Reading Time: 3 minutes

[buzzsprout episode=’13125230′ player=’true’]

LISTEN IN APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN IN SPOTIFY | LISTEN IN STITCHER

At the start of a new year, we’re often super pumped about all of the new things we want to start, resolutions we’ve set and goals we want to crush in the coming months.

However – sometimes rather than adding new or more – our best move for true growth looks more like cutting, pruning, simplifying and getting back to the basics so we can truly focus on that which matters most.

In Episode 63 of It’s About Time, I’m sharing a recent conversation with Lauren Carnes, a photographer and marketing guru, mom and wife, who embraces what she calls the “both/and” while also seeking opportunities to simplify and truly cultivate the things in her life that matter the most.

About Lauren Carnes

With a background in public relations and social media marketing, Lauren has always been a lover of telling great stories. For 6 years she worked alongside international brands including Nike, Airstream, the John Maxwell Company, and Chick-fil-A in defining unique elements of their stories and serving as their brand voice through digital, print, and in-person engagements. After launching a photography business in May 2014, Lauren began focusing on merging photography with brand messaging strategy by coaching creative and lifestyle businesses on aligning communications, marketing, & imagery.

Now, as a Communications Strategist and Photographer she has the opportunity to pursue two elements of storytelling in one business. When she’s not in the office, she can be found cooking, hosting friends, or exploring new cities with her husband, Chip, her son, Oliver, and their fur-baby, Sophie. They live in their college town, Athens, GA, where Chip practices as a Urologist and Lauren divides her time every day doing the roles she loves the most: wife, mother, entrepreneur, and “chef.”

In today’s conversation, Lauren shares

• What working in full-time from home, with no childcare has looked like for her in 2020

• The tools, routines (like meal planning) and boundaries that enable her family and business to flourish

• How she’s approaching goal setting in the New Year despite uncertainty

• How she’s brought focus and intention to a life that wholeheartedly embraces multiple roles, responsibilities and professional passions without spreading herself too thin

---

I “met” Lauren years ago when she spoke in a virtual summit all about Instagram hosted by Megan Martin, my guest back in Episode 52.

Megan is a mom of four, digital CEO and the founder of the Digital Lab, an all-access online learning community for business owners looking to add digital products like courses, templates and downloads to their portfolio.

I’ve learned a ton, and made so many great connections inside the Digital Lab, and I’d love for you to join us. Click here to start your 14-day free trial and see what it’s all about.

Listen to Episode 52 featuring Digital Lab founder, Megan Martin share how she breaks the mold in work and life.

---

RESOURCES Mentioned in this Episode

• Cultivate What Matters PowerSheets Goal Planner – Lauren’s favorite planner

• TeuxDeax – Lauren’s go-to task management app

STAY IN TOUCH WITH Lauren

• Follow Lauren on Instagram

• Visit Lauren’s website

• Like Lauren on Facebook

---

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW IN ITUNES

If you’re enjoying It’s About Time so far, I hope you’ll take a moment to subscribe if you haven’t yet – I don’t want you to miss an episode! I’ve got a few bonus episodes in the works, and you might miss them if you’re not subscribed. Click here to subscribe on iTunes.

If really like what you hear, I’d be so grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Your review plays a HUGE role in helping others find out about It’s About Time. And honestly, they’re really fun for me to read! Click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what you’re loving about It’s About Time. Thank you!!

Reading Time: 11 minutes

Are You Planning for Recharge? Here’s How to Look Ahead

We aren’t iPhones with charging cables, but we need to recharge just the same. Tune in to find out if you’re being intentional about planning for rest, recreation and relationships. Need more recharge in your life?

LISTEN IN APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN IN SPOTIFY | LISTEN IN STITCHER

In last week’s episode, Episode 59 – I walked you through my annual planning process – one that I’ve been using and improve for, gosh… maybe the last 5-10 years… If you haven’t tuned into that one yet, definitely add it to you to-do list so you can you Plan with Purpose as you walk into the new year.

>> Listen Now: Plan with Purpose: How to Plan Your Year with Intention Even in Times of Uncertainty

Whether you’re listening to this episode in late December, early January or even the middle of June – there’s one thing that we all need to make sure we’re planning for regardless of the time of year, so I’ve decided to dedicate an episode to giving you all of the ideas you need to make planning this part of life a priority.

