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- Money-Saving Tips
- Need To Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck?
- 7 Ways To Save On Everyday Stuff
- How To Start Creating Wealth Now
- How You Can Start Saving Money In Seconds
- Common Mistake When It Comes To Money
- Simple Solution To Start Paying Off Debt
- Easy Ideas For Free Family Fun
- How To Generate Wealth Even If You’re Broke
- QUIZ – What Animal Do Your Money Habits Mimic?
Finding Time In The Day For Your Priorities With Tabitha Crocker – Ep. 19
With a constant bombardment of demands and responsibilities, it can be difficult to find time to focus on the things that really matter. In today’s episode we’re chatting with Tabitha Crocker on how to handle the feeling of not having enough time in the day and chatting through her goal aligned framework to help you find time for yourself and your priorities, let’s do this!
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Resources & Links
Money Mindset Makeover Blueprint Waitlist – https://aimeecerka.com/blueprintpreview
FREE Resource – CEO Trello Board – https://presentprofitablemom.com/ceo-hub
Grab Your Ticket For The Present Profitable Mom Summit – https://aimeecerka.com/ppm
Connect With Tabitha
Instagram: https://instagram.com/presentprofitablemom
Facebook: https://facebook.com/presentprofitablemom
Website: https://presentprofitablemom.com/
Connect With Aimee On Instagram – https://instagram.com/aimeecerka/
Podcast Keypoints
0:00 – Episode Sponsorship
1:23 – Episode Overview
4:18 – Your Money Your Life For Tabitha
6:43 – There Isn’t Enough Time In The Day
7:53 – This Year Flew By…
9:38 – Aligned Goal Framework
12:48 – Time Blocking – Making It Work For You
16:43 – Adjusting Your Schedule If You’re Not A Morning Person
18:29 – What’s The One Action Step You Can Take Now
19:37 – RESOURCE – CEO Hub Trello Board
20:50 – FREE SUMMIT – Present Profitable Mom Summit
23:38 – Connect With Tabitha
24:08 – Challenge
Frustrated that you aren’t making the progress that you should within your finances? Create an unshakable money mindset with the Money Mindset Mastery Checklist
Read It – Finding Time In The Day For Your Priorities With Tabitha Crocker
This episode of the Your Money Your Life podcast is brought to you by the Money Mindset Makeover Blueprint.
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Through this four-step blueprint, you’re going to find out exactly how to uncover what is holding you back and how to move forward to the profit and impact you were called to make. This brand-new course is actually not available yet, but you know I’m gonna make you a no brainer offer when it officially launches.
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Make this year the year you finally kick that money mindset story to the curb so you can achieve your goals.
To register for the Money Mindset Makeover Blueprint whitelist, simply visit aimeecerka.com/blueprintpreview. So, make sure to register now. And of course, if you need that link again, it’s hanging out in the show notes for you.
Do you feel like there’s just not enough time in the day? You can never get done everything that you need to. There’s always something that falls through the cracks.
Then this episode of the Your Money Your Life podcast is going to be for you. Tabitha is our guest today and Tabitha is a productivity coach who is passionate about helping new mom entrepreneurs to leverage their time and energy using priority-based productivity techniques, scalable strategies and mindset shifts.
She empowers you to crush your business goals as a profitable entrepreneur, and be a present mom without guilt or burnout. She’s addicted to bulletproof coffee, personal growth books and family dance parties. As a blogger course creator, coach and mom, with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Business, Tabitha runs her productivity coaching business while raising her son and her daughter with her husband in Alaska. Now what I love about Tabitha, we’ve had several conversations, so we’re just you’re going to hear throughout the interview, that we’re very aligned when it comes to our priorities and what we’re focusing on and you know, I love me some systems and managing my time. And the way that Tabitha focuses on this is just about so aligned, so I can’t wait for you to hear this interview. So, let’s do this!
Welcome to the Your Money Your Life podcast. I’m your host, Aimee Cerka.
After my husband and I faced three major financial roadblocks in the last six years, I felt like I wasn’t doing all that I could and I had let my family down. It always felt like life was a struggle like I had to work harder than everyone else. It just came easy to them, and I didn’t feel worthy of success.
Until, a coach helped me see the successes in our experiences instead of our failures. This allowed me to create and implement systems to grow our network by 200,000+ while spending time with my loved ones and on my priorities. Now I help motivated women create the happiness, family life, financial security, and long-term wealth they deserve.
If you’re ready to eliminate stress, struggle, frustration and guilt within your finances, you’re in the right place. Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here!
