WHAT TO EXPECT:
Are you ready to revolutionize your daily grind? Let me take you on a personal journey through the heart of time management, all tailored to the bustling life of an entrepreneur. I share a week in the life as the CEO of Celebration Pros where each day is intentionally planned to focus on income-producing moves. And because your peace of mind is the backbone of productivity, we start the entire convo on strategic morning and evening rituals, designed to support mental health and prime you for a day of wins!
Plus, I share the secret to avoiding the over-commitment of tasks and how to plan a winning week! So turn up the volume and get ready to curate a routine and schedule that supports your unique life + business!
🎁 Download Carin's Weekly Focus Template
CONNECT WITH CARIN:
Hey CEO! Join us over at our new membership the Success Cellar 🍾 - exclusively for growth-minded wedding pros just like you!
🌟Write a review, share, and tag @celebrationpros for your first month free!
WHAT TO EXPECT:
Are you ready to revolutionize your daily grind? Let me take you on a personal journey through the heart of time management, all tailored to the bustling life of an entrepreneur. I share a week in the life as the CEO of Celebration Pros where each day is intentionally planned to focus on income-producing moves. And because your peace of mind is the backbone of productivity, we start the entire convo on strategic morning and evening rituals, designed to support mental health and prime you for a day of wins!
Plus, I share the secret to avoiding the over-commitment of tasks and how to plan a winning week! So turn up the volume and get ready to curate a routine and schedule that supports your unique life + business!
🎁 Download Carin's Weekly Focus Template
CONNECT WITH CARIN:
Hey CEO! Join us over at our new membership the Success Cellar 🍾 - exclusively for growth-minded wedding pros just like you!
🌟Write a review, share, and tag @celebrationpros for your first month free!
There have been so many comments about the way that we use our time-time management and what I have found is that there's not a right way to manage your time. That's like a one-size-fits-all, because we all live different lives. So while we're building our businesses and we're looking to the left and to the right, we don't understand why this person seems to have it together and that person just can't get anything together and you're feeling somewhere in the middle or on one of those ends. It's because we're all handling different responsibilities and we're choosing to prioritize different things in our lives. So I could sit here and speak to you today and tell you that I have the magic key to it all, but instead I'm going to explain a little bit about what I do and tell you a little bit about the people who I've been chatting with and why certain things don't work for them and how they're able to manage in the world that they live in right. So recently, I've decided to really focus on three very specific things for Celebration Pros in order to make sure that this business continues to grow and this year the board of the year is in tension I want to be very intentional with my time and make sure that we're focusing on those income producing activities within Celebration Pros as a business and also for our clients. So the three things that we're focusing on are, of course, the membership, because that is where we get to see the magic happen. That's where I get to spend five times a week with you live, and we're all able to come together, whether it's focusing on one topic specifically, or oftentimes we're just doing round robins of hey, what are you working on? Let's work through that and make sure it's as successful as it can possibly be. And I'm also focusing on public speaking. So we are already putting some fund dates on the calendar where we're speaking for associations and some other fun stuff there.
Speaker 1:And then, finally, the podcast. So, hi, I'm so excited that you're here, that you found us. I'm going to be doing a lot more guest spots on podcasts. I'm going to be bringing on a lot. We've had so many amazing people on that. This train is just going to continue to roll, so keep an eye out for some more high level thought leaders and some wedding pros that you're going to know the names of. We have an exciting lineup to follow into the next quarter, so stay with us.
Speaker 1:And this is I share this because A I want you to know what we're doing over here. Right, yeah, I consider doing live events, but the capacity isn't there and I wanted to really nurture you the best that I could and this is the way I know how. So we're going to talk about routines and we're going to talk about scheduling yourself today, again, time management, right, so think about we when I do my monthly planning parties, which is basically planning the month ahead, so that we know exactly what it is that we need to be doing. Right, and you can jump into that, into the membership, at any time. We talk about our morning and evening routines, and the reason we talk about this is because it sets you up for everything. If you wake up and you immediately open up your Facebook and your Instagram and you start scrolling and you get lost, your brain is already consuming so much information, it's so confused on what to do next. And if you wake up and you are intentional about getting up, having a morning routine which is brushing your teeth, washing your face, getting dressed for the day, making your bed, having a healthy breakfast, having that already planned out, you know exactly what it is. You're gonna eat all week, right. When you're able to have a morning that supports your mental health, you're gonna be able to show up at work.
Speaker 1:Now, some of us have a commute and some of us don't, so this is gonna be again. One size is not fit all. Some of us actually get in a car and drive to an office, right, for those of you who do that, I highly recommend listening to the podcast. Maybe you already are, but if you're not listening to the podcast and or you're not listening to some kind of educational audio, let's change that so that you're moving into the day feeling productive, feeling inspired, having creative thought already happening. Now, if you're at home, you could certainly still listen.
