The Quiet Power of Paying Attention: You Don’t Have a Time Problem - You Have a Load Problem
If you're feeling stretched thin right now - between work, Christmas events, kids’ activities, the emotional load of the year, and the life admin pile that never seems to shrink - you're not alone. Truly.
Every woman I support is navigating a business and a whole life outside of that business.
No one is “just” a business owner.
No one is “just” an employee.
We’re whole humans with meals to cook, forms to sign, washing to fold, relationships to tend to, emotions to hold, and a nervous system trying to keep up with it all.
And at this point in the year, the load gets heavy.
Yet most of us internalise that heaviness as a time problem.
We think the issue is:
Not being organised enough.
Not managing our time well.
Not planning properly.
Not using the right system.
Not being disciplined.
Not doing enough.
But the more I tune into my own life, my clients, my workplace, my friendships… the more I realise:
The problem isn’t time.
It’s load.
Invisible, emotional, mental, seasonal load.
Once you see that clearly, something softens inside.
Because you stop blaming yourself for not doing more… and you start supporting yourself to carry less.
Why this matters (especially now)
When life ramps up, most of us don’t get more support - we just hold more pieces.
The mental load increases.
The emotional load increases.
The invisible labour increases.
And suddenly it feels like we’re all on a hamster wheel we never asked to be on.
This is where conscious time awareness becomes powerful.
Not because we “should be more productive,”
but because clarity creates options.
Awareness gives us agency.
Agency gives us breathing room.
Breathing room gives us our lives back.
But awareness can only grow when we stop seeing ourselves as the problem… and start seeing the load we’re carrying for what it really is.
A real example from my week
This week, I realised something big - not big in an earth-shattering or profound way… but big in one of those quiet, subtle, powerful ways that surprisingly changes how your day feels.
For months now, I’ve been unintentionally wasting time in the kitchen - not because I was doing anything wrong, but because I was preparing every meal separately.
And honestly?
I was doing it because I could.
Because I work from home most of the time.
Because I have access to my kitchen.
Because, like many of us, it felt normal to make lunch fresh since I'm already here.
But then I caught myself.
I kept picturing myself going for a walk on my lunch break and having lunch… yet, in reality, cooking lunch was swallowing the entire break.
By the time I’d cooked, eaten, and reset the kitchen, my moment of spaciousness had vanished.
That realisation was confronting - not dramatic, but deeply clarifying.
Because I suddenly saw the truth:
It wasn’t a “time management” issue.
It was a load issue.
I was carrying three separate cooking loads… when I could carry one.
So I tried something new.
When I made breakfast… I made lunch and dinner at the same time.
Chopping a little extra.
Cooking an extra piece of chicken.
Tripling the vegetables.
Same chopping board.
Same knife.
Same 15–20 minutes.
And suddenly?
I’m spending two-thirds less time in the kitchen.
Not because I became more productive.
Not because I became more disciplined.
Not because I found a new system.
But because I reduced my load.
Awareness created ease.
You don’t need better time management - you need a lighter load
Here’s the reframe:
Time awareness isn’t about micromanaging the clock.
It’s about understanding your current season so you can adjust the load you’re carrying.
Start by asking:
Where does life feel heaviest right now?
What tasks feel disproportionately draining?
What am I doing multiple times that could be done once?
Where am I assuming I “should” handle something because I always have?
What expectations have I placed on myself that no longer fit this season?
You’ll start to see that it’s not that you're not doing enough - it’s that you’re doing too much alone.
Real-world ways to lighten your load (not add more to your list)
1. Combine tasks that belong together
Not multitasking - load-stacking.
My version: breakfast + lunch + dinner prep in one go.
Yours might be:
Make kids’ lunches while prepping snacks
Tidy the house while the kettle boils
Prep tomorrow’s dinner while you’re already cooking tonight’s
Fold washing while listening to a call or podcast
One load instead of three.
2. Create seasonal “default settings”
Less choice = less load.
Not forever - just for now.
Default breakfasts.
Default outfits.
Default Wednesday dinners.
Default admin routines.
It frees up mental space you don’t realise you’re using.
3. Do the tiny thing now
A 3-minute task is not about productivity - it’s about load relief.
Reply to the quick email.
Clear one bench.
Put away one load of washing.
Sort one pile.
Every micro-action removes one future source of overwhelm.
4. Ask “what would make this easier?” - not “how can I get more done?”
This question reduces load instantly.
Maybe it’s:
Grocery delivery
Pre-cut veggies
Saying no to one thing
Asking for help
Changing dinner plans
Tweaking one routine
Ease counts as productivity.
5. Build gentle systems for things you repeat
Systems aren’t about discipline - they’re about reducing load.
Templates.
Checklists.
End-of-day rituals.
Monday prioritisation routines.
They reduce decision fatigue, not freedom.
6. Let “good enough” be the standard for this season
Not forever.
Just for now.
Because “perfect” is a heavy load and “good enough” is a spacious one.
A gentle invitation
Before you change your role, accept new hours, or reorganise your whole life - give yourself this:
Notice your load.
Not to judge it.
Not to shrink yourself around it.
But to finally see what you’re actually carrying.
Because you don’t need more time.
You need more space.
And space comes from shifting the load, not pushing yourself harder.
One small shift.
One subtle realisation.
One conscious choice at a time.
This is how we reclaim our days - softly, intentionally, and without sacrificing ourselves in the process.
Hey, I’m Catherine!
I’m here for the women doing business differently -
building something beautiful without burning out.
Here, you’ll find simple systems, soulful structure, and a softer way to scale.