Aimee:
Welcome Tabitha, to the Your Money, Your life Podcast. I’m so excited to have you here. I think this is going to be a great conversation.
Tabitha:
Thank you so much for having me, Aimee. We are so well aligned in our missions and our philosophy so I’m super excited to talk with you today.
Aimee:
Yeah, it’s been a couple different conversations we’ve had now and they’ve all been great. So, sure this one will be too. So first off, you know, always want to ask, what does your money your life mean to you?
Tabitha:
Well, I know this is kind of cliche for the “woowoo world”, but I really do feel like money is energy. And really, it’s kind of an extension of the energy in your life and how you’re choosing to live it. And really it can be, especially as an entrepreneur, your business is really an extension of who YOU are. And it’s really this constantly evolving process and the flow of money is just that it’s a tool and also a great feedback mechanism.
Aimee:
I like that. A feedback mechanism. And so why don’t you tell me a little bit about your journey with focusing on time management and productivity?
Tabitha:
Yes, so I’ve always been super, super organized. I love being organized, I always love finding the most efficient, effective way to do things like even in my career, I always found that I would get into a new position and then I would literally make everything as efficient as possible, and then I’d be like, bored. And then I’d like move up into the next position and like do the same thing.
I really loved the puzzle and the challenge of trying to leverage my time and energy and then just make things literally run as efficient as possible. And then slowly, over time, in my own business, I started to realize that there were some common themes and ways that I could make my business more efficient and effective, and then kind of distilled them down into techniques and strategies that I could then teach other people, specifically moms who are also entrepreneurs, because we have some unique challenges that maybe someone who is a full time entrepreneur and doesn’t have children are a family are those other priorities, it can look very different.
Aimee:
Definitely agree. And I have was interviewed on a podcast, was that last year? Yeah. And one of her questions that she always asked, like, what’s your superpower? And I’m like, my superpower is like, I love systems. I’m like a systems expert. So like, I love to, like create these and systematize all of this to make it easier and run seamlessly. And I think that’s why we get along so well.
Tabitha:
I always joke that I’m like a super lazy person. So I’m like, oh, like how can this just like get done faster without me having to do things?
Aimee:
Yeah. So without having to waste the brainpower, I’m like, just make like the schedule. I don’t have to think about what I’m doing today. Because today’s Thursday, so I vacuum and I meal plan for the week, like, it’s done!
Tabitha:
Yes! Oh, we are kindred spirits, for sure.
Aimee:
So often when we’re talking with prospective clients, or people that are looking to make these change, but they feel it won’t work for them, and it’s because of something. So, what’s the one myth that you would want to just bust to help them really see the light that there is hope?
Tabitha:
Yes, I think the biggest one that I hear most often is there isn’t enough time in the day. And it truly can feel that way but if you are using your time that you do have inefficiently and ineffectively, like I’m sorry, this this is like cold, hard truth, like punch in the gut, but if you have more time, that’s not going to solve your problem.
If you’re being inefficient, you will simply continue to be inefficient and maybe you’ll have like a, you know, a tiny increase and getting more done. But really, overall, it’s not gonna make any difference. And we all have the same 24 hours in a day, and I’m sure that you have seen someone who is doing what you want to do. And I just challenge people to take that as inspiration instead of like, “She’s doing it so that means I can’t do it.” but the fact that she’s doing it means IT IS possible for you.
Aimee:
Yeah, I love that and I also love to hear like, I’ve noticed that especially in 2021, as I like I streamline work on productivity and all of that, you know, people talk all the time about like, “This year flew by, and etc.” and like, “I can’t believe it’s December”, and I was looking around, I was like, I don’t have that feeling.
And I think it’s because you know, when you manage your time, and we’re going to talk a little bit about like, being aligned with your priorities here in a minute. But like when you’re in that place, it didn’t feel like life was flying by for lack of a better word. Have you had that experience? Or clients that have had that experience as well?
Tabitha:
Yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about. And I think what it is, is when we get busy, and we’re busy, busy, busy, and we are literally running around putting out fires, we’re in super reactive mode, because we don’t have plans because we don’t know what our end goal is.
We can’t be intentional. We don’t know how to prioritize, we’re not aligned. We are constantly busy. And time flies by and we really feel like there isn’t enough time in the day. Versus being able to pause and know what your big goals are. Be intentional. Be proactive each day feels completely different. You feel calm, but also productive and fulfilled and satisfied at the end of the day instead of like, busy, busy, busy and then your head hits the pillow at night and you’re like, “I’m exhausted. What did I even do, like I accomplished nothing?” When you get in that busy reactive mode, it really, it steals your time it steals your energy and it’s just not a great feeling.
