If you are new here, welcome to Midlife Reimagined! My name is Laura and I’ve been inspiring women navigating midlife through Life Coaching + Yoga + Wellness for over 30 years. If you are ready to make some changes to enjoy this stage even more, follow along!
[Note: This article is part of the Midlife, Made Simple Series. Check out last week’s article: “I don’t know where to start.”]
A woman stayed after class a few weeks ago and said, “Laura, I know what I should be doing. I just don’t have time.” I smiled because I’ve heard those exact words hundreds of times over the years. And every time I hear them, I know we’re about to have one of my favorite conversations...
“I know I should...”
“I just don’t have time.”
“I’m crazy busy.”
“I would...but...”
If you’ve ever said those words, you’re in very good company. In fact, I hear them almost every week.
“I don’t have time to exercise.”
“I don’t have time to meal prep.”
“I don’t have time to meditate.”
“I don’t have time to relax.”
“I don’t have time to take care of myself.”
And I understand.
Midlife often feels like the busiest season of life.
We’re juggling careers, relationships, aging parents, grown children (who somehow still need us!), homes, volunteer work, appointments, and the hundreds of tiny decisions that fill every day.
By the time evening rolls around, many of us collapse on the couch wondering where the day went.
So if you’re tired of feeling like there’s never enough time to take care of yourself...
...keep reading.
Because I don’t think your biggest problem is time. I think it’s something else.
Before you stop reading...
I’m not suggesting your schedule isn’t full.
I’m saying something I’ve learned after almost 40 years in wellness and coaching:
We always find time for the things that are truly important.
A child gets sick and all of a sudden nothing is more important than being by their side.
Years ago, I was running a business while raising two young children.
My husband and I chose attachment parenting, which meant no daycare.
Looking back, I honestly don’t know how we fit everything in.
But somehow... we did.
Not because I had more hours than anyone else but because I became intentional about how I used them.
Ask any parent with small children what they do in a day... you’ll be amazed!
A few years ago, I did something that completely changed how I thought about my schedule.
For one week, I tracked my time in 15-minute increments.
Every single day. Every single hour.
It was eye-opening. I wasn’t “doing nothing.” But I discovered something surprising.
There were lots of little pockets of time disappearing throughout the day. Five minutes here. Ten minutes there. Twenty minutes scrolling. Another fifteen deciding what to do next.
Waiting.
Procrastinating.
Switching between tasks.
Those little moments added up to hours.
Not because I was lazy.
Because I wasn’t paying attention.
Periodically, I redo this exercise to check in. This is what it looks like. I use color coding to make it easier to see at a glance:
I jokingly call it PTAing... “Pissing Time Away”.
We’ve all done it.
You sit down to answer one text and 30-minutes later you’re watching videos about organizing the pantry you’ll never organize.
Or you’ve picked up your phone to check the weather...and somehow ended up reading celebrity news. (Learning gossip on the British royal family is one of my guilty pleasures!)
Sometimes zoning out is exactly what your body needs.
Sometimes watching a favorite show is wonderful.
Let me be absolutely clear - Rest isn’t wasted time.
But mindless distraction often is.
The difference?
Intention.
One restores you.
The other simply fills time (and usually leaves you more drained than before).
Instead of asking,
“Where did my time go?”
Try asking,
“Did I spend my time the way I wanted to?”
That one question changes everything.
You are going to find those pockets that are wasted - moments that can be filled in a much more satisfying way!
Words matter.
The stories we repeat become the stories we believe.
The more often we say, “I don’t have time,” the more impossible it begins to feel.
Your brain starts looking for evidence that it’s true.
Instead, try saying something more honest: “I’m choosing to use my time with something else right now.”
That feels different, doesn’t it?
Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. But it’s also empowering. Because choices can change.
One of the ways I help women improve their nutrition is by focusing on what to add rather than what to remove.
Instead of saying, “Don’t eat this.”
We ask, “What can we nourish ourselves with first?”
