Meta Time has saved my sanity. Before I started working with Clay and the business coaching team, I had never planned out a day before or actually blocked out time for my responsibilities. The expectation that I had was “Oh… I’ll remember to do that later.” After spending time at the Thrivetime Show and with Clay, I’ve come to figure out “Later” never comes around. I fought the concept of “Meta Time” and the action planning out my day for the longest time.
Meta Time is a time in the morning where I plan my day, create my to-do list, and do any sort of preparation for that day. Whether that be contacting a grooming professional to get their updated license, placing a product order for clients to have cold beverages when they first walk in the door, or even picking up things from the store on my way home for the day.
Meta Time has saved my sanity.
I used to always tell myself “I only have three things to do and two of those I’ll take care of when I get to the shop. My day isn’t important enough to schedule out.” Before I knew it, my day would start to get crazier and more hectic. It is like a snowball effect. One thing that will happen and that leads to three more phone calls that have to be made right now. There will always be something that looks more important than what I really need to get done. I had to learn to schedule out my day and say no to those urgent distractions that were taking me away from my main business coaching goal.
I realized that I was just telling myself these pansy excuses. My day was running me instead of me running my day. By the end of the day, I would always feel like I was crazy and was losing my mind. It felt like I was letting everyone down including myself. I have realized that, whether it is 3 things or 20 things, these tasks are ones that I am responsible for accomplishing. That makes them, and my day, important enough that I should invest at least one hour of my day to schedule and prioritize. Without this “Meta Time”, I would still be going crazy and would be disappointed in myself because I would not be doing the best job that I could. I have found that accomplishing items on my to-do list gives me a sense of completion and joy. It is always a great feeling to be able to cross something off or delete it from the list.
To top it all off, now that I schedule out my day, I have been surprised at how much more productive every day is. On my drive home, I feel like I have accomplished something today. I no longer feel nervous and worried that I forgot something throughout the day. I can leave work at work and be 100% present while I am at home. Thank you, Jonathan and Clay, for pushing me to grow.