Aimee:
That’s it exactly. You nailed it. I think about it, like I even sleep more now this year than I did last year like and we’re doing more with our time.
Tabitha:
Totally.
Aimee:
So yeah, it’s not about how much time we have. I know you have an aligned goal framework. So why don’t you tell us a little bit about that?
Tabitha:
Yes, so one of the biggest keys for me and my own life has really been beginning with the end in mind. And it is so much easier when you can look around, pop your head up for a moment like you have that kind of you are here, and then you think about “Where is it that I want to go?” so you have that end result. And then the path becomes clearer and simple and you can see these kinds of milestones and you kind of back into where you want to be and back into where you’re at now, so that the path is clear.
It’s kind of like doing a maze puzzle. Like, if you start at the end, it’s actually easier to figure out how to get back to the beginning. Yeah. Hot tip there.
Aligned goal framework starts with knowing exactly what your life purpose and mission is. And that sounds like a huge, heavy question, and in some ways it is. But there’s actually some really simple formulas to figure out what your strengths are, what your passions are, what you enjoy, how you like to spend your time. And then you can take the next step and be like, okay, like, what went about 10 years, like, what does that look like? And then you slowly break it down further and further, and then you set a goal for this year. And you have an overarching theme for this year that aligns with your life, purpose and mission.
And then you break this year down into quarters. I love quarters, I don’t know what if it’s from like my business background, but I feel like three months is like the perfect amount of time for goal setting like, it’s, you know, long enough, you have plenty of time to get things done, but also short enough that you don’t lose focus. And so, you break that year down into quarters, and then each quarter into months, and then each month, you can break down into weeks. And then literally, you can break your weeks down into days.
And so, by that strategy and method, you come to okay, “what can I do today that is going to move me toward my goal for this week”. And then you know that your goal for this week is aligned. And that, that’s all the difference right there.
If you’re just setting all these random goals, and you’re busy, busy, busy, you’re going to be moving in circles, and you’re not really going anywhere you don’t know where you want to go, you don’t know where you’re at. You’re just in busy, reactive mode. So when you slow down and take that reactive, big picture approach, it makes just a huge difference.
Aimee:
I love that. Have you read “The 12 Week Year”?
Tabitha:
I haven’t. That’s on my list, though.
Aimee:
Yeah, it’s like one of my favorites and I talk about it quite frequently. And it’s, that’s essentially what we’re doing is for treating each quarter, like a year, and then you take the 13th week off, like as a week of rest, which I mean, the listeners will know I’m telling you already, like take at least one day off during the week. So, like you’re building that rest.
And but it is. It’s the perfect like, like the time because we all know if you set the annual goals, you look like statistically, I did this in sales when I was an insurance like you skyrocket your production at the end of the year, because you’ve got that goal to hit. So, when we…
Tabitha:
Urgency.
Aimee:
Yes, yeah, the urgency just happens faster. So, I love that. Totally makes sense, the way that everything is broken down. Now, um, I know that you utilize time blocking, and I love time blocking as well. And I’d love to hear how you, I guess how you utilize time blocking? Because there’s, I guess, some fluctuation the way that we all do that and the way that we build that into our schedules? Are you like, every 15 minutes schedule? How do you block your day?
Tabitha:
Goodness no. I’m a mom, that’s like, you know, helping your kid get a snack can kill your 15-minute block. So, I am all about bigger blocks two-to-four-hour blocks, because you have that built in flexibility for whatever kids may need during that block of time also, but then you have some level of urgency, but not that like panic. And then you are a lot less likely, I’m not gonna say it’s impossible, but you don’t get behind like you do if you’re scheduling yourself too tight.
So, I’m a morning person I love my, 5 to 7am is my working block, and that is when I do my focused work and those are my three top accelerators for the day. And those are tasks that help you go further faster. And again, they’re aligned with your weekly goals. So those are aligned things that are really going to make a difference. It’s not fluffy. I don’t wake up and just react to whatever’s around me like I am super intentional. I wake up I do those things.
And I won’t say it’s foolproof, like my son yesterday, woke up at 5:30. And I’m like, I think I was even recording a presentation for my summit about like the working block. And I was like, okay, and then reality walks in. I’m like “He’s never up this early”, but it does happen. But he’s also six now so he understands like I have good boundaries around that.
