl where at what time, and that makes our calendar such a huge communication tool for our marriage. So it clears up in time. But that's a really big part of it. But looking at the, the overview of the week enables me to talk with my husband about creating a meal plan for the week, because when we go into the week knowing for the most part what our meals are going to look like each day, again it makes the week itself so much smoother. Now, my husband, he handles the majority of our meal planning and he'll take the girls to go grocery shopping, and so that that's it.

Speaker 2:

That weekly planning time enables us to have our meals set, and then probably the thing that makes our mornings go smoothest is that Sundays, I check the weather for the week ahead and I head over to my girl's bedroom. They share a room right now, two little twin beds, they share a closet and I pull out their clothes for the week. Now, when we're in school, my oldest wears uniforms and my youngest can still wear whatever. Fortunately, she's still letting me pick out her clothes, and so I'm going to ride this wave as long as I can. She wears uniforms, and so I make sure okay, do we have five little skirts and five little shirts ready to go. And so doing this on Sundays checking the weather and pulling their clothes for the week means that we're not scrambling in the mornings we're able to have. I mean, there are certainly some exceptions, but for the most part, like our mornings are so smooth, we have we actually worked together with the girls Gosh, it must've been about a year ago now getting ready for the new school year we talked about.

Speaker 2:

Okay, what do you think we should do in the mornings to have a good day? Because I wanted them to feel bought into the morning routine. I didn't just want it to be a case of, okay, here we're going to do this. It's going to be in this order, because, I mean, there's, their little personalities are still forming, they're still becoming who they are and I want them to to feel included in creating that morning rhythm.

Speaker 2:

And so we decided, okay, we're gonna pick books up off the floor, because bedtime stories they just, you know, read the book, then it ends up on the floor. Pick up books, make beds, then we're going to get dressed, then we're going to brush teeth and fix our hair. And we even created this little sign that has pictures of each step, and so they are able to look at the pictures and know what goes next. And so when everything starts getting off track, I'm able to say to my four-year-old okay, elizabeth, what step are we on? And it gets it back on track. And you know what? You remember how I said that not everything works for every person. It's also not going to work for every family. Maybe that would be total chaos for someone else's family, but you know what?

Speaker 1:

that's what works for us yeah, and it won't necessarily, as they get older, work for each child either. They'll, because their personalities will adjust and then you guys will adjust with it. I love it absolutely yeah it's it's always.

Speaker 2:

It's always changing and shifting and I think a lot of times people think that figuring out time management is like reaching a finish line, but it's really more of a practice, like yoga, where it continues to just evolve and modify over time.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I've got a really random question now Bring it, so I hope you're ready for this. If you weren't a time management coach and if no one was expecting you to be on top of it, is there any aspect of your day that you would have looking different?

Speaker 2:

If I were not a time management coach and I would sleep until I woke up. Love it I love it.

Speaker 1:

That's great.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's it. I would sleep until I woke up and yeah, that's probably the biggest shift. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And at that point you wouldn't have children either. That wouldn't be happening.

Speaker 2:

That wouldn't make sense. Exactly, it's like no obligation. So I said that my girls have been at their grandparents for the week and so I've been just kind of sleeping until I wake up. This week and you're not going to believe this this morning my husband and I, like, watched a TV show while we drank our coffee.

Speaker 1:

No, yes. What sort of crazy is that? I know it was wild. It's like an apparel universe has appeared in your home.

Speaker 2:

I love it. It really, it really has. I know we were looking at each other like should we watch a show?

Speaker 1:

It's amazing, while the kids are away, the parents, the parents will play. Okay, I would like to finish off with a few fun and fast questions for you. So what's one thing you outsource or let go of without guilt? That just helps you with your time management.

Speaker 2:

Oh, wow, that's. That's a really good question. Um, because I outsource things. I know this is supposed to be a quick answer, so I'm trying. You can take longer, it's fine. Yeah, I outsource. Well, I outsource bookkeeping in my business and I have zero guilt about that. I have like I don't need to be doing that. I know like absolutely not.