Today, I’m talking about Recharge – one of the 5 pillars of living with HEART.

You’ve probably heard me say before that Time Management begins with HEART management, but you may not know that HEART has become the core of my practice as a time management coach.

Each letter in the word HEART represents a different piece of the overall time management puzzle.

• H for habits

• E for energy

• A for attention

• R for recharge and

• T for time.

It’s so appropriate that time comes last, because moving things around on our calendar can’t begin until we’ve considered the other 4 pillars.

So in Episode 60, I share

• Why it’s critical to prioritize recharge.

• What exactly recharge means in the context of life of time management and

• How you can you be intentional about recharging in your life in order to show up as your best self, for yourself – and for your loved ones.

---

WHY DO WE NEED RECHARGE

We are not robots, or cell phones or wireless Bluetooth Speakers – so how exactly does recharge apply to us as humans?

It would probably help for me to go back to the beginning and share with you why I like to use the word Recharge, and why Recharge is such a key element of living with HEART – as I shared at the beginning of this episode.

There are some things in life that light us up. That give us energy. That replenish us both physically, mentally and emotionally.

You can probably think of some things, activities – even people – who just make you feel great.

All work and no play makes Anna – and probably you, too – a dull girl.

And that’s where recharge comes in.

Recharge is the word I like to use to capture three critical categories of replenishing our physical, mental and emotional energy.

THE THREE CATEGORIES OF RECHARGE

Those three categories are

Rest, recreation and relationships.

Y’all know how much I love some alliteration with my Marketing Mondays and Wash Towels Wednesdays, so it thrills my soul that all of these words just go together so well.

Unlike meetings on a calendar, client deadlines or work projects – rest, recreation and relationships can be kind of abstract, and they have to be managed by us. Most of the time, no one is going to put this kind of stuff on our calendar for us. It’s up to us to carve out time for, and we desperately need it.

Let’s dive into each one.

We’ll start with Rest.

REST

When we talk about rest, we could definitely get into the importance of getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep each night, but instead – let’s look at it from the context of taking time off.

A 2019 study on vacation by the U.S. Travel Association found that more than half of U.S. Workers – 54 percent – reported feeling guilty about taking vacation time. 55% of American workers didn’t use all of their paid vacation time – and even when people DO take vacation, 70% of the respondents in another survey by TurnKey admitted to checking in with work while they were out.

Far too often, we can get swept up in the deadlines and projects of the year and wait for a “slower time” to magically appear to take vacation. Or we feel like we have to “earn” our vacation even though we already have the days available.

Newsflash friend – a magically perfect time to take vacation is probably not just going to appear.

You’ve got to treat it like a boulder, block it out and work around it.

In the next few months, I’ll actually be prepping to take a few months off after our new baby is born, so I’m looking forward to putting together an episode on how to prep for being away from work for an extended period of time, whether that’s a week long vacation, a month-long sabbatical or a 2-3 month long maternity leave.

Let’s move on to Relationships.

relationships

On the subject of relationships – especially our closest relationships – just like we tend to “wait” and give what’s leftover to our restful time off – our relationships often get our leftovers too.

There are many ways that we can categorize relationships in our lives. Close friends, work friends. Work proximity acquaintances as Ron Swanson on Parks and Rec liked to say. But let’s look at these two groups:

People we see often with little effort, and people we don’t see often.

People We See Often With Little Effort

People we see often with little effort include our spouses or partners, our children who still live with us, and if you’re reporting to an office for work – there are the usual suspects that you see regularly at the office.

Because we see this group of people so often, and so little effort is involved – we can tend to take this group for granted. Just ask any married couple who hasn’t had a date night in a few years and spending time together looks more like zoning out in front of their phones while watching The Office for the 29th time.

So here, I challenge you to ask the question – How can I create more opportunities for quality time with people in this group that I see often? One of my time management clients and her husband shared that they have a bowl of Truth or Dare style questions in their living room. Anytime one notices that they’ve slipped into the zombie phone scroll, they grab the bowl and ask each other funny questions. I love this idea! It’s so simple, and just the act of sitting down and creating the questions on little slips of paper can be a fun, quality time activity.

