How to find time in March: Plan what fits

Are you falling short of completing everything on your to-do list?

Do you blame yourself when plans don't materialize?

Don't.

Self-blame doesn't just drain your energy and joy—it wastes precious time. Remember: even with perfect efficiency, 300 hours of work simply cannot fit into a 168-hour week.

This month, I'm offering a solution to help you escape that perpetual feeling of being behind.

Ready to transform your relationship with time and productivity?

 

Master Your March: The Power of Realistic Planning

Stop overwhelming yourself with impossible expectations. The math is simple: you cannot fit 300 hours of work into a 168-hour week—no matter how efficiently you work.

This March, use a different approach: plan only what realistically fits into your week, not everything you think you "should" accomplish.

When you fully accept this reality and find the courage to say "no"—both to yourself and others—you'll notice a positive change. By focusing exclusively on what's actually possible, you'll accomplish more than when you're stressed about everything that doesn't fit.

The secret to productivity isn't working harder—it's making smarter choices about where you invest your limited time.

Ready to transform your relationship with time? Find the courage to say "no" to what won't fit in your glass of time, so you can fully enjoy and excel at what does!

Want to go deeper? For more help getting more done with less effort and deeper joy, read or listen to my book Beyond Efficiency.

Your ethical will: What makes you happy?

Welcome back to Twelve essential questions to tell a life story.

Join me in twelve blog posts and create what Rabbi Leder calls your ethical will.

By answering the questions your loved ones will get to know you deeper and you will understand yourself better. Let your memories bring meaning!

To join – read the blog posts, reflect on the questions and write down your own answers. You are very welcome to share them in the comments.

Welcome on an interesting journey!

What makes you happy and what life lessons can be drawn from that?

I hope you, like I, have lots of answers to the question about what makes you happy. 

If I would have answered this in my youth, the answer would have been dancing. I loved dancing, being part of a show dance group, teach kids how to dance, prepare the choreography… I loved all of it. 

Another thing that immediately comes to mind is driving my motorcycle. I loved it as soon as I sat on the back of a motorcycle and I have been driving since I was sixteen. The freedom, the roar of the engine, the smells that reach me through the helmet… I love all of that too. 

Then of course the things that have always been part of my life. Walking my wonderful dogs, being with my family, travelling and exploring. 

Working also makes me happy. Solving difficult problems with skilled people. Hearing from my clients how I have helped change their lives. Of course that makes me happy. 

Last and far from least. The reason you are reading this is because I love to read and to write. 

When reading about Happiness in the book For you when I am gone, I see I differ from Steve’s description of happiness. His conclusion is that happiness is togetherness. 

Hmm… 

Several of the things I mentioned above I do alone. Riding my Gladius, reading and writing. Maybe I enjoy the togetherness with my motorcycle, the author of the book I am reading and the characters in the stories I write. 

Or I am simply a person who finds happiness both in togetherness and solitude. 

There is another description in the book that I understand better. 

 

“We tend to think about happiness as a singular event or a spontaneous moment in time caused by external factors we do not control - a sort of lucky surprise, like winning the lottery without buying a ticket. But in most cases real happiness requires a process and is the distillate of mindful living day after week after month, and even decades of intention.”

My advice for my loved ones - do what makes you happy. If not every second, then at least every day. That is the only way to live life fully. 

Now it’s your turn!

What makes you happy and what life lessons can your loved ones draw from that?

How to find time in February - One simple question

Have you ever been in a meeting that doesn’t end at the planned time, stressing out about being late for the next meeting - or worse - late for picking up your kids?

There is a simple way to avoid this kind of stress.

All it takes is asking yourself one question...

This month I give you a simple but powerful tool to manage your time, all day every day.

Find time in February by asking yourself: 

How do I want to use my time?

Throughout the day. 

When something takes longer than planned

Pause and ask yourself how you want to use your time. 

Continue or stop? 

Stay in the meeting or suggest concluding it and scheduling a new one for the remaining agenda items?

When something goes faster than planned

Ask yourself how you want to use the “extra time” so you don’t end up wasting it.

