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We budget our money with spreadsheets, apps, categories, and more. But time? We spend it like it's completely unlimited. But what if we treated time like our most valuable currency?  I wanted to use the word "invest," instead of "spend" in the title because when we invest money, there's an expected return. Spending feels like squandering. There's no ROI. But I couldn’t use "invest" in the title because I didn't want you to think about investing money in stocks, bonds, and GICs. Time as Investment It’d be great if we stopped spending our time and instead invested it. We do that by allocating it, just like we might allocate our money in a budget. When we put our money into something, we're looking for:
Every hour of our day has a strong ROI if we use it wisely. If we invest our time, we can use it to make money, boost our energy, and build stronger relationships; but when we spend time, it will drain us. Asking if the way we use our time boosts or drains us:
You could stop reading right now and just take that as the point, because it's a different way of thinking. We shouldn't give our money to software we're not using or subscriptions we're not using. A lot of times we unconsciously allocate our time to things that really aren't beneficial. The Cost of Reactivity Entrepreneurs spend a lot of their time being reactive to situations, and context switching. Even right before I recorded this, I was jumping between tasks and was like, "Stop it. Stop waiting for the person to reply. Set up a time to actually talk to them." That reactivity and context switching are actually causing entrepreneurs to lose 32% of their week. That's like a third of your time wasted that could be used more efficiently. It often hurts for us to waste our money, but it doesn't always hurt for us to waste our time. We don't see it in the same way. We're not just going to throw our money away, but we throw away our time on things like doom-scrolling or procrastination. Time budgeting, just like financial budgeting, helps you to have these five benefits:
Why Aren't People Doing This? 1. Guilt of Saying No: We'll say no to something financial because we know we maybe can't afford it or don't want to put our money towards something, and most of the time we're not embarrassed by that. We get to choose a luxury vehicle or something reliable and price conscious. We're not going to apologize to people buying one over the other. But we have a lot of guilt in saying no to something when it involves our time. If we have time, we feel like we should give it freely. People don't necessarily know how much money we have, so they're not always asking us to give that freely, but sometimes they make their own judgment on how much time we have and how much time we can give. 2. Thinking that Being Busy Equals Being Valuable: If we're thinking about being busy, we give away our time. Instead, we can think about our time being valuable, then we will invest our time on what matters to reach our goals and build relationships. 3. Reactivity Disguised as Responsibility: "I gotta deal with this. I gotta deal with this," rather than checking in and being like, "Is this a priority for me? Is this important for me?" I heard a funny expression on a show: "Not my sink, not my dishes." You don't have to wash someone else's dishes if it's not your sink. We're often put into situations where we give so much of our time to help others without actually seeing the value. The Problems When Time Is Ignored 
What Can You Do?  If you know that time is a resource, just like money is a resource, figure out how much time you have. 1. Assess Your Time: How much of my time is flexible that I can decide what happens with it? How much of my time is constricted? Like if I'm at a nine-to-five, from nine to five I only have the hour in the middle of the day that's mine, or I have the start of the day that's mine, but then I have kids at this hour. Figure out how much you have. That's usually what a financial advisor does, right? They figure out how much money you have, then you can invest it wisely. 2. Do an Audit: Look at last week and ask yourself: Where did I spend my time, and where did I invest my time, and where did I waste my time? Invest, spend, and waste. Categorize each activity towards things that are leaking your energy, draining your energy, or giving you a really high ROI. 3. Optimize High ROI Activities: Maybe an area is good, but could it be better? Could it be better if you give more time or even less time? Is there a difference between a three-hour hangout with a friend and a one-hour hangout? Could you do the one-hour hangout more often? Is three hours too much? Could you meet in the middle rather than driving the full distance? Would that be supportive of your time? 4. Reallocate Saved Time: Find one spot where you can save some time, then make sure you're allocating it to something that's a value to you. Don't find an hour and then allocate it to doom-scrolling, Netflix, or procrastinating. Actually do something that moves your needle forward and helps you achieve your goals and be happier. Invest your hours like they matter, because they do. The moment you start treating your time as currency, everything from your confidence to your results begins to shift. When you choose where your time goes, you take ownership of the life you’re creating. Until next time, stay dynamic!
