Cara Harvey 00:00:03 Welcome to the Purpose Driven Moms show here at A Purpose Driven Mom, we believe that it’s possible to manage your home, work on your personal goals, and grow and scale an online business. Most productivity tips out there tell you to hustle more and make you feel shame about not being motivated enough. And we’re here to dispel this myth. I’m Kara Harvey and I am on a mission to help work at home. Moms realize that they have the power to go after their dreams, take care of themselves, and manage their home without perfectionism, guilt, or having to sacrifice their sleep. If you’re ready to shift your thinking around productivity and get some practical tips to help you manage your mom life. Toss your earbuds in while you fold the laundry. And let’s do this. Hello? Hello! Let’s make sure we’re started here on Facebook. Hello, we are here live in our Facebook group. If you are watching this in the future on YouTube or on the podcast show, this will be a purpose driven romcom podcast 453 and if I sound a little funny, I just had dental work done and they numbed my mouth and it’s been so long since my mouth has been numb.

Cara Harvey 00:01:06 So it was like I could record this. And as I’m talking, my mouth is just a little funny. It’s a little funny. So thank you for bearing with me. I am going live on our Facebook for our weekly live. Yep, I can feel it in my mouth is not it’s not working like I like it do. Because I want to talk to you today about how to plan your week when you have no time. All right? And listen, if you’re watching this live, it is mid-March. If you’re listening to this in the recorded podcast, it is the week of our summit. So you need to go to a purpose driven mom.com/20 25 summit. Go get your tickets. Because we are here. We are talking about how you can own your day, have it your way, get things done as a busy mom and tickets are now ready for you. Today though, what I’m going to talk about is how to plan your week when you have no time. Like, I’m going to give you three things that I think are highly recommended for you to do so that you can plan your week even when you’re feeling stressed out.

Cara Harvey 00:01:57 Even when it feels impossible. Because even with the packed schedule, tiny little tweaks, tiny little tweaks in your planning can make you feel more in control. And that’s really what I want for you. I have noticed that I’ve shared this before. Right? I’m thinking, when’s the week going to be perfect? When’s everything going to be a certain way? It’s not. So now that I’ve kind of accepted my therapist calls it radical acceptance, right? We don’t have to like it, but we can accept it for what it is. Once you hit this point of radical acceptance, you’re then able to move forward. Now that I’ve kind of realized, like probably not going to have a typical week, very rare. I have five day work week, especially a five day workweek where I don’t have something else that isn’t work. I can’t even tell you when I had five, you know, full 9 to 3 days where I wasn’t just doing work. Purpose Driven Moms Summit will probably be the first in a year.

Cara Harvey 00:02:44 I think that’s like the one week of the year. I don’t put anything else on my calendar. I say no to everything so that I can focus. Once I’ve accepted that, I realize that while I don’t have a ton of time to just plan everything out, I can do a few things. I’m going to give you a three part little plan to anchor into that will make my week feel a little bit better. Okay, but here’s the thing I get planning feels impossible. Now we do planning in the purpose of a mom club every single Sunday, get on for about a half hour just to have the accountability, just to have other people there, just to sit and plan together. And that really helps, is one of the tips I’ll give you later on is playing with other people, but it can be hard to say. It’s Sunday. Let me pull up my planner, let me do all my things because we have constant interruptions, constant interruptions. I know that on Sundays when I go to plan my week, my kids will inevitably find me right.

Cara Harvey 00:03:33 They know that I’m here. They want to be in my space, right? The phone is ringing. Something’s going on. Right? There’s also that emotional fatigue. I’m just tired. When I get to planning my week, I’m like, all right, we made it to the week, right? We got a lot done a week. Now it’s this in our brains hamster wheel that I’m back on now I’ve got to juggle another role. Now I’ve got to go meal prep and I’ve got to do laundry, and I’ve got to get ready for scouts for the week, and I’ve got to get my work stuff done and my personal goals. And because it feels like it never ends, it feels exhausting, right? So there’s that. And also sometimes our brain can say like, what’s the point in planning? I’m just going to get another curveball thrown at me, right? Like life’s just going to throw something else. But here’s the thing. I just want to tell you that’s all reality. I’m not going to diminish that.

