Two years ago, I built a work schedule that changed everything for me. I grouped my tasks, protected my time, and stopped reacting to every email. It worked. I felt better. I got more done.
And then life changed — and the schedule stopped working.
I started training for monthly 5Ks. I got serious about meal planning. I decided to fix my sleep, which has been a mess. And on the business side, we lost a major client, which was hard financially, but it also gave me something I haven't had in a while: a chance to do things differently.
All of that change needed time. Time for planning. Time to think. Time to just breathe. And my old schedule didn't have room for any of it. So I was doing what I always do — cramming everything in, switching between a million things a day, and wondering why I felt terrible.
I had structure. It just wasn't the right structure anymore.
This is the part nobody talks about. Everyone tells you to build systems and create routines. And that's right — you should. But what they don't tell you is that your systems have an expiration date. Not because they were bad. Because YOU changed.
Your business has different needs now than it did six months ago. Your body has different needs. Your personal life has different demands. And if you're still running on a structure you built for a version of you that no longer exists, you're going to feel drained — no matter how well that structure used to work.
Losing that major client was actually the wake-up call. I had the chance to redesign things, but I almost didn't. I almost just filled that open time with more work. More content. More meetings. More hustle. Because that's the instinct, right? Something opens up, and you fill it.
Instead, I asked myself: what does my life actually need right now?
The answer was: I need to stop competing with myself. My 5K training couldn’t compete with my work schedule. My meal planning can't compete with client calls. My sleep couldn’t compete with late-night admin. Everything was competing for the same energy, and everything was losing.
So I changed the schedule. Again.
WHAT I CHANGED THIS TIME:
I started with my personal needs first, not my business needs. This felt backwards and honestly a little scary. But I blocked my training times, my meal prep windows, and a non-negotiable wind-down time before bed BEFORE I scheduled any business tasks. Because if I kept putting business first, the personal stuff would never happen — and then I'd keep feeling drained, and the business would suffer anyway.
I cut my active work days. Not because I'm less ambitious. Because when you're not sleeping well and you're trying to make real changes in your life, you can't be maxed out. A rested version of me working 3 or 4 focused days is more effective than a tired version working 5.
I gave myself more time for planning and thinking. Losing that client meant I had a chance to rethink how Vegan Mainstream operates. But that kind of strategic thinking doesn't happen between client calls and inbox fires. It needs space. So I built space into the week specifically for it.
I stopped treating my old schedule like a sacred thing. This was the mindset shift. I was proud of the system I built two years ago. It worked. Letting it go felt like admitting failure. But holding onto a structure that didn’t fit my current life wasn’t discipline — it was stubbornness.
YOUR ONE THING THIS WEEK:
Grab a piece of paper and make two columns. On the left, write down everything your LIFE needs right now — not your business, your life. Exercise, sleep, meal prep, time with family, doctor appointments, whatever is real for you. On the right, write down your current work schedule.
Now look at both columns. Where are they competing? Where does your life suffer because your work schedule doesn't have room for it?
That's where the redesign starts. Not with productivity hacks. With honesty about what your life actually requires right now.
Try it. Reply and tell me what you see.
I'm turning this schedule framework into a downloadable template — my actual weekly structure that you can customize for your own business. It'll be in the shop soon. If you want to be the first to know when it drops, reply with 'TEMPLATE' and I'll send it to you before anyone else.
HIT PLAY:
Tired of reading? Listen to a fellow vegan entrepreneur talk about finding balance in business.
Terri Chrisman is a nutritionist who learned a hard truth: sometimes the clients you care about most aren't willing to do the work. And when you're emotionally invested, that takes a real toll. She found a better way. Worth a listen.
How many hours per week do you actually work ON your business (not in it)?
Take care of yourself this week. Seriously.
— Stephanie
PS: Last issue, I asked you to pick one thing bothering you in your business and run it through my 3-question framework. If you did it, reply and tell me what happened. If you didn't... this week's a fresh start.
