
The Bright Method Podcast: Realistic Time Management and Productivity for Working Women & Working Moms
Ready for a time management approach that is actually designed for professional working women – ones that help you lighten the mental load, draw boundaries with more confidence, focus on the important (not just urgent) stuff at work, and be present with friends and family?
Podcast host, Kelly Nolan, an attorney-turned-time management strategist, mom of two, and creator of the Bright Method™, delivers practical, realistic time management strategies tailored for busy professional women, working moms, and ambitious women juggling careers and home life.
We cover topics like:
How to time-block in a way that actually works and avoid common time-blocking mistakes,
How to manage the mental load around all of our roles at work and at home,
How to handle work deadlines with less stress and scramble,
How to keep distractions in check, from social media to people swinging by your office, and
How to plan in a realistic way so you can feel on top of it all and avoid overcommitment.
Whether you're a lawyer, physician, executive, woman in corporate, professor, entrepreneur, or any woman navigating a full plate, this podcast gives you tools to design a sustainable system that works for your real life—not a Pinterest-perfect version of it.
Follow now, and let's get you falling asleep proud of what you got done today and calm about what's on tap tomorrow.
Latest episodes

Jan 8, 2024 • 20min
36. Deadlines: How to avoid choking yourself up on your deadlines
Learn strategies for avoiding overwhelming deadlines, including negotiation tactics and assessing task duration. Understand the importance of visualizing capacity and workload for effective time management. Discover practical challenges of implementing strategies and enroll in the life-changing Bright Method program.

Jan 1, 2024 • 28min
35. How to work with your energy when it comes to time management
Learn how to work with your energy patterns for effective time management. Discover strategies for managing energy levels and matching tasks, and understand the importance of aligning tasks with suitable energy levels. Embrace reality and work with your energy using the Bright Method program.

Dec 18, 2023 • 25min
34. Friendships: Using your calendar to help you show up as the friend you want to be
If you're like most of the women I work with, your relationships, including your friendships, are the most important parts of your life – more important than work or home logistics. Even when friendships are a top priority, it can be hard to consistently show up the way we want to. Life gets busy, and despite our best intentions, remembering to call a friend or text them during a tough or joyful moment often slips through the cracks. If that resonates with you, you’re not alone—and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad friend. It just means your brain can’t do it all on its own. In this episode, I share calendar-based time management strategies that help me and many of my clients be the kinds of friends we truly want to be, especially during busy or emotionally draining seasons of life. We talk about: Why expecting your brain to remember it all is unrealistic How to use your digital calendar to show up consistently in your friendships What "friendship maintenance" looks like and how to calendar it in a flexible, non-overwhelming way How to support a friend going through a hard time (or a celebratory one!) with intention Why this isn’t about “shoulds”—but about showing up in the ways you genuinely want to The power of adjusting your expectations to match reality without guilt If you want to feel confident and proud of how you show up in your relationships—without expecting your brain to carry the full load—I hope this episode gives you practical tools to do that. A full transcript of this episode is available on my website about two weeks after the episode is published. To find it, click here and select the episode. 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.

Dec 11, 2023 • 23min
33. Long-Term Planning: How to feel like YOU & create long-term plans
Explore the benefits of setting goals at a different time of year, perspectives on long-term planning, setting goals based on personal desires, choosing one goal at a time, and the introduction of an eight-week time management program.

Dec 4, 2023 • 17min
32. How to Capture To-Do's in a Realistic Way
The podcast discusses realistic methods for capturing tasks and ideas, including using a calendar, paper and pen, and online tools. It explores practical techniques for managing tasks, utilizing downtime, and keeping a bedside notebook. It emphasizes the importance of writing down and tracking action items in various places. The podcast also offers insights on making time management strategies realistic and motivating.

Nov 27, 2023 • 43min
31. Leadership mindset shifts with Jodi Flynn: Ditching "busy," protecting your focus, and leading your team
Jodi Flynn, CEO of Women Taking the Lead, discusses leadership mindset shifts and the challenges of transitioning to a leadership role. They explore the concept of busyness and identify saboteurs that contribute to the feeling of busyness. The importance of aligning goals and values when making decisions is also emphasized.

Nov 20, 2023 • 22min
30. Swingerbyers: Dealing with people who swing by or call for a "quick word"
If you’ve ever had your workday derailed by a coworker who “just swings by” your office or pings you for a “quick call” that turns into 20–30 minutes, this episode is for you. In this episode of the Bright Method Podcast, I’m diving into how to handle interruptions from those well-meaning—but time-consuming—colleagues I call “swingerbyers.” We’ll cover simple, practical strategies you can implement to both prevent and manage these interruptions. From setting standing meetings and communication boundaries to using visual cues like door signs and headphones, you’ll leave with actionable tools to protect your time and focus. We’ll also talk about how, as women in the workplace, we're often the “safe space” person in the office, and how to handle emotional unloads from coworkers. And we'll talk about how to gracefully exit conversations that are dragging on too long and how to use friendly phrases and even movement (like getting up to grab coffee) to signal wrap-up time. If you’re a hybrid employee, I share tips to help you match your work environment to the type of work you need to get done—so you can optimize your productivity whether you're at home or in the office. Whether you love your coworkers but need more focused time or you're drowning in daily interruptions, this episode gives you realistic ways to take back some control. Let’s help you stay on track, get your deep work done, and still be the kind, approachable colleague you want to be—just with a few more boundaries that work for you. 🎧 Mentioned in this episode: – Episode 12: The Manager-Maker Schedule (for matching work type to work environment) 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.

Nov 13, 2023 • 42min
29. Outsourcing at Home
Explore the challenges of outsourcing tasks at home and the concept of valuing time over money. Learn about the trade-off between saving money on gas and the cost of time and fuel consumption. Discover the importance of outsourcing tasks to create more breathing space and how to effectively hire a house manager or virtual assistant for time management.

Nov 6, 2023 • 24min
28. When Your Work Relies on Others, Making It Hard to Plan
Learn three effective strategies for managing workloads that involve depending on others, including starting project planning early and prioritizing tasks. Discover the importance of delegating tasks and involving others from the beginning. Discuss the value of getting started on a project early and setting clear deadlines. Learn about the significance of having a system in place to manage tasks and deadlines. Explore the importance of meeting deadlines and the upcoming Bright Method program for realistic time management strategies.

Oct 30, 2023 • 31min
27. Working with a Sick Kid at Home - Part 2:
Once your child is home sick, the day you had planned often goes out the window. In this episode, we discuss how you can navigate your days and weeks once illness strikes—from recalibrating your calendar to finding focused work time amidst naps and screen time. This episode is the second part of a two-part series (so if you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, check that out—it’s all about prepping in advance before illness hits). In this episode, I walk through nine strategies for navigating the chaos once you’re in it. We cover: Why phase-based planning—immediate fires vs. longer-term rearranging—matters Creative ways to find (and protect) small pockets of focused time How to use screen time, naps, walks, and your environment to your advantage The value of to-do lists in this specific context, and how to make them actually helpful A strong reminder to prioritize your own rest and mental well-being Mental mindset shifts that help when you feel like you’re barely holding it together I also share tips from fellow parents who generously shared their own strategies, from asking for grace to reminding yourself that this phase is temporary. Whether you're knee-deep in a sick-kid week now or want to be better prepared for the next one, this episode is here to give you a practical, realistic approach that helps you feel just a little more grounded and in control. Here's the full article these two episodes are based on. 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.