Cara Harvey 00:04:24 I’m not going to tell you that. Curveballs. Heck, I planned on sitting down and doing this live today. I did not expect my mouth to be as numb as it is as I’m talking. I’m like a little spinny here. Okay, thank you in advance for your grace, right? It’s life, right? Like that’s real. But if you have a simple, flexible plan, it can make you feel more calm. Let’s stop and pause so that I can invite you to the 2025 Purpose Driven Mom Summit. It’s here. Our eighth annual event will be kicking off on April 7th, and the only thing missing is you go to a purpose driven romcom slash vermont.com/summit 2025 link is up in the show. Notes to come join 25 presenters to help you have your day your way. We’re going to help you make a plan for your day that’s not going to help you feeling super overwhelmed. And the best part? It’s free. We’re going to help you manage your life, your household, your goals, your business, all while feeling lit up about life and not feeling stuck in that day to day drudgery that a lot of us moms can feel.

Cara Harvey 00:05:19 The eighth annual purpose River Mom Summit will be kicking off on April the 7th, and you can get a free pass to join us and hear from some of the most incredible experts on the internet. Go now and get your ticket and we’ll see you soon. I will tell you that every Sunday when I sit down at Sunday planning with our 100 something plus members of the Purpose Driven Mom Club, we have about 40 that get on live, right? And we sit and plan. I always start feeling like my that, you know, the emoji where the brain is exploding, right? Like I start feeling like that and then I get to the point where I feel more in control, I feel more centered, I feel less stressed, and I feel ready to conquer the week. And it’s because I have a planning system now. I have a full planning system. I teach in my program, but on this live today, I’m just going to talk to you about three of the things that I think will really, really, really help make it feel less daunting and help shift your mindset from I must plan every single thing to like.

Cara Harvey 00:06:17 I just need to anchor into something this week because when everything feels overwhelming, nothing feels like it’s doable. And again, I hear you. I am literally was on. I was on the phone when my mom said and I was like, I’m trying, mom. I’m trying really hard. Like, we’re coming out of girls got cookie season. I’m a Girl Scout leader. So if you know, you know, right. So we’re coming out of that. We’re right smack dab in the middle of national season for a year. So we’re traveling in a couple weeks and then we’ll be traveling again like on like going down to Florida. Like we have all of that. I’m running my sister’s baby shower, which is happening in about a month. I’m running a tea party for about 100. Little brownie and Daisy. Girl Scouts next weekend, right. Like it doesn’t end. And my brain, I said to my mom, I’m like, I’m just feeling like there’s too much. And she reminded me because my mom, she attends all my summits.

Cara Harvey 00:07:04 She listens to my advice, you know, when it comes to productivity stuff, she said, what would you say to one of your moms? Right. Like, how would you? She’s like, what? Just do 15 minutes is so funny because my mom’s been coming to my events since the beginning, and she’ll call me whenever she. I actually don’t know if she listens to my podcast, but if you do, mom. Hey. But I know she comes to the summits and she’ll call me when she’s working on her goals and she’d be like, oh, I did that 15 minute thing. I got 15 minutes. And she told me when she gave my advice, she was like, she was working on packing. And I just said, just do 15 minutes at a time. Like, it’s super cute, right? But she did remind me of that thing. I was making it feel too big, and instead I could slow my thinking, slow my pressure, and just say, what can I do? So let me give you three things that when you’re feeling like you have no time to even plan or no time to get things done can help.

