1. The Backstory

A few years back I made a decision in my business that I thought would cause chaos in my online coaching / consulting business.

Inspired by a Mentor, I decided to completely clear my calendar of calls & meetings on Mondays & Fridays. I moved the meetings that were recurring on these days, I blocked them out my calendar so nobody could book times on these days & I told all my clients + my audience that going forward nobody can talk to me on these days (unless I personally agree to bend on the rule).

When I tell people this, they usually have 1 of 2 reactions:

"Must be nice, I could never do that in MY business..."

Or

"My clients would never allow that..."

Here's the wild part - I had those exact same thoughts. Coming from a corporate world where Sunday morning conference calls were normal place (seriously) the thought of slashing any calls down to just Tuesday - Thursday felt insane.

I was worried clients would be pissed off & consider leaving, prospects would go elsewhere when they heard I don’t work like an on call butler making myself available 24 hours, 7 days per week & I had genuine fears that my business would implode (or at the very least irreparable damage would be done).

But I fell in love with this idea of having 2 days that ‘book-end’ the working week purely to myself, my own projects, my own thoughts, my own schedule & nobody else could disrupt this flow.

So despite my fears, I pulled the trigger & put this into action. I sent the messages to let everyone know & braced for impact.

What happened next shocked me:

Not a single person complained. The backlash never came.

In fact, the exact opposite to what I expected occurred & quite a few clients / folks in my audience said "that's a great idea, I'm going to do the same!"

2. The Common Traps

I'd fallen into 2 very common traps:

#1 Incorrectly confusing busy with building

Filling every single day with back to back calls, meetings & 'quick chats.’ Sure, I was busy. But was I truly moving forward? Building? Creating? Growing?

Or was I just spinning the hamster wheel faster & faster?

#2 False beliefs & limiting, incorrect assumptions

I ASSUMED I knew how people would react based on false beliefs & limiting, incorrect assumptions. Despite all my years experience in this game of business, once again, I was humbled & wrong. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong!

The reality is, if you're truly building your empire, you need an abundance of clear air in your days (and weeks) to:

- Think

- Create

- Write

- Reflect

Not to mention ensuring that you’re prioritising all the other critical areas OUTSIDE your business that make up your empire. Your family, your friends, your physical & mental health, your learning & exploring knowledge.

None of this happens when you're bouncing from call to call all day, every day. None of this improves when you’re constantly on someone else’s schedule. None of this grows when you’re always focused on other people’s shit.

There’s also an entirely separate benefit to all this:

My partner & I love taking weekend getaways to different parts of Australia. This means we can easily do this without me needing to move anything in my schedule because I always know with 100% certainty that Friday & Monday are clear.

People start a business so they don’t have to have a boss & then they become their calendars bitch because they have it open 24/7 for anyone to abuse. Newsflash - it’s YOUR calendar. Control it!

3. The New Reality

With all that said, here's how I structure my week now assuming I’m not on the road & travelling:

MONDAYS & FRIDAYS:

- Content planning & creation

- Reading, learning, research & reflecting

- Long term planning & vision building

- Organisation, streamlining & simplifying

TUESDAY - THURSDAY:

- Client calls

- Group coaching sessions

- Normal work around these as & when

Rather than constantly jumping between modes, I have clear days where I know I need to be in a specific headspace.

This creates a beautiful rhythm where:

1. I start each week proactive rather than reactive

2. Have focused blocks for client work & my own work

3. End the week thinking bigger picture, focused on building my vision

4. Have true flexibility & freedom & then actually enjoy my weekends

4. This Only Works If…

The key to making this work?

Deciding, pulling the trigger & then being ruthlessly consistent with it. I’d be lying if I said I NEVER bend on this rule. But 99% of the time I stick to it & it’s 100% on my terms if & when I decide to make an ad-hoc adjustment. Never on someone else’s command. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they’ve paid me. This is my rule.

No "just this one exception..."

No "it's only a quick call..."

The moment you start making exceptions too often is the moment it falls apart. Your freedom is in your hands.

Now look, I know what some of you are thinking:

"This is great JC but I'm just starting out, I need to take calls whenever I can get them & I need to jump to for my clients so they’re really happy with me & give me a testimonial"

I get it. But consider this:

What if by creating some structure & scarcity with your time from the start, you actually:

- Position yourself as more premium, different & a leader with real values

- Get better results for clients because they’re more considered in their questions

- Create space to build real assets (reducing dependency on clients)

- Avoid burnout & achieve more consistent & sustainable growth

When I implemented this, something fascinating happened:

Because I had more time to think, read & explore the depths of my intellectual curiosity, my:

- Content got better

- Offers got stronger

- Systems got tighter

- Results improved

This meant I could actually make more while working less.

Think about that for a moment.

By creating space to work ON your business rather than just IN it all day, you become more valuable to the market.

5. Final Thoughts

A few practical tips if you want to try this:

1. Decide to make a change & then fit it to YOUR ideal lifestyle (not mine)

2. Adjust as much as you can without reneging on obligations you’ve made

3. Tell your broader audience so they know what to expect when they work with you

4. Explain why you’re doing this & how it will ultimately benefit everyone

5. Stick to it ruthlessly

Your calendar is the most true reflection of how you spend your days.

How you spend your days dictates how much you love or hate your life.

Did you get into this game to build a colourful calendar prison or freedom to work on what you want to work on?

Here's to you taking control of your time & building something real.

Here’s to you making the rules.

Here’s to your empire.

Talk soon,

Jacob

P.S If you want to work with me to build your own online lifestyle business where you make the rules, set your own schedule, create & work on the project you choose!

Check out the details for my Lifestyle Business Academy HERE. I open & close it periodically around other projects so if it’s currently closed be sure to jump on the waitlist & keep an eye on your emails.