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(Sidenote: This blog is based on a video I recorded 11 years ago when my business was really young and I had two kids under three. Life was a very different kind of busy.)  I have felt jealousy and envy. Many times. How about you? Have you ever looked at a competitor, a colleague, a stranger online, or even someone close to you and felt that tight little pull in your chest? Think of a person right now you’ve felt a little envious of. What triggered it? Maybe it was… • Something they achieved • Something they bought • An opportunity they landed • A relationship • Their energy • Their looks • A part of their personality • Their lifestyle • Their job For me, it has been all kinds of things at different points. Years ago, I remember noticing someone on social media doing work similar to mine - coaching. And it hit me hard. I loved how she was running her business. I loved her confidence, her consistency, her presence. Then came the drop. “Why can’t I do that? Why isn’t it happening for me? That’s how I want things to look.” Have you felt that? The mix of admiration, frustration, and self-judgment. It is not fun to admit. But it is human. And social media makes it even harder. We’re no longer comparing ourselves to people in our real lives. We’re comparing ourselves to thousands of highlight reels. Perfect lighting. Perfect captions. Perfect timing. One scroll, and suddenly you’re doubting your progress, your pace, your decisions, even your identity. Even when we know it’s curated, our brains still treat it like the full picture.  During all this, my business advisor said something that snapped me back to reality. She reminded me that the woman I was comparing myself to was further along in her business, wasn’t married, had no kids, and had endless hours to pour into her brand. Meanwhile, I had two kids under three, a growing business, and a few precious part-time hours to build an empire. No wonder it didn’t look the same. No wonder the timelines were different. That perspective grounded me. It reminded me that context matters. Life stage matters. The weight you’re carrying matters. You cannot compare your full, busy, beautiful real life to someone else’s single-focus schedule or their polished online presence. Two Ways to Respond Some people shut down when jealousy hits. They think, “Well, someone already did it. Too late for me.” Or even, “They took my idea.” The other option is to use it. - To let it spark something. - To think, “Thank you for showing me what I want.” Back then, I didn’t choose the spark right away. I got annoyed. I fell into comparison. My saboteur sharpened its claws. It slowed me down. But looking back, most of the people I envied had more years in the game, more support, or just a clearer runway. And I, meanwhile, was doing my best in a season that required gentleness, not power drive. I just couldn’t see it at the time. The Mirror Lesson At one point, I opened up to someone about how embarrassed I felt about my jealousy. The advice was simple, and it stuck with me. People show up in your life for two reasons. They either hold up a mirror and show you something you need to see, or they’re someone you’re meant to help. This person was definitely holding up a mirror. And once I saw that, the whole thing shifted.  She wasn’t ahead of me. She wasn’t better than me. She was simply reflecting a version of me I hadn’t stepped into yet. And if I were telling this story today, I’d add one more thing. Sometimes people appear in your life to wake you up. To shake you out of autopilot. To make you look straight at the dream you’ve been tiptoeing around. Your Turn The next time jealousy hits, don’t judge yourself. It’s normal. Just don’t let it drag you down. Don’t let your inner saboteurs claw at your confidence. Let the feeling fuel you instead. Thank the person silently for the clarity. You don’t have to call them and say, “Thanks for sharing the photo of your new car” or “Thanks for sharing your flashy new website.” Just acknowledge the lesson and return to yourself. Then ask, “Now what am I going to do with this information?” Envy and jealousy like other emotions are just information. Let it raise your game. And let it point you toward what you truly want. Because envy usually shows up when you’re ready for your next level.
