You’re Not Too Busy — You’re Just Not Prioritizing Yourself

00:00What you do right now is shaping what the next five years looks like for you, what the next 10 years looks like for you, what the next 20 years looks like for you. So let me just remind you that you're not too busy. You just never learned how to protect what was priority to you. What's going on, everybody? Hey, you guys, welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

00:40I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to today's episode, episode number 286. And this one, my friends, it may trigger some of you, but I'm hoping in the best way possible. It's Tough Love Monday because I'm going to call out the excuse that every woman, and myself included at one point, has totally leaned on.

01:10The I'm too busy. Too busy to work out. Too busy to meal prep. Too busy to track my food. Too busy to take care of myself. Too busy to take care of myself. And look, I know your life is full. I understand that. I see you guys working hard. You've got a job. You've got kids. You've got a partner. You've got a home. You've maybe got aging parents that you're taking care of. You've got all the things going on. But here's the truth.

01:42You're not too busy. You're just underprioritized. So, in this episode, I'm going to help you guys see where that excuse is hiding. I'm going to help you guys shift your perspective on time and on priorities. I'm going to help you guys, like, reclaim the control over your daily schedule. And then build small, doable, non-negotiables that are going to move the needle even when life feels so crazy.

02:13All right? So, let's get into it. First and foremost, I want to let you guys know, if you don't know this story of me, maybe you've, you know, chimed in at episode 80 or episode 120. Maybe you didn't listen to episode 1. In that episode, I shared with you guys how chaotic my life was 10 to 13 years ago. In the midst of me having the same goal you guys are going after and striving for, losing body fat, feeling more confident in my skin, building muscle,

02:44learning how to be more of a fitness-oriented individual, a health-oriented individual. When I set that goal for myself long, 10, 13 years ago, my life looked like this. I was in nursing school, finishing out the last two semesters, maybe three, three and a half, when I finally committed to fitness. At the same time, I was working in the local hospital by me in the emergency room,

03:17per diem, part-time. And then I was taking care of my sick grandmother at the time I lived with them. And I would get her ready in the morning. I would make sure she was going to doctor's appointments. I would drive her there. And then I would get her ready at nighttime. And then sometimes here and there, I would support with dinners. I was going to the gym. And I was meal prepping. And I was – that alone can feel like it is a full-time job when you're especially first starting out. So just know that I've been in your shoes, if that feels – and I feel like it was overwhelming then.

03:51And I want to give you guys the strategies, tactics, the mindset to be able to feel like that you can reclaim control, that you can shift your perspective, that you can do all the things of which I'm too busy and isn't the narrative that you are running with so that you can accomplish the goals that you want to and do everything at the same time. Because, ladies, I mean, we are superwomen. So we can do it. We just have to make sure all of our priorities are in alignment. What is priority first? What is priority last?

04:21X, Y, and Z. So first, though, I want to get into, like, the psychology of this excuse. The saying, I'm too busy, is often a cover for something so much deeper. Like, first and foremost, it sounds socially acceptable. It doesn't – like, when you're out with friends, like, you're like, oh, I'm just too busy to get this done. I'm just too busy to work out. I'm just too busy, X, Y, and Z. Like, it doesn't trigger shame. It doesn't make people question your commitment because busy is normal.

04:52But usually, if you peel back the onion and you're getting to the core of it, the quote-unquote, I'm too busy actually means I'm overwhelmed and I don't know where to start. I don't feel worthy of prioritizing myself. I don't feel worthy of putting myself and putting myself first. When I have my husband to think of, my kids to think of, my partner to think of, work to think of, I don't feel worthy of putting myself first.

05:24Or I'm too busy means I don't believe it's going to work. So why even bother? Like, I've done this so many times before. I've tried so many other things. Like, it's just not going to work. So why should I even bother trying something else? Or I'm afraid I won't be consistent so I'm never going to begin. And sometimes, the quote-unquote, I've just never learned how to say no to everyone else and yes to me. That's not a time issue. If you guys peel it back and you really get honest with yourself and you're like, why do I say I'm always so busy?

06:00What does that actually mean when it's in relation to me wanting to focus on my health? And my fitness and being better for myself? What is that? If you peel back the onions and you get honest with yourself, it's not a time issue. It is a priority. It is a boundaries. And it is a belief issue. And as I've said many, many, many times before in episodes, the first step to bringing this all to light is awareness. So if you've caught yourself saying, I'm too busy, I just want you to pause for a second and ask, what am I actually avoiding or what am I actually afraid of?

06:44Because you can't change what you're not willing to call out or bring awareness to. Okay, now that's like the mindset of it. Peel back the onion. What's really deeper? What are you avoiding or what are you afraid of? And what can you bring light and awareness to when you have honesty and truth within your words and within yourself that you are able to be like, oh, this is what it is. And how can you navigate it?

