Learn How To Protect Your Time And Energy With Simple Daily Structures

Big goals don’t need heroic days; they need repeatable days. We walk through a practical, low-friction system for turning long-term vision into daily action using habits that support mental health and time blocking that protects deep work. Instead of letting urgency dictate your schedule, you’ll learn how to make your calendar reflect your priorities and your energy, so the work that actually moves the needle gets done first.

We break down the essentials with a builder’s mindset: why consistent habits like journaling, meditation, and affirmations improve resilience; how the Pomodoro Technique sustains focus without burnout; and why “eat the frog” in the morning clears the biggest mental weight. You’ll hear a simple approach to daily resets and rewards to keep momentum steady, plus a concrete system to plan tomorrow’s blocks before you log off today. From grouping similar tasks to adding buffer time, from silencing notifications to communicating boundaries with clients and teams, the structure here is clear, humane, and effective.

To help you start fast, we share a one-day starter plan: choose one daily habit as your first block, list one high-impact task each evening as your frog, and time block a single day with breaks and a quick review. You’ll also learn how to run weekly reviews to spot time leaks, adjust for your energy curve, and keep improving without chasing perfection. If you’re ready to trade scattered effort for calm progress, this conversation gives you the tools and the guardrails to run your own race with confidence.

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I help employed mortgage brokers go self-employed with clarity, confidence and one-to-one mentoring. Find out how Pathways or Coaching works at craigskelton.co.uk

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Chapters

• 0:00 Series Context And Focus
• 0:21 Why Habits Matter For Wellbeing
• 1:43 Core Benefits Of Time Management
• 2:08 Pomodoro And Eat The Frog
• 3:26 Daily Resets And Rewards
• 4:01 Time Blocking Basics
• 5:07 Plan The Day Before
• 6:10 Weekly Review And Advantages
• 6:35 Practical Success Tips
• 8:14 Triggers, Tools, And Grace
• 9:01 A Simple Starter Plan
• 10:09 Closing And Call To Action

