If you’ve ever ended a long work-from-home day thinking, “How was I busy all day yet still got nothing done?!”…you’re not alone.

Most of us don’t actually need more hours. We just need to reclaim the ones we’re already losing to distractions, decision fatigue, and constant context switching.

When you’re juggling client work, home responsibilities, and your own personal goals, every minute of clarity and focus matters!

“You can’t make up for lost time. You can only do better in the future.” – Ashley Ormon

Here’s what’s cool: you can create more time in your day without working longer or pushing yourself harder. With a few intentional shifts grounded in how your brain actually works, you can move through your day with far more ease, flow, and efficiency.

So in this blog, you’re going to learn:

• How to reclaim lost time by reducing hidden distractions
• Why time and energy management must work together
• Practical habits that help you move through your day faster with more clarity
• 11 actional strategies you can start today to create more time without burning out

Before we dive in, I have a gift for you! Download this FREE CHEAT SHEET so you can keep these tips at your fingertips and use them when you need them most. So click that button below, enter your info, then check your email to save the Cheat Sheet for later!

THE REAL SECRET TO CREATING MORE TIME IN YOUR DAY

As a productivity coach for peeps who work from home, the most common question I get is “How do I manage my time better?”

Most people think they need better time management, but time isn’t really the problem. Your energy is.

You can map out the perfect schedule, color-code your calendar, and set all the reminders you want. But if your brain is drained, distracted, or overloaded, you’re not going to follow through.

And the opposite is true, too. You can have great energy, but without a clear plan for how to use it, you end up drifting, switching tasks in the middle, and wondering where the day went.

Which means that time and energy are a paired system, and you can get the best results when you manage them together.

Here’s why:

• Ultradian rhythms influence your natural peaks and dips:

Your brain works in 90-120 minute cycles followed by natural dips in energy. This is called your ultradian rhythm. When you work with these rhythms instead of against them (and build in real breaks!), you get more done in less time cuz you’re tapping into your brain’s strongest focus windows.

• Cognitive load impacts how fast you can think and move:

When your mind is cluttered with open loops – aka unfinished tasks, mental reminders, decisions you haven’t made yet – everything takes longer. Lighten the mental load, and suddenly the tasks that felt heavy move much faster.

• Decision fatigue steals hours of productivity:

Every “What should I do next?” moment drains your brain’s fuel. Unplanned days create constant micro-decisions, and those tiny moments add up! A little structure eliminates unnecessary choices and gives you back time you didn’t even realize you were losing.

So when you combine intentional time management with supportive energy management, you create space, clarity and breathing room. And that’s where you start to feel like you have more hours in your day!

Now let’s dive into the practical, sustainable strategies and habits that help you reclaim that time, one small shift at a time.

Which the FREE CHEAT SHEET can help you do! So be sure to click that button below, enter your name and email, then check your inbox for the PDF so you always have these tips available!

11 TIPS TO CREATE MORE TIME IN YOUR DAY

Now that you understand how your time and energy work together, let’s get into the practical shifts that actually help you reclaim those hours.

These aren’t rigid rules or hustle culture hacks. They’re simple, neuroscience-backed habits that remove friction, protect your focus, and make your day move more smoothly.

Even implementing just one or two of these tips will help you feel more spacious, less rushed, and far more in control of your time.

In fact, I suggest only choosing one or two tips to start with. Then when you feel ready add another tip or two to your habits, and so on. Slow progression is sustainable progression!

Here’s the 11 proven tips to create more time in your day without working longer hours:

1. Turn your phone on Do Not Disturb
2. Limit TV time at night
3. Delegate (even if you think you can’t)
4. Take screen-free breaks
5. Plan your day ahead of time
6. Use time blocks
7. Eat the frog
8. Use timers
9. Learn to say “not right now”
10. Practice “mise en place” in your life
11. Use braindumps

Let’s dive into each tip now!

But first you gotta download your very own FREE CHEAT SHEET! Simply click that button below, enter your info, check your inbox, and work through the tips one at a time!

TIP 1: TURN YOUR PHONE TO DO NOT DISTURB

If you want to create more time in your day, your phone is the first place to look!

Most people underestimate how much time they lost to tiny, constant interruptions. But studies show the average person spends 2-4 hours A DAY (yes – a day!) on digital distractions without even realizing it.

Go ahead and pull out your phone’s settings right now and just see how much time you spend on your phone each day. You’re going to be shocked.

But it’s not just the scrolling that steals time. It’s the switching.

Every notification pulls you out of focus, triggers a dopamine spike that makes you want to check “just one more thing,” and forces your brain to rebuild concentration from scratch.

Those micro-delays add up fast and, before you know it, you’ve lost entire pockets of your day.