07:16So getting more practical now. So we all have the same 24 hours in the day. Like I had the same 24 hours in the day back in the day when I was struggling four of those different things at once. I met warrior babes inside the community that have two sets of twins. There's an amazing story on our YouTube channel about this woman. She was 300 and some pounds and she lost over 100 pounds. She lost 80 during COVID. She has the same 24 hours a day. Beyonce, the woman at your gym with the three kids, your coworker who always plans and packs the healthy meals, the ones that you, the ladies that you see that you inspired to look like.

07:59All of us have the same 24 hours. So if you truly believe that you don't have time, I want you to do a real audit of your day. Ask yourself this. And the most important thing that you can do here is not only just a self-awareness. It is being honest with yourself and taking responsibility for where you are right now. If you can do those three things, that is a huge first step into changing everything for yourself.

08:30Okay? So a real audit of your day. How much time do you spend scrolling? Ask yourself, how much time do I spend scrolling? How much time goes by watching television? How many minutes am I stuck between this decision? Like what to eat, what to wear, what to do? The what to eat consumes so many people. Like that's the one thing that I noticed personally for myself. When I started, like I had the meal plan and I was prepping everything and I was putting it into containers.

09:05The biggest light bulb that went off for me was how much time I'm saving not thinking about what I'm going to be eating for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I wonder if there's a study out there. There's got to be a study out there about this, about how much time people save when they actually plan their meals ahead. And they pack their meals ahead. They don't have to worry about those thoughts. Or even what to wear. I can't, I can't like, like I, it actually like, this got me in my bones right now. I'm thinking about me and how often I stand in the closet and I'm just looking at my clothes and I'm like, I have nothing to wear.

09:40What do I wear right now? Dude, I can't imagine how much time goes by with that. With those of you guys that lay out your clothes the night before, think about how much time you're saving. The same goes all this, like, ask yourself these questions. How often do you say yes to something that you don't even want to do? Ladies, we are so guilty of that. That's your hidden time. Busy is not the problem. Disorganized, distracted.

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11:15if you can find 10 minutes in the morning to, like, mentally set the tone for your day, that's a total of, like, an hour in your day, 55 minutes, then you can change your life. It doesn't take hours. Guys, if there's anything that I want you to take away from this podcast today, it doesn't take hours to do these things. It doesn't require so much time. All it requires is you being more intentional with your time.

11:48You being more intentional with your minutes in the day. Because, like, here's what most women don't realize. Always saying, I'm too busy and putting yourself last, it doesn't make you a better mom. It doesn't make you a better partner. It doesn't make you a better employer. It doesn't make you a better friend. It makes you tired. It makes you resentful. It makes you reactive. And it makes you feeling like you're losing yourself. And what do you do when you feel that way?

12:18You cope. You cope with food. You cope with wine. You cope with staying up late at night. You cope with quitting. This self-neglect. And it all starts, like, if you, like, unpack it, guys. Like, that's what we're doing here in this episode. It all starts with, I'm too busy. When it means it's, and again, it's like someone's not going to call you out for that. I'll be the first one to call you out, my friends, because I love you. And I've done this before. I shared an episode a while back. I think it was in April about how I was on a vacation. And there's a woman I was sitting next to on a business trip bus.

12:51And she was like, I'm just too busy. I'm like, you're not too busy. You're just not prioritizing your health. And it's just, it's, I'll be the first one to say that to you guys. Because I want you guys to be able to, like, hmm. Just what I hope you're feeling in this episode right now. Nikki's on to something here. And then it gets you to look deeper at yourself and at your days and how you're moving throughout the day and how you can change this narrative and change the story. Because what happens here is when you start with, I'm too busy.

13:24And then, like, you feel all of these feelings. First of all, you feel like, you feel all the feelings of what I did. Tired, reactive, all of that. The self-neglect, because you're not putting yourself first, becomes self-sabotage. And then you start to say, see, like, I knew I couldn't stick to anything. When really, you just never made yourself the priority. When you start something and then you say, I'm too busy.

13:57You turn it into self-sabotage. And then it goes back to being like, why did I even start in the first place? I knew I couldn't stick to it. I don't have the consistency. I don't have the time. But no, no, no, no, no. 10, 13 years ago, I made myself the priority. My grandmother was a close second. School was a close second and third. Work, I was part-time per diem. So, like, I worked a lot for being per diem. That's the order of the priority.

14:28Like, I put myself first. So, I want you guys to flip that script. Like, what if making your health was a priority? And what if making your health a priority made everything else in your life better? Because it does. Point blank. Period. End of story. End of podcast. Like, your health. The one body you've been given to walk earth. The temple that you need to be treating it right, that you've been given, should be your priority.

15:01And when you make it your priority, everything becomes better. Period. When you're nourished. When you're strong. When you're mentally clear. You show up so much differently for everything. You show up more powerfully for everything. Let me just reiterate this. You don't need a 75-minute workout a day. You don't need to spend six hours on Sunday meal prepping. Some of you guys like to do that. I personally like to do that too as well. You don't need to. You can break it up. You can do what strategically works best for you.