This is where open and clear communication with your people is really key, we could even dive into Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages here. 

If you’re not familiar, Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages describe the 5 general ways that romantic partners (but this could also apply to friendships) express and experience love.

I’ll link the book and the love language quiz so you can learn more, but the five love languages are:

• Words of Affirmation

• Physical Touch

• Acts of Service

• Quality Time and

• Gifts

In order to create meaningful connection with your closest relationships – talk about each others love languages, and see how you can meet in the middle or switch back and forth between activities that speak to both of your love languages.

For example – Scott’s love language is Quality Time. Mine is Acts of Services. So I try to make an effort to be fully present whenever we’re together and come up with activities that we can do together or ask meaningful questions that can lead to good conversation. Even just watching Jeopardy reruns and yelling out answers is something fun we can do together.

People We Don’t See Often

On the flip side, there are people we don’t see often. We have to make an effort to see this group of people in our lives, so one of two things happen. We don’t make an effort, we don’t see or talk with them often, the relationship gradually gets weaker to the point of near nonexistence.

Or – one of both of the people in the relationship takes the lead to make sure you stay connected and in touch, even though it takes some effort. Previously this group was mainly composed of friends and family who live far away from us, but this past year of socially distancing due to the pandemic has completely changed the members of this group around for us – and social connection takes more effort and creativity than ever. Group text threads and apps like Voxer and Marco Polo have kept us connected, just like Zoom Happy Hours were a thing in the beginning of the pandemic.

So as you’re thinking of folks in this group – you can ask yourself: Who do you not see often that you want to create  or grow a connection with? What could that look like? A regular phone call? Restarting the Zoom happy hour? What could that look like?

And finally – let’s talk recreation.

RECREATION

At some point during the transition from being kids to adults, a lot of us lost our hobbies, or lost touch with having fun for the sake of fun. Everything has to have productivity or some kind of value tied to it in order to be worth our time. Some things can just be fun! 

One of my goals for 2020, was to do more fun things for the sake of having fun. But what does fun mean? I had to decide for myself – no one else could do it for me.

If you’re scratching your head thinking… wait – what is fun for me?

I’d challenge you to make a list of 100 dreams, just like in the Plan with Purpose exercise. Get your creative juices flowing and see what rises to the top.

If you want a shortcut, ask yourself – What would I do, if I had all the time in the world and money wasn’t an issue?

What pops up, and how could your pie in the sky answer be reshaped to fit your life today?

When I did this reflection last year – I realized that I love the idea of cooking things from Southern Living magazine. It speaks to my love of hosting and hospitality – even if no one is coming over – and it helps me feel connected to the women in my family who kept stacks on stacks of Southern Living in their homes like a lifestyle bible of sorts.

I kicked this off in January of 2020 by baking the gorgeous chocolate cake with sugar magnolias on the cover of the December 2019 issue – you can actually find the highlights from that adventure in my Instagram Stories. It took three days and a lot of work, but it was awesome and so much fun.

I’ll be continuing the tradition by backing the December 2020 white cake – it’s a coconut cake with chocolate ganache filling, if you’re curious, the week that this episode airs just in time for Christmas Day lunch.

But the recipes and ingredients for that cake and the other fun recipes I like to try throughout the year aren’t going to magically appear in my pantry.

I also love exercise classes, like barre and yoga, and lifting weights. Going for walks on the Mandeville lakefront is also a favorite family activity, but the time to get to the gym or the lakefront isn’t going to magically appear on my calendar.

And that’s the common thread for all three of these aspects of recharge – rest, relationships and recreation. No one is going to schedule this for you. The time is not going to magically appear on your calendar like a meeting invitation for your boss. This is up to you – and I’m so excited to share my secret for carving out time for recharge.

My Secret for Intentional Recharge

It’s called – Look Ahead.

A Look Ahead time block to be more exact.

And quick refresher if you’re new around here – a Time Block is a meeting you schedule with yourself for a specific purpose. It has a clear start time and end time, and it lives in your digital calendar or on the pages of your paper planner.