Turning on Do Not Disturb (and honestly removing notifications from your computer) instantly removes the biggest source of unnecessary distraction.

It protects your attention, strengthens your focus, and creates the deep, uninterrupted time you need to work faster and with more ease.

“Sometimes the bravest and most important thing to do is to just show up.” – Brené Brown

Even using DND for one or two blocks each day can give you back hours you didn’t even know you were losing.

Try it out and you’ll be happily surprised and how much more time and energy you feel like you have.

Here’s a friendly reminder to download the FREE CHEAT SHEET! That way you have 11 ways to save time always at your fingertips. So click that button below, enter your info, then check your email!

TIP 2: LIMIT TV TIME AT NIGHT

Let’s say you watch just 1 hour-long TV show at night (although I’d bet you watch more…cuz I def used to!). 1 hour may not feel like much, but that adds up to 7 full hours every single week – almost a full workday!

And for many people, that hour easily becomes 2 or 3 without noticing.

Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with unwinding. But if you’re craving more time in your day, evenings are one of the easiest places to reclaim it.

Instead of defaulting to TV out of habit, try reframing your evenings as you time or goal time. This is the perfect window to recharge your mind, prep for tomorrow, or make small progress on something that matters to you.

This doesn’t mean a huge routine!! It’s the simple swaps that go the longest way:

1. • 15 minutes of reading
   • 10 minutes of stretching
   • 20 minutes of planning or reflection
   • A quick tidy or reset for the next day

And look, you don’t even always have to turn the TV off. I personally love to have some noise in the background while I take 15-45 minutes to do some tasks, wash the dishes, declutter, or whatever it is that I want to move forward that night.

My fiancé has joined me in this nightly routine, too! Now we’re working on our goals and self-care together each night. How lovely!

“To think too long before doing the thing often becomes its undoing.” – Eva Young

Point is, these small pockets of intentional time compound so quickly. Over a week, month, and year, they give you far more momentum (and far more time) than any TV show ever will.

Don’t forget to download your FREE CHEAT SHEET! Be sure to click that button below, add your info, then check your email and come back to the blog!

TIP 3: DELEGATE (EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU CAN’T)

Most people mistakenly think delegating is reserved for CEOs or people with big teams. But the truth is that delegation is a mindset shift, not a job title.

You can’t create more time in your day if you’re still trying to do everything yourself. And honestly? You’re probably spending precious hours on tasks that don’t require your brain, creativity, or your strengths.

So I suggest identifying the low-value tasks that drain your time and energy, like:

• Repetitive admin work
• Formatting
• Drafting the first messy version of something
• Researching options
• Sorting data
• Pulling information together

I could go on and on with all of the things that, yes, we have to do, but it doesn’t take too much effort to execute. The tasks that ultimately become annoying.

Those are the tasks that can be automated, streamlined, or delegated!

And if you don’t have someone to delegate to? Use Chat GPT like your personal intern! That’s what I do!

I call Chat GPT “Miss Chatty” (lol) and give it tasks like first drafts, email starters, research summaries, caption ideas, workflows, outlines, templates, brain dumping and sorting, you name it.

I try to offload as much as possible to Miss Chatty so my brain can stay focused on the things that actually move the needle forward.

“A year from now, you may have wished that you started today.” – Karen Lamb

Let me be blunt: your time is far too valuable to spend on everything. The moment you get comfortable letting go of tasks that don’t require you, you instantly create more room for the work and the life that matters most.

By the way, don’t forget to download your FREE CHEAT SHEET so you can apply these tips on your own time! So click that button below, add your info, then check your email!

TIP 4: TAKE SCREEN-FREE BREAKS

If you truly want to move through your day faster, think more clearly, and get more done, then you must give your brain real rest throughout the day.

And that means taking screen-free breaks!

Even a short 3-15 minute intentional pause helps your brain reset, replenish glucose, and restore the focus you need for your next block of work.

But what most of us do as a break instead is scroll. And sure, it feels like a break, but it actually keeps your brain stimulated and overloaded. It feels like a break cuz it isn’t work, but it’s still activating your brain in the same way as work does.

Screens raise cognitive load, increases stress hormones, and prevent your mind from recovering. So you return to work feeling just as drained as before, sometimes even more.

But when you step away from screens – stretch, breathe, walk, drink water, stare out a window, anything without a screen really – you’re giving your brain the reset it needs to think faster, make fewer mistakes, and maintain stamina throughout the day.

“Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.” – Coco Chanel

Rest isn’t wasted time. Rest is productive.

Rest is how you create more time cuz it empowers your brain to work better for you, not against you.

But first, here’s another chance to download the FREE CHEAT SHEET that walks you through these tips! Click that button below, enter your info, then check your email inbox!

TIP 5: PLAN YOUR DAY AHEAD OF TIME

One of the biggest time wasters in your day is the moments when your brain pauses and thinks, “What should I do next?”