15:33You don't need to track every single gram perfectly every day. You need to be consistent. But you don't need to be perfect. What you need, and especially if you're somebody that is stuck in this I'm too busy mentality and you need to break out of it, you need to just like mix a protein shake and pack it in your bag. You need to track your food while you're drinking coffee in the morning. You need to walk for 10 minutes before and after work.

16:06You need to do maybe in the morning or evening or if you can take a break during the day, three rounds of bodyweight squats, push-ups, and planks. You need to set a timer and maybe you just need to go clean your kitchen. I'm just brand licking my mind. You need to just, the goal isn't for you to be perfect because I know that can make a lot of women feel overwhelmed when they're starting something. And why they just revert to the I'm too busy excuse. You don't need perfection.

16:36You just need to build momentum. And when you build momentum and those things that I just said, you build consistency. And consistency isn't built on like these big glamorous knock it out of the ballpark days. It's built on not skipping the small one, the small things on a daily basis. As I just said, walking, tracking your food, protein shake, three rounds of squats, power clean your kitchen. If you do that consistently over time, guess what? You are going to win.

17:06And that's all that matters is if you're consistent. So I want to challenge you guys. Can you guys accept the challenge in this new week? I want to challenge you guys to stop saying you don't have time and start saying it's just not a priority right now. And feel the difference in that. Feel the difference when you say my health isn't a priority right now. Getting stronger isn't a priority right now. Feeling good in my body isn't important.

17:39That doesn't feel good, right? Right? So instead, wake up 20 minutes earlier. Stop over committing to things that drain you. Say no. Start saying no more often. Ask for help. Put your workouts on your calendar like a doctor's appointment is on your calendar. Or an important meeting is on your calendar because you're not going to miss those things. You treat your health like a job because it seriously kind of is if you think about it like that. Your health is like your job.

18:12Because without your health, you could say bye-bye tomorrow. You could say bye-bye in five years. It all matters. By the way, let me remind you of this because I haven't brought this up in a couple of it's been a while since I touched on this. What you do right now is shaping what the next five years looks like for you. What the next 10 years looks like for you. What the next 20 years looks like for you. So let me just remind you that. You're not too busy. You just never learned how to protect what was priority to you. So let's wrap this up with a bigger picture.

18:46You're not just tracking macros or hitting workouts. This is like when you do those things. When I say 10, 20, 15, five years from now, you're becoming a woman who honors her word to herself. You're not only let me put God first here. You are treating the body that you've been given as a temple. And you're treating it right by putting your health first. Then you're honoring your word. You're leading by example. You have energy, strength, mental clarity.

19:18You don't crumble under stress. You can handle life because you've taken care of yourself first. That's who you're working to become. Not to mention then the health and longevity that you guys will have. And you don't get there by waiting for the perfect time. You don't get there by waiting for when kids go back to school. I challenge you guys, even though it's the month that kids are going back to school, that could potentially be this next week or maybe the week after or the week after that. Don't wait till they go back to school.

19:49You get there by showing up on your busiest days. You get there by showing up for it. By showing up on the most stressful days, on the most messiest days and doing something anyway. Because if you can win on those busy, hard days, you can win for life. I always say to women, like, don't wait to when your time is slower. Or don't wait till not stressful season. Dude, when is there not a not stressful season in life? If you really think about it, that is another way of being like, oh, okay, well, I'm not going to feel bad for someone who says that.

20:25Because they're just in a stressful period of time. Guys, life is hard. But if you can choose to show up for yourself, even when life is hard, that's how you're going to win. So, man, I hope this resonates with you guys. Send this to somebody that may be like, you're the one that wants to focus on working out, being healthy, eating right. All the things I talked about in this episode, maybe it's a girlfriend that keeps just saying, I'm busy, I'm busy, I'm busy. And, like, you find yourself latching onto those words because, you know, friend, you are the closest that you hang out with.

20:57You are of, like, the people that you hang out with the majority of the time. Maybe somebody needs to hear this episode, too, that you are surrounded with. Maybe your partner needs to hear it. Or maybe it's just a kick in the ass and a reminder to be like, dang, all right, I'm going to do something different this week. Even though it's probably going to be the most hectic and craziest week, I'm going to get my three workouts in. I'm going to walk for 10 minutes, guys. 10 minutes. What's 10 minutes? Stop scrolling. Get up and go outside.

21:27So, if this resonates with you guys, take a screenshot of this episode, please. I want to just know that this hit home for y'all. You're going to go do something about it. It makes my – it makes me so happy. It makes me feel fulfilled seeing that you guys listen to these episodes and then go do something with them. All right? Tag me at Nikki Stott. Tag at The Mac Rauer. And do the work, girls. Do the work. All right? I love you guys. And I'll see you guys in the next episode. Be fine.

21:57Hey, really quick before you go, I have one small favor to ask. If this episode brought you value or sparked something in you, take just a moment to hit that review button. Your rating and review make all of the difference, helping more women discover the tools they need to transform the fitness and their confidence. It takes less than a minute, but it can change the path of someone else's journey. Thank you so much for leaving that review. I appreciate you so much.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.