The MindShift Podcast

Time Management for Entrepreneurs with Abigail Barnes

1/19/23 3:02 PM

5 Minutes Read

Episode 57

Oprah, Tony Robbins, Richard Branson all get the same twenty-four hours in a day as we do. So how do they get so much done while we struggle?

In this episode, Abigail Barnes, author of Time Management for Entrepreneurs and Professionals, keynote speaker, and founder of Success by Design Training joins the conversation to share her insights about time management.

She takes us through the journey from her horrifying near-death experience to the development of her signature, 8-8-8 Formula.

If you’re ready to unlock your potential and start taking back control of your time, this episode is for you!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

Learn the tips of properly utilizing your energy, the importance of rest, and time management.
Abigail’s turning point in her life made her realize the importance of a good night’s sleep.
How the 8-8-8 Formula changes your perspective towards time management.

Resources

Buy now: “Time Management for Entrepreneurs & Professionals by Abigail Barnes”
“Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams” by Matthew Walker

Episode Highlights

Abigail’s Upbringing

- At the young age of 4, Abigail lays down on the playground floor, watching the clouds passed by.
- Unlike other children, where all they think is play, she found watching the world and being mindful more interesting.
- She was raised in an environment where being a “good girl” is the way to please people.
- Seeing famous entrepreneurs like Richard Branson or Sara Blakely made her realize how detached she was with her life—not knowing what to do.

Abigail’s Turning Point

- Lost in finding what she truly wants to do in life, Abigail ended up working in finance for over ten years in investment management, asset management, and hedge funds.
- She got her marketing degree and successfully established herself as an “expert” in the field—despite the dislike of being called as such.
- She flew to Boston, Massachusetts, in 2012. She stayed by her friend’s parent’s house, woke up with a headache as she vomited in a dustbin.
- She was taken to a hospital only to be diagnosed with a stroke at the age of 32.
- Amid the horror, her “good girl” syndrome kicked in. She feared getting fired because she has not “died” yet, and she was unwilling to stay because she wanted to go to work.
- It was the biggest turning point of her life. She suddenly had no desire to live—wanting her life to just end at that point.

Rebuilding Herself Again

- At the jaws of death, Abigail thought of her regrets. With an unwavering will of fulfilling her dreams in starting a business, she decided to start one.
- Business is the same as a job, except you are the boss. Abigail started doing everything herself at the beginning.
- She flew globally, following all the teachers, gurus, and trainers she knew. As she does all the courses, she invested in herself.

The Overworking Brain

- Abigail studied the functions of the brain during the pandemic.
- She found out that the brain burns 20% of the energy we consume every day.
- We feel more tired, even though we had less to do because of the “fight or flight” stage rather than rest and digest.
- This is why Zoom Fatigue is prevalent worldwide because your brain is pivoting to be alerted differently from what it used to be.

How to Shift These Mental Energies

- Abigail thinks that there is an absurd barrier from our brains (thoughts) that the things we have done before – have been converted into fear.
- It is all about learning how to adapt to the new phase, pacing yourself, and speaking kindly to yourself.
- Feed yourself well and ensure that you have enough rest.
- Take care of yourself as if you are taking care of a child.

The 8-8-8 Formula

- It is dividing 24 hours in which; Science states you need 7-9 hours of sleep (8 average) and Society states you need to work 8 hours a day.
- All that is left is the “jam in the sandwich,” which is the R.A.W or Rest, Activities, and Work. This is the time for yourself.
- Stop lying to yourself about not having enough time, being busy, getting overwhelmed, and burned out.
- The answer is to track your time. The data tells everything.
- You don’t know it until you do it—hence, apply it to your life. Otherwise, it will be shelf-development and not self-development.

Taking Care of Your Vehicle

- What you want to achieve in your life is already done. Your job in this lifetime is to become the person who owns it. And to own it, start looking after yourself.
- How can you be that person? How can you look after yourself to step in “that” future? You are your own vehicle. Stop having the scarcity mentality of “I want to get it all done today.”

What Abigail’s Successful Mentors Do

- They never set alarms. The one that wakes them up is their body.
- Their body wakes them because they have a good night sleep.
- The wealthier her mentors are, the more sleep they have, and the more importance they put on their bodies and well-being.

Work-Life Integration

- It is all about having enough to rest and repair. If you want to fund your dreams, you need to work, and all that is left is understanding if you have an enjoyable relationship.
- There is always enough time to do what you want. You do what you want and not do what you do not like.
- Reading Instagram posts of hustling harder is equivalent to having toxic time management. Start prioritizing yourself and make even the tiniest changes.
- Go to bed 10 or 15 minutes earlier, and you just had that small-time eventually add up to make yourself feel good—Rome was not built in a day after all.

Abigail’s Legacy

- To leave 8-8-8 Formula as hope and proof that it is possible to create the life that you want.

5 Powerful Quotes from this episode

09:06 - “I just want to live every day with joy. I don’t want to force myself to pull on concrete pants and get on with it. I mean, that doesn’t sound fun or exciting to me. I want to talk to myself really kindly and say, ‘Come on, Abigail. You’ve done it before you can do it. You’ve got this.’ So, when I put on my mask and wear it for longer, ‘You’ve got this. You can breathe. Come on. You can do this. Keep going!’ And it’s just breaking it down step by step.”

24:27 - “We all have the same 24 hours. But we don’t all have the same beliefs. So, we have the same 24 hours as Oprah, Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, whoever your gurus are that you look up to, you have the same time as them. Yes, they now have help. But they didn’t at the beginning. So, everybody, unless they inherited the wealth, started from the same place.”

29:28 - “Think to the last time when you had a bad night’s sleep. And then you’ve got up. How good were your decisions the next day? How slow was your brain? And then when you start to have more sleep, you start to notice your brain gets faster, your decision-making is easier. When your emotions are higher, your intelligence is lower. Your emotions are higher when you’ve not slept enough.”

31:13 - “This vehicle that we are living in, disrespecting, pushing to the limits, and grinding will be burned out. There’s no refund on this. There’s no new body shop. You lose the vehicle. You’re out of the game.”

38:52 - “I always want to leave a conversation with people saying ‘Oh, I now feel like something else could be possible. ’Changing the narrative is my goal in life, which is where sharing the 8-8-8 Formula with a million people by 2025 is just an opportunity to change the global narrative on this addiction to saying ‘I’m busy.’ You’re not busy. You’re just not managing your time. And why aren’t you managing your time? —because you don’t know where it’s going.”

About Abigail

Abigail Barnes is the Founder of Success by Design Training, Author of “Time Management for Entrepreneurs & Professionals,” and a keynote speaker. Her goal is to assist visionaries, and determined professionals and entrepreneurs improve their work-life balance through well-thought-out plans to productivity by doing less.

If you wish to connect with Abigail, you may visit her Website. You can also follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can watch her onYouTube.