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EPISODE 25 | Reclaim Your Time: How to Find Time for What Matters to You

Episode 25: Reclaim Your Time: How to Find Time for What Matters to You

Are you constantly running around like a hamster on a wheel, checking off your to-do lists, but still feeling hollow? Maybe it’s because there’s not a whole lot of intention behind your productivity. 

On this episode of Get It Together, Weirdo, host and get your shit together coach Sarah Bowser dives into reclaiming your time for what actually matters to you. She discusses how meaningful it is to finally set your own priorities, how to figure out what matters to you, and why embracing experimentation (and ditching the guilt) is essential to making sustainable changes. And (spoiler alert) you don’t have to do any of this alone.

Whether you’re neurodivergent, feeling overwhelmed, or just nerdy and distracted, this episode is your permission slip to start spending more of your time on all the weird and wonderful shit that lights you up.

Thanks for listening! Be sure to sign up for weekly coworking on Mondays and hop on the email list to stay in the loop on new episodes, posts, and other tidbits Sarah shares.

Scroll down to read the full transcript or get the PDF transcript here.

Prefer to read as a blog post? Click here.

What you’ll learn in this episode

  • Why checking off boxes can still leave you feeling empty
  • What values-first time management looks like (and why planners miss the mark)
  • How to conduct an audit of your schedule to see where your time is actually going
  • When to break big goals into tiny time blocks that your unique brain can handle
  • How experimenting without guilt leads to growth
  • How badass it is to seek support and accountability to get your shit together

Resources mentioned in the episode

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“Breaks are not a reward for doing enough. They’re part of the plan.”

“If we don’t know what we value,  what actually lights us up or makes us feel like ourselves, we’re just gonna keep defaulting to the loudest, most demanding tasks.”

“You’re not broken, you’re human.”

“Your priorities? They will change. And that’s okay. That’s growth. You’re not flaky. You’re evolving. Welcome to being a glorious work in progress.”

“ Asking for help isn’t weakness. It’s a badass move of strength.”

Transcript

Welcome to Get it Together Weirdo, the podcast where we dive into ways to help you figure out how you can tackle your to-dos, keep track of your side quests, and manage your time in a way that works for your brain so you can focus on nerding out on the things that make you do a happy dance. I’m Sarah Bowser, your get your shit together coach and resident weirdo here to guide you on your journey. So let’s get it together, weirdo.

Hey, my wonderfully weird friend. Welcome back to another episode of Get it Together Weirdo. I’m your host, Sarah Bowser, your fellow chaotic alpaca soul trying to get a handle on this whole life thing, preferably without completely losing our minds or sending our planners flying out the nearest window. 

Today we’re diving into a topic that I think hits really close to home for a lot of us. How to reclaim your time and actually align it with the things that matter to you. And spoiler alert, it probably isn’t what society told you should matter. Shocking, I know.

Here’s the deal. We need to talk about how we set priorities. Like our actual priorities. Not the ones we think we should have. Not the ones we were taught to believe were correct. Not the ones your second cousin Judy told you are important at that one family barbecue where she tried to sell you on a multi-level marketing scheme. 

Obviously, I have some repressed trauma from my own time of being sucked into the MLM cult world. Oops. No, I’m talking about your real, raw, deeply personal priorities. The stuff that aligns with your values, your goals, and your actual life. The things that make you feel good inside, even if you’re the only one who gets it. 

Because when we don’t start there, when we don’t get honest about what really matters to us, we wind up spending our energy checking off to-dos that don’t mean anything. And then we wonder why we feel drained, disconnected, and vaguely irritated at our Trello board. 

So let’s fix that. Tell me if this sounds familiar. You sit down at the end of a long day, look at your list of accomplishments, and nothing feels satisfying. You were productive. Technically. You did the laundry, sent emails, sat through that mandatory webinar on workplace synergy or whatever corporate word salad we’re serving this week. But when you look at what you actually did, it doesn’t feel meaningful. It feels hollow. 

Yeah. Same. There was a long stretch of my life where I made goal lists and schedules based on what I thought would earn me a gold star. What my job wanted, what my parents wanted. What I assumed society wanted from a competent adult. Spoilers. I didn’t stop to ask what I actually wanted, so I ran around like a nerdy little hamster on a wheel. Organized chaos. Lots of motion, but not a whole lot of intention. 

And that’s what we’re here to untangle today. Step one is to understand your priorities and eliminate what distracts you. Before you can reclaim your time, you’ve got to figure out what you’re reclaiming it for. If we don’t know what we value, what actually lights us up or makes us feel like ourselves, we’re just gonna keep defaulting to the loudest, most demanding tasks, which in all honesty, are usually someone else’s priorities entirely. 

