I’m writing this post on a day on which I feel rushed. I feel hurried, like my day is a suitcase that I’m cramming too many things into. It feels uncomfortable, my shoulders feel tense, I’m typing faster than normal and I find myself looking at the clock a lot more.
Feeling this way is the complete opposite of how I want to feel in my business and my life: slow, gentle, rooted and calm. But I know that as uncomfortable as this feels, this will pass—and that I’m not the only one who at times feels this kind of time scarcity.
In this post, I share how you can identify time scarcity and what helps me deal with it. I’m also really curious to hear how time scarcity shows up for you and what you do to feel better.
Join the newsletter club for more like this
Sign up with your email address to receive strategies, experiments and tips to create a slow, gentle and profitable business.
Time scarcity
Time scarcity is:
- feeling and/or worrying that you don’t have enough time for everything you want or need to do;
- worrying that someone else will get there first.
I’ve noticed that time scarcity shows up not always when I have an ambitious to-do list, or a lot of appointments. It seems to be often tied a lot less to the reality of the tasks and available time, but more to my experience of it. This makes me hopeful, because if it’s something that I feel, it means I can change it.
Time scarcity is also feeling like you should be moving faster with your business. It especially shows up when we worry about the competition. You might have an idea for a product that you haven’t gotten round to, and you worry that someone else will create it first. You might be carrying the seed of a book in your mind, and worry that someone else will write it before you do.
How can we prioritize a slow and gentle approach, rejecting the productivity and hustle culture that glorifies time scarcity?
There is a slower, gentler and more profitable way of running your business.
Discover your way of doing your business with my 1:1 mentoring support.
No hacks, no hustle.
Instead: marketing and launching that is slow, gentle and gets results. Clear boundaries and priorities that encourage you to live a life next to your business. Accountability and support to help you create the live and business you crave.
How to identify time scarcity
I feel time scarcity in my body: in my legs and in my shoulders, in my fingers typing faster. I sometimes even move faster and tend to walk around the house faster. You might be feeling the same, or maybe it’s just a general sense of pressure that follows you around. You feel rushed and hurried.
Another sign of time scarcity is making several to-do lists in an attempt to get more control. You might have a to-do list on your phone, but then also create a paper one. Or you end up with different to-do lists in different places in your house. Maybe you’re checking your to-do lists, whether paper or digital, again and again.
For you, time scarcity might also show in the content you seek out. You might be looking at what other people are doing a lot: on social media, or checking out what people similar to you are doing. You might be scrolling a lot even though it makes you feel more rushed and harried.
If I’m feeling the pressure of time scarcity, one of the things I need to resist is the urge to cut corners on my non-negotiables. These are things I do to take care of myself and that I especially enjoy, such as starting my working day with 30 minutes of reading, or taking time for (near)daily movement. If I’m feeling time scarce, my inner critic tells me I can’t afford to do things for me.
That inner critic can be especially vocal when I feel like I have no time. It’s stuck on a constant loop of telling me “you have so little time and so much to do!” For you, it might remind you of all the things other people have done, that you haven’t. It might tell you that you’re not keeping up and that time is running out.
You have all the time you need
How I deal with time scarcity
The first thing that helps me is identifying time scarcity. It’s realizing “oh yeah, I’m feeling this way” (and then not beating myself up about it). Time scarcity is often connected to certain moments in my cycle: in the follicular phase (between menstruation and ovulation), I tend to feel more rushed and also tend to make more mistakes.
It helps to repeat a mantra to myself: I have all the time I need. Sometimes I write it on a post-it that I stick on my desk, or on my bathroom mirror. I have all the time I need. Combined with a few deep breaths this mantra generally calms me down a bit.
Especially since I tend to rush physically as well as mentally when I feel time scarcity, I try to deliberately slow down. To walk slower, to type slower. To really, really get up after 30 minutes of work, even if it’s just to look out the window or spend a few minutes in the garden. I explicitly choose to do my non-negotiables. As much as I’m tempted to cut the things I do to take care of myself, I know that yoga or pilates are a great way for me to feel rooted rather than rushed. And I know that without them, I feel worse.
Another thing I do is remind myself that I have a choice. Not everything has to happen today. In fact, most things don’t have to happen today. Nothing is broken if I send out my newsletter a day, a week later than I planned. Nothing is broken is I don’t cook, but order in instead (or heat up a frozen pizza). Very little has to happen today.
I also remind myself to see the choice in how I work. I had planned to launch my mini-course Substack for small business owners, freelancers and artists, and had planned to launch this in April. But I didn’t. I could’ve worked more on it, could’ve pushed through, but that would have meant not resting as much as I needed, or not spending time in and on the garden, which has given me great joy.
As someone for whom slow and gentle are key to how I do business, I also remind myself that time scarcity is a product of productivity and hustle culture, and that I explicitly want to choose a different route.
Whenever time scarcity shows up for me in comparison with others, I remind myself that there are thousands of mentors out there, but that I feel good about what I have to offer. I make my offer unique: I am my business’ secret sauce. I remind myself of all the positive feedback I get from readers and clients that shows me that what I do is valuable. And sometimes I try to take the bigger perspective and remind myself that even if someone were to do something very similar to me, it needn’t be the end of the world: it happens to famous authors, and to famous scientists.
Especially when I get frustrated about the pace at which I work, or my need for rest and downtime, rooting into trust helps. I don’t always remember to do this immediately, but since experimenting with it explicitly it comes more naturally. I choose trust instead of worry.And finally, whenever I need another voice to tell me to slow down, I listen to this song on repeat and smile when I hear the beginning (”Slow down, baby, slow down…”).
If my newsletters and free resources resonate with you, I might just be the right mentor for you. I don’t believe in 10-step-plans, or get rich quick schemes. I do believe that it is possible to create and run a business that fits you and your life: your values and rhythms, your strengths and passions. I strongly believe that you don’t need to do all the things, or be on all the channels to make your business work.
I’m here to help you feel more supported in your business. I’m here to give you the confidence to run your business from that place of deep inner knowing inside of you, offering my signature blend of mindset shifts and practical steps.
an experiment
Take a moment to think or journal about these questions:
- When do you feel time scarcity? Does it show up in certain situations?
- What is your inner critic telling you?
- Where can you make space mentally? Where can you help yourself feel more calm?
I’d love to know which of these strategies to feel more supported in your business you’ve tried, and which you’re going to try out. I’d love to know!
Please feel free to share it with business friends, in your newsletter or on social media. 💛
I’d love to support you in all phases of your business. Providing clarity, focus and next steps is something that my clients tell me I’m really good at. If you’re curious about how we can work together through 1:1 mentoring, check out what I offer or send me an email–no strings attached. I have payment plans available, and flexible options for mentoring calls (30 or 60 minutes).
Join the newsletter club for more like this
Sign up with your email address to receive strategies, experiments and tips to create a slow, gentle and profitable business.