You can read or listen to my book Beyond Efficiency for more help getting more done with less effort and deeper joy.  

Your ethical will: When was a time you led with your heart?

Welcome back to Twelve essential questions to tell a life story. By joining me in twelve blog posts you will create what Rabbi Leder calls your ethical will.

By answering the questions your loved ones will get to know you deeper and you will understand yourself better. Let your memories bring meaning!

To join – read the blog posts, reflect on the questions and write down your own answers. You are very welcome to share them in the comments.

Welcome on an interesting journey!

When was a time you led with your heart?

My spontaneous answer is that I lead with my heart most of the time. I want to follow my heart and take my head with me. Following my heart is easy. Discerning the voice of my heart from the voice of my head can be harder.  

I attended a course with author and teacher Jeffrey Allen who described how he used to think he had no intuition. Then he learned to listen to and follow his intuition. It wasn’t until then he realised he had always followed it.

It is the same for me about following my heart. The more I follow it, the more I understand I "always have". Thanks to following my heart I have found the love of my life, a home I love and I have written stories that touch hearts and open minds. 

I have selected one important time I led with my heart that I will share with you. Before I do, let’s have a look at one of the answers in the book For you when I am gone:

"When I was eighteen years old , I ran after a handsome twenty-year-old boy and blocked him from entering the restroom at a restaurant we were both dining at. I knew him - he wasn’t a stranger. I said to him, 

“When you get rid of her” - he had a girlfriend at the time - “and you will… give me a call.” Then I ran back to my table.  

A year and a half later he did. [...] The rest is history."

A time I led with my heart was when I decided to leave the great career I had to become my own boss. 

If you follow me on LinkedIn or if you have listened to one of the podcasts I have been a guest on, you will recognize this story. 

I won’t be here when I turn 50

One of my colleagues turned 50, so we were celebrating her in the office by the riverside.

As she talked about how she hadn’t planned to stay so long at this company I nodded in recognition. Before working at that company, I had changed companies every 2-3 years. But, as my colleague was saying, this company was large enough to satisfy her (and my) need for growth and variation.

Then there was this voice in my head, saying “I won’t be here when I turn 50.”

I didn’t know then, but I know now that it was my intuition talking.

Just before I turned 50 I left the interesting company I had worked so long for, to work full time in my own company.

Not because I wanted to “escape corporate” but because it was time. Time for new adventures.

I haven't regretted it a second - but if I hadn't dared to take that step I would have regretted not doing it many times over by now.

My advice to my loved ones: 

Intuition whispers while conviction shouts.

If you hear or feel it, don’t ignore it. It may be guiding you to something fantastic.

Now it’s your turn.

When was a time you led with your heart?

How to find time in January - Use 3 types of plans

Are you all excited about the new year?

Eager to achieve and experience new things?

I hope so! 

I know I am.

But even if you are excited, you may worry about losing energy and enthusiasm on the way or getting overwhelmed.

No need to worry. 

By using 3 types of straightforward plans, you can stay balanced, on track and out of a last-minute rush!

Find time in January by introducing and using 3 levels of plans:

Your weekly plan.

Make sure you spend your week in ways that give energy and room for what you want. Only then can you use your time efficiently. 

You can learn more about weekly planning here. 

Your Daily plan.

Keep yourself on track without overloading your brain. Focus on 3 wanted outcomes, keep track of all deadlines and appointments and see anything else as bonus. 

You can learn more about daily planning here. 

Your monthly plan.

Avoid last-minute rush and unnecessary collisions with a monthly outlook. No need to go into details, just look ahead and see how you can be ready for different events and appointments. 

You can learn more about monthly planning here.

These 3 types of plans have helped many. 

I hope they will help you achieve what you want this year, in a balanced and fun way!

Going deeper

If you want to learn how to peacefully get more done with less effort and deeper joy, I recommend you read my books about finding time. 

Beyond Efficiency - Escape the Efficiency Trap and become an amazingly effective and peaceful leader by paying yourself first with time. 

If you can read Swedish, you are welcome to read Visst har du tid.