I know there are people right now who feel drained, tired, flat, and experience friction in life. So I'm pulling back the curtain on my one-woman show. I want to share my journey with you and how it's unexpectedly giving me more energy and happiness. Even though it's a bit of a stretch and honestly a little scary, it's recharging me in a way that no business strategy ever could. This blog isn't about time management or self-care because what I've discovered is that true energy doesn't just come from rest. It comes from deep alignment, expression, and this coaching term: “resonance”. Meaning to be in energy. Side Note: Join Behind the Curtain I started a Facebook group called Behind the Curtain with Diane Rolston. It's free. Jump in, and I'm going to share more tidbits, the actual nuts and bolts of me doing the new woman show. I might even come to you like a board of directors and ask questions I'm not sure about. You'll get other secrets and tips and be the first to know when the preview of the one-woman show is going to happen.  Resonance as Real Fuel There are tasks I have to do in business and life that I don't want to do that I can't even delegate to my virtual assistants. They can rob my energy. In comparison, when I do things that are more aligned to what I'm currently needing, or more aligned to my values, it gives me energy. It's this lightness, this bouncy feeling, and it helps me stay true to who I am, or at this moment, who I feel called to be, and what I feel called to say. When you do what resonates with you, something in alignment that honours your values, you're going to feel energy, ease, and flow. It's about choosing to do these things, not just what impresses people, not just what you should do, not just what pleases others, and definitely not things that dishonor your values. When you actually do things in alignment for you, your energy doesn't just grow or show up, it multiplies. My Counseling Session Revelation I was in the middle of a counseling session (I'm doing some counseling to clear out and process old emotions around my dad's death, trauma over the years, just things you keep pushing down). I'd been feeling down about some health stuff, and then I started talking about this one-woman show, and I got animated. These are ways you show you’re in resonance and feeling that alignment:
That's when I realized, "Wow, I'm in resonance right now." My counsellor said, "Whoa. That was a shift." This was the realization: I need to be more in this. I'm in the right place, and it's good for me. True energy doesn't come from just doing more (we can always do more, we can always add to our schedules, please don't). It comes from doing what aligns with your values, your purpose, and your joy. If you don't know your values, send me an email: [email protected]. I can do a values session where you find your values, see if you're honouring or dishonouring them, and put a plan in place so you can feel this energy all the time. Resonance is that feeling of "this fits, this is me, this is where I'm supposed to be." When your actions match your values, you create energy —like throwing kerosene on a fire —rather than pouring water on it, taking away its power and energy. Dissonance: The Opposite Dissonance is the opposite. It's hard, like pushing a rock up a hill. There's friction; it's draining, and you dread it —maybe even avoid it.  When you're doing something that deeply matters to you, like my creative work on this one-woman show, I can work for hours and still feel alive. Maybe you've felt that way:
When you're out of alignment, even the smallest task feels heavy. The worst part is you start trying to get yourself to do more, do it better, thinking something's wrong with you, but really you're just out of alignment and out of resonance. The Science Behind It Studies show that when you live in alignment with your core values, you experience higher motivation, stronger emotional resilience, and 20% more daily energy. When I talk about this and people ask, "What's new?" and I say, "I'm writing a one-woman show," I get giddy and excited. It's like, I'm sharing that I'm going on vacation." Alignment isn't a mindset trick like saying 10 affirmations. It's actually biological. When your actions match your purpose, your nervous system relaxes, your creativity increases, and you restore energy while doing the work. If you're in dissonance and energy is being drained, it's hard, negative, you dread it, and your nervous system gets tense like waiting in a really long lineup to pay a bill, or doing taxes or another task you hate. The Benefits of Resonance
 This is what I've been experiencing as I write my show. Yes, there are hard times. I'm not inherently a writer. I don't know how to write scripts. I'm learning dialog. My writing coach keeps saying, "Diane, you just wrote a great speech. Now we have to bring it to the stage." I'm having to learn and rewire my brain, but this fulfillment creates energy. Rather than feeling like I have a learning gap, I'm like a sponge. Why Alignment Feels Hard It's not always easy to say yes to things. In your business or life, there are things that create resonance and things that create dissonance. 1. Society's Expectations: Maybe you have a nine-to-five or a business different from your hobbies or passions. It goes against what society thinks we should be spending our time and money on. I've had clients say, "Diane, I don't want a promotion. I don't want to build my business. Is it wrong that I just want to be at home and make crafts with my kids and feed them grilled cheese sandwiches?" I reassure them, "No, not if that’s your dream and ideal life." All the tasks we do, all the ways we choose to spend our time, and the goals we have don't need to be what society deems as success. We shouldn’t say yes to things that don't match our values, but we do it to keep the peace, keep up with the Joneses, because we feel we should, or because others around us are doing it. 2. Staying in Obligations That Don't Fit: I remember being part of a networking group with amazing people, but 60-70% served the senior market. My