Cara Harvey 00:07:49 Okay one the priorities now. I know that there’s the concept of the big three, and I get it and I like it. I prefer a micro three approach, because if I only ever worked on three things in, in like my life, other things wouldn’t get done. But what I want you to do in order to pick your priorities for the week is ask yourself a couple of questions. One of them is, what season is this week for me? Now I teach a concept of four seasons plan, push, rest, and fun. And I think that when you plan your month in your quarter, as long as you make sure you have some of that, at some point you’re going to feel more aligned and balanced. I have less rest and fun right now. It’s summit season. We’re getting everything ready. I just told you 800 other things I’m doing. As in the summer, it’s more my rest and fun season, okay? And also each day is a little different and each week is a little different.

Cara Harvey 00:08:41 So looking at the week that I’m in right now and next week, I would say definitely feels more like a push week when I’m in real time again. I’m filming this in March on the in the Facebook group search Purpose Driven community. Come join. But if you’re watching later on YouTube and on the podcast, it’s early April. So these next couple of weeks in March, this week, next week. Definitely a bit of a push week. The last week in March. It’s going to be a rest and a fun week. Even though taking my daughter to a cheer comp isn’t always restful for me. Taking a couple days off. We’re going to travel a couple of days early. The whole family is going, we’re getting a hotel. I’m taking a lighter workweek. It’s going to be more fun. So every single week is a little different. So the question you want to ask yourself first is what season is this week for me, and what season is it for the different areas of my life? If you have a push week in work, I don’t recommend planning a push week for your personal life.

Cara Harvey 00:09:31 That’s when like things kind of like hit. This point of this feels impossible and hard. So starting with what is my season? And then ask yourself the question based on this season, that this week is what would make me feel successful by the end of the week? What is my vision? and then maybe making a list these. If I completed these things this week, based on the fact that I’m in a planned season, based on the fact that this is a rest, sometimes we’ll be like, I’m gonna rest season. But I also need to do 12 things this week. It doesn’t line right. My push season. I’m gonna have a big list of what feels successful my rest season like for me. Honestly, the week we travel for cheer success is going to look like I don’t bring my laptop. I’m not checking work emails, even though it’s the, you know, pretty much the week before summit starts. Like I’m taking that weekend to be with my family, right? That’s what success is going to feel like.

Cara Harvey 00:10:22 I’m not on my phone as much, etc.. So step one of anchoring into this three part plan to plan your week is what is your season and picking your priorities. I would pick maybe three things Max, that you’re like, if I got them done by the end of the week, I’d feel successful that way. You know how to manage your time. You know how to focus your time. You know how to say, this is where I want to go? Okay, the next thing I’m going to recommend is focus blocks. Themed blocks. I love a good time block, I love to time block my day with themes. Themes help you feel less scattered, and I will tell you, there are definitely times where I don’t use this method and I feel it. I’m like, let me go run an errand now, let me go work on Girl Scout stuff now. Oh, now I’m doing work and I just feel like I’m ping pong. Ping pong. Right? Like back and forth.

Cara Harvey 00:11:06 When you make thematic blocks in your day, it not only makes your brain feel safe. Oh, I know that this Girl Scout task popped up. I don’t have to do it right now because I have a Girl Scout block for later today or tomorrow, but it also allows it to say like, that’s where stuff’s going to go, I can relax, I don’t have to stop and drop. I don’t have to rush around. Right. So go ahead, take your week and look at it and listen. If you are like, I’m not ready to do a full time blocking, maybe just split it into quarters, right? Four quarters of the day I like to have a morning like a mid-afternoon. What is this this time, this after school block for us that 3 to 7, we’re doing activities. I don’t even know what’s happening. It’s about to be spring sports season. My son’s playing baseball for the first time. Like, I don’t even know what’s going to happen. You you know that block, right? So if I was saying that before, how you might feel like the emoji with the brain exploding, that block to me feels like the tornado emoji.

Cara Harvey 00:12:03 Right? And then post activities. Right, like evening time for me. And then ask yourself, what is my theme and my focus area for that block? Anyway, go through theme out your things right theme out your blocks, and then ask yourself what’s the focus area for this block? Okay, I’m looking at my week Monday from 12 to 3. That’s what I’m going to go run all my errands. And this is something I’ve had to catch myself on lately, and I’ve been doing a lot better of is I had to stop myself too, because I really want to be like, oh, I gotta go to run that errand. I’m just going to go run that errand. And I had to stop myself to say, it doesn’t have to happen today. It can happen later. Like I even get caught into it. And so this week, I’ve really challenged myself to say, wait for the errands block every time something pops up that I’m like, oh, but I do have time. You know, the time you get in your car, drive to the library, drive back from like transition in and out, getting back into work mode like I’m losing so much time.

