Balancing Act: Mastering Time Management for Health and Wellness
Marisa Volpe Lonic is the founder of Mama Work It. She's a working mom of 4 kids, keynote speaker, life & business coach, 3x author, top-rated podcast host and the founder of Mama Work It. After spending nearly 15 years in corporate leadership positions, Marisa shifted gears to become a full-time Time Momager & Biz Momager.
Leslie: So tell us how you started. Where did your journey begin?
Marisa: My journey really began around when I entered motherhood 10 years ago. Now, I became a mom to twins. They arrived at the party early– they were preemie babies– and, being the planner that I am, I was really thrown off-balance by all this. So it was sort of baptism by fire, as it is with anybody who enters into a new season of life, whether that's a career change, motherhood, moving, or whatever. That is– you figure it out, you get into your groove, your rhythm– and I think from the outside looking in, it looked like I had it all together, but internally, I really felt like a hot mess. I did not feel like I had a handle of my time schedule and my own self-care.
Leslie: So how is time management linked to health and wellness?
Marisa: It really is linked. I think a lot of times when people hear time management or hear productivity, they get a little cringy. They think that you must be so organized and rigid in your schedule and all of these things. And the truth of the matter is, I don't think a lot of people out there are really good at managing their time. It's linked to health and wellness because what I like to say is, “When you feel good, you do good”, which means when you feel your best internally, your output is more productive, you're more motivated, you have more energy, you're able to do more things, and you're able to show up as the best version of yourself. So I really believe that time management starts with that health and wellness component because if you don't feel well, you can't possibly show up and be your most productive self.
Leslie: In a lot of the other speakers’ topics, we talked about so many things people should do, like you’ve got to eat, right? You need to sleep; you need to exercise. And I know a lot of people are thinking, “I don't have time for that.” So, can you tell us what you would say about exercise? How important is it to make time for that? How do you recommend people make time for that?
Marisa: If you are someone who finds yourself saying, “I don't have time to do ____”, let's take exercise as an example here. I want you to flip the script on this, so this is not an expression that I want you to use anymore. Instead, I want you to start saying that exercise– or whatever it is that you don't have time for– isn't a priority to me. When you say it in this way, a major shift happens, and either way that you feel– because there's one of two ways you're gonna feel here– is a win in my opinion. If you find yourself in that space when you say those words aloud and you feel that sense of relief then, guess what? It's just not a priority to you today, and that's okay. And even though you didn't actually work out, it is a win because you're getting rid of some of that guilt and shame, and you're able to sort of clear the clutter in your brain and focus on what actually is a priority to you.
Leslie: I love that intentional prioritization because yeah, you're right, we all make time for what we want to make time for, and we need to just be explicit about that. So self-care was the next thing I wanted to ask you about. It’s very trendy; everyone's talking about self-care. Is it important? Should it be a priority, and is it really just that same mindset that you say to yourself?
Marisa: When you think about self-care, it really looks different to different people on different days, even at different times of day. For example, if exercise really makes you feel good and fills you up, that’s great. But maybe, exercise feels like self-care for you in the morning, but at night it might not necessarily feel that way– because maybe at the end of the day, you're kind of tired. Your self-care might look more like drinking a hot cup of tea, or journaling, or meditating, or whatever that is. It's anything that fills you up in that moment during that time of day– that season, that week, that month, whatever it is. A simple way to prioritize your self-care on a daily basis is by simply blocking your calendar for 15, 60 minutes, whatever you can do so. But if you're working, hopefully somebody's not scheduling a meeting with you during that time.
Leslie: What about sleep? Because I know we've heard from several other summit speakers about how important sleep is, and I know you wrote a book on it. So tell us about sleep– why is it so important? And to me this is like the classic one where people say, “I don't have time and don't have time to sleep eight hours”.
Marisa: A great tip is to get into the habit of not looking at your phone at night. There are studies out there that even say looking at screens right before bed in general is not a good idea. Now, I have not always mastered that. Sometimes I do like to unwind with a little Netflix before bed, but if you're willing to take it further than that, maybe just eliminate screens for a period of time before then to get good sleep. Another tip I would say is to try to set a consistent bedtime. So, I know we're all adults here and we’re happy that we don't necessarily have a set bedtime anymore. But, actually setting a consistent bedtime and making that sort of a part of your routine will help you get more sleep because you won't be staying up later. You won't feel more tired in the morning. You won't be scrolling and all those things.
Leslie: So I know that some people are out there thinking “I don't like spreadsheets, so how am I gonna do this?” And I know you touched on this earlier, but what is required? Do you have to make a spreadsheet? Do you have to have a really rigid calendar to do time management?
Marisa: I never have an answer, because it really depends what's gonna work for me. It may not work for you, or him, or her, or them, or whomever. So I would say that your system needs to have two things. You do need a system. It is important. You don't want to keep everything up in your head, because that just makes you not be able to laser-focus when you need to get something done, because you've got so much jumbling around in your brain. So you do want some sort of external system to lean on. But it really just has to have two elements when you do pick it. It's got to be simple to use, and you have to use it consistently.
Leslie: I'm sure there's a lot of people on this call who are interested in learning more and are intrigued. So, where can people find out more about your business?
Marisa: The best place to visit me is on my website. It is www.mamaworkit.com. You can subscribe to our free Weekly Newsletter, and there's lots of free resources to be able to download or listen to. So definitely be sure to subscribe on there, and then of course you can find us on socials. We’re at Mamaworkit on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I’m Marisa Lonic; send me a note and tell me that you saw this. Let me know what resonated with you, and if you're facing any challenges, I would love to support you.