You can also read more at www.annikarosendahl.com

Wrap up the year in a way that feels good - do a WINE analysis.

Welcome to December, a perfect month to look back on the year in a way that gives energy and insight for the year ahead.

I suggest that you do a WINE analysis of the year that is now coming to an end. 

You will shift the focus from "all the things you didn't get done" to the things you have experienced and achieved this year.

This will empower you and give you a great platform for new goals next year!

We are used to focusing on all the things we have not yet done. Too often, we beat ourselves up about it. This drains our energy and makes us even less likely to achieve future goals.

What we often forget is that we get things done and we experience and achieve things all the time. Recognising this increases our energy and our chances of achieving more in the future.

What I suggest you do in December is to take some time out, together with your loved ones if you can, and do a WINE analysis.

WINE is an acronym for

• Winning
• Influence
• Needed
• Enjoyment

Reflecting about what you have experienced this year in these 4 areas in 3 of your life spheres is likely to make you happy and proud!

Instructions for How to find time in December:

1. Set aside one hour for reflection. Alone or with your loved ones.
2. Sit down with pen and paper (or computer if you turn off notifications that distract you) and look at each area and life sphere in the WINE analysis. Write down what you have achieved and experienced in these areas. Celebrate and enjoy! Learn and grow!

This template is available in my Holistic Time Management Planner (available on Amazon).

If you don't have or want the planner, just create your own table. 

I hope you will enjoy reflecting about the year and finding energy and time!

Your ethical will: What do you regret?

 Welcome to Twelve essential questions to tell a life story. By joining me in twelve blogposts you will create what Rabbi Leder calls your ethical will.

By answering the questions your loved ones will get to know you deeper and you will understand yourself better. Let your memories bring meaning!

To join – read the blogposts, reflect on the questions and write down your own answers. You are very welcome to share them in the comments but you can of course also keep your answers in a document that is for your eyes only for now.

Welcome on an interesting journey!

What do you regret?

Before I give my answer, I will share one of the answers in the book For you when I am gone:

“I spent too much time comparing, judging, seeking approval, being hurt, wanting approval, looking outward for happiness. Now I want to forgive, to accept people for who and how they are. I can’t waste time trying to change them, I can only change my expectations of them. I don’t want to spend time anymore being hurt.”

This makes me think of Anouk’s wonderful song: I don’t wanna hurt, a song Jenny sings in my book Jenny, Jenny / Love, guilt, and motorcycles. You can find the song on Spotify. 

When I first saw this question I frowned. I don’t believe in regret. As you may know I am a Timefinder and regrets and worry should be avoided. They are major time- and energy wasters.

But I believed Steve Leder knew what he was talking about, so I gave it some more thought.  

What if I looked at the question about regret as something I wish I would have done differently, even if I don’t dwell on it anymore? When looking at it that way I found answers that indeed helped me understand myself better.

There are things I have done that didn’t work out as intended. I don’t regret these, not if they felt right in the moment. What I do regret is when I did something that felt downright wrong in the moment and I reasoned myself into thinking it was the right thing to do anyway.

This was when our first son was a baby. I had started working again and it was my husband’s turn to be on paternity leave. When I had put our son to sleep I had often put him in bed with me. My husband wanted to teach him to sleep in his own bed and at times would leave him there before he had fallen asleep, even if he would scream and cry. My husband had been told that was the way to do it. "If you fuss with them they will never stop. Let them scream. Eventually they will calm down and fall asleep."

Everytime my son would scream and my husband wouldn’t go into him I had a physical reaction. My heart, my instincts, everything inside of me shouted: Go to him. Pick him up. Comfort him. Instead I listened to my head. It’s my husband’s turn. I can’t tell him how to do it. He does it his way, I do it my way.

Sometimes I would walk out of the house since I just couldn’t stand hearing the crying without doing something about it.

This regret is not because something turned out badly. Our oldest son is just fine. What I regret was not listening to my heart.

My advice to my loved ones: Listen to your heart. It may lead you into thorny, difficult situations at times but you will never regret following that inner voice.

Now it’s your turn:

What do you regret?