Speaker 1:I'm known for going on walks in the morning and listening to my audio and just getting my body moving, so that's an option. Maybe you journal instead. Maybe listening to things isn't your jam, but you still want to make sure that you're getting those creative juices going and you wanna go ahead and journal. And at the beginning of every week, I send my clients three CEO style journal prompts so that I can make sure that they have something to be thinking about when it comes to their CEO leadership. So think about what that morning routine looks like for you? Everyone's different. Maybe you wake up and do yoga. Maybe you wake up and you read. There's so many different ways that you can look at that.
Speaker 1:Then we have the night routine, and really that's where it all starts. We think that it's all about our morning routine, but the way that we go to sleep dictates the way we sleep, which is the way our bodies heal so that we can then function at our optimal level the next day. So what are we doing at night? Are we eating sugary snacks late at night? Are you like? My husband likes to get a half gallons of ice cream and just shout out and watch Netflix? He's got a lot better about that, so hopefully he's not listening. It doesn't hate me for saying that, but it's really important to think about what it is we're consuming, what time it is we're consuming. Are we having really greasy dinners late at night? I know a lot of us are guilty of that leaving a wedding venue, driving home and going through a drive-through. Let's plan better than that, right? But just think about what your typical nightly routine is.
Speaker 1:I love the Calm app. I should probably find an affiliate code for it because I tell everyone about it. We used it. Last night. My friend and I had our kids listening to the Calm app so they could pass out and we could hang. But the Calm app has sleep stories, they have meditations and it is just the most lovely way to fall asleep. I'm asleep within 10 minutes. Every time they have white noise, brown noise. So whether you want to listen to a story or sound or meditation, it's all there for you and it's a great way to end your day, rather than and you're laying and you're listening. You're not looking at a screen, reading doing 10 pages a night Journaling before you go to bed, so you can get everything that's in your head on paper. I know my dad actually has a notebook next to his bed because he'll wake up and he can't go back to sleep until he's written his idea down. So if you're one of those people, maybe you have and this is where everybody's different right so really think about that and think about how late it is you're going to sleep.
Speaker 1:I have clients who are morning people and I have clients who are night people. So there's people I know in our group that wake up at 4 am every day because that's when everyone's still asleep and that's when they can get their work done, or that's when they can get their personal time in before the day starts, so that they feel like they're their best selves for work and business and their family as well. On the contrary, I have people who stay up till one o'clock in the morning and they tell me how tired they are the next day and that they don't know how to stop working. I have multiple people that don't like this, and so there I say you know, this is where your timer really comes into play, where we say you know, have your phone like deactivate or go to do not disturb or whatever at a certain time so that you're not staring at your phone, you're not staring at a screen. And then you have to have a business hour at the end, so maybe business closes shop at 10 or 11 so that you can then wind down and be sleeping by midnight, so that when you wake up at 6 or 7 in the morning, your body has taken that time to heal. So really think about who it is you are and how you're supporting yourself with these morning and these night routines. That's probably the best thing you could do, so that's why we're kicking this off.
Speaker 1:The other thing that I did was I realized that we have to work on our businesses and then we also have to work for our clients. Without us working on our businesses, the business wouldn't run, and then we would be able to take the clients who we also have to do work for as well. So it's almost like this duality within our businesses of the type of work that gets done. And what I've done is I've split up my day, because to just say that I have one day that I'm working on my business, which a lot of people think is CEO day, it's not enough to be able to support the clients that I have and support the work I have to do for them. So that tells me that my work comes first for the business.
Speaker 1:The first half of the day I'm working on my business, the second half of the day I'm working for my clients. Does that change a little bit? Does it shift? Yes, but I can prepare for it because I plan my entire week out and I can see, oh, I have an earlier client call on this day. So I need to make sure that I'm getting specific things done before that call so that I'm then prepared for the day ahead and as long as you're able to look at your week with a bird's eye lens and say, okay, I can see everything's going to get done, you're not going to have that nagging feeling that you didn't get enough done off of your to-do list.
