116. Flexibility & Accountability: Owning what we really want our time to look like
When I used to think about time management, Past Me assumed, on some level, that the goal was to keep work in work hours and personal life in personal hours. But in reality, life is far more nuanced — and that’s where the powerful dynamic of flexibility and accountability comes in. In this episode, I share how hearing Jeanelle Teves' (click here for her Instagram profile) statements about how high flexibilty comes with high accountability put to words something I'd been learning was the real goal for many women when it comes to time management. Over the years, I’ve realized that what many professional women actually want is flexibility in their schedules to fit in real life into their work hours – workouts, doctor’s appointments, family needs – while still being highly accountable to the work they’ve agreed to do. We’ll talk about: How my definition of successful time management shifted from “free up nights and weekends” to creating a system that flexes with different life phases. Why flexibility matters more than rigid schedules. How to distinguish between healthy flexibility and an unsustainable workload that can’t be solved by accountability alone. Why learning a system over a schedule empowers you to evolve your approach as your life changes. This is a reminder that flexibility in time management isn’t about working all the time — it’s about designing your days and weeks to reflect your real life, while still being accountable to doing excellent work. If you want to start seeing your capacity vs. workload in a more objective way, check out my free 5-day program at kellynolan.com/refresh. Links you might enjoy: 🌿 Free 5-Day Time Management Program Get five short, practical video lessons packed with realistic strategies to help you manage your personal and professional life with more clarity and calm. 📱 Follow me on Instagram Get bite-sized, real-life time management tips for working women—like reminders to set mail holds before travel, anonymous day-in-the-life calendars from other professional women, and behind-the-scenes looks at how I manage my own time. ✨ The full Bright Method™️ program If you're ready for a full time management system that's realistic, sustainable, and dare I say… fun, check out the Bright Method program. It's helped hundreds of professional women take back control of their time—and their peace of mind.
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115. Apple Reminders & Google Tasks: Why I Don't Recommend Managing Tasks with Them
Today I’m digging into why I don’t recommend managing your to-dos inside Google Tasks or Apple Reminders—even though they’re handy and even show up in your calendar. The short version: they lock every task into the same tiny time block, which hides how long your work will actually take and muddies your sense of capacity. Google Tasks vs. Apple Reminders isn’t the core issue—the real problem is that both ignore duration, so your calendar can’t reflect reality. We walk through: How a digital calendar plus flexible time blocking gives you the clarity you want: when you’ll do it, how long it will take, and whether it fits with everything else – and Google Tasks and Apple Reminders do not Using your calendar to break big items into bite-sized steps (e.g., renewing a license or sending a birthday card) and spread them across time – again, Google Tasks and Apple Reminders do not really allow for this Why accurate capacity planning beats “15-minute task tiles” for reducing stress and avoiding overcommitment. Links you might enjoy: 🌿 Free 5-Day Time Management Program Get five short, practical video lessons packed with realistic strategies to help you manage your personal and professional life with more clarity and calm. 📱 Follow me on Instagram Get bite-sized, real-life time management tips for working women—like reminders to set mail holds before travel, anonymous day-in-the-life calendars from other professional women, and behind-the-scenes looks at how I manage my own time. ✨ The full Bright Method™️ program If you're ready for a full time management system that's realistic, sustainable, and dare I say… fun, check out the Bright Method program. It's helped hundreds of professional women take back control of their time—and their peace of mind.
