You Don’t Need More Time. You Need This.
When women tell me they're “too busy” to work on their business, I hear something much deeper than a calendar problem.
“I don’t have time” almost never means “I literally did not have a spare 10 minutes today.” Most of the time it means:
I’m overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.
I’m scared of doing it wrong.
I’m scared it might actually work and then everything in my life would have to change.
Starting means facing failure — or success. Both can feel terrifying.
So instead, we tell ourselves we’ll start “when things calm down.”
After the kids are older.
After the job is less chaotic.
After the holidays.
After we finally get one quiet weekend to ourselves.
Let me ask you something gently: Has “after” ever actually shown up?
Your time is the most honest mirror of your priorities — but it’s also the cleanest mirror of your beliefs about yourself.
Because sometimes it’s not fear.
Sometimes it’s something even sneakier: self-abandonment dressed up as responsibility.
Let’s talk about that.
The Time Audit That Humbled Me
Recently I did a simple (and honestly annoying) time audit. Nothing fancy. I set a timer for every 15 minutes from the moment I woke up. Every time it went off, I wrote down exactly what I’d spent the last 15 minutes doing.
No judgment. No “should.” Just data.
Then — and this is the part that matters — I labeled each block:
Income generating work
Work (but not income generating)
Me time
Family time
And then I marked each one with a + or a – :
+ = this thing builds me up
– = this thing drains me
When I looked at that page later, I wanted to argue with it. Because it felt like it was calling me out.
Do you know what I saw?
I saw tasks I’ve convinced myself “have to” be done by me… even though they don’t grow my business, don’t move my future forward, and don’t actually matter to anyone. Things like reformatting something that was already fine, tweaking a graphic again, cleaning a closet no one even opens when we have guests.
You know what else I saw? Almost no true "me" time. WAY too much housework that could be shared among the family. Barely any real restoration. The very things I claim I “don’t have time for” like moving my body, eating something with actual nutrition, sitting down to think and make decisions like a CEO weren’t actually not available to me.
I just wasn’t choosing them.
And that’s when it hit me.
I wasn’t “too busy.”
I was hiding.
What Are You Delaying and What Is It Costing You?
I want you to ask yourself a few uncomfortable (but loving) questions:
What is putting off the thing you know you need to do for yourself actually getting you?
(Relief? Avoidance? An excuse you can point to so you don’t have to risk?)How is it working out?
How will you know when it’s the “right” time to start?
(What does that even mean? Is there a date on the calendar called “Someday” that I don’t know about?)Do you ever notice you “don’t have time” for the very things that would nourish you?
The walk. The nap. The quiet hour to map your first digital offer. The 15-minute call that could unlock a simple path forward.
Why do you think that is?
Be radically honest here:
Is there a part of you that still believes you’re not worth that time yet?
That you have to earn your own support?
That everyone else’s needs come first and you’ll get to yourself when there’s something left?
Because here’s the truth:
Most women I work with are not “lazy” or “unmotivated.” They’re over-functioning for everyone else and under-nourishing themselves.
They’re carrying the house, the meals, the appointments, the emotional labor, the errands, the paperwork, the kids, the sports, the laundry, the company holiday thing, the in-laws’ feelings ~ and then still asking themselves, “Why can’t I just be more disciplined?”
You don’t have a discipline problem.
You have a depletion pattern.
Clarity Creates Time. Busyness Eats It.
Here is what clarity does for you, immediately:
Clarity lets you see which tasks are actually moving you toward the future you want… and which ones are just keeping you tired and “too busy to change.”
Clarity gives you permission to delete, delegate, or delay what doesn’t create income, momentum, or relief.
Clarity exposes the lie that “starting a business will take more time.” (It usually doesn’t. It usually just takes different time.)
When I did my own audit and got honest, I realized I could reclaim at least 10 hours a week — without waking up earlier, without hustling harder, without becoming some color-coded calendar robot.
Those 10 hours weren’t hiding in a magical “extra” pocket of the day.
They were hiding in busywork I was doing to feel safe.
Read that again.
Let’s Get You Your Hours Back
This Thursday, November 6 at 1 PM ET, I’m going live to walk you through this in real time:
How to do this exact 15-minute repeating time audit
How to label your time so you can instantly see what’s feeding you vs. draining you
How to start removing the tasks that are quietly stealing your future
This is happening in my Facebook group.
If you’re not in there yet:
Go join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlineincomeplaybook
Make sure you agree to the rules and answer the entry questions (this matters: if you skip that part, you won’t get access to the group).
Show up live Thursday at 1 PM ET.
If you are already in the group, put it on your calendar right now and come ready to see your week differently. Your “I’m so busy” story is about to fall apart in the best way.
If You’re Ready to Start Now (Not “Someday”)
If you’re reading this and you already know you’re tired of spinning, I built something for you.
It’s called a Visibility Gap Audit.
It’s a free 1:1 call where I look directly at how you’re showing up right now — content, offers, energy, all of it — and I tell you exactly why the effort you’re putting out is not translating into sales.
No fluff. No judgment. No “you just need to post more.”
Just clarity.
Clarity that shows you where your time is evaporating and where your opportunity actually is.
Because if you’re going to pour yourself out all day long, it should at least be building the life you keep saying you want.
💬 Book your free Visibility Gap Audit here: https://calendly.com/ateliermandaline/book-your-clarity-call
Then come to the live on Thursday at 1 PM ET.
Don’t wait for the “right time.” The right time is the moment you stop abandoning yourself.
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