Speaker 1:And we were talking about this today in the membership because we're talking, which is really what prompted me to want to jump on and talk with you all about this very important topic, because everybody's bringing it up. So we were talking about time management and I have a list of about 30 things that I need to get done next to me, right, and that sounds very overwhelming. It's overwhelming to me Well, it would be if I don't have a plan for it and it's overwhelming to anybody who just has lists, or if you have sticky notes everywhere, or if you look at your desk and you just have to-dos things telling you what to do. I always say my house is yelling at me when it's dirty, the dishes are yelling at me, the laundry is yelling at me, the floor is attacking my feet and we don't want our work to feel that way, we don't want our homes to feel that way. But if I know that I'm going to get a certain task done later in the week. It's no longer yelling at me, it's just waiting for me. It's just sitting over on Friday waiting for me to get to it and I'm no longer feeling that pressure. So, oh, a little pop up there, okay. So how does this all look? Well, write down everything that you need to get done. Right, all of it done.
Speaker 1:It's very important to remember that you have a team. If you are a team of one, know that there are resources out there whether they are tech resources or physical human being resources that can help you get certain things done. So, as you go through your list, see if there's anything that you could outsource, and it doesn't mean hiring somebody full time. It could be hiring a virtual assistant that helps you three hours a week to get certain emails taken care of or to write a blog post. It could be that you're downloading the Calumny app so that you're not going back and forth trying to figure out when the best day and time is with every client for every call. Right, calumny is going to help you schedule out those meetings without all that back and forth energy. So think about, once you write your list, what are the things that we can outsource again to a tech resource or to a human resource, and it's not all gonna happen at once, right? Maybe this is something that you start figuring out what resources are gonna work for you this week. Maybe that's your to-do item and then next week we're implementing it, right? Then, once you go through your list, you're gonna say, okay, we're gonna theme everything out.
Speaker 1:So I have theme days. I can tell you what they are. Mondays are social media content. So I have a social media client and I do my own, and I do. I just batch it out as much as I can. I'm not really a batch person, but I also don't wanna get derailed, so certain things that I do that need to work for me. I'm managing that On Tuesdays is my PR day, so I'm pitching podcasts. I'm reaching out to people to see if they'd like me to speak for their audience. I'm writing submissions to be quoted in articles, things like that.
Speaker 1:Wednesday is connection day. I'm connecting with my clients. I'm connecting with vendors in the area, vendors that are not in the area because I'm global, although you who are listening in probably have a specific geographical location that you work with. Today. Thursday, I'm doing my podcasting, and then Friday is CEO, where I'm looking at my team, I'm looking at my finances and things like that. Saturday is like brainstorming A lot of times I'm jumping into my website and then Sunday is planning day. So hopefully that gives you an idea of a few different ways that you can implement.
Speaker 1:Now. You might have a day where it's like your document day and you're writing out contracts and things that need to be taken care of. Maybe you have a design day. Maybe you have a day where you're just going through outlines for upcoming weddings, right. So think about what it is that your business does and what your theme days would look like. And then you're gonna go back to your task list and you're gonna say, okay, well, which tasks match each day? I should make like a worksheet for all this, but I'll give you a link to my weekly planning template and hopefully that will be helpful. So now that you know when you're gonna be working on these things throughout the day, it's up to you to have that self-integrity to actually knock it out in that way and for you to make sure that you're not over-scheduling yourself.
Speaker 1:For you, as the CEO, right, you're your number one asset. You get to make the decisions. You are the reason why, whether you're growing or not, and these are the decisions, these are the CEO decisions that you can make, and a lot of times we go through these exercises and you're like, oh, that makes sense. Or they roll their eyes and I'm like I've heard this before, but are you implementing it? Are you creating a schedule that supports who you are? Are you over-scheduled? And if you are, you're one person. You either need to hire on a team or you need to drop some things. I'll tell you, I was over.
Speaker 1:I started the year. I wanted to host a summit, I wanted to host an in-person retreat, I wanted to do a speaking tour. There were all these big, grand ideas that I've shifted to 2025. And let me tell you, I'm feeling so much better about it because there are other things I needed to do first to support that dream. So it doesn't mean whatever you're over-scheduled with goes away. Maybe it does, maybe you're like you know what, good riddance, but if it's something that's on your heart, maybe it's just a not right now type of thing.
Speaker 1:So what I've done is I created. I wonder if I should. It's just not pretty. Like the thing I made is just not pretty, but it works for me, it's functional. It's just a spreadsheet that I created and so I had I have an area where it's just my day and I typed in my routines so that if I'm ever feeling like I'm off routine, I can come back and remind myself. Here are the things that I've promised myself I'll do to take care of me.
Speaker 1:I've written down when my blocks of work are, when I'm gonna work on the business, when I'm gonna work for clients and when I'm gonna do home domestic chores right, because we have that too. That's part of all of our lives. I've themed out all of my days and I'll tell you Saturday and Sunday I know you probably heard that and you're like wait, wait, wait. You're working every day of the week. I put at least an hour of work in every day, and the reason I do that is because one of those hours is planning for the rest of the week and that saves me 10 to 12 hours during the week. So instead of working 40, 60, 80 hours a week, I'm working maybe 30, right, that sounds a lot better, because then I have the energy and the capacity to actually have time with my failing and have fun and I don't feel burnout.