business advisor asked, "Is this serving your business?" I said, "Well, no, but they're good people." He said, "How often are you seeing your friends?" and "You don't need to stay in a group that no longer serves you." 3. Confusing Productivity with Purpose: We're doing more, but feeling less. We're in less resonance, less energy, and have less motivation. As overachieving women, we override our inner signals saying "Don't do this." We say yes to things that don't serve us and push through even when something feels off. Your body and your energy always tell the truth when you're out of alignment. Have you been invited somewhere and hesitated to say yes? That's you saying you don't want to go. If you wanted to go, your energy would be like "Yes, yes." I was speaking to a theater about their artists’ hub program. At first, I thought, "Is it too much work? Too much commitment? Am I already so far in my business that I'd be around younger or newer people?" But when I got off that call, I was so excited. I was like, "Who can I tell?" So I knew that was a yes. If you hesitate or start to feel exhausted, irritated, or lack motivation, it's not in alignment. The Cost of Misalignment When you're in misalignment, in dissonance, it doesn't just drain energy, it dulls your joy. I've seen clients come to me living in black and white, but when you live in alignment, in resonance, your color comes back. Like the start of The Wizard of Oz when everything's in black and white, then all of a sudden comes to colour. High-achieving women, successful women, will work harder when they feel unhappy or that something's missing, but it doesn’t help they just feel emptier and more tired. You get to a point where you don't even know why you started. You don't have clarity. You slowly start living a version of success that only looks good on paper but doesn't feel good inside. That's why I had to leave corporate. My life looked so good on paper, and that's why I held on for so long. I was measuring life according to success - and it looked good. I wasn't measuring my life according to satisfaction, or even giving satisfaction, resonance, or alignment any space because I didn't know about them. Your Alignment Check
That little voice, your alignment, the resonance, the energy, that's a compass for where you should go. You don't have to have it all figured out. Just take the next step. The more you listen to it, the more natural energy and joy you're going to create, even if it's just "I'd like to paint a picture" or "I want to organize my closets." If those things bring you joy, happiness, resonance… amazing. Go do them. When you honour what resonates in your life and work, things feel easy, not a grind. There's that flow. Join Me One more invite to join me in the Behind the Curtain Facebook group. If you want to explore this topic more, email me: [email protected]. Let's talk about getting you into more resonance. If you have a few questions you want to run by me, I'm doing a Mastermind Q&A session on November 14, from 9 to 11 AM PST. It's a mastermind where you ask and I answer, or you can bring your goals, and we can strategize and map out the next steps. Final Thoughts I've learned that energy isn't something you chase or schedule. It's cultivated, it's birthed, and it grows through alignment and being in resonance. The more you live, work, and create in resonance with your truth, the more energy and fulfillment you'll have, not only in your own life but to lead others. That's how I'm gaining energy right now, writing my one-woman show. I just got accepted to the artists’ program at a local theatre, and I'm so pumped. I'm doing something in resonance and giving me energy, but also something that scares me a little, stretches me a little, but at the end of the day feels so deeply aligned. I want the same for you. Until next time, stay dynamic!
Every successful woman eventually faces fear, but not the kind that stops you. The kind that signals growth. A lot of times, we think of it as a negative thing, but it's actually saying you are expanding. Right now, I'm doing something completely new: writing and performing a one-woman show. Honestly, it's equal parts terrifying and thrilling. As I got off a recent Zoom meeting with my one-woman-show coach, it made me think. Whether you're scaling your business, stepping out on stage as a speaker, or finally launching that next big idea, product, or book, growth always comes with a little fear.  In this blog, I'm sharing how high-achieving women like us can use fear as fuel, not a stop sign. We're going to use it as a way to step into bigger confidence, bigger creativity, and more impact in the world. The Comfort Crossroad Even though I've spoken on hundreds of stages to massive audiences and published podcasts, books and blogs, writing this one-woman show then performing it as an actor putting feels raw, personal, and it's stretching me. Every successful woman hits this crossroad where comfort feels safe and nice, but it also feels small, and you're craving something more. That was the spark I needed for writing my own one-woman show. I needed that expansiveness. For women entrepreneurs and leaders, growth doesn't just come from more strategy, more work, more hours. It comes from courage, and it's going to give you some really great stories. If you've been playing it safe recently, this is your reminder. Your next level is waiting on the other side of what scares you. Fear Is a Sign of Expansion Fear means you're in new territory. As you start to leave your bubble of comfort into something new, your inner self says, "Danger. Fear means stop. Fear means we're in trouble." But actually, you can't grow and expand without fear. Fear is telling us we're going out of that zone, but you're safe, you're okay. Just because it can feel scary doing the show, and it's an industry I don't know, it doesn't mean I'm failing. It means I'm expanding. When you're growing your muscles and there's a little pain, it doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It means there's been growth and progress. The show terrifies me in the best way.