Those tiny stalls create friction, slow you down, and make it harder to transition between tasks.

A simple daily plan eliminates those micro-delays instantly!

When you take just a few minutes (either the night before or the morning of) to map out what you’re doing and when, you’re giving your brain a clear roadmap.

That clarity reduces decision fatigue and helps you move from one task to another without hesitation.

It doesn’t matter whether you prefer evening planning or the morning. What matters is choosing a time that works consistently for you. Make it a routine, keep it simple, and let your plan hold the mental load so your brain doesn’t have to.

“The way we plan our day if, of course, the way we plan our lives.” – Annie Dillard

The next tip dives much deeper into how to actually plan your day, so keep on reading!

Pssstt…did you download your FREE CHEAT SHEET yet? You don’t want to miss out on having a go-to tips for time management, trust me! So click that button below, add your info, then check your email!

TIP 6: USE TIME BLOCKS TO STRUCTURE YOUR DAY

I love time blocking cuz it gives your day a natural rhythm. One that reduces decision fatigue and helps you stay focused without constantly wondering what comes next.

Instead of treating your day like one long, overwhelming stretch of time, time blocks create contained pockets of purpose:

• A deep work block
• A creative block
• An admin block
• A meeting block
• A planning block

This structure also lets you match your tasks to your energy. For instance:

Creative tasks flow better when your brain feels fresh. Admin tasks are easier when your energy dips. Deep works needs uninterrupted focus.

So when you group similar tasks together, your brain stays in one mode longer, which helps you work faster and with far less friction.

Time blocks also prevent you from overbooking yourself. When a block is full, it’s full!

This stops the habit of cramming too much into one day and gives you a more realistic view of how much time you actually have.

“Time is a gift that most of us take for granted. We get so caught up in the busyness of our daily lives that we rarely stop and take a serious look at how we’re spending this gift.” – Cheryl Richardson

Now the goal is NOT to structure every minute. The goal is to create a clear rhythm your brain can follow with ease.

Next I want to recommend a specific time block you should always have in your daily plan!

But first, be sure to download your FREE CHEAT SHEET! So before moving along, tap that button below, enter your info, check your email, then come back here for the deets!

TIP 7: EAT THE FROG

Let’s be real: there’s always a task you’ve been avoiding. That one that feels heavy, annoying, or intimidating. That task is your frog.

And the simplest way to create more time in your day is to do that task first. Aka eat the frog!

Why? Cuz when you tackle the thing you’re dreading right away, you instantly relieve the mental pressure that’s been weighing on you.

Think about if you actually had to eat a real, raw frog – gross, right? You’d avoid eating that frog all day, but it would also consume you and be the only thing you can think about. And procrastinating eating it makes eating it so much worse when it’s time to do so cuz you’ve created this horrible story in your head throughout the day.

But what if you just ate it first and got it over with? Wouldn’t the rest of your day feel so much easier?

That’s why it’s important to eat the frog!

“A person who has not done one half of his day’s work by ten o’clock runs the chance of leaving the other half undone.” – Emily Bronte

Avoided tasks don’t just sit quietly in the background of your mind. They take up a lot of mental bandwidth. They create this cognitive drag that makes you feel behind before the day even starts, plus slows you down in everything else you do.

So when you eat the frog, you free up that mental space. The rest of your day feels lighter, easier, and more productive cuz you’re no longer carrying the weight of the thing you didn’t want to do.

It’s a small shift with a massive ripple effect on your time, energy, and momentum.

That’s how I’d honestly describe all these tips, which is another reason why you should download the FREE CHEAT SHEET!  Once you have tested one tip out, move on to another and so on. So here’s your chance to click that button below, add your info, and check your email!

TIP 8: USE TIMERS

I’m religious about this tip cuz it works wonders!

Timers are one of the most underrated tools for creating more time in your day cuz they’re one of the simplest.

When you give yourself a clear time limit, you instantly curb your perfectionism, prevent tasks from expanding longer than necessary, and help your brain stay focused on what actually matters.

A timer creates a container. Inside that container, you work with intention.

Knowing the clock is running keeps you realistic about how long something should take and stops you from overworking a task that doesn’t need to be perfect.

If you want to align with your brain’s natural wiring, try using cycles like:

• 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off (Pomodoro)
• 52 minutes on, 17 minutes off (based on ultradian rhythm research)

“I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.” – Golda Meir

Both options help you work in concentrated bursts while building in the rest your brain needs to reset.

You’ll move faster, finish more, and stay far more energized throughout the day. All by just using a simple timer!

Ready to save these tips for later? Then download your FREE CHEAT SHEET so you always have access! Just click that button below, enter your name and email, then check in your inbox!