Every Thursday morning, I have a time block on my calendar – a meeting with myself called Look Ahead. And even though it’s just me, this meeting has an agenda, well it’s actually more of a checklist.

Let me tell you how it works.

Every Thursday, I start my day by looking ahead to the weekend and ask myself these eight simple questions:

1. What needs to be rearranged to close out the week.

This gives me a chance to look at my original goals for the week, see what hasn’t been completed yet, make adjustments for things that have come up and plan the rest of Thursday and Friday to make sure the most important things are completed.

2. Do I need to plan for any work over the weekend?

I try my hardest to get everything done during the 20-25 working hours I have during my week while Millie is at childcare, but the reality is that it doesn’t always happen. Right now, I’ve got frequent doctor’s appointments as I’m heading into the third trimester of my pregnancy, sometimes Millie gets sick and has to stay home, sometimes things just come up. Looking ahead on Thursday and deciding what if any work I’ll do over the weekend helps me set expectations with Scott in advance and block out when I’ll get that work done – usually during Millie’s afternoon naptimes.

Things start to get a little more fun with Question Number three:

3. Are we going to the gym this weekend?

Based on anything already planned, I go ahead and block out two hours for a family trip to the gym, which brings me to Question 4.

4. Do I need to reserve Millie a spot at Playland?

We’re super fortunate that our gym has a fantastic childcare center, but it requires reservations 24 hours in advance. Rather than waiting til the last minute and potentially missing the window, setting this reminder on Thursday morning and making the reservation then makes us so much more likely to follow through with our plans and head to the gym once Saturday morning arrives.

5. Are there any Southern Living recipes I want to try this weekend?

I’ve got the most recent issue close by, and a folder full of tear outs in the file cabinet beside my desk. If I’ve had my eye on a specific recipe or something seems interesting, I’ll place a grocery pickup or delivery order for the ingredients I need so I’ll have it ready to go for the weekend.

Of course – this question is going to be different for you based on your idea of fun! Maybe you ask yourself – Are there any friends I want to connect with this weekend, and you go ahead and reach out to make plans?

Maybe you ask yourself Do I want to go surfing this weekend and you go ahead and check the waves?

Disclaimer, I know nothing about surfing so I just assume this is something one would check.

Whatever you decide – this is your chance to carve out the time in advance of the weekend so that when the weekend rolls around, the decision is already made and you’re ready to rock and roll.

Last three questions:

6. Do we need anything from Target for a drive up order?

If so – I’ll go ahead and place the order, but I’ll wait and go pick it up on Saturday or Sunday.

7. When will we do laundry/house cleaning?

We tend to get started first thing Saturday or Sunday morning, depending on what else is planned for the weekend.

And finally Question 8

8. Do I want to take a nap?

Yes – seriously. I love naps, and this might seem crazy but I’ve found that if I think through the weekend – when we’ll clean, whether I need to do work, what family activities we’ll do together – I can decide whether or not to take a nap. It’s just one way to be intentional about rest – while still setting yourself up for success over the weekend, and the week ahead.

Look Ahead to Recharge with Rest, Relationships and Recreation

So to recap – Recharge in the form of rest, relationships and recreation feed our soul. Recharge replenishes us physically, mentally and emotionally – but the time for intentionally recharge doesn’t magically appear. Like most good things in life, it takes intention.

And creating a Look Ahead time block – whether yours is on Thursday, like mine – or another day of the week that makes sense for you – creating a Look Ahead time block is just one way that you can bring more intention to the recharge you hope to create during your weekends.

I’d love to know if you’re already practicing something like a Look Ahead time block and what kind of questions you ask yourself to prep for a weekend full of recharge. Tell me in the comments below, or come join us over in the It’s About Time Podcast Community on Facebook and let us know how you look ahead to intentional recharge!

---

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

DOWNLOAD

• Plan With Purpose: Your 2021 Planning Checklist

• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

• Take the 5 Love Languages Quiz HERE!

JOIN

• Join the It’s About Time Academy!

