2019-2025 Archival Note:
This is an archive of my body of work (blog and Not Too Productive podcast) from 2019 to 2025.
As much as I’ve wanted to toss it all in the trash, I believe it matters to show the ideas and experiments that carried me to this moment, and to mark how things, and we, change.
Through my years as The Holistic Time Coach, it became clear that the time I was talking about (a more spacious, humane, cyclical time) wasn’t the same time most people knew. Most of us are still living inside clock time, capitalist time, productivity time.
Now I’m writing about Time Liberation here.
If you see something here that you disagree with, I may… probably… agree with you. That’s part of why it’s now an archive.
How to achieve your goals and feel well-rested (yes, it's possible!)
It feels extremely counter-productive to focus on rest and health FIRST, then our to-do lists.
We’ve been taught to get everything done, and then we can take a break.
What happens when it’s literally impossible to get everything done? Cause that’s the truth. You will never get everything done.
We stay exhausted, running on a treadmill of tasks hoping for one day when we can breathe.
That’s where traditional time management extremely suffers, and holistic time management excels.
When you put yourself first, like legit first, and everything else after… achieving your goals and feeling well-rested becomes a reality.
Finally!
Find out how Kirsten was able to put herself first while accomplishing even more than she set out to in our 3-months working together.
Since this post is more of a case study than a how-to, don’t miss the coaching questions at the end of this post to apply Kirsten’s wisdom and transformation to your life and business.
Tell us who you are and what you do.
Kirsten Welge, Founder/Director of Natural Awareness, LLC
What was achieving your personal and professional goals like before you began working with me?
After leaving my corporate healthcare manager position of 5 years for a 6 month 'sabbatical', I was struggling to set a daily routine that helped me complete deeply important goals AND left me feeling well-rested.
I relied on deadlines and a buildup of external and internal pressure to move me - which didn't translate well to cleaning the home or completing other "maintenance behaviors" necessary for life to run smoothly.
What did you love about having me as your holistic time coach?
Your check-ins strongly supported accountability.
Mindful breathing to start our sessions.
Experiencing your presence – you're gentle and accepting, which helped me to soften my approach to myself.
The invitations to try things out and see how they worked for me (like bedtime rituals).
Your approach to time management and the calendar make-over!!! <3 That was life-changing.
What has happened in your life or business since we worked together?
In my life…
I realized my body does cue me when it's tired -- and I am practicing setting a rhythm to settle towards a regular sleep time of 9-9:30 PM. (A far cry from working until 3 AM!!)
I began to listen more to my body, and nap when it asks me for rest. I feel more refreshed and relaxed.
I accepted that I am not a robot that can produce indefinitely at the same rate, regardless of feelings or circumstances.
I donated a trunk full of bags of items to Goodwill, and donated another 40 pieces of business clothes (suits, pants, jackets, shells, blouses) to a local group that sets up low-income women with interview & business clothing.
I cleared the main floor space of our home - AND KEPT IT CLEAN with maintenance of 5-10 min every evening. WOW! ...and this led to a huge breakthrough and more trust with my partner. Thank you!
I cleared a space in the basement for my "recording studio" for a national talk.
I prepared and delivered a national talk to my aikido federation on why I train, and how our training can be applied in daily life.
I completed a series of biweekly bike rides (including time trials, hill climbs, and gravel rides I'd never done before) on 10-40k+ routes from June-August.
I developed muscles and speed I have never had before.
I completed a 10-day solo Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness trip, with portaging (never done before), and found greater clarity and trust in my mind-body than ever before. I had no regrets whatsoever about spending that time alone.
In my business…
I opened up to being OK with not producing an income with every action I took.
I worked through anxiety about comparing myself to how others did things.
I worked through anxiety & resistance about offering certain classes, made clear, confident decisions, and experienced greater ease and alignment.
For Q4, I reduced my number of quarterly goals to THREE, from more than 8... and am seeing progress on those three fronts, instead of feeling like a hamster trying to spin multiple wheels. Awesome!!
Thanks to your calendar makeover, I now have large time blocks for focusing on a particular group of tasks. This is SO helpful!
And, I've built in time for daily activities to settle me and connect me to my partner and friends, which often fell to the wayside in the past.
I filed for my LLC!!!
And, I finally put together a site for my business and flier for my first program, Track Your Backyard! I have learned so much and now have a functioning website. AWESOME.
What do you think made those things (listed above) possible in just 3 months of working together?
Focusing on rest and health first.
When I'm rested, I have a greater awareness of myself and what's needed, short- and long-term - and I am more efficient and effective at completing what's needed.