Speaker 1:The next part here is breaking all that out. So it says Monday I have social media content. I need to repurpose my blog, which I did the previous Thursday right, that's already done. I'm just repurposing it to social media and scheduling things out for the week. So that's what I'm doing for the business. And then I have for my home to-dos. I'm gonna make and confirm any appointments and schedules and activities for that day. So I actually am breaking out okay, these are the tasks that need to be done that day. And I'm not worried about the yard getting cleaned up because that's a Saturday thing. So I'm not. I've taken it off of my plate for the day because it's not gonna happen until later. So I hope that you're starting to see how this all works and how this can support your business and your life and really not make you feel like your to-do list is the weight of the world on your shoulders. We need to take that to-do list and we need to divvy it up. Sometimes we need to divvy it out to other people, but we need to divvy it up so that the fact that I need to review my finances right, as a CEO, that seems very important, very daunting task that's happening on Friday. I don't have to worry about that daunting task today.
Speaker 1:Today I'm working on recording this podcast, getting it published. You're listening to it on Monday. This is being recorded last Thursday and you're gonna see it on Monday, being repurposed to my content, right. So I'm hoping that you're getting something from this and I'm hoping that you're able to see how there are different ways that you can move your schedule around. I just redid this whole schedule. Everything I just told you I just revamped because my life shifted a little bit. Things are changing. Things are evolving all the time. It's the one thing that we can count on is change.
Speaker 1:So think about how your life is structured. Maybe you are a single parent. Maybe you have a spouse and no kids, but maybe you've got two dogs and you like to go hiking and you need to make sure that we incorporate that in somewhere. Maybe you travel a lot. Maybe your business is a Monday through Friday, because I was just talking to a seamstress. She's not there on the wedding day. She has Saturday and Sunday off for the most part. Maybe you're the opposite. Maybe your weekend is actually like a Monday Tuesday, because you're a wedding planner or a DJ and you work the weekends, every weekend, and so you're gonna shift things around based off of your business. You're gonna shift things around based off of your biological clock, because some of us wake up early, some of us are night people. I work the best from like three to five, which is not very convenient for my family, so I try to do house activities during that time and not actual work things, because I can still spend time with the family while I'm working on the house. But these are the things like think about who you are.
Speaker 1:I also wanna bring this up again it's something that I talk about a lot because it was an incredible little tidbit that our lovely Renee Dallow brought to us on the podcast months ago Is that there was a study shown that we have four hours of focused brain power to use every day with four hours. So if I have four hours of focused brain time like I can do dishes and laundry and all of that, that's not focused brain time. What is focused brain time is recording this right here with all of you. Like this is taking brain power, writing a blog post for this to go out and any client work. So I'm gonna split this up to where I have two hyper focused hours on the things that are important for my business that day and I have two hyper focused hours for the things I need to do for my clients. Think about how you're gonna use your four hours and then, outside of that is gonna be answering emails, engaging on social media, like things like that. But that don't take that deep thought away from the day.
Speaker 1:I hope this was helpful. I hope that I could go through all this and help you create a schedule in person. I would love to. In fact, however, the membership will chat in office hours, but I hope, with anything as you were listening through this episode, that you were able to have like, oh yeah, you know what? I am a night person. That makes a lot of sense that I would need a bedtime or like a closed office time, a commute back to my bed, like I'm hoping that as you're listening, you're thinking, oh, marketing would be a really good theme day. Maybe I should think about that or that, like, oh my gosh, how does she is she in my head Because I have the longest to do this next to me and maybe it just sparks something to start making that change.
Speaker 1:If you love this episode, please share it with a friend.
Speaker 1:If you know a friend who could use this episode, which I think any of us could, please share the episode. More than anything, if you post a review, it would mean the world, because when you share this space with Celebration Pros and you post reviews which I wish more of these platforms would allow you to post reviews, but I know Apple allows you to and you can also rate us on Spotify. That tells the platforms that we're doing really well. It helps my SEO so that I can get in front of more people like you and help more people like you to get out of these time management ruts, to start feeling really good about our businesses, to be building businesses worth celebrating and rising together, because we are in a celebratory industry and the celebration shouldn't just be for our clients. You celebrate your clients and now it's time to celebrate your business. So thank you so much for being here. I cannot wait for you to see what's coming up next on the podcast. So we're here every Monday 6 am. See you next week.