How to improve your time management as an entrepreneur

Episode #18 – Interview with Lisa Michaud

 

Lisa Michaud is a recovering over-achieving, people-pleasing, perfectionist. Just kidding: she’s still all of those things. At the age of 27, she faced the reality she may only have one or two years left to live, and with that wake-up call, she decided to get out of her own way and make the most of the time she had left.

While her health scare was just a scare, and she’s healthy today, that was the wake-up call Lisa needed. She decided to stop putting her dreams on the backburner, to stop waiting until she was “ready” and start living life for herself, full-on, today. The truth is, doing all that sounds much better on Instagram, than it does in real life, and what she discovered is that it’s a lot easier in theory than it is in practice. Lisa had to learn to get out of her own way, stop worrying about what others thought (especially her inlaws), stop trying to do #allthethings, and let go of her own expectations.

Far from perfect, Lisa is still overcoming the need to achieve, be liked, and figuring out her own definition of self-worth. Her mission is to help other women like you stop waiting until you’re “ready,” “the right time”, or “one day.” She’s committed to helping women around the world uncover and get over their fears so they too can live the life they want to be living if they only had a year or two left to live.

Why Lisa became a coach

After her health scare, Lisa knew she wanted to move to Vancouver, even though she had a steady job and house. She decided to at least try to go after her dream. She found out that she was healthy but it still stuck with her that it took such a scare to make her go after her dreams. That’s when Lisa decided that she had to follow her dream and find a way to make it happen. She realized that her mindset completely shifted, she managed to move to Vancouver and even go on a big trip to Thailand, which had been her dream for many years.

When Lisa started her new life in Vancouver, she was also looking for a new job. But she realized that she was still postponing her dream of starting her own business. She kept making excuses because she didn’t feel ready yet. She knew that she wasn’t the only woman with those thoughts and she wanted to help others to make their dreams become reality. That’s when she started her own business and became a coach.

 

What was the moment when she decided to build her own business?

When she was looking for a job she read this one description of what was essentially her dream job. But she didn’t have any interest in it because she wasn’t passionate about those jobs anymore. So she talked to her husband and did some research on starting her own business. For a lot of people, it takes a scare or a specific moment to realize that they want to do something different. So Lisa decided that she wanted to take the lesson she learned and help others so that they don’t need that shocking moment in their lives to be able to make a change.

 

How she started a business and still handled her life at the same time

She still doesn’t have all the answers yet, just like everybody else. She also started her business before she had kids. She didn’t have any idea how to be your own boss and tried to do it all right in the beginning, so she had to learn what’s the most important. It’s quite common as an entrepreneur that you could work all the time and still not get everything done. So it’s important to set priorities to make things happen. Having her daughter made it even more important to Lisa to put the business aside and spend some time with her family.

 

Finding time for family and business

It’s quite a fitting time to ask her this question because as of 2 days before the interview, Lisa lost child care for her daughter. Now, her husband works full-time and Lisa has to find time for her daughter and her business. Lisa believes that people think they need to find the right hack for better time-management, but in reality, our relationship with time is always changing. It’s important to constantly remember that and to keep working on it. Now, Lisa has to find a way to take care of her child and also make time for her business. At the same time, it’s important to be able to adapt to the situation and figure things out. Lisa always asks herself in those moments what is important to her right now and being honest about how she wants to feel. If she is already exhausted, she can’t put even more work on her plate. It’s important for everyone to assess the situation give yourself a break if you need it. If you only have 1-2 hours a day to get work done, just concentrate on what is the most valuable use of your time.

 

Tips how to handle being a perfectionist

Lisa went to an event with Brendon Burchard and he asked who in the room was a perfectionist. Almost everyone raised their hands. Then he said “You are not perfectionists, you’re just afraid. Being a perfectionist actually means to do something and then to try to perfect it once it’s done. Most of you haven’t even done anything that could be perfected yet.” There is a close line between perfectionism and procrastination. Most of us struggle with that, so you are not alone with it. It’s important to remember what you are actually afraid of or what you are struggling with? Not everybody will like what you do but that shouldn’t stop you from doing it. Lisa also recommends setting a timer for your tasks and just get it done as well as you can in that time. It can also help to tell another person what you want to get done, so you feel accountable and actually do it.

 

Tips how to handle a sudden change in your schedule or life

She also had some frustration and she let herself feel what she needed to feel. Every time we go through tough times it either makes us less motivated or we learn how to bounce back faster. The goal isn’t to not feel those hard times, the goal is to bounce back from them. Don’t let yourself bypass those things. Lisa also uses hard times to reassess what is most important to her. She also recommends to make a list of all obstacles you encountered and that taught you a lesson or of all the successes you had so far. Those are the things that will keep you going, so they are important to remember.

 

3 final questions

Favorite book or podcast:

–      Lisa recommends “High Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard if you want to have a life that isn’t just work. He actually reads the book for free in Season 4 of his podcast “The Brendon Show”.

–      She also talks about these topics in her own podcast “Goalden Girls Podcast”.

–      “168 hours” by Laura Vanderkam also has some helpful tools for people to figure out their work-life-balance.

Quote Lisa is living by or feels inspired by:

–      Lisa actually asks herself every day “What is my message to myself?”. She uses that as a chance to check in and think about what she needs to hear on that specific day. Depending on the day and how she feels, there can be different quotes that motivate her.

Magic wand with a gift to people:

–      She would give people belief in themselves and love for themselves. Every person faces so many challenges in their lives where they are not sure if they can do something or worry about what other people might think about them. In those moments, it’s important to believe in yourself and know that anything is possible for you.

 

Links

Link to Lisa’s website:
www.lisamichaud.com

Link to Lisa’s social media channels:
http://www.instagram.com/thelisamichaud
http://www.facebook.com/thelisamichaud
http://www.pinterest.com/thelisamichaud

 

Freebies

Link to Lisa Michaud’s freebie:

Grab Your Free Weekly Planner: lisamichaud.com/week

The best weekly goal planner online. Use this fillable PDF or print it out to plan your week. Achieve your goals once and for all.

 

If you are ready to rock your life and business get your complimentary coaching call with me! Schedule your free coaching call now.
https://go.lisa-evoluer.com/call

Grab the free „Rising Business Rockstar Guide“
https://go.lisa-evoluer.com/risingbusinessrockstar

Get your s** done! Easy steps to get the results you want in your life and business right now, how to be more productive and create your healthy, vibrant dream-life.