The Bright Method Podcast: Realistic Time Management and Productivity for Working Women & Working Moms

116. Flexibility & Accountability: Owning what we really want our time to look like

Oct 13, 2025

Discover how flexibility and accountability can redefine your approach to time management. Learn why rigid schedules can be limiting as life changes. Hear real-life examples of women integrating personal needs into their workdays while maintaining high standards. Explore the importance of developing a time-management system that's adaptable rather than a fixed schedule. Lastly, uncover the signs of when flexibility becomes overwhelming and how to assess your workload realistically.

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INSIGHT

System Over Schedule

Successful time management is about a flexible system, not a rigid schedule.
Learn a system you can adapt to different life phases and needs.

ANECDOTE

Partner Rearranged Day For Kids

A law partner during the pandemic rearranged her day to spend afternoons with her kids and work evenings.
That example showed Kelly how people value flexibility over strict work/home separation.

INSIGHT

Flexibility Requires Accountability

High flexibility requires high accountability to deliver agreed work.
Flexibility means adjusting when you work, but you must still meet commitments with quality and timeliness.

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When I used to think about time management, Past Me assumed, on some level, that the goal was to keep work in work hours and personal life in personal hours. But in reality, life is far more nuanced — and that’s where the powerful dynamic of flexibility and accountability comes in.

In this episode, I share how hearing Jeanelle Teves' (click here for her Instagram profile) statements about how high flexibilty comes with high accountability put to words something I'd been learning was the real goal for many women when it comes to time management. Over the years, I’ve realized that what many professional women actually want is flexibility in their schedules to fit in real life into their work hours – workouts, doctor’s appointments, family needs – while still being highly accountable to the work they’ve agreed to do.

We’ll talk about:

How my definition of successful time management shifted from “free up nights and weekends” to creating a system that flexes with different life phases.
Why flexibility matters more than rigid schedules.
How to distinguish between healthy flexibility and an unsustainable workload that can’t be solved by accountability alone.
Why learning a system over a schedule empowers you to evolve your approach as your life changes.

This is a reminder that flexibility in time management isn’t about working all the time — it’s about designing your days and weeks to reflect your real life, while still being accountable to doing excellent work.

If you want to start seeing your capacity vs. workload in a more objective way, check out my free 5-day program at kellynolan.com/refresh.

Links you might enjoy:

🌿 Free 5-Day Time Management Program Get five short, practical video lessons packed with realistic strategies to help you manage your personal and professional life with more clarity and calm.

📱 Follow me on Instagram Get bite-sized, real-life time management tips for working women—like reminders to set mail holds before travel, anonymous day-in-the-life calendars from other professional women, and behind-the-scenes looks at how I manage my own time.

✨ The full Bright Method™️ program If you're ready for a full time management system that's realistic, sustainable, and dare I say… fun, check out the Bright Method program. It's helped hundreds of professional women take back control of their time—and their peace of mind.