How I find time for EVERYTHING (even with a full time job)

Summary

Mike, a former full-time doctor, shares how he overcame burnout and developed a time-management system that prioritizes health, relationships, and productivity. He explains that time management isn't just about managing time, but also energy and focus. By aligning these elements and using strategies like identifying focus windows, managing circadian rhythms, and living life in seasons, Mike transformed his life. He now teaches this system to others through his Study Quest program, offering actionable steps to regain control of time and achieve a balanced, fulfilling life.

Takeaways

• 💼 Mike used to work as a full-time doctor with 12-hour shifts, working 60 to 80 hours per week, which led to burnout and lack of balance in his life.
• ⚡ He realized that time management alone wasn’t enough; effective productivity requires managing time, energy, and focus together.
• 🧠 Mike identified that focusing on ‘windows of focus’ rather than ‘windows of time’ helped him prioritize cognitively intensive tasks like studying.
• 🌅 Morning focus windows, when the mind is fresh, work well for many people, but Mike stresses finding the personal ‘golden pocket of focus’ for each individual.
• 📋 Keeping a focus log for 5 to 7 days helps track how well your focus is being used and spot areas where it could be optimized.
• 🌞 Managing energy through alignment with circadian rhythms is key, including adjusting sleep patterns and exposure to sunlight to maintain alertness.
• ⏳ Time management is about setting priorities—often, people claim they lack time when it’s really a question of focus and priority alignment.
• ✂️ The AED method—Automate, Eliminate, Delegate—helps free up time by cutting out unnecessary tasks or delegating them to others.
• 🗓 Mike advocates living life in seasons, focusing on different priorities depending on the season of life, and allowing flexibility for changing focus over time.
• 🚫 Saying 'no' to things today doesn’t mean it’s forever—it just helps you focus on what matters most in the current season, allowing growth for future opportunities.

Q & A

What was the main issue Mike faced when managing his time?

Mike initially believed time management was only about time, but he later realized it involves aligning time, energy, and focus management.

How did Mike's work schedule contribute to his burnout?

Mike worked 12-hour shifts, often 60 to 80 hours a week, and also had to study for his boards, leaving him no time for self-care, health, hobbies, or social connections.

What does Mike mean by a 'window of focus'?

A 'window of focus' refers to a period during the day when a person’s focus is naturally high, allowing them to concentrate better on cognitively demanding tasks.

Why is identifying a 'golden pocket of focus' important for time management?

Finding a golden pocket of focus ensures that you are using your mental energy during the most productive time of the day, making it easier to stay on task and resist distractions.

What strategy did Mike use to improve his energy levels after long shifts?

Mike adjusted his sleep schedule and exposure to sunlight, aligning his circadian rhythms by setting both a wake-up alarm and a bedtime alarm to ensure 7-8 hours of sleep.

How did Mike learn to align his circadian rhythms?

He learned about ultradian rhythms, the natural cycles of alertness during the day, and shifted his sleep and wake times to align his energy and focus.

What does Mike recommend for improving focus during monotonous tasks?

Mike suggests using a focus log, where you track your focus throughout the day and intentionally direct it to productive activities, even during routine tasks like commuting or waiting.

What are Mike’s two main strategies for time management?

Mike uses two main strategies: AED (Automate, Eliminate, Delegate) to free up time and living life in 'seasons,' where you prioritize goals relevant to your current stage in life.

How does Mike suggest managing priorities when feeling overwhelmed?

Mike suggests saying no to certain activities during a specific season of life to focus on what truly matters, knowing that opportunities may reappear in future seasons.

What role does energy management play in Mike's time management system?

Energy management is crucial because, without sufficient energy, it’s impossible to maintain focus or take action, regardless of how much time you have.

Outlines

00:00

😫 Struggles with Burnout as a Doctor

Mike shares his experience as a full-time doctor working long hours, often 60 to 80 hours a week, while preparing for his board exams. His intense schedule left him burnt out, with no time for personal care, hobbies, or friends. He realized that if he didn’t make a change, it could impact his well-being and even the safety of his patients. After years of learning, he discovered a time management system that helped him prioritize his health, relationships, and business growth alongside his demanding medical career. He now teaches this system in his Study Quest program, helping others regain control of their time.

