Have you ever found yourself weeding carrots instead of writing your marketing email?
Or maybe you know—you know—you need just a few more CSA members to fill your season… but instead of calling past members, you suddenly remember the tunnel tomatoes need fertilizer. And you just don’t understand why you’re not making time for marketing…
Yeah. I know.
I’ve lived that.
And here’s the truth most farmers don’t understand:
It’s not a time problem.
It’s a decision problem.
Or dare I say…a lack of time management (problem).
It’s not your fault: it happens to most of us. Most of us aren’t taught good time management growing up and we aren’t taught it in school.
I see so many farmers beat themselves up for not getting it all done. Or who feel constantly overwhelmed by the running to-do list in their head.
The first step? Recognize that you don’t have to live in overwhelm. Let me say it again. It is not a requirement in farming to live in overwhelm. In fact, it’s the overwhelm preventing you from getting ‘caught up’. You can end your day and feel at peace. Don’t blame time herself for not giving you enough.
But the first step is awareness. And I’m hear to help you become aware of your time management system or lack there of.
Big Change Doesn’t Come From Big Effort
We like to believe that one big push will fix everything.
A long day. Or a big burst of motivation. Perhaps we think we’ll plan a “catch up” week (yeah, right!)
But that’s not how real progress works.
As James Clear writes in Atomic Habits:
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”
One small routine—done consistently—can change everything.
Consistency beats intensity.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
And neither is a profitable, sustainable farm business.
Resilience isn’t something you wake up with.
It’s something you build.
Daily. Quietly. Intentionally.
The Time Management Habit That Changes Everything
So let’s simplify this.
If you build one habit this season, make it this:
Follow your calendar.
Not just have one and follow it sometimes.
Put your calendar at the front and center of your time management system.
And Follow it.
You know, the calendar you created at the beginning of the week.
The one where you decided—ahead of time—when you were calm and thinking with your best brain–what actually matters.
And if you’re reading this thinking,
“Yeah… I don’t do that.”
Good.
Because that’s exactly where the shift begins.
Why This Works (Even When It Feels Simple)
When you follow your calendar, something powerful happens in your brain, you eliminate constant decision-making. Therefore reduce decision fatigue so you can stop negotiating with yourself all day long.
As a result, you will get more done and have more time because you aren’t constantly thinking about what to do next or the thing you didn’t do.
Because let’s be honest, here’s what usually happens.
You wake up, look around, and your to-do list shoots into your head front and center. Then you decide in the moment what feels urgent… or easy… or familiar. In effect, you create decision fatigue before you even get out of bed!
Sure, you have to bed prep, transplant, start seeds, water, feed the chickens, take the kids to school, make breakfast and on and on.
And before you know it:
- You’ve weeded three beds
- Checked irrigation twice
- Scrolled your phone “for a minute”
And that marketing email?
Still not written.
Why?
This isn’t laziness. In fact, I’ve never met a lazy farmer.
It’s your brain doing exactly what it’s designed to do—avoid discomfort and seek the familiar.
Your Brain vs. Your Future
Your amygdala, or primitive brain, the part of your brain wired for survival, loves the field work.
It’s predictable, physical and feels so productive.
But your prefrontal cortex, the planning, decision-making part of your brain,
that’s where your future farm lives.
That’s where:
- Marketing happens
- Growth happens
- Profit happens
When you plan your week ahead of time and stick to it, you shift control away from reaction and into intention.
And that’s where everything changes. I promise you, this is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in farming – how to manage my time. And I want to teach you what I know.
Momentum Is the Goal
When you follow your calendar, you build:
Momentum.
Momentum creates clarity.
Clarity creates action.
Action creates results.
And results?
They build confidence.
At last you can stop second-guessing and spinning in circles.
Instead, you start moving forward—on purpose.
When you do what you say you’re gonna do you build confidence and trust-in yourself. Therefore, I call it ‘having you’re own back.’
When you keep putting off essential tasks that build your business (i.e. money making tasks) you subconsciously stop trusting yourself. Furthermore it becomes harder and harder to do the tasks that take more brain power when you’ve stopped trusting yourself to do them.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Inside my Time Management course for farmers, this is what I focus on first:
- Creating a weekly plan ahead of time
- Assigning specific marketing tasks to specific days
- Keeping it simple and realistic
- And most importantly—learning how to follow through
Because the plan itself is only half the work.
Sticking to it is the habit that changes your life.
Stay Connected to Your WHY
Because this isn’t just about emails or social media or filling CSA spots.
Don’t you want to build more than a farm?
You’re building a way of life and a business that supports your family. Furthermore, your’re creating a rhythm that feels sustainable and a life that is profitable AND peaceful.
That doesn’t happen by accident.
Indeed, it happens through small, intentional choices—made daily.
Start Now
Not next week or when things slow down (because they won’t).
Do it, not when you “feel ready” but when it makes you uncomfortable.
Start with one habit.
Follow your calendar.
Reinforce it.
Protect it.
Make it part of your rhythm.
Because this one habit?
It’s not just about time management.
It’s about becoming the kind of farmer who builds something that lasts.
Need help?
Want to learn what I teach and get in on the beginnings of my course, for FREE?
Join me for a FREE webinar on
‘Time Management: How To Keep Your Calendar’ next Thursday April 23rd 12 pm.
Show up with your calendar (paper or digital), your To Do list, or just some lined paper and a pencil. But show up-for yourself, for your farm.
Reply to this email to save your spot or to get a recording of the class.
Yours in farming,
Lisa
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