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, and welcome to this week's The Mogish Broker broadcast. Welcome back to our Set Yourself Up for 2026 miniseries. I'm your host, Craig Skelton, and I'm really glad you're back here for episode three. In the first episode, we talked about aligning vision with your and your values. Last week we reflected on 2025 and celebrated lessons that we had learned this year. This week we turned our attention and our focus to daily practices and structures that turn your vision into reality. So, in other words, we're talking about habits and time blocking. You've probably heard the saying, we are what we repeatedly do, and your daily habits, how you start your morning, how you prioritize your tasks, how often you take breaks, shape your productivity, your mental health, and ultimately your success. So let's explore which habits make the biggest difference and how to use time blocking to protect your time and energy. So why do habits matter? Well, research shows that consistent habits improve mental health and resilience, regular social connections, time in nature, and activities like learning or problem solving support mental health and well-being. Daily rituals such as journaling, meditation, or affirmations can help reset your mindset and provide a sense of control. So, for example, reciting daily affirmations has been shown to bolster self-esteem and overall well-being. When you intentionally build habits, you send the signal to your mind that you care about yourself. That routine acts like an anchor during busy and stressful times, reminding yourself that your well-being is non-negotiable. So let's look at the benefits of time management. Effective time management brings a host of benefits, increased productivity, better work-life balance, improved focus, and less anxiety. When you manage your time well, you produce higher quality work and experience a sense of accomplishment rather than constant stress. These benefits are not just theoretical, they come from practical strategies that you can learn and apply. So let's look at some habit strategies that are worth trying. The first one is Pomodoro Technique. This method involves breaking your work into 25-minute segments separated by five-minute breaks. After four cycles, you take a longer 15 to 30 minute break. And the idea is to sustain focus during each work block and rest in between. Setting a timer helps, that does really work and helps you avoid distractions and maintain momentum too. And use the techniques for focused tasks like preparing client reports or submitting client details or writing a blog post. They do really work. What also works is whatever you want to call it, it doesn't really matter, but eat the frog is what most people understand. This was popularized by Mark Twain and Brian Tracy, and this strategy encourages you to tackle the most difficult or important task first thing in the morning. Like I say it's been complete sort of been called various things, but eating the frog is what one thing that most people reminisce with. And that sort of doing it first thing in the morning, completing your frog early sets the tone for the day and reduces procrastination. When you remove the biggest mental weight into your day, everything else seems far easier. You also need to have daily resets too. Borrowing from mindfulness and mental health practices, check in with yourself throughout the day. Pause between tasks to breathe, stretch, observe how you feel. And if you're stressed, just go for a walk. Just get away from your desk. That can have massive, massive benefits. You also need to reward yourself too. When you complete a task or you've eaten the frog, reward yourself with a short break, a coffee if that's what motivates you. Positive reinforcement encourages you to continue building healthy habits. And then time blocking, making your calendar reflect your priorities. Time blocking is simple, it's a simple but yet powerful technique. You divide your day into blocks of time dedicated for specific tasks. So, for example, Monday morning could be reserved for prospecting calls or client progression. 10 to 11 is client applications, 2 to 3 is marketing. The steps. So these are the steps to doing time blocking. But what I would say is do these the day before, do these the night before, do these, set these up before you finish your working day the day before. Try not to do it when you first get into your day, first get into the office in the morning or sat behind your desk, whatever that looks like for you. Try not to do these then. They ideally should be done the day before. The last thing you do before you close your door, shoot your laptop, whatever it is. So first thing to do is list your tasks, gather your tasks, what you need to do tomorrow, and estimate how long each task will take, including like work, personal commitments, and breaks. Get them all in there and then allocate blocks. So map out each task onto your calendar, group similar tasks together, and then schedule your breaks, and then also adjust and refine. You can review your time blocks and refine your schedule as you need to do. So make sure it fits your energy levels, which is which is important, which is good. If you most like alert in the morning and you are work best in the morning, then get the tackle the most complex task, then eat the frog then. And then stick to the plan. Try to follow the schedule as closely as you possibly can. When something urgent arises, adjust, but don't abandon your entire plan. It's easy to do that when something comes in, but don't abandon your entire plan. Just adjust accordingly. And then review weekly after the end of each week, review what worked, what didn't work, where time leaked, and how you can improve the following week. Time blocking has several advantages. If it helps you focus on one task at a time, reducing multitasking, which just doesn't work, and it reduces distractions too, which are a massive thing as a broker and a business owner. It ensures important tasks don't get squeezed out by urge by urgent but less important ones, which we all know those happen during the day. It clarifies expectations for yourself. You know what you should be working on right now and at any given time or any given moment during the day. So I just wanted to include a few practical tips for success on this toward at the end of the podcast. The first thing to do is combine habits with time blocks, schedule your morning ritual, exercise, or journaling as the first block of the day that really does work and protect it. Really do protect it. I can't emphasize that enough. Don't let it slide. You need to protect it. This sets the tone and energizes you for the day's tasks. And start small. If time blocking feels overwhelming, begin with just blocking out your mornings or your afternoons. That's absolutely fine. And then gradually expand as you get more comfortable. And be realistic. Don't cram your calendar with back-to-back tasks. You'll just burn out. Give yourself a buffer time between each activity. And also, as well, there's something that is important is communicating the boundaries. Let your team, if you've got a team and your clients, know when you're available and when you're in focused work time. Silence notifications. Not if possible, just silence notifications. That's a non-negotiable. Silence your notifications if I can't emphasize that enough. And then use tools like digital calendars, CRMs, productivity apps can help you implement time blocking and habit tracking. And then track the triggers. No when you get distracted or break your block. Is it social media? Is it just emails or is it hunger too? And then address the cause, address the root cause, turn off notifications, schedule specific email check times into your time blocking, and then prepare. If it's hunger, then prepare your snacks and get them on your desk so you can get the meat and then move on. And one thing that is important is give yourself grace. Perfection isn't the goal. If you if you stray from the plan, acknowledge and adjust stressing about strict adherence defeats the purpose of what you're trying to do. So building habits and managing time isn't just about productivity, it's about protecting your mental health. Break large tasks into small steps and reward yourself for progress. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Taking breaks to listen to music can reduce stress and stimulate creativity or just getting away from your desk, as I've said before. Communicate effectively with colleagues and be kind to yourself. These practices are essential to sustain momentum and avoid burnout. So, how would you put it into practice? Identify one habit, choose one daily habit that you want to work on that you want to build, add it to your calendar as the first block of the day. Create your frog list each evening. Let's list one high impact task for the next morning. This is your frog. Complete it before a set time, before 10, before 11, depending on when you set work, start work. But this is your frog. Get it done first thing. And then time block one day. Pick one day this week and block out your schedule, include the breaks, planning time, personal tasks, get them all in, and at the end of the day, review what's worked and where you need to make adjustments. But just start with doing something, start small, use the Pomodoro, like another technique. Try that 25-minute focus session with a five-minute break after. It does really work. Notice how your concentration and productivity change. But ban notifications. If I can't stress that enough, ban notifications and then celebrate. After you've completed your days, give yourself rewards. Something small that makes you smile. And whether that's coffee, tea, going for it, whatever that looks like, make sure you reward yourself. So that's it. That's this week's episode on habits and time blocking. Remember your daily choices, and you do have daily choices, shape your future. Build habits that support your vision, manage your time and intention, and give yourself a break and give yourself reward when you need to. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it, please like it, please leave a review as always. Please subscribe. So until next time, as always, please don't forget to run your own race.