And then I really just love batching similar tasks. So, I have like the next block is like my habits and routines block. So that’s kind of where I do any sort of meal prep and exercise and those things that are important but not urgent and so easy to lose along the way.
Another one of my favorite blocks is my whitespace block, which is after lunch. Like some built in flexibility, like “What do I need today? Do I need to veg out and watch a show on Netflix or do I need to like work on some graphics?” but it’s not an urgent top priority like my focused morning block. That’s the work that really, you know, requires minimal interruptions like trying to write. Write something with constant interruptions from a child is incredibly irritating. So, I don’t even try to do stuff like that later in the day when my kids are up.
And so, it’s just being really intentional grouping those similar tasks together, having that urgency, but like, not like panic, overwhelm, anxiety, urgency, you know? Like finding that sweet spot and that’s kind of I guess, my general time blocking philosophy.
Aimee:
Yeah. And you know, it’s funny, because we can all use this differently. I am not a morning person and I don’t start, like, our mornings, I don’t schedule anything until 10am, so we can have that lazier start to the morning. If the kids need extra cuddles, it’s no big deal.
Now often probably the last, I don’t know, a month or so. We’ve actually been ready to go earlier. So, then we just started our day earlier.
But yeah, the kids, was having a funny conversation before, like, we were getting ready to hit record or before I jumped on. I told they were sitting in here with me, because this when we’re recording, this was like the end of our like lunch break, and then coming back, like to start work. And I was like, “Okay, guys, like time to leave, I’m going to record” and you know, they’re like, “We’ll be quiet. We can stay in here.” And I’m like, I’ve been doing this for years. Like, “I don’t have short term memory loss, like no, like, you can’t stay quiet, go on out”.
Tabitha:
Yes, yes. Totally.
Aimee:
Yeah, and I’ve definitely, building in the buffer space, if you have the whitespace or the way that I always structured is like, I build a bigger block, then like what I actually really need. And when you’re not scheduling, everything blocked back-to-back, you don’t feel as behind.
And the other thing that really helped me in the beginning, if you’re a morning person, you might not need this as much. But like, when there were days that we slept in, and we got a “later start to our day”, then it felt like we were behind, quote unquote, automatically from where we had started. So even if you just started with like a morning block in your morning routine, just set like how long it’s going to take versus the time that you’re going to start it. So, then it doesn’t matter what time you actually start, you still have that block.
So that was something that really helped me when I was first getting started and looking at like, “Okay, I’m going to block my whole day until like these, like time blocks. And you know, trying to keep the accountability and staying on schedule was just overwhelming”. So, I found that that was a great place to get started.
Tabitha:
It’s for me, it’s more of a rhythm, you know, like a rhythm to your day, and you just have to be intentional. And the time blocking I feel like really helps when you’re first learning or trying to be intentional and establish a new rhythm. Over time, it’s easy to kind of it just becomes your natural rhythm.
And then there’ll be some things where I’m like, “Oh, I need to tighten this up a little bit.” And then I kind of like review my schedule and just take a moment to be super intentional with noticing what am I actually doing versus “What do I want to do? Is there something missing?” and those pieces.
But it’s really about following your energy too. Like you have more energy later in the day, and so that’s when you’re going to do your focused work. And then I’ve more energy first thing, so I like to do my focus work first. And it’s really about noticing what works well for you. I mean, you can time block however you would like to just make sure it feels good.
Aimee:
Yeah, definitely. So, this has been really great. Is there something that I haven’t asked that you feel is like a missing piece that everybody needs to know the answer to?
Tabitha:
Gosh, I think it is pretty straightforward. But I think the thing that always helps me is like, okay, yeah, well, that’s nice, but like what is like one action step I can take right away?
And I really think that beginning with the end in mind, like really defining your life purpose and mission. And maybe that means there’s some journaling and exploring those pieces, but I think that’s the best place to start. And the other thing that’s really cool about that is, you know, then it kind of informs like your dreams, like what’s your dream life look like? And then you can even think about things where today, like what am I doing today that’s actually a piece like a piece of my dream life.
Like even like if I were a billionaire right now, I would love to still be talking to you on your podcast like I would be doing this. Maybe not from like snowy Alaska right now. Like I probably hopefully we’d be on a beach somewhere. But other than that, like this really is a piece of my dream life. Like I’m doing this today, and this is part of my life, purpose and mission. And that’s what I’d be doing on my ideal best day ever.