 

Reading Time: 10 minutes

The Thing About Imposter Syndrome: 5 Ways to Deal With Feeling Like a Fraud

The thing about Imposter Syndrome is that it can strike at any time, and almost all of us have felt it at some point. Imposter Syndrome can impact how we show up in our personal and professional lives, turning our work/life balance upside down. In this episode, I’m sharing a mortifying personal experience with Imposter Syndrome.

 

LISTEN IN APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN IN SPOTIFY | LISTEN IN STITCHER

 

Raise your hand if the recent changes to Instagram are making you a little crazy. It seems like every time I open up my favorite app, there’s a new feature – or something has changed or’s been moved around.

So – Last week, amid the funny Reels and stories about favorite Thanksgiving side dishes, I came across a post on Instagram that cut kind of deep. 

This post – by Dr. Kelly Vincent, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist based in Encinitas, California – introduced me to five types of imposter syndrome that I didn’t even know existed.

I’ve definitely experienced Imposter Syndrome at different points in my life, but for the most part – I feel like I’ve had a good handle on it lately.

But what I didn’t realize is that Imposter Syndrome can show up in a number of different ways.

This week – I’m celebrating the one-year anniversary of launching It’s About Time.

I’m super excited about it, and honestly really proud to have taken something like this from an idea to reality – and then grow it to what it’s become a year later.

In the last year, I’ve published 57 episodes and 3 Bonus Episodes.

I’ve interviewed 26 remarkable women to learn how they approach work, life and balance and shared my best tips for time management and productivity in 29 solo shows and spent more than 37 hours behind my hand-me-down mic recording episodes.

And Yes, a year later I’m still using that same mic my friend Jacob is letting me “borrow.” 

And yet – despite all of those numbers, I still struggle with a certain type of Imposter Syndrome at times. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year’s worth of episodes of talking with y’all – it’s that I’m not a lone, and We’re not along in our struggles.

So in Episode 57, I’ll cover

• What exactly Imposter Syndrome is

• 5 different types of Imposter Syndrome, so you can put a more specific name to the feelings you’re having – learning these 5 types is what totally blew me away, because one of them really speaks to me, and you’ll get to find out which type speaks to you, too.

• And finally 5 Ways to Manage Imposter Syndrome whenever you start to feel it creeping in

Studies have shown that 70% of people will experience at least one episode of Imposter Syndrome in their lives – so if you’ve never felt it, then you almost definitely know someone who has. Keep listening for ways to cope and to help others when they’re feeling it too.

---

Alright. Imposter Syndrome. Yikes. It just sounds rough on all accounts, right? And well – that’s because it is.

my most mortifying imposter syndrome moment

Back in 2015, I started a new job as a Public Relations Account Executive at a Boutique PR firm in New Orleans. Even though I’d worked in government communications, managing crisis situations on behalf of the Louisiana Lt. Governor, navigating droughts, oil spills, state budget issues and more – I still didn’t feel like I belonged at that firm.

Everyone else there had years of agency experience, and on top of that I had taken a pay cut from my past state government salaries to take this job and make the move to New Orleans – and so as a PR Exec, I was making about the same as what I made as an Executive Assistant much earlier in my career. Because of this drop in my salary, I didn’t feel valued – and I didn’t feel like my experience mattered.

I really hate to admit this and tell this story, but one of my clients flew in from Australia to meet with local elected officials about a plant opening. With my governmental relations background, I’d lined up a full day of meetings for him with everyone from State Reps, a U.S. Senator, Mayors and the Parish President. And for my Non-Louisiana listeners, just a reminder that Parish is what we call our Counties.

I knew my boss – the owner of the PR firm – was planning to attend the meeting with the Parish President, and I mentioned to my client that I might stay outside because I didn’t want there to be too many people there. I remember past bosses who were government officials –  being perturbed when too many people were in the room for meetings. Honestly, I didn’t think that I would be able to contribute in a meaningful way, that I didn’t belong in the room and that I didn’t deserve a seat at the table. People who made what I made just didn’t get seats at the table. They sat along the back wall if they were even in the room at all.

But that client –  his name was Matthew told me – “No, I need you to be in that meeting. You are our top contact. You’ve been engaging with all of these elected officials, you understand the landscape, you’ve spent years doing this. You don’t seem to understand how important you are to this operation and what expertise you bring to the table. We need you in there.”