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114. An Example of Saying No When You Want to Say Yes
Saying no is rarely easy — especially when the opportunity is something you really want to say yes to. In this episode, I share a personal example of when I turned down a big media opportunity that landed right in the middle of my family’s annual Colorado trip. On paper, I was technically available. My husband could’ve watched the kids, my calendar was clear, and the opportunity would’ve been great for my business. But in practice? Saying yes would have derailed my ability to truly unplug, be present with my family, and recharge. In this episode, I walk you through: The ripple effects of saying yes — from prep time and tech checks to energy recovery afterward. Why the pause is the most powerful tool when you’re tempted to say yes too quickly. How to evaluate the true cost of opportunities beyond the calendar block they appear to take. The difference between scarcity thinking (“this may never come again”) and embracing a more abundance mindset (even if a little woo). Why protecting vacation time, family time, and rest can sometimes matter more than visibility opportunities. How saying no doesn’t just protect you — it also builds strength, clarity, and integrity. I also share how I reframed the “no” by connecting the opportunity with another woman in my field. It reminded me that collaboration, generosity, and boundaries can all exist together. If you ever feel guilty or second-guess yourself when saying no — especially to exciting opportunities — this episode might help you see the full picture and feel more confident in your decision-making. Check out my free 5-day time blocking program at kellynolan.com/refresh to practice visually mapping out ripple effects before you commit. And if you’re ready to go deeper, enrollment for the Bright Method 10-week program opens October 3rd. More info on both below. Links you might enjoy: 🌿 Free 5-Day Time Management Program Get five short, practical video lessons packed with realistic strategies to help you manage your personal and professional life with more clarity and calm. 📱 Follow me on Instagram Get bite-sized, real-life time management tips for working women—like reminders to set mail holds before travel, anonymous day-in-the-life calendars from other professional women, and behind-the-scenes looks at how I manage my own time. ✨ The full Bright Method™️ program If you're ready for a full time management system that's realistic, sustainable, and dare I say… fun, check out the Bright Method program. It's helped hundreds of professional women take back control of their time—and their peace of mind.
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113. Halloween: A great example of mental load & how calendars help
Halloween is such a great example of how something that sounds like one event/evening of events has a broader scope than we often realize and a lot of mental load. Let's tease that out – and talk about how this goes beyond just Halloween, too. For the full holiday guide (including Halloween) to take us through the end of 2025, click here. For just the Instagram post about Halloween, click here. -- Additional links you might enjoy: 🌿 Free 5-Day Time Management Program Get five short, practical video lessons packed with realistic strategies to help you manage your personal and professional life with more clarity and calm. 📱 Follow me on Instagram Get bite-sized, real-life time management tips for working women—like reminders to set mail holds before travel, anonymous day-in-the-life calendars from other professional women, and behind-the-scenes looks at how I manage my own time. ✨ The full Bright Method™️ program If you're ready for a full time management system that's realistic, sustainable, and dare I say… fun, check out the Bright Method program. It's helped hundreds of professional women take back control of their time—and their peace of mind.
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112. Three work challenges: getting interrupted on in office days, too ambitious when planning, long commutes that feel like wasted time
Women on Instagram shared their biggest work time management pain points with me. Let's cover three of them today! Links you might enjoy: 🌿 Free 5-Day Time Management Program Get five short, practical video lessons packed with realistic strategies to help you manage your personal and professional life with more clarity and calm. 📱 Follow me on Instagram Get bite-sized, real-life time management tips for working women—like reminders to set mail holds before travel, anonymous day-in-the-life calendars from other professional women, and behind-the-scenes looks at how I manage my own time. ✨ The full Bright Method™️ program If you're ready for a full time management system that's realistic, sustainable, and dare I say… fun, check out the Bright Method program. It's helped hundreds of professional women take back control of their time—and their peace of mind.
About The Bright Method Podcast: Realistic Time Management and Productivity for Working Women & Working Moms
Ready for a time management approach that is actually designed for professional working women – ones that help you lighten the mental load, draw boundaries with more confidence, focus on the important (not just urgent) stuff at work, and be present with friends and family?
Podcast host, Kelly Nolan, an attorney-turned-time management strategist, mom of two, and creator of the Bright Method™, delivers practical, realistic time management strategies tailored for busy professional women, working moms, and ambitious women juggling careers and home life.
We cover topics like:
How to time-block in a way that actually works and avoid common time-blocking mistakes,
How to manage the mental load around all of our roles at work and at home,
How to handle work deadlines with less stress and scramble,
How to keep distractions in check, from social media to people swinging by your office, and
How to plan in a realistic way so you can feel on top of it all and avoid overcommitment.
Whether you're a lawyer, physician, executive, woman in corporate, professor, entrepreneur, or any woman navigating a full plate, this podcast gives you tools to design a sustainable system that works for your real life—not a Pinterest-perfect version of it.
Follow now, and let's get you falling asleep proud of what you got done today and calm about what's on tap tomorrow.
Listen to The Bright Method Podcast: Realistic Time Management and Productivity for Working Women & Working Moms, The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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