TIP 9: LEARN TO SAY “NOT RIGHT NOW”

If you want to create more time in your day, you gotta stop saying “yes” to everything. Truly one of the most powerful skills you can build is the ability to say, “Not right now.” Not even “no” – just “not right now.”

Here’s why:

Boundaries don’t just protect your time. They create it. Every time you take on something you don’t actually have capacity for, you borrow time and energy from your future self, and that always leads to overwhelm.

Before you say yes to anything, pause and check your true bandwidth. Ask yourself questions like:

• What do you already have on your plate?
• How full are your upcoming days?
• Will taking this on move you toward your goals, or pull you away from them?

And remember this: “not right now” is far kinder and far more respectful than saying yes and then delivering half-heartedly, late, resentfully, or at the expense of your own well-being.

“One cannot manage too many affairs: like pumpkins in the water, one pops up while you try to hold the other down.” – Chinese Proverb

People appreciate clarity. You appreciate the breathing room. Everyone wins.

Protecting your capacity is one of the fastest ways to reclaim time, reduce stress, and stay aligned with what matters most.

By the way, don’t forget to get your own FREE CHEAT SHEET! It’s such a helpful resource to have in your inbox. So click that button below, enter your info, then save these tips for when you need them most!

TIP 10: PRACTICE “MISE EN PLACE” IN YOUR LIFE

I love cooking shows (call me grandma…I don’t care!) and I learned from both the Food Network and infamous coach Marie Forleo the phrase “mise en place.”

“Mise en place” is a French culinary term meaning “everything in its place.” But, as Marie Forleo points out, it’s not just for chefs.

It’s one of the simplest ways to create more time in your day: prepare your environment BEFORE you start the work and ensure everything you need is in its place.

When whatever you need is ready to go, you eliminate friction, reduce stress, and move into your tasks with ease.

Think of this as the life version of prepping ingredients before cooking. For example, I practice a quick nightly reset – dishes done, counters wiped, workspace clear, clutter put away – which saves hours each week cuz I’m not wasting time searching, shuffling, or trying to work around the chaos.

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.” – Rose Kennedy

When your space supports your focus, everything becomes smoother and faster. You transition more easily. You procrastinate less. You start your day already in motion.

And all of that adds up to more time, more clarity, and a calmer mind.

Sometimes the easiest way to speed up your day is to simply remove the roadblocks in front of you.

You know what? Downloading the FREE CHEAT SHEET is a great way to practice mise en place in your life! That way you set yourself up for time management success later on. So click that button below, add your info, then check your email and come back here for the details!

TIP 11: USE BRAINDUMPS

One of the fastest ways to create more time in your day is to clear the mental clutter that’s slowing you down.

A simple daily braindump gives your mind room to breathe by pulling everything out of your head and putting it somewhere you can actually work with them.

A braindump isn’t organized, polished, or pretty. It’s a mixture of literally anything in your head: tasks, worries, reminders, ideas, open loops, chores, notes, wants, etc.

Here’s why this works:

Your brain is NOT meant to store information. Your brain is only designed to process information. When you try to hold everything in your head, you’re going against how your brain is wired. You’re literally working against yourself.

This increases cognitive overload, which makes decisions harder, transitions slower, and tasks feel heavier than they actually are.

“It’s surprising how much free time and productivity you gain when you lose the busyness in your mind.” – Brittany Burgunder

A short 10-minute braindump each morning, afternoon or evening resets your internal system. With a lighter mind, you move through your day with way faster decisions, clearer focus, and far more momentum.

This tiny habit is one of the most powerful tools for reclaiming time cuz it frees up the mental space you need to think, create, and take action. All without the constant swirl of “don’t forget…” slowing you down.

Also, here’s just another reminder to support future you by downloading the FREE CHEAT SHEET with all of these tips! Simply click that button below, enter your info, then check your email to save for later!

CONCLUSION

Creating more time in your day isn’t about cramming more into your schedule or pushing yourself harder. That never works.

It’s really about protecting your focus, honoring your energy, and clearing the mental clutter that slows you down.

When you support your brain instead of fighting against it, everything becomes easier. You move through work with more clarity, momentum, and far less stress.

You don’t need to implement all 11 tips above at once. Please don’t! Just pick one or two that feel doable today and let them work for you.

In fact, you can use the FREE CHEAT SHEET to do just that! So here’s your last chance to click that button below, enter your info, then open your inbox to save that PDF for when you’re ready to tackle the next tip.

As you build these habits slowly and intentionally, you’ll start to feel more spaciousness in your days: more calm, more control, and more permission to focus on what truly matters.

Don’t forget my 1% philosophy: tiny shifts, practiced consistently, create massive time freedom over time. Your days don’t need to be packed to be productive. They just need to be more aligned.