Boom. ^That’s the key right there.
But how?! How do we make this massive shift in how we manage and think about time?
Here are some coaching questions for you to think through:
How might you put yourself first, and everything else second (or later)?
What might be keeping you from being able to do that?
What is your next best step forward?
Want to achieve all your deeply meaningful goals without feeling exhausted and overwhelmed?
Let’s make it happen! Click here to schedule a no-pressure consult call now.
10 Powerful mindset shifts to revolutionize how you spend your time and money
“How do I take more time off without impacting my revenue and income?“
If you’ve ever asked yourself that question, you’re in the right place.
Dave, from Turning Point Financial Life Planning, joins me for an in-depth interview about the real and deep connection between time and money.
You will walk away with:
Tangible language around the relationship between the two and why our resources always seem to be in opposition.
Clarity on what you can and can’t control when it comes to your time and money.
How holistic financial planning and time management is the key to finding your unique balance.
Tools we use to create time and money abundance in our lives and businesses.
How do you see the connection between time and money?
Dave
There is of course a relationship between time and money. We use time to earn money. We use money to buy ourselves time.
But what’s most striking to me about both time and money - is how many of us have a relationship with both time and money which is defined by scarcity.
There’s never enough time. There’s never enough money.
But what’s interesting is that while our immediate time and money resources often feel exceptionally constrained, we often assume that time and money resources will be more abundant in the future.
These beliefs might sound something like: I can’t save for retirement right now, but I’m sure it’ll all work out. I don’t have time to rest and recuperate right now, but as soon as I [insert goal here] I’ll be able to.
The trick is, of course, that all we ever have is the present moment.
How you are — and how you think — in the present moment is quite likely how you will be and how you’ll think in future present moments.
So what to do? We train ourselves to think, and relate, differently to money and time.
I believe this retraining begins with a deep reflection on who you are and what you want. What is important to you? How do you want to be leading your life?
Answering these questions is hard work. And it isn’t easy.
Aligning your use of time and money with a deeply meaningful and fulfilling experience of living is not a quick fix. It is a life-long practice.
But it’s incredibly rewarding and worthwhile.
Becca
Time and money are tools that societies have developed with the intention to help us live more collaboratively. The main difference between them though is money is completely invented by humans, while time is inherently natural–the sun rising and setting every day, standardized and commoditized.
Just like any other tool, both time and money can be used in a healthy and beneficial way on a collective and individual level, or in a corrupt and scarce way.
When an individual has enough time and money, most people would say they have a good quality of life. Almost everyone I work with as a time coach, as well as myself personally, is aiming for this sweet spot. Also, when an organization uses its time and money in a healthy way, they are able to make a positive difference in the lives they impact and one would most likely say that is the definition of success.
How often is this sufficient sweet spot achieved (or even noticed), individually or collectively? Rarely, unfortunately.
Why? I believe this for two main reasons.
The complex relationship that exists between us and the two.
Time and money are deeply intertwined: How we spend our time, impacts the amount of money we have. Likewise, how we spend our money, impacts the amount of time we have. Often the more we have, the more we’re able to create.
How each of us experience, use, and feel about both time and money are impacted by who we are as humans, our experiences, and our outlook on the world.Corruption and scarcity.
There’s a lot that can be said about why, how, and where. But if I had to summarize it: Our economic system, as we know it, is completely dependent on how much of our time (human life) can be bought as cheaply as possible to turn into a profit. This has created a society that is individualistic, and competitive and highlights a scarce relationship when it comes to our time and money.
Over the years, we’ve been taught to equate our influence and worth as humans with how much money or time we have. When one doesn’t have or doesn’t feel like they have, enough money, time, or both, there is often a felt sense of failure.
What can I control when it comes to time/money?
Dave
I have good news and bad news.
The BAD news is that you can control virtually nothing when it comes to time, money (or anything else in life).
The GOOD news is that you can control virtually nothing when it comes to time, money (or anything else in life).
Much as we might try and resist this inconvenient fact, we have the ability to control only two things: our attention and our actions.
That’s it. Your attention and your actions. That’s all you’ve got. What are you paying attention to right now? You can control where you direct that attention. What action are you taking right now? You can control that action.
But there’s a catch! (Isn’t there always a catch?) You can only control your attention and actions IN THE PRESENT MOMENT.
Literally, everything other than your current-moment actions and attention is outside of your control.
But this is actually good news - it can be a relief to recognize we can only do what we can do - and we can let go of trying to control the rest.
There is SO MUCH in your financial life that’s out of your control. Pretty much everything! That’s ok. You can let that go.
