Are you accessible or available? And info on our free “Breakthroughs” course

Real breakthroughs in professional and personal success come not by making our hours more efficient, but by making more conscious decisions about how those hours are spent in the first place.

The secret to having space and a schedule that feels "breathy" (as my client Michael Kitces likes to say) is for you to take agency over your time. The goal is to have the ability to live and work on your terms.

Similar to having enough money for financial independence, gaining agency over our time requires an intentional framework that regulates where our attention flows. If we don’t, the world will.

Taking back control of your time starts with understanding the difference between being available and being accessible.

Taking agency over their time started by understanding the difference between accessible and available.

Available literally means, ‘at someone’s disposal’ which is what most professionals are most of the time. Accessible, by contrast, means ‘able to be reached.’ In the nuanced differences between the two lies a good majority of our time breakdowns.

In action, available means that you come in with your day planned, but by 10:00 AM it’s derailed by disruptions and distractions. Available means checking for new email messages 11 times a day because you feel compelled to monitor them like a newborn baby. Available means you and your team are in a constant state of preparing for, holding, and following up on meetings (or projects), never quite able to clear the task-list tsunami. Available means you can’t take more than a few days off without being in close communication. Available means taking calls whenever the phone rings. Available means you keep setting up projects and tasks when there’s no time actually to get them done. Being available means you just keep doing more work, and the piles keep getting higher.

The problem with available is that you’re never the one in charge of it; everyone else is. Which inevitably means that you’re not running your time or your practice or your outcomes; everyone else is. Without boundaries in place, you are essentially saying, "Hello world, I had some ideas about how today was going to go, but never mind because whatever you decide you need today is more important than what I originally planned to do."

I understand that asking you to give up available might feel selfish. Many of us pride ourselves on our service and responsiveness. But just as many don’t actually deliver on it, precisely because they’re available.

When a prospect sits across from you, do you say, “Bob and Mary, thanks for entrusting me with your money. You can count on me to give you my focus and attention… unless, of course, someone else needs something from me when I’m working on your plan or preparing for our meeting. In that case, I’ll need to stop what I’m doing, delay your work, come back to it later with less time and attention, and then pick it up again once people have stopped asking for other things and time has cleared again for me to complete your work. I won’t feel as good about it, but it’ll be good enough and that’ll have to do because, well, you know I’m just really busy managing all the disruptions. Does that sound OK with you?”

Or do you close your internal business planning meeting with, “Team, we’re really excited about these plans, and we’re going to start some projects and set some meetings, but we probably won’t be getting to most of it done given how we always make ourselves available to our clients regardless of what we just said we’re going to focus on?"

Being accessible, by contrast, means able to be reached. Able to be reached is not the same as available at will. And that nuance matters immensely.

Accessible says “I’m here to serve you, but on terms that work for me and all the stakeholders in my business.” Accessible says that your other clients, your team, and your sanity all have a seat at the table.

Being accessible means that you are available on the terms that respect your interests without capitulating to everyone else’s.

When you make the shift from treating your time as accessible instead of available, you’ll find that a lot of space opens up on your calendar.

Remember that your time is your greatest revenue (and happiness) producing asset. If you don't take agency over your time this year, others will do it for you.

In case you missed it, last week, we announced that we’re opening up the Limitless Advisor coaching community to Mojo members — for free — to help you align your mindset, vision, and time to make the most of 2024. You’re invited to join us for Breakthroughs, a six-week virtual coaching series designed to help you get clear, get focused and get to work making this your best year ever. You can learn more and sign-up here.

No limits!