05:00

🧠 The Importance of Time, Energy, and Focus Alignment

Mike explains why his initial time management failures stemmed from thinking time was the only factor. He learned that time, energy, and focus must all align to be effective. He compares focus to a battery, which drains throughout the day, making it harder to resist temptations like relaxing after work or socializing. By identifying 'windows of focus,' such as early mornings when the mind is fresh, Mike adjusted his schedule to focus better. He stresses that everyone has different windows of focus and suggests keeping a focus log for 5-7 days to track and optimize these periods.

🔋 Managing Energy to Stay Productive

Mike discusses how energy levels can be a missing component in managing productivity, especially after long, exhausting shifts. He recalls his own struggle to balance irregular shifts as a night doctor, which disrupted his sleep patterns. This experience led him to learn about circadian and ultradian rhythms—biological cycles that affect focus and energy. To align these rhythms, he advises setting both a sleep and wake-up alarm to ensure 7-8 hours of sleep, along with exposure to sunlight (or artificial light) to boost alertness. He provides tips for managing energy, which he covers in more depth in another video.

⏳ Creating More Time by Shifting Priorities

Mike challenges the common belief that there isn’t enough time in the day, explaining that time management is more about prioritizing tasks. He recommends two strategies: AED (Automate, Eliminate, Delegate) and living life in seasons. AED helps free up time by automating tasks, delegating them, or cutting them out altogether. He acknowledges how hard it can be to say no, especially to people or opportunities you care about, but stresses that saying no to less important things now allows focus on what truly matters. Life seasons, such as becoming a doctor or growing a business, require different priorities, and accepting that helps manage time better.

Keywords

💡Time Management

Time management refers to how one organizes and plans how much time is spent on specific activities. In the video, the speaker explains how they initially misunderstood time management, thinking it was only about time. They learned that effective time management also requires balancing energy and focus, not just allocating hours.

💡Energy Management

Energy management is about maintaining and optimizing one's physical and mental energy levels to maximize productivity. The speaker highlights the importance of aligning energy levels with tasks, explaining how they felt drained after long shifts as a doctor and lacked the energy to do anything productive, which led to burnout.

💡Focus Management

Focus management involves directing attention toward high-priority tasks during periods of optimal concentration. In the video, the speaker discusses the importance of scheduling 'windows of focus' during times when one's ability to concentrate is strongest, such as early in the morning after a restful night.

💡Circadian Rhythms

Circadian rhythms are natural, internal processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and repeat roughly every 24 hours. The speaker explains how their irregular work schedule as a doctor disrupted their circadian rhythms, making it difficult to maintain energy and focus, and how they used strategies like consistent sleep timing to realign these rhythms.

💡Ultradian Rhythms

Ultradian rhythms refer to recurrent cycles of alertness that occur throughout the day, typically lasting around 90 minutes. The speaker mentions ultradian rhythms to explain the fluctuations in energy and focus during the day and how aligning work with periods of higher alertness can boost productivity.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, often related to overwork. The speaker describes their personal experience of burnout due to working long hours as a doctor, neglecting their health, hobbies, and relationships, which led them to seek better time and energy management strategies.

💡Prioritization

Prioritization is the process of arranging tasks in order of importance. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of setting priorities by focusing on what truly matters in different seasons of life. They suggest that a lack of time often stems from not making certain activities a priority.

💡Focus Log

A focus log is a method of tracking how one's focus is directed throughout the day to identify periods of distraction or wasted attention. The speaker recommends keeping a focus log for 5 to 7 days to understand where focus is being spent and whether it is being used effectively.

💡Automate, Eliminate, Delegate (AED)

AED stands for Automate, Eliminate, Delegate, a strategy to optimize time usage by reducing tasks that consume time unnecessarily. The speaker explains how they used AED to free up time by automating routine tasks, delegating responsibilities, and eliminating non-essential activities.

💡Seasons of Life

Seasons of life refer to different phases in a person's life that require different priorities and focuses. The speaker uses this concept to explain how during different stages, such as studying to become a doctor or growing a business, they adjusted their focus and time management strategies to align with their current goals.

Highlights

Burnout from overworking led to prioritizing a better work-life balance.

A time management system was developed to align time, energy, and focus, improving productivity.

The realization that time management isn’t just about managing time but also energy and focus.

Focus works like a battery: it drains over time, making it harder to resist distractions.