I felt both grateful and totally mortified. 

I was completely blind to my own worth and expertise, and was letting the years of agency experience I had (less than 1) and the number on my paycheck define my value – instead of the years of service I’d given to State of Louisiana, the experience I’d gained along the way, and my accomplishments – like the congressional testimony and speeches I’d written that had earned national media attention.

Imposter Syndrome? Oh yeah. 100%.

As I mentioned earlier, this episode was inspired by a series of Instagram posts by psychologist Dr. Kelly Vincent, and in those posts she references the work of Valerie Young who has studied Imposter Syndrome for decades – specifically fraudulent feelings among high achievers.

What is imposter syndrome?

So what exactly is Imposter Syndrome. If you know, you know – but if you’re not sure Imposter Syndrome is a struggle to internalize your own successes, or a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite your success.

Basically – it’s feeling not good enough, like you don’t belong at the table, or like you’re a total fraud – even though there’s clear evidence – in the form of you having your job, or awards, or accolades, or just generally being competent.

It can take the form of

• Doubting yourself

• Berating your performance

• Fear or failing

• Over-achieving

• Sabotaging your own success

• Perfectionism

• Over-preparing to make sure that no one finds out what a fraud you are

• Denial of competence or rejecting praise

• And of course this is not an exhaustive list.

Imposter syndrome can look different based on your personality, your background and your environment. And that’s exactly what blew my mind as I started to dig in and more about this all-too-common experience.

Imposter Syndrome can look different for everyone, and Dr. Valerie Young’s research uncovered 5 different types of Imposter Syndrome.

5 Types of Imposter Syndrome

Now – before I tell you about each one, I want to mention something that Dr. Kelly Vincent mentioned in one of her Instagram posts showcasing these 5 types.

She said that – and i quote “In my opinion, these types are not meant to label or diagnose yourself. Instead, they can be helpful in building awareness of your experience and the underlying belief systems.”

When it comes to overcoming fraudulent feelings, Dr. Young – the original researcher – highlights the need to uncover your self-limiting beliefs about competency.

So -as you’re reading each of these five types, instead of thinking “Oh I’m totally this one” or trying to diagnose yourself, try to frame it as – Okay – I can bring awareness to this type of behavior when I recognize myself falling into these patterns.

Alright – Are we on the same page? Let’s look at the five types of imposter syndrome. I’ll share all five, and then give you a short description of each.

• The perfectionist.

• The superhero.

• The expert.

• The natural genius

• The soloist.

First – The Perfectionist

Perfectionists are never satisfied and always feel that their work could be better. Rather than focus on their strengths, they tend to fixate on any flaws or mistakes. This often leads to a great deal of self-pressure and high amounts of anxiety.

Next – The Superhero

Because these individuals feel inadequate, they feel compelled to push themselves to work as hard as possible. They measure competence based on how many roles they can both juggle and excel in. Falling short in any role evokes shame, because they feel like they should be able to handle it.

Third – The Expert

These individuals are always trying to learn more and are never satisfied with their level of understanding. Even though they are often highly skilled, they underrate their own expertise. Their primary concern is “what” and “how much” they know or can do. Even a minor lack of knowledge creates feelings of failure and shame.

Fourth – The Natural Genius

These individuals set excessively lofty goals for themselves, and then feel crushed when they don’t succeed on their first try.

And finally – The Soloist

These people tend to be very individualistic and prefer to work alone. Self-worth often stems from their productivity, so they often reject offers of assistance. They tend to see asking for help as a sign of weakness or incompetence.

---

What was so interesting to me about learning about each of these types is that each of them deals with, or attempts to fight back against imposter syndrome in a unique way. I’ve typically thought of imposter syndrome as just feelings of inadequacy… But I can look back across the past 10 years and see how imposter syndrome has played out with these different types.

In college and my early professional career – I can clearly remember having Superhero Tendencies, running from one meeting to the next and applying for more and more clubs and committees just to prove that I was good enough. I like to say that I’m a recovering perfectionist, and I try to employ the strategy of defining what “Good Enough” or “B minus” work looks like – a strategy that will sound familiar to any of my time management coaching clients listening in – but I still struggle with fixating on mistakes instead of letting it go and remembering that perfection in anything is truly impossible. But reading the description of The Expert type is what hit the hardest.