Cara Harvey 00:12:58 So I’ve really been challenging myself to do more focused work and sticking back to my methods. So saying great, I know that Wednesday from 12 to 3 I’m going to run all my errands. When errands pop up, that’s where it’s going to go. I’m not going to worry about it when I say, this is work time, this is work time, this is and again, this is the pep talk I gotta give to myself, to some friends. Right? Because working from home is so challenging because I want to do other things. I want to go meal prep. I want to go do the laundry. I want to do the dishes. I want to work on scout stuff. I want to I I’m at the booster club for cheer like I want. I volunteer a couple times a week in volunteer like there’s so many things I want to do. And then I’m like, oh, right, my job. Right? Like I also have to sit and work and I can’t keep getting distracted with other things.

Cara Harvey 00:13:42 So going through and making your focus areas. And again, you don’t have to do all the time, but you can even just do morning, afternoon, evening. Or if you want to add a tornado block in and have four blocks, that works too. And then saying, this is what’s going to go. And these are my priorities for each one. Take a quick second, because I wanna invite you to join. One of my new favorite apps is called Brand Club. I am all about trying to get my side hustle on right, and one of the things I hate doing is taking money out of my pre-planned budget for tiny things that pop up, like the snack stand during football season, or the $10 you have to Venmo somewhere else because you need it for school. And I found Brand Club to literally fill that gap for me. Here’s what I do with it. Every single day I go in, I earn between a dollar and $1.50. It takes me two minutes and I just fill in some surveys.

Cara Harvey 00:14:23 Super simple. Very easy. I also will link it to my Amazon, my Walmart and my target account. So when I buy things anyway, I get cash back. Takes me about ten days, but I earn $10 and when I get my $10, I cash it to my Venmo Girl math. I’m using it all the places I want to share with you a $3 code to get started, because you need $10 to cash out. So let me give you $3. I’ll get $3 if you sign up. I really appreciate it. Go to a purpose driven romcoms brand club. Do it on your phone because it’s going to bring you up to the app so you can download it. It’s a really easy way to just get some side money going, so you don’t have to take it out of your regular budget and make some money for yourself. That’s a purpose driven, romcom slash brand club. To couple that strategy three really goes hand in hand. And that’s the batching. I have plenty of episodes on batching, but doing your errands together instead of I’m going to do a little, I like to do a little laundry every day, but maybe you’re like, all right, instead of one load a day, I’m going to work on just having a laundry day this week because I’m in a push week, so I don’t have time every day to sit and do the laundry, but I can do it for one full block on the weekend or something like that, putting those things together.

Cara Harvey 00:15:28 And then also bonus tip here is combining using what we call habit triggers things together for efficiency. Okay, so I’m listening to the book Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. In our book club we have a book club and the Purpose Driven Mom Club, which will be opening next week. So go to a Purpose driven mom.com/club, get on the waitlist. And for when we open we only open four times a year. So you’re going to want to get on that list. Now we’re listening to that for book club right? I want to get that done. But instead of making it another thing that’s honestly been one of my biggest lessons this whole year is stop making something. Another thing, right is how can I couple that with what I’m already doing right? So I’ve been doing a lot of walking. Boom, exercise, learning, folding laundry. You are not catch me folding laundry without an AirPod in or watching a video because that time is there, so why not use it efficiently, right? This is the same combination of things that has helped me with my meal prep.