Aimee:
Yeah, I love that. Definitely great. So, we’re going to talk about our free gift for our listeners. But listeners, that’s going to be your challenge. So give me just a minute, we’re going to talk about that. But make note, that’s your challenge today. I believe you do have a free gift for our listeners, so why don’t you go ahead and tell us a little bit about that?
Tabitha:
Yes, it is the CEO Hub Trello board which is amazing in your business when either you’re first getting started or if you’ve been going along for a while. It’s really a toolbox of all of the essentials. So, it makes it so that everything that you need is in one place.
Because I don’t know like if you also happen to go on podcasts and then like, they need your bio, and they need your profile picture and you’re like, oh my gosh, where is all this or I have 10 different versions of it, I don’t remember where my final copy is. And so, you put the final of everything in your Trello board. And I also have a place for like your life mission and purpose, it helps you stay aligned, like it’s right in there.
So, you have that handy. You have all of the things that you need frequently in your business. And it also helps like, you might identify some holes, like I have a card for market research, you might be like, “Oh, I’ve never really done market research”. And I have some great questions. And there is so so so much in there like it is jam packed with all the things.
Aimee:
And I’ve checked it out myself, you all know I’m a Trello addict, so I liked it. We’ll make sure to put the link in the show notes for you too, so you can grab that. And then you have a summit upcoming that I’m a part of. So why don’t you tell us a little bit about the Present Profitable Mom Summit? I said that correct, right?
Tabitha:
Yes, you did. You did awesome. Yes. So, I recently just rebranded so it’s kind of new for everyone, but I am so excited about this summit. And it follows my Present and Profitable Mom Method, and so this is really how we can enjoy the journey while achieving our biggest dreams.
And so, on the first day, we’re going to review and reflect like, what’s going well, like, what do we enjoy? Are we enjoying the journey? Are we enjoying where we’re at? And that is the theme so we have several speakers on that, and then we have several speakers each day.
And then on Tuesday, we are going to clarify our vision. So again, this beginning with the end in mind, like what is your vision? What do you want in your life? And these are big questions, especially since I mean, I could go on and on about this forever, but there’s layers of programming, you know, expectations from other people, expectations of society, and moms, aren’t you supposed to sacrifice everything and serve your family and not enjoy anything for yourself and yada, yada.
And then the third day is about defining your seasons, because you can do anything, but you can’t do everything. So you really have to prioritize and sometimes that switches between family and business. And that’s okay, like, you can make your business a priority, just not all the time, and you’re going to burn out and miss your family, and vice versa. So it’s finding a blend that makes you happy so that you can lead by example, and be an example of happiness and chasing your dreams and loving your family.
And then Thursday is about scalable strategies. So I think that was your day Aimee, right? Yes, so good with where can you automate and even some mindset pieces around, like, what is possible for you and how to go after your dreams.
And then on Friday is all about leveraging your time and energy. So we have some really great tips around, like using your cycle if you have never explored that and just lots of great tips to help you go further faster to be more efficient and effective in your business and really in life. So you know what those income generating tasks are and what those happiness generating tasks are.
Aimee:
I love it. And we’ll make sure the link is in the show notes as well for you to join us. But that’s going to be aimeecerka.com/ppm for Present Profitable Mom. Kickoff date, I’m just going blank. When are we kicking off again?
Tabitha:
March 7th. That’s Monday, March 7th. Yep.
Aimee:
Okay, perfect. So March 7th, make sure to go get registered so that you can check out all the things. I know it’s going to be great, I’m going to be listening to talks myself as well. And then lastly, where can our listeners find you online?
Tabitha:
Yes, I am on Instagram @presentprofitablemom. That’s probably the best place and then I have a blog presentprofitablemom.com. And then kind of my favorite place to hang out is in my membership, which we talked about aligned goal setting today and we literally go through a whole process for that together live every month.
Aimee:
Awesome. So again, I’ll make sure all links are below so that you can connect with us. And if you’re up to it, complete your challenge. So really think about like your mission and what your life’s purpose is. And if you’re feeling bold, send us a message on Instagram and share it with both of us. We’d love to hear from you and what your insights are from this episode.
And we’ll see you next week for another episode of the Your Money Your Life podcast. Bye for now!
Thank you so much for listening to the Your Money Your Life podcast. My favorite place to hang out is on Instagram. You can find me at @aimeecerka. Send me a message or post a screenshot and tag me! I love hearing from podcast listeners.
When you’re ready to master your money, go to https://workwithaimee.com. You and I will work together to ditch financial stress and struggle for good with a customized plan that works for you, your goals, your priorities, your life. I’ll see you next time on the Your Money Your Life podcast.
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