So here’s what I want you to do. Identify your core values. What truly matters to you. Connection. Creativity. Stability. Adventure. Think about what makes you feel aligned with yourself. Not the filtered, polished version, but the real you. The weirdo version. Then reflect on how you’re spending your time. Are you procrastinating by reorganizing your fridge for the seventh time when really you just don’t want to face that scary creative project? I’ve been there. 

Audit your schedule. Seriously, look at your calendar, your planner, your digital sticky notes. Where is your time actually going? Is it matching up with your values? If not, don’t panic. This isn’t a shame spiral. It’s just data. Once you’ve done your values deep dive, let’s talk about distractions. Make two lists. One for the things on your to-do list that feel aligned and one for the ones that feel off. 

Then do some quick math. How much of your time is spent on unaligned stuff? Yeah, it’s a little ouchy, but it’s powerful. Now you know what’s getting in your way. Now you get to experiment. Test out different tools and methods to reduce distractions. This is the phase where we get messy, nerd out with time blocking. Try noise-canceling headphones or even just physically move the distractions out of your space. Experiment. Adjust. Repeat.

Step two is to align your time with your goals. Let’s try time blocking the nerdy way. Now that you’ve got a clearer idea of what actually matters and what’s just noise, it’s time to align your time with your goals. Start by breaking down those big dreamy goals into bite-sized pieces. We’re talking realistic, doable chunks, not write a novel in a week. Unless your brain thrives in chaos and caffeine, in which case, hi, let’s be friends. 

But for most of us, start small. Set a SMART goal or something close to it. Just be specific. Want to write more? Set a goal to write for 10 minutes every Wednesday. Want to finally sort through your digital files? Block out 15 minutes every Sunday. Then enter my favorite time blocking. Set aside little time blocks. Tiny ones. Tiny 5 minutes, 10. Enough to dip your toes in without activating your flight response. And don’t forget to block time for rest. 

I’m looking at you, my burnt-out perfectionists. Breaks are not a reward for doing enough. They’re part of the plan.

Step three is ditch the guilt and embrace the experiment. Now here’s where it gets a little twisty. You’ve set priorities, made blocks of time, and then suddenly you’re scrolling threads and wondering why you didn’t start the thing. Hi, welcome to Procrastination and Guilt Phil Population most of us. 

First off, you’re not broken. You’re human. And society has really done a number on us with all the rise and grind crap that makes us feel like rest equals failure and small steps equal not being good enough. Let’s unpack that. When you catch yourself procrastinating, get curious. What emotion are you avoiding? What story is your brain playing on a loop? 

Mine is usually something about being lazy or disappointing someone, even if no one’s actually watching. Try gentle strategies to reframe the moment. Maybe it’s a body double session with a friend. Maybe it’s giving yourself permission to take one tiny action instead of the full task and celebrate every damn win. 

Send the email. Celebrate. Sketched out one idea for your big project. Celebrate. Got out of bed and thought about doing the thing. Still counts. Celebrate also your priorities. They will change. And that’s okay. That’s growth. You’re not flaky. You’re evolving. Welcome to being a glorious work in progress.

For step four, let’s seek support and accountability. And yes, that even means you. You hermit alpaca. You. Listen, you don’t have to do this alone. Reclaiming your time is hard, especially when you’re neurodivergent, overwhelmed, or just constantly being pulled in a thousand directions. Find your people. A coach. Hi. A coworking group Mondays, Anyone? A friend? 

You text your goals to say them out loud. Share them. Let someone witness what you’re working toward. And if it feels heavy, really heavy, please don’t be afraid to talk to a therapist or mental health professional. Asking for help isn’t weakness. It’s a badass move of strength.

So here’s your task for this week. Take one small step. Just one. Reflect on your current schedule, identify something that’s not aligned, and one tiny action you can take to shift your time back toward what does matter to you. It doesn’t have to be huge. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Small steps are sustainable, small steps become habits, and small steps help you get your shit together on your terms. 

You’ve got this weirdo. I believe in you. Thanks so much for listening today. You can find complete show notes, links to resources mentioned, as well as a link to our coworking community on our website thatweirdnerdymom.com. Be sure to leave a rating or review and check me out on Instagram @that_weirdnerdymom. Feel free to shoot me a DM. I’d love to hear from you. Until next time, my wonderful weirdo. You’ve got this. Bring out your weird.

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