I mentioned in Episode 50 that I’ve struggled with the word expert, and questioned what it means to achieve expert status. What does knowing enough look like? And I see now that was the Imposter Syndrome talking – questioning the hours I’ve put in to learn as much as possible about time management, productivity, work life balance and business – but it still never feeling like it’s enough.

>> Listen Now: Episode 50 – 5 Life Lessons I’ve Learned about Time Management, Productivity and Work/Life Balance from Recording 50 Episodes of It’s About Time <<

5 Ways to Deal with Imposter Syndrome

So what do we do when we feel the feelings of Imposter Syndrome creeping in?

Although there are many different methods to approaching imposter syndrome, I’m going to share 5 ways that you can manage imposter syndrome and encourage you to follow Dr.KellyVincent on instagram to learn more.

First – Normalize your feelings. Remember – around 70% of us will experience imposter syndrome at some point, so you are not alone.

Second – start attributing your success to YOU. Your hard work, your dedication, your persistence, your education – whatever it took. You weren’t just lucky, you weren’t just in the right place at the right time – you earned your success. Let yourself own it.

Third – Work on developing a healthy response to failure. Let’s be honest. Failure sucks. No one LIKES to fail. But it happens. We’re just not going to get everything right all the time. The buyer will choose another realtor. You will lose out on the RFP. You might even get fired, mess up the presentation or bungle the project.

Instead of rehashing your mistakes – and I know we all love to stay up at night reliving that awkward conversation or that moment we fell walking on stage – think about what you’d do differently next time, or use try this:

Fourth – Recognize and reframe the story – how can you reframe the failure into a lesson or opportunity for growth? How can you recognize when you’re displaying the tendencies of one of these 5 types and reframe – maybe even pivot to a different behavior?

And finally – Fifth – remind yourself, “I am a work in progress.” Y’all – every single one of us is a work in progress. Every day we’re learning new things, taking in new experiences and building our personal portfolios of life. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how long you’ve been in business, how long you’ve been in your career – No one – literally not a single person has everything figured out. We are all works in progress, and I don’t know about you, but that is just so comforting to me.

So next time you feel yourself slipping into your version of imposter syndrome, i encourage you to try one or more of these 5 methods for managing those feelings, and remember that repetition is key. This isn’t a one and done, set it and forget it fix. Just like anything worthwhile, managing imposter syndrome takes awareness, and it takes practice.

Final Recap

So – to run through those quickly one more time:

1. Normalize your feelings. Remember that you are not alone.

2. Start attributing the success to YOU! Give yourself credit where credit is due.

3. Work on developing a healthy response to failure. What can you learn from it?

4. Recognize and reframe the story.

5. Remind yourself, “I am a work in progress.”

---

LISTENER SPOTLIGHT

First of all – Thank you so incredibly much for your kind words. It means so much to me that you’d let me be a part of your week while you’re running your business, helping customers and chasing a toddler. I seriously started crying when I read this review because when you’re behind the mic, sometimes it feels like taking a big guess. Will this be helpful? Will you guys like this episode? So I can’t tell you how meaningful it is to get this feedback from you. Thank you so so much for taking time to leave this review – it’s definitely fuel to the fire to keep me going for the next 50 episodes and the next year and beyond.

---

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW IN ITUNES

If you’re enjoying It’s About Time so far, I hope you’ll take a moment to subscribe if you haven’t yet – I don’t want you to miss an episode! I’ve got a few bonus episodes in the works, and you might miss them if you’re not subscribed. Click here to subscribe on iTunes.

If really like what you hear, I’d be so grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Your review play a HUGE role in helping others find out about It’s About Time. And honestly, they’re really fun for me to read! Click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what you’re loving about It’s About Time. Thank you!!

---

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

LISTEN

• Episode 50: 5 Life Lessons I’ve Learned about Time Management, Productivity and Work/Life Balance from Recording 50 Episodes of It’s About Time

JOIN

• Join the It’s About Time Podcast Community!