No time? No problem. Overcoming the productivity illusion

Why you’re never too busy to change your life

How’s your week going?

I’ve had a a pretty intense one.

I worked 9-10 hour days and had after work events on 4 evenings.

Maybe it was also the dark winter weather but I found myself descending into a pretty negative mindset.

My colleagues really started to irritate me.

They were not doing anything different.

Things that I used to find funny now started to annoy me.

This one colleague has a really loud cackling laugh.

Usually it’s infectious and gets everyone else laughing too.

But last week it really made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I felt like I was a lone wildebeest in the African savanna and that she was cackling like a hyena who knows it’s got me cornered.

I snapped at her.

I struggled to write or plan any videos.

On top of that I received an influx of inbound opportunities from my YT channel.

Brands seem to be desperate to use up their marketing budget before the end of the year and I was inundated with sponsorship requests.

I’m not complaining. This is a great problem to have.

But instead of feeling excited about it I felt stressed.

I caught myself saying it again: “I don’t have time.”

It was a passing thought, but it stuck with me.

I’m one of those people who needs a lot of “me time.”

If I don’t have a few hours alone everyday I start to feel irritable.

It creates this agitated sense of worry and indecision which really saps at my energy levels.

“I don’t have time!”

I’ve said those four words on repeat over the years.

At one point they were my mantra. My shield. My excuse.

But “no time” is never the truth. And deep down, I think I knew it.

The Problem with the "Time Excuse"

When you’re balancing work, family, and the day-to-day chaos of life, “I don’t have time” feels like an ironclad reason for not pursuing your goals.

But what if it’s not about time at all?

What if the real issue is energy—or rather, a lack of it?

If I’m honest it wasn’t that I didn’t have time it was that I was just feeling low.

When I got home after work I just did not feel like doing anything other than chilling on the couch.

I caught myself saying I need to “relax,” first, and do you know what? I did.

The problem isn’t time—it’s how we manage our energy.

The True Currency of Creativity Is Energy

Writing is an inherently creative process.

It’s not just about typing words—it’s about bringing ideas to life, communicating value, and connecting with your audience.

Creativity doesn’t flow on command, and forcing yourself to write when your energy is low will lead to uninspired content.

Think of energy as the engine that powers your creativity.

Something I’ve learned on my creative journey is that I have peak energy hours.

These are in the morning as soon as I wake up.

My tank is full and so ideas flow more freely.

That’s why these hours are reserved for my creative pursuits.

When your energy is high, your ideas flow, your writing feels natural, and the time you spend creating is productive.

When your energy is depleted, even simple tasks become daunting.

You might spend an hour trying to write and scrap everything because it doesn't feel right.

The key to sustainable growth in your writing isn’t squeezing more hours out of your day—it’s learning to protect and channel your energy.

It’s also knowing when to give it a rest.

Last week I continued to write notes but I didn’t have the energy to make progress on a newsletter article and that’s ok.

The world didn’t end and in fact I’m sure you didn’t even notice because I haven’t set myself gruelling goals like sending daily emails.

Having a loose schedule like sending an email once every two weeks allows for mood swings, busy weeks and essentially - life to happen - without my readers even noticing.

And more importantly without me feeling like the Hyenas are closing in.

The Problem with Forcing Consistency

One of the most common pieces of advice for growing online is to post every day or send a weekly email without fail.

While consistency matters, forcing yourself to write on a rigid schedule can backfire.

If you sit down to write when you’re drained, distracted, or uninspired, you will produce something that feels forced or lackluster.

You will also burn out.

If you start associating writing with stress and frustration rather than enjoyment that is the moment when you need to immediately step back and give it a rest.

Your readers will notice that you are burning out. Engagement will drop and so forcing consistency will just fuel the reinforcing cycle of frustration and degrowth.

Disengaged energy from the writer translates to disengaged energy from the audience.

Instead of prioritising frequency above all else, I have learned to focus on creating content when my energy is aligned.

Quality trumps quantity every time.

A single, well-crafted article will resonate more deeply with your audience than a dozen rushed posts.

Finding What Excites You

This is the part nobody tells you about: if you’re forcing yourself to work on something that doesn’t excite you, it doesn’t matter how much time you have—you won’t do it.

You’ll spend your days researching productivity hacks and exercising iron clad discipline.

This is how I tried to start an ebook publishing business and how I first approached my YouTube channel.

For years, I tried to muscle through projects I thought I should care about.

I made schedules, set goals, and tried every productivity hack under the sun. But nothing stuck, because deep down, I wasn’t passionate about the work.

When I finally started focusing on what lit me up, everything changed.

Suddenly, “I don’t have time” stopped being my default excuse, because I genuinely *wanted* to make progress.

The excitement fuelled my energy, and the energy made time feel elastic.

The fact that “I don’t have time” resurfaced again last week was a great reminder for me to slow down, question things and recalibrate.

Reframing Success: From Output to Impact

Many writers measure success by output.

How many words they write. How many emails they send, how often they post, or how quickly they hit a subscriber milestone.

But focusing solely on output will lead to burnout and disillusionment.

Instead, shift your focus to impact. Ask yourself:

- Did this piece of writing help my audience in some way?

- Did I enjoy creating this piece?

- Does this work align with my larger goals and values?

When you prioritise impact over output, you’ll naturally produce content that resonates more deeply with your audience and feels more fulfilling to create.

If you’re feeling stuck, here’s what worked for me:

1. Focus on Energy, Not Time

Pay attention to when you feel most energised during the day, and use that window for your most important work. Even 15 minutes can be transformative if your energy is high.

2. Find What Excites You

Stop forcing yourself to work on projects you think you *should* care about. Instead, ask yourself: What would I do if nobody else was watching? What makes me feel alive?

3. Start Small

Forget the idea that you need hours of free time to make progress. Commit to 20-30 minutes a day and watch how those small actions compound over time.

4. Be Honest with Yourself

Are you really too busy, or are you afraid of what might happen if you start? Confronting that fear is hard, but it’s the first step toward real growth.

At its core, writing is a form of self-expression.

When you approach it from a place of joy and curiosity, the process becomes less about *getting it done* and more about exploring ideas and connecting with your readers.

By focusing on managing your energy rather than maximizing your time, you’ll create a writing routine that feels natural and fulfilling—and that’s the kind of energy your readers will notice and appreciate.

So, the next time you catch yourself thinking, “I don’t have time,” pause and reframe the thought.

Ask yourself instead: “How can I protect my energy and approach this with enthusiasm?” That’s where the magic happens.

Thanks for reading.

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Enjoy the rest of your day.