GFFs,

How you doing? It's been a busy couple of weeks with more activities in the day than hours in the week, so I didn't have my usual time to Get Free - instead, it was giving "stay afloat." I missed y'all! Annnnd - can you believe it, but The Get Free Guide turns ONE next week! If you’ve been meaning to share with a friend, send along this issue so they can get a little something this week! There’s a FREE GUIDE to help you manage your time and a recommendation for ladies 40+. So let's get into The Get Down…

With the end of the school year, the start of summer, family celebrations/obligations, trying to consume enough protein, and ALL THE THINGS, my friend calls this season "Maycember." In short, it's the overwhelmed/underpaid feeling we get during the end-of-year holiday season, but in May. I'm running with it, because everyone I know (with kids, no kids, business owners, W2 employees — errbody) is running around stressed and pressed. So we're going to take it down fifty notches and breathe, yes?! OK, good.

To the new GFFs, good to have you here! Life is life-ing and sometimes we can feel stuck. This is the space where we try to Get Free from the things weighing us down and live life with more clarity and less baggage. I’m no expert, I don’t have all the answers, but I share what I learn, and between us all, we have things to offer that others may find useful. Got questions? Got advice? You can reach out at [email protected] 

So how are we getting free in the midst of overwhelm and shenanigans? We're going back to basics. Huh? Yes!

May and June in my household are two of the busiest months of the year. We're a household of entrepreneurs, so we're working, running businesses, expanding creative endeavors, and parenting. And we're trying to have a life beyond work and raising a human. Planning for all the things — for me at least — just gets to be too much. I see this with friends, folks I mentor, and creatives I coach. When a problem comes along, we talk about what we can add to solve the issue rather than what we can take away to lighten the load. We dive into complexity rather than leaning into simplicity. We all do it, we know better, and yet…

I was reminded of all of this recently while chatting with some creative founders. Some talked about loneliness, others shared feelings of overwhelm, many questioned "how did this thing end up on my plate?" And others simply said "I don't know what to do anymore." The common thread in all of this is time. Whether in work, business, or life, it can be hard to have a sense of time: what really needs our attention, what we actually have capacity to take on, what we're spending our minutes and hours on, and what actions will really move the needle. I personally have written many lists of "things to do," but rarely is there a list of things NOT to do. Yes, you can take a minute with that. I'll wait…

We are overwhelmed and overscheduled. (Literally while I'm writing this, my attention is being pulled into two other things.) So how do we get around this?

There are a million productivity hacks and "maximize your time" tools, but, in my humble opinion, all of these tips and tricks are just ways to stop us from taking the proper time we need to do things. It's about squeezing in more, not saying "this is enough, and now I will let my brain rest."

One of the first things I do when coaching or mentoring is look at how time is being spent. It's a bit like managing your money. You can only manage what you measure, and until you know where your money is going, it can't work for you. Time is currency; we have to account for it so our hours and minutes can work for us, not the other way around.

So that's step one: What are you spending your time on?

Like I said, you can't manage what you haven't measured, so this is where a short time audit can help you see what you're spending your time on. Here's an example of something you can use for yourself.

Step Two: What is truly urgent? What is really important?

There are very few things that are truly urgent AND important and need to be handled NOW (think life-threatening situations, a business or house about to disappear, a major health crisis). Most things can be scheduled, delegated, or may not be something you need to do at all. You can download this free Get Free Time Guide to help you organize what REALLY needs your time and attention. (Here's a little example below, but download so you can fill it out!)

Step Three: Actually use the tool — really drop the things you need to drop, delegate what you need to delegate, and schedule ONE thing that will help you this week!

Step Four: Rinse and repeat 🙂

Get your FREE Get Free Time Guide! Manage your time, reclaim your life! We don’t gatekeep here, so if you know someone struggling with ALL THE THINGS, forward this post and share.

🚀Get Your Life: Things to read, listen to, enjoy🚀

📚What I’m reading: It's been a busy few weeks, so rather than book and podcast recommendations, I'm going to point you to another newsletter! Last year, The Get Free Guide partnered with AfroLA for Your Body Your Numbers, all about health. Now AfroLA has launched a new newsletter called Nobody Told Me This. The issue about menopause is enlightening! Black women over 40, this one is for you. Sign up below:

🎵 Soundtrack for the week: Alright by Janet Jackson because, when all is said and done, it’s gonna be alright!

✨ If you’ve got a recommendation drop me a line. ✨

If you got something out of this issue of The Get Free Guide, give us a follow or a shout out on Instagram and share the love with a friend. We don’t gatekeep around here!

See you next week!