And then… let’s focus on where you can direct your attention… and what intentional actions you can perform to begin your journey to financial health and wholeness.
Becca
There’s a lot out there we don’t have control over in our world. However, because money and time are human constructs, I believe we have control of quite a bit.
We have control over:
What we do with the time and money we have. We get to vote with our minutes and dollars for the kind of world we want to see.
How we think and feel about time and money.
How much is enough in our lives.
I also know the overwhelm or apathy that can set in when thinking about how big and messy the world is can melt away when we focus on what we do have control over. How might you focus on what you have control over?
What is holistic financial planning?
Holistic financial planning takes care of you as a whole human being. It doesn’t impose unrealistic budgets (or any other unrealistic constraints) upon you, because it incorporates your humanity.
The whole point of financial planning is to build a better life for you as you actually are - not as you (or anyone else) thinks you should be.
Holistic financial planning begins with you and your life. What do you want your experience of living to be like? What do you want to spend your time doing? How much do you want to work? Beyond work, what else do you need time, money and energy for?
Holistic financial planning includes working to let go of productivity as self-worth (thank you, Brené Brown). We then intentionally structure meaningful and financially rewarding work as one part of your overall life plan.
Once we’ve thoughtfully defined the life you want, we get about the work of structuring your financial resources to support that great life. That is actually the easy part!
Sure, there are things to learn and work to do, but the hardest work is getting clear about your vision for your life. Don’t worry - I’ve got some tools to help you bring some clarity and definition to your great life. If you’d like, you can get a sneak preview here.
What is holistic time management?
There are millions of blog posts, articles, podcast episodes, and books out there giving advice on time management and productivity. However, even with all the advice out there, how many people truly feel like they have enough time and are able to spend their time how they want to?
Millions of people. Why?
Regular ol’ time management has one main goal: Be more productive and efficient at work. With the general undertone or implication to make more money, oftentimes for your company or boss. Traditional time management and productivity gurus say to be more productive at work and get everything done first to earn, self-care, rest, or time-off.
But we know that to-do lists never end and believing we can work really hard to get ahead only leads to stress, overwhelm, burnout, and often less money or success. That’s where holistic time management comes in.
Holistic time management’s one main goal is: Spend your time in a way that makes you healthy and fulfilled today.
The assumption in traditional time management is flipped on its head and says you can get everything done easier and achieve everything you want when you prioritize your well-being first. Because when you’re well-rested, healthy, happy, energized, and taken care of…time becomes abundant.
If you had to pick one tool to share, which do you think is most impactful?
Dave
Engaging with your money stuff and structuring your financial life - whether you hire someone like me to help you build a holistic financial plan - is NOT a one-and-done project. Rather, navigating our money is an ongoing practice.
For that reason, I believe that cultivating a consistent practice of engaging with your money and your finances is the single most powerful tool out there. Especially as a small business owner, you have myriad financial tasks to execute and money matters to contemplate.
For (almost) everyone I suggest the practice of a weekly “money date.” The money date isn’t an original idea, but I sorta have my own take on it. You can hear me speak in greater detail about the money date here.
The core of a money date is a weekly, scheduled time for you to sit with your money stuff — and see what comes up.
This isn’t a time to actually accomplish anything. Rather, it’s a time to simply be present, to bring your awareness to some financial matter. And be curious about what you discover. Curious about the external details. And curious about what internal, emotional responses and bodily sensations arise within you.
We engage to make better friends with our emotional responses, especially those which are a bit more challenging to hold (like fear, anxiety, or worry). By holding this space for exploration, your next, empowering money steps will begin to reveal themselves.
Becca
You!
There is so much pressure, information, and noise out there telling us how to best organize and spend our time. There are a ton of tools… and I believe they all can work.
The real tool is who you are, your core values, and what makes you tick. You don’t have to go searching outside of yourself. Pause, tune out the noise, ask yourself how you want to spend your time… and then do that.
Sounds simple, but oftentimes the most simple thing is the most powerful.
As a holistic time coach I get to help people leverage who they are in order to live more consciously, fully, and joyfully in their relationship with time. The work I do with my clients is profound because it all starts with getting to know who they are in relation to their time. It’s a time management tool, skill, and hack all wrapped up into one.
What’s a time and money quote you live by?
Dave
This quote has nothing to do with time or money. And it has everything to do with time and money.
When we’re thinking that we’re competent or that we’re hopeless—what are we basing it on? On this fleeting moment? On yesterday’s success or failure? We cling to a fixed idea of who we are and it cripples us. Nothing and no one is fixed.