Scheduling focus windows based on when focus is highest (e.g., early mornings) can significantly improve productivity.

Different people have different focus windows based on their brain types (e.g., early risers vs. night owls).

Keeping a 'focus log' for 5-7 days can help track and improve how you direct your focus throughout the day.

Mindful use of focus, like during monotonous tasks, can unlock more productive time (e.g., commuting time).

Energy management is essential: after a long shift, it's harder to focus and work effectively.

Learning about circadian and ultradian rhythms can help align focus with natural energy cycles.

Shifting sleep patterns and incorporating sunlight exposure can help reset and optimize circadian rhythms.

Time constraints are often due to prioritization rather than actual lack of time.

Automate, eliminate, and delegate tasks to free up time for more important activities.

Labeling your life into seasons (e.g., career, family) helps align focus with current priorities.

Saying no to non-priorities in one season allows you to say yes to what really matters in that period.

Transcripts

hey I'm Mike and I used to work

full-time as a doctor I had 12- hour

shifts I worked 60 to 80 hours a week

and I worked overnight my work absorbed

my entire life and to make things worse

I also needed to study for my boards and

because of this I had no time to take

care of myself I let go of my health my

hobbies my friends and I was completely

burnt out and I knew that if something

didn't change that my life would fall

apart or worse I could harm a patient

and so after years of learning and

experimentation I found a simple

system that completely changed how I

manage my time it's what allowed me to

prioritize my health my relationships

and even grow a business while working

full-time as a doctor but I know this

system works because I've taught it to

hundreds of students in my study Quest

program so no matter how busy life gets

you can understand these principles you

can regain control of your time but to

understand why this system works I want

to explain what it was that I got so

wrong when it came to time management in

the first place the reason I kept

failing to manage my time was because I

thought it was only about time but it's

not you actually need time energy and

focus management to all be aligned if

you're missing one of these three things

and it's not going to work and that's

why it often feels so hard to make time

outside of work because you need the

plan is to be in perfect alignment but

once I understood the simple shift

things became so much easier so what

happens when we're missing Focus think

of your ability to focus like a battery

when we're well rested the battery is

full full but over the course of a day

that WI a 12-hour shift at the hospital

the battery is going to drain and what

happens when the battery is drained

we're not going to have the willpower to

resist Temptations when I get home from

work and I see a cozy couch and Netflix

or even when I get off of work and my

friends want to grab a drink or grab

some food even though I know I need to

study I'm not going to be able to resist

that Temptation and go hang out with

them so then I thought how do I avoid

getting into these situations in the

first place because there are moments in

the day where it's easier to focus so

what I mean is instead of scheduling a

window of time to study I'll schedule a

window of focus this window I know my

focus will be high a great window focus

is early in the morning when her battery

is fully charged from a good night's

rest plus when everyone else is sleeping

there's no one to bother you or distract

you so for me instead of studying an

hour after work I move my window to wake

up and study an hour before work but

it's not always that simple I'm not

telling everyone to just wake up earlier

right that's not the point the point is

to find that golden pocket of focus in

your day if you need to make time to do

something cognitively intense like

studying or working on your business or

side hustle or writing anything that

uses your brain then you need absolute

Focus for many people it will be early

in the morning but for others like if

you're a night owl or some different

brain type then your pocket of focus

might be different and if you're

interested we've already made videos

about the brain types here check it out

to learn more about your unique brain

now what you can do is also keep a focus

log a focus log log is where you pay

attention to where your focus is at all

times and I'd recommend you doing this

for about 5 to 7 days so what I do is I

run through in my head from the moment I

wake up that day to the moment I go to

bed where is my focus pointing at all

times then I ask myself is my focus

being used wisely here so when I'm

sitting on the toilet am I throwing my

focus away to Tik Tok or can I better

aim that focus at maybe watching a study

Quest lesson when I'm commuting to work

or sitting on the train I can direct my

focus to either listen to music or

listen to a business podcast and level

up my business right just because your

body is occupied with something doesn't

mean that your focus is occupied it's

kind of like in meditation where you

stay mindful of your breathing well in

this case you're trying to stay mindful

of your focus and by doing this

routinely you can identify that oh

there's this really repetitive or really

monotonous part of my day where I can

actually use my focus more intentionally

so that's Focus now what if the missing

piece of the equation is energy it

doesn't matter how much time I have the

only thing I want to do after a 12-hour

shift at the hospital is sleep so not

having energy is actually a double

whammy right you have no energy and you

have no focus when I first started

trying to wake up early to study I'll

admit that it was really difficult

because your body is still kind of

groggy after just waking up but for me

it was even worse because I was also a

night doctor so some weeks I'd have to

wake up at 6:00 a.m. for work and other

weeks I'd have to wake up at 6:00 p.m.