But that's how I know this is the right next thing: I care, and it's helping me feel alive rather than apathetic or complacent, which happens when high achievers reach that peak of success. Fear is proof you're stepping into unfamiliar territory, and it’s good because that's where the next level lies. The Science Behind Fear Did you know that moderate fear actually increases your focus, creativity, and motivation? When you're in that heightened state, it pushes you into higher performance. You know that feeling right before you have to be “on”, or right before an interview?  Being scared is just the next step. Rather than being a red flag, it's actually a green light saying, "Go, move forward. This is good for you" because it's building your confidence mindset and it's leadership development. You're learning to regulate that fear, building emotional mastery and resilience. I'm not saying that tomorrow I'm going to fill a 700-person theater and pitch to Netflix. I'm doing the steps that make sense for where I'm at. Meeting Your Inner Critic When I first sat down to start writing part of my show, my inner critic was super loud. "Who are you to do this? What if it's not good? How are you going to fill a theater?" Then I realized this voice shows up when I'm doing something new, something that matters, something that stretches me. Those saboteurs start barking and saying stupid things that aren't true, but we can pull some truth nuggets from them.
Every time I get on stage, I still feel a bit of that fear. A speaking colleague told me yesterday, "Before I get on stage, every time I feel a little bit nervous." Feel the fear and do it anyway. Fear isn’t a stop sign. It's just a signal that you're standing on the edge of your next breakthrough. The Benefits of Facing Fear
My One-Woman Show Journey I had this spark after seeing a fellow Canadian Association of Professional Speakers member do her keynote in a theater. It seemed more as a show than a talk. Another member went on tour and built cool promo assets. At the Global Speakers Summit in Bali, one speaker wore costumes and developed this world. I thought, "This is exactly what I want to do." Since then, I've taken a one-person show class, and two writing courses. This week I spoke to a local theater and will probably join their artists' community for a year. Hopefully late January, early February, I'll do my first Show Preview. If you want more updates about my one-woman show journey, join my Facebook group. I’d very much appreciate your support.  Why We Avoid Fear
Many high-achieving women unconsciously trade expansion for comfort, especially with kids, aging parents, and everything else. But safety and stagnation can feel almost identical. The Problems If We Stay Comfortable
Permission to Pursue What Scares You I got to the point where I was talking with my business coaches about the next offering, what I'm marketing, what I'm selling. I said, "I don't know. What I want to do is just write my show. I don't want to do all those other things right now." Permission granted for me to write my show and perform it, and for you to do the same. Your Challenge Don't wait. Do the thing that scares you. Send the pitch, raise your rates, share the post, make the video. Say yes to an opportunity that makes your stomach flip. Invite a new friend out. Go on a date. Take your spouse on a date. Take a class you've been wanting to take: painting, music, dance, whatever it may be. Fear isn't failure. It's feedback that you're evolving, and we want to evolve to be satisfied in life. For every entrepreneur, high achiever, and leader reading this blog, your next level of confidence and creativity is waiting on the other side of discomfort. Final Thoughts Remember, fear isn't failure. It's feedback that you're expanding because you can't evolve and stay comfortable at the same time. That's where the magic happens. Fear doesn't mean you're off track. It means you're alive, awake, and in motion. Do that thing that scares you, not because you're fearless, but because you're ready for what's next, and you want that growth. Growth will always ask for just a little bit of fear, and that's how you know it's worth it. If this message spoke to you, let me know. Send me a message: [email protected] or on your favorite social platform. Share this with another powerful woman who's ready to grow, or who wants more courage. Until next time, stay dynamic!
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