Something interesting happens. When we fill up on foods that help us feel good, there’s naturally less room for foods that don’t.
Time works the same way.
Instead of focusing on everything you don’t have time for...
Start creating space for what matters most.
Ask yourself: “What do I want my days to include?”
Maybe it’s a walk.
Ten quiet minutes with coffee.
Strength training.
Reading.
Yoga.
A healthy breakfast.
Time outside.
When you’re clear about what matters, your calendar starts reflecting your priorities.
Not overnight, but gradually.
Hey, are you enjoying this content? There is a lot of wellness advice online. My goal isn’t to give you more information—it’s to help you know what actually matters.
After nearly 35 years of coaching and teaching, I’ve created hundreds of resources to help women feel stronger, calmer, and more energized. Instead of leaving them scattered across the internet, I’m organizing them here into an easy-to-use library.
As an Inner Circle member, you’ll enjoy:
A growing collection of Wellness Vaults with curated classes, workshops, and guides.
Subscriber-only articles that go deeper than the free newsletter.
Unlimited access to the complete archive.
Think of it as having a trusted wellness library you can return to whenever you need support.
Here’s another belief I’d love to challenge: Self-care doesn’t have to take long.
Neither does wellness.
When we feel like we don’t have time, we are reinforcing the belief that things take more time than they do!
Some of the habits that have made the biggest difference in my own life take less than ten minutes.
Five slow breaths before opening my computer.
A ten-minute walk after lunch.
Stretching while dinner is in the oven.
Taking a few minutes to sit with my legs up on a chair after a stressful day.
Getting outside for morning light while I drink my tea.
Choosing protein at breakfast.
Tiny habits.
Done consistently.
That’s where the magic is.
One reason wellness feels overwhelming is because we’re too vague.
We tell ourselves:
“I should exercise more.”
“I should relax.”
“I should eat healthier.”
But what does that actually mean? Instead, decide exactly what you’re going to do AND when you’re going to do it.
Not someday but:
Tuesday at 7:30.
Five minutes after lunch.
Before your shower.
While the tea steeps.
Specific plans remove decision fatigue (which also wastes time).
They make action easier.
This is exactly why I created SIMPLY :: well, my wellness membership for women in midlife who know they need to change things but feel overwhelmed/don’t know where to start/start and stop/you know all the things!
Not to give you another overwhelming list or ask you to overhaul your life.
Instead, I help you focus on the next small step.
The one that fits your life... The one you’ll actually do.
Because lasting wellness isn’t built through heroic effort, it’s built through simple habits repeated often enough that they become part of who you are.
You don’t need to find three extra hours every day.
You need a plan that’s realistic.
A plan that’s specific.
A plan that’s simple enough to keep showing up for.
This week, instead of saying, “I don’t have time,” try asking yourself:
“Where can I create ten intentional minutes?”
Ten minutes to stretch.
Ten minutes to walk.
Ten minutes to prepare tomorrow’s lunch.
Ten minutes to breathe.
You may discover you had more time than you thought.
Not because your schedule changed.
Because your intention did.
The best compliment you can give me is sharing this article with someone who might need it. Thank you for helping these ideas reach more women. 💚
Pick ONE small wellness habit, preferably one that can be done in 10 min or less, that you will commit to doing every day for the next week.
This week’s video is a Bedtime Yoga video!
Subscribe for FREE to my YouTube Channel:
Subscribe to the YouTube Channel
Below the paywall, paid members receive practical tools to make wellness fit into real life—not another list of things to feel guilty about.
✨ SIMPLY Well Practice: Create your own 10-minute wellness routine using a simple planning worksheet I created for you.
📓 Journal Together: Five prompts to uncover where your time is going and what deserves more of it.
🧘 Yoga Corner: TWO, 10-minute “I Don’t Have Time” yoga practice you can do anywhere. (One for morning and one for evening.)
🌿 Laura’s Wellness Pick: One habit that gives me the biggest return on my time.
💛 This Week’s Midlife Reminder: Small moments create meaningful change.
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