That’s from Pema Chödrön’s book The Places That Scare You. And I’ve found money is often a place that scares us!
Becca
I have two I have to share here:
Scarcity is a lie. Independent of any actual amount of resources, it is an unexamined and false system of assumptions, opinions, and beliefs from which we view the world as a place where we are in constant danger of having our needs unmet.” - Lynne Twist from The Soul of Money.
I grew up in a false scarcity of time and money, but it felt just as real. I’m continuously working on healing my scarcity relationship and this quote helps me do that. It’s firm, convincing, and direct… all of which I need to make my overthinking mind take a pause and say “oh, yeah… that’s true.”
As long as you’re oriented toward the future, you can never just relax into what you already have or already are.” -Pema Chodron
Apparently, Pema Chodron has deeply impacted our relationship with time and money, Dave! Love it. As a buddhist, Pema reminds me that life is short, uncertain, and scary as hell. That’s why I live by this quote. It’s the solution required to heal scarcity and fear.
What mindset shifts will you integrate in your life and business from this interview? Comment below.
Want to feel confident, in control, and at peace with your time? Click here to get free + supportive resources!
Swamped by too much work? An inside look at how I can help you
Spend your "downtime" on weekends feeling guilty because you have too much work on your plate?
Not sure what the heck to do about your never-ending to-do list either?
I hear you, and I got you.
Most people think they have to change everything they’re doing, use rigid time management techniques, and be someone other than who they are.
Well, you don’t.
In fact, the more authentic and flexible you are, the easier it’ll be to kiss too much work and time-guilt goodbye and start actually getting ahead.
Hear from Maria Prendeville below to learn more about how working with me helped her…
Be more present with my family and friends.
Take time off feeling guilt-free.
No more working weekends or feeling bad for not working (even if it's been a busy week).
Hobbies be a lot more enjoyable.
Feel far more in tune with her gut and intuition.
Tell us who you are and what you do.
I’m Maria Prendeville and I’m a Content Writer for B2B companies.
Before you began working with me, what was your life like? Did you have too much work on your plate?
Yes! I felt burned out and like I couldn't stay on top of my never-ending to-do list. Every day I piled way too much on my plate, and often felt so overwhelmed that I couldn't even tackle anything.
Every week would end with me wishing I had 10 more days of the week to get stuff done!
Then, I would spend the "downtime" on weekends feeling guilty because I thought I should be working to catch up on stuff. So work was like a never-ending "unproductive", tiring guilt trip.
What doubts did you have before working together?
I was apprehensive about the process I would have to follow.
Although I had an idea that Becca worked closely with calendars and not with following stringent, whacky time management processes…there was a part of me that thought I'd have to completely overhaul my lifestyle and work methods and then that wouldn't last, because I knew no other way!
What has happened in your life or business since we worked together?
I have become far more relaxed about work and the stifling guilt that I felt almost every day about not working more is almost completely gone now!
I see now that work was probably the main problem/stressful area for me, but I've noticed that since I've started managing this better that the positive effects can be seen across my life.
I'm more present with my family and friends.
When I take time off it's guilt-free, it's a hard rule now that I don't work weekends.
I no longer feel bad for not working (even if it's been a busy week).
When I switch off I switch off completely.
My hobbies are a lot more enjoyable.
I'm far more in tune with my gut and intuition.
It has also put into perspective the kinds of industries and companies I want to work for; giving myself the space to find what I truly enjoy and the type of writing and reading I like means I intentionally choose who I work with.
I've also become a lot more flexible with my work. Before I thought I had to be super regimented and if I wasn't then the day was "ruined." Now I see with the help of my calendar how my time can be cleared and rescheduled according to random life events that inevitably pop up.
What do you think made those things (listed above) possible?
Having more compassion for myself and realizing that I truly am human with faults.
Becca's help with digging through why I feel the way I do and uncovering my rooted thoughts around certain beliefs I held definitely highlighted the unnecessary belief systems I followed. This questioning opened up a new way of thinking for me and she held the space for me to be able to think for myself about why I follow certain work rules or think I need to be this productive.
And of course, Becca showing me that my calendar is completely within my control and that there is space to do all the things in an effective manner while completing them stress-free!
What would you say to someone considering hiring Becca?
Your life is going to change! Haha but seriously, I would tell them it's money very well spent.
These are positive habits that will not only help with work but across all areas of your life. Instead of thinking about this coaching as something else you need to work on in your life and adding an extra stress, if anything this coaching allows you to focus on what is truly important and it helps to take AWAY those unnecessary to-do lists and stressors.