Cara Harvey 00:16:22 I’ve been on a from scratch year. It’s been a really great first quarter. I am thrilled with what has happened. And one of the things again, back to the like everything feels like it’s another thing is I just asked myself, is there something I can prep every single day? five times a week probably. I’m making something fresh from scratch to either put like in my freezer or restock just to restock stuff, even if I don’t need it. So right now we have half a loaf of bread sitting on the counter. Dope. The bread is done. Bread will last a couple more days. I don’t have anything I need to make today. So what I’m going to do, actually what I’m doing right now, is making two loaves of bread so I can stick them in the freezer. Now, bread takes. It’s easy. Don’t get scared. Sandwich bread is easy. Sourdough. I haven’t even tried because that scares me a little. But sandwich bread is easy, right? But it takes time, right? You got to put in your yeast and let it activate for 15 minutes.

Cara Harvey 00:17:13 Put in your dough after it needs. You have to let it sit for an hour to an hour and a half. Then you punch it down. Then it has to sit for another hour. Then you get to cook it right. So it takes time, but it isn’t time consuming, if that makes sense. So one of the things that has helped me is asking myself, how can I maximize the time that I need? So when you’re planning it in, I want to encourage you to be like, I don’t have time for stuff. Ask yourself the question, how can I couple things together? Now I’m going to give you another bonus tip of that white space, that buffer time that I just so love. Just give yourself more time than you think you need. Give yourself a little bit of margin and you’re like, Kara, I don’t have enough time to do anything on my list. How am I going to give myself extra time? Because you’re going to leave it there. Now, there’s a principle that says the task will expand to the time you give it.

Cara Harvey 00:17:57 So if I say that I have five hours to record a podcast episode, I can stretch that out, right? Like I will take the five hours. But I said to myself, okay, it is, what time is it? I started this whatever 16 minutes ago, and I said I wanted to get this podcast episode done by two, so I need to get going. I don’t have time. Let’s roll. And so do you know what I actually did? Because I wanted to get distracted, right? I wanted to do something else in my house. I had other things in the other room that were calling me. I mopped my floor, which took me 15 minutes and I locked myself. You ever mop lock? I locked myself in with the wet floor into my office, so I was like, well, I can’t leave my office, can’t get distracted, can’t turn the TV on, can’t go do another task. So while I’m sitting here, I might as well get this thing done.

Cara Harvey 00:18:40 I literally had to trick myself because even I need those strategies. Okay, so ask yourself, where can I add in a little bit of buffer because that will make you feel less stressed. That will give you a little bit more of a peace of mind. And I promise if you give yourself a little buffer and you tighten the window to complete a task, you will rise to the occasion. If you say, I need to get this laundry folded before dinner, you’re going to get it folded before dinner. If you say, I need to get this laundry folded by the end of the day, you’re going to take all day to do it. So when you’re planning out your week, maybe tighten things for yourself just a smidge, just a smidge, and give yourself that buffer, right? Give yourself that space. All right. Let me check my notes real quick I think. Yes, I think I got it all. Listen, this is going to come out the first week in April. If you’re listening on the podcast.

Cara Harvey 00:19:26 Hello, we’re watching on YouTube a Purpose Driven mom.com/podcast for 53. But if you’re live in the Facebook group and you want to talk more about this, drop a comment. I’ll be back in the group later to answer them. And a Purpose driven Mount Carmel 2025 summit. Go get your absolutely free summit ticket when this is going on. The podcast is the week of summit, so I will see you there. If you didn’t get your ticket, it is not too late. Come and join us. Otherwise, thanks for being a part of our live Facebook community. Thank you for chatting with me and I’ll see you soon. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of The Purpose Driven Mom Show. If this episode served you in any way, we would really appreciate it if you headed over to wherever you listen to podcast, hit that five star and leave a review and a rating. That’s how more moms can find us and we can grow our community. If you had a tip or an make sure you come over and tag me at a Purpose Driven Mom on Instagram and share it with your friends.

Cara Harvey 00:20:17 The best way for us to get this message out there of less hustle and less shame and more intentionality, is for you to share it with people you know need to hear it. Thanks for listening. We appreciate you and I can’t wait to connect with you more outside of the podcast.