Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs
Plan Like a Boss is your go-to podcast for mastering planning, productivity, and strategy as a solo or small business entrepreneur. Each week, you'll get practical tips and real-life insights to help you set smart goals, manage your time, and grow a business that actually fits your life.
Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs
Your Schedule is Broken, Not Your Ambition
Ever found yourself with all the schedule flexibility in the world, yet somehow working longer hours and feeling more stressed than when you had a traditional job? You're not alone, and it's not your fault – it's a common entrepreneur trap that comes from misunderstanding what true time freedom really means.
Freedom without structure is just chaos. When I first started my business, I thought working whenever I wanted would be liberating. Instead, I ended up working all the time with no boundaries, no endpoint, and no real rest. The harsh reality? When you can work anytime, you end up working all the time. My burnout was spectacular – and completely avoidable.
True time freedom isn't about having zero structure or working from exotic beaches (though occasional beach days are fantastic!). It's about intentionally designing your schedule around what matters most to you. It means working during your peak productivity hours, taking guilt-free breaks, and attending your kid's soccer game without asking anyone's permission. Most importantly, it means establishing the right structure that allows your brain to fully disconnect when you're not working.
The four steps to creating authentic time freedom are surprisingly simple but transformative: set clear boundaries between work and personal time, plan around your actual capacity (not some superhuman version of yourself), leverage systems to reduce decision fatigue, and prioritize rest as a strategic part of your productivity plan. When implemented consistently, these steps create a framework where 20 focused hours can accomplish more than 40 scattered ones.
What would your ideal week look like if you could truly design it from scratch? Would you take mornings for self-care, Fridays for adventure, or create three-day weekends every week? There's no single right answer – your version of time freedom might look completely different from what you see online, and that's perfectly okay. The only question that matters is: what structure would allow YOU to feel both productive and free?
Ready to experience true time freedom? Start by defining what it means specifically for you, then build your business around that vision. Because at the end of the day, your business should support the life you want, not the other way around.
Welcome back to Plan Like a Boss. Today we are diving into a topic that has been very popular lately, and that is time freedom. As a matter of fact, most entrepreneurs will tell you that's exactly why they started their business in the first place to have freedom with their time. But here's the thing most people get time freedom completely wrong, and if you've ever found yourself with all this flexibility in your schedule but somehow you're working more hours than ever or feeling guilty when you need to take a break, then this episode is going to hit home. When you think of time freedom, what comes to mind? Is it sleeping in and working when you feel like it? Maybe it's working from a beach with your laptop, or maybe it's just never setting an alarm again. We think these things because that's what Instagram and TikTok tell us. It is, and I have to be honest, it sounds nice, right, but here's the truth. That version of time freedom, the one where you have no structure at all well, that's not freedom, it's chaos. I know this from experience.
Speaker 1:Early in my business, I thought ditching a rigid schedule would be the key to feeling free, so I worked whenever I wanted, and do you know what happened? I ended up working all the time. I had no boundaries, no end point and, honestly, no real rest. Because when you can work anytime, you end up working all the time. I burned out and let me tell you, it was not pretty. So to keep that from happening to you, let's redefine time freedom.
Speaker 1:True time freedom isn't about doing nothing. It's about having control over your time. It's about being able to work when you're the most productive. For me that's mornings, but for you that might be afternoons or evenings. It's about being able to take a break in the middle of the day if you want. I know, after I burned out so hardcore, I now have a scheduled two-hour lunch break in my calendar from 12 to 2. And if I'm hungry earlier, I move it to 11 to 1. That is flexibility. It's about being able to choose to spend Friday at your kid's soccer game or taking a long weekend without asking anyone's permission or feeling guilty about it. But notice, that does not mean that there's no structure. Time freedom is about designing your schedule with intention, not just drifting mindlessly from one task to another whenever you feel like it.
Speaker 1:So think of it this way you have two solopreneurs and they might work 25 hours a week. Each One works with no plan. They feel scattered, stressed and like they're never truly able to turn work off. The other one, though, has set boundaries. They plan around their capacity and know what they're focusing on. They feel calm, they feel know what they're focusing on, they feel calm, they feel productive and they actually feel free. Now they both have the same 25 hours, but they get very different results. So now I want to ask you, which of those do you want to be? Now, I know what you're thinking. So how do you build the kind of time freedom that actually feels good, that feels aligned with what you want? So let's break it down into four basic steps.
Speaker 1:Step one set boundaries. Boundaries don't mean you're back in a nine to five. They just give your day a little structure. Decide when you start and stop working, even if it's 10 to 3 instead of 9 to 5. This gives your brain permission to rest during non-scheduled hours, guilt-free. Step two plan around your capacity. This is where my quarterly planning method comes in, which, by the way, the workshop is coming up this Saturday, september 20th, and you can still get in, and, if you're listening to this, after the 20th, I run it every quarter, so don't worry. Instead of stacking 10 goals on top of each other which, let's face it, would wear out even the highest of top performers Focus on one to three goals. Max Plan around your actual capacity, not an imaginary version of yourself who has 30 hours every day and never gets tired.
Speaker 1:Step three I want you to leverage systems. Systems save time and they reduce decision fatigue. If you have a repeatable way to onboard clients, to batch your content or to handle administrative tasks, you're not wasting mental energy every single time you do it. That's where real freedom comes in. And if you don't have any systems in place, I want you to go back and listen to episode six. It's all about systems and how to set them up. And then, finally, step four prioritize rest as a strategy, because rest is productive. It isn't wasted time, it's part of your plan. When you're rested, you make better decisions and you get better results.
Speaker 1:Time freedom isn't just about working less. It's about making space for what matters most, both in your work and outside of your work, as in your family, your friends, your health. Now here's the biggest mindset shift I want you to take away from this episode. Freedom doesn't come from eliminating structure. It comes instead from creating the right structure. When you have structure, you can actually enjoy your freedom without guilt. You can have your cake and eat it too, because who doesn't like cake?
Speaker 1:Instead of asking how much can I cram into this week, try asking what do I want my time to look like? Your answer might be I want my mornings off for self-care, I want to meditate, I want to journal, I want to get out for self-care, I want to meditate, I want to journal, I want to get out and spend time in nature. Or your answer might be I want my Fridays off for adventure. I want to go hiking, I want to go shopping, or maybe I just want to sleep in. Or maybe your answer is 20 focused hours instead of 40 scattered ones, because who doesn't want to cut their work week in half? And you can. It's all about working smarter, not harder. All three of those are time freedom, and that time freedom is going to look different for everyone, and that's okay if yours looks completely different than those that are online.
Speaker 1:True time freedom is about control, structure and intention. It's about building your business so it supports the life you want, not the other way around. So here is your action step for this week. I want you to write down what time freedom looks like for you Not the Instagram version, not the TikTok version your version. Do you want shorter work days? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Maybe you want long weekends? Then I want you to start building your business around that what that time freedom looks like for you. Now. If this episode resonated with you, I would love you to leave a review on your podcast platform of choice. It's a great way you can help support the pod and support me. And don't forget to hit subscribe, because next week we're diving into visibility strategies that get you seen. Until then, remember, time freedom isn't the absence of structure, it's the presence of the right structure. So keep planning like a boss.