Speaker 1:

I've outsourced it to my husband.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's awesome. That's awesome. I love that. You know, I actually taught my husband how to edit podcasts and how to edit YouTube videos and we opened a second business called Studio Pizza Productions, and now he does it for all kinds of people Amazing, amazing.

Speaker 1:

Okay, planner or digital calendar, or both.

Speaker 2:

Digital calendar Like digital calendar with a notebook. Aha, just, I have to have a notebook nearby me while I'm working to scribble things down. But it's digital, like our paper planners do not keep up with the speed of our lives.

Speaker 1:

Okay, that's interesting because my family we have a paper planner for the whole family with like a space for each child as well, and yeah, and birthdays, because I forget everyone's birthdays otherwise. And then I have a digital calendar with all my work stuff, but I put all the family stuff in there as well so that I during my day I can see what everyone's doing and yeah, so, but then the kids can just go in and write it in. And actually I've got friends whose families now all have like one family digital calendar that they're all logged into. So we're just being a bit behind the times in my family. But there you go. No, it's classic. Yes, I think. So what's your go-to reset when the day is going off the rails?

Speaker 2:

oh, um, the song wait for it from Hamilton is like I love like if, when things are going off the rails and I will put that song on and just like walk a little bit and it reminds me I am the one thing in life I can control. Um, it is such a good reset.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, love that, because you are the only thing you can control. I love that. That is amazing. And finally, what's bringing you joy in this season?

Speaker 2:

What's bringing me joy in this season? I mean, I gotta say that. So it's summer in Louisiana right now, which means it is hot as all get out, and I keep looking at my daughters and how they have just grown so much over the last year and so seeing just everything, every little thing about them that is changing brings me so much joy to see them doing new things and trying new things. I mean they're six and four, so they're really becoming like little people now. But I will say, outside of my kids, I signed up for a hip hop dance class that I'm going to tonight for the first time and I haven't even gone yet. But I am so excited and I have a feeling that this is going to be a really fun source of joy.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I love that. That is amazing. Yeah, always should be trying new things, okay. So how can people who are listening to this, who think I need Anna in my life, how can they find out more about you? Where can they go to?

Speaker 2:

Awesome. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me on the show. This has been such a fun conversation and if you are interested in continuing to learn more about practical, real-life time management, I would love for you to tune into my podcast. It's About Time. Since you're listening to a podcast right now, just hop over to the search bar and search it's About Time and just go ahead and hit follow. I have new episodes that go live every single Monday and I would be so excited for you to tune in. But if you want to take it one step further, I've actually put together a completely free video course called blueprint to balance, which is all about helping you design your personal version of balance, because, remember, it's a feeling and not a formula, and, oh, and, you can find that at blueprints of balancecom.

Speaker 1:

Amazing. Okay, well, I put all those links in the show notes. It has been a joy talking to you today, Anna. Thank you so much for your time and, yeah, I look forward to perhaps talking again in the future.

Speaker 2:

Yes, thank you, I'll talk with you soon.

Speaker 1:

So if you've listened to all of this and you're, I'll talk with you soon take back a little bit of control in small but powerful pockets of time to get your decluttering and organizing done.

Speaker 1:

You can find the link in the show notes, and you can also find all the links that Anna mentioned in the show notes as well. I loved this chat with Anna. I'm wondering how her hip hop class went.

Speaker 1:

Her reminder that balance is a feeling, not a formula, is one that I'm going to be holding on to, and if you're someone who's ever thought why can't I keep up, please take this conversation as your permission slip to stop trying to force systems that don't fit and instead create rhythms that actually work for you. Remember you're not behind. You're just building something that fits the way your life actually looks and that's different for everybody. Until next time, if you've enjoyed this episode, please send the link to a friend you know would appreciate it, subscribe and leave a review. I look forward to bringing you more organizing tips next time, but if you can't wait until then, you can go to my website or find me on Instagram, at carothor, or on Facebook at Caroline Organizer. Thanks for listening and I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter free ever after.