How are you spending your time?

It’s the Friday of a long weekend in August, and it may give you a chance to reflect.

The end of summer is always an interesting time. Gary Vee always talks about August as the month to either recharge or go all-in. You can watch the video he first shared 8 years ago here. (I’ll share my thoughts on that in a future newsletter though).

This brings me to what I wrote leading up to the launch of this newsletter.

A reflection that seemed to resonate when I shared here on LinkedIn.

The truth is for years, I wasn’t careful where I spent my time.

I accepted countless meetings, went to endless events and said yes to too many projects.

Tons of time spent on proposals and sales meetings for clients that weren’t even ready, or had really high expectations for next to no budget.

I said yes to every invite to speak for free, from conferences to schools to student events and media — even when it required me to travel.

Many mentorship calls and advice networking coffees were accepted at times when I wasn’t practicing what I preached, due to an overwhelming schedule and lack of prioritization.

Replying to emails right before bed and first thing in the morning, and using my personal phone for business calls, led to unrealistic expectations and never feeling “off”.

I took on projects I had no interest or even expertise in doing. And ones that had an unreasonably low budget. All in favour of building my business, keeping the team working and maintaining momentum.

But not setting boundaries led to not prioritizing my health — lack of sleep, missed workouts, no proper breaks, a constant on-the-go diet and unlimited bubble teas.

This went on for years.

But I don’t regret it.

(other than any irreparable damage it may have done to my body).

I learned a lot along the way, about:

setting expectations
determining your value
how others work
mentorship
what it takes to compete
how and when I work best
where passion and drive kicks in
true partnership and collaboration
acknowledging weaknesses
how and when to say no
owning your strengths

The fact is time is a nonrenewable resource.
It’s the only thing you can’t directly buy or make more of.
It’s obvious but I need reminders every so often.

Today, I’m more aware of where I’m spending both my time and my energy.

(That happens to be at the intersection of social good, creativity, marketing, education and entrepreneurship).

It’s been a journey to become more intentional and focused.

And I’m happy you’re along for the ride!