for work and this flip-flopping just

completely wrecked me but it forced me

to learn about the circadian rhythms

most of us have heard about the stages

of sleep right you start in a light

sleep and then you descend into the

deepest stage which is REM sleep and

then it just Cycles back and forth

there's something similar that happens

to you when you're awake right with the

ultradian rhythms it's different levels

of alertness that also cycle back and

forth if this is my focus and this is my

rhythm then I want to shift it so that

they're both in alignment with each

other so how do you shift your circadian

rhythm well there's two quick and easy

strategies here so first you want to

shift your window of sleep right so when

I was trying to wake up earlier Not only

was i setting an earlier alarm clock but

I was also setting an earlier bedtime

alarm to go to sleep an hour earlier and

this was great because I was trying to

make sure to get my 7 to 8 hours of

sleep maximizing on my REM sleep and

waking up feeling well rested and then

the second thing was that when I did

wake up I try to get some sunlight

sunlight sends signals to the brain to

be more awake and if you do this

consistently at the same time every day

day after day then your circadium Rhythm

will start to shift towards that now for

me sometimes when I'm on my night shift

I wake up at 6:00 p.m. and so the sun is

already down so i' use artificial light

instead doesn't feel as cozy as actual

sunlight it does get the job done there

are so many more sleep strategies to

make sure that you're well rested and

you have the energy it's a topic that I

go into detail in this video here if

you're interested now let's look at the

third scenario where we're missing time

from the equation we all have the same

24 hours in a day so why do people have

more time than others and this is not a

trick question I used to always think

that I don't have time for something but

actually it's just that I don't consider

it a priority and priorities are just

how we rank things according to how much

Focus we want to give it so in a very

weird way not having enough time comes

back around to just not being

intentional with your focus the fastest

and easiest way to unlock more time is

to just go into your phone and look at

your screen time if you want to be

spending an hour of your day on Tik Tok

or Instagram that's fine right that's

your priority but it's totally up to you

but there are two strategies that really

help me when it comes to time first is

AED automate eliminate delegate if an

app or AI can do it for you then

automate it if it doesn't need to be

done by you then delegate it and the

most important one here is to eliminate

for me eliminating things from my life

was one of the hardest things to do

especially if it meant letting someone

else down I struggle with this so much

during the early days of my business

people wanting to work on projects and

do Partnerships with us and it's just

really hard to say no to people that you

really like but but if you're able to

stop caring about what people think then

that's the ultimate superpower you'll

unlock so much time now the second

strategy I'd recommend is to live your

life in Seasons I was in a season of my

life where my goal was to become a

doctor and during that time I

prioritized my focus on the things

necessary for becoming a doctor first

the priority was to study and keep my

body and brain healthy so that I could

study that was the focus and any extra

time I had could go wherever else I

wanted to but by labeling our current

season of life either by months or by

years it really helps us see the big

picture of what really matters and now

I'm in the season of my life where I'm

growing my business and soon I'll be in

a season of my life where I'm growing a

family and in each season my priorities

change accordingly so just because we

say no to something today in this

current season doesn't mean that we

can't consider it later in the next

season it's just a no for now but when

you say no to something it innately

means that you're also saying yes to

what really matters I will ignore and

stop doing all the things my life that

aren't helping me grow so that I can

focus on what will help me grow because

if I continue to grow and get better

every day then those opportunities that

I said no to will always be waiting for

me in a different season of life so when

you're unsure of how to manage your time

outside of work and you feel like you

never have time or energy for anything

then just think about the simple

equation think about what's missing here

and then take the simple actions to

start course correcting your life we

teach a lot of science-based strategies

like this one in our program Link in

description if you're interested and if

you want some step-by-step guides on how

to actually schedule your time and be

more productive then I would check out

this video right here