Get ready to be far more aligned with a life you love living.
Feel burned out because you have too much work on your plate?
Together we can turn your overwhelm and stress into confidence and peace. Learn more about my services here.
How quarterly planning helps you stay flexible and accomplish your goals easier
How many times have you created a plan only to have life come up and derail it all?
This is one of the most common things I hear from my clients, students, my partner, and basically, everyone who’s ever planned anything.
In this blog, I’m going to share with you why quarterly planning was the key to creating a plan that allowed me to stay focused and accomplish my goals, while also being flexible and responsive to life’s uncertainties.
Ready to set you and your business up for success this upcoming quarter? Check out my Holistic Quarterly Planner (available for puchase).
Quarterly planning accounts for life’s uncertainties
We know just how uncertain and unpredictable life is now more than ever.
When unpredictable events happen, things shift inside and outside of us. We change, external circumstances change and our goals change… causing our plans to change.
I don’t know about you but when I make plans and they change, I feel like I wasted so much of my time. I’m also reminded of how little control I don’t have over things making a part of me never want to plan again.
This is where quarterly planning is so effective.
Instead of spending tons of time at the beginning of a year planning the entire year out, quarterly planning just asks you to think about and plan 3-months at a time.
When you break your year down into four pieces, it’s easier to prioritize projects allowing you to stay focused and accomplish your goals easier. When you quarterly plan with me, you also get to pause, reassess how you’re spending your time, and realign your plans to who you are as a person.
The result?
Saving hours of planning time, doing time, and wasting time following an outdated plan (or no plan at all).
Say goodbye to under (or over) estimating your capacity
Oh, human tendencies.
Did you know that when people set annual goals (think new year's resolutions) we underestimate how much we can actually achieve?
As I mentioned above, none of us know who we’ll be or where we're going in 12 months from now. That’s why lots of new years resolution-ers set one main goal: they just want to grow their business by 25% this next year. Or start running. Or eat healthier.
I bet you also didn’t know (but really did know) is humans have a tendency to overestimate how much we can get done in a day or a week.
We put so much stuff on our daily & weekly to-do lists, rarely getting to half of it.
Yep, you guessed it. Quarterly planning takes into account under (and over) estimating tendencies by focusing on 3 months.
When we’re realistic with how much we can actually do, our plans, and the goals we set will make it so much easier to accomplish what we want to do.
So many priorities, not enough time? Don’t worry, quarterly planning to the rescue!
You have all the things that come along with growing & managing a business.
Maybe you still have a 9-to-5 or another gig to supplement your income.
You want to take really good care of yourself: regularly meditate, meal prep, work out, and learn how to knit, paint, or play the guitar.
You want to save money or travel the world.
You want to spend more time with your family and your friends.
The list of recognizing your potential doesn't end there.
Guess what? I think it’s such a beautiful thing to want to be your best self but, it can also lead to lots of overwhelm, frustration, and inaction.
Quarterly planning helps you figure out what to focus on NOW that will get you the best, most fulfilling results. When you plan your quarter with me, you’ll go inwards, identify what season you’re in, and how to do it all without feeling like you’re doing it all.
Click here to read more about how to prioritize effectively when life feels overwhelming.
I’ve been hosting quarterly planning workshops for almost three years.
If you want to have…
Clarity on what you really want to focus your precious time & energy on for the next 3 months.
A step-by-step plan created by your internal guidance that make it so much easier for you to follow your plan and accomplish your goals (Finally!!!)
Fresh intentional energy and motivation to help you really make the most of your time.
Click here to check out my Holistic Quarterly Planner now!
Think good time management in entrepreneurship needs to be rigid? It doesn't.
Feel like your brain and time management seem to go together like oil and water?
Small tasks keep slipping by keeping you from sharing your wisdom and expertise with the world?
You’re not alone.
Traditional time management strategies feel rigid, constricting, and unhelpful to so many.
Want to know the secret sauce? Changing how you feel about and experience time.
Once you re-think and repair your relationship with time and time management, a system made for your brain and values will organically reveal itself to you.
Without doing that, time management will continue to hold you back.
Things CAN and WILL change.
Freedom, flexibility, and ease IS possible for you.
Hear from Dr. Caroline Addington below to learn more about how working with me impacted her, her business, and her life.
Tell us who you are and what you do
What was your business and life like before you began working with me?
What doubts did you have before working together?
What has happened in your life/business since we started working together?
What made those things (in above video) possible?
If you had to sell this service to somebody else, what would you say to them?
Ready to experience more joy, flow, and ease? I’d love to talk! Learn more about my services.
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