Survive and Advance: The Time Management Strategy You Didn’t Know You Needed
In honor of the NCAA basketball tournaments kicking off this week, let’s talk about one of the best mindsets in sports—and how it applies to time management for busy women over 40.
[Sportsball people - hang with me for a minute before you move on.]
Survive and advance.
In the tournament, it doesn’t matter how you win. A buzzer-beater, an ugly free throw, a game where you played like garbage but still walked away with the W—it all counts. You move on. You keep going. The goal is not perfection; it’s progression.
And honestly? That’s exactly the approach most of us need when it comes to managing our time.
Because let’s be real—most days aren’t about flawless execution. They’re about doing what needs to be done, despite the chaos. And if you’re juggling work, kids, aging parents, and a mile-long to-do list, time management isn’t a cute productivity hack—it’s survival.
That’s why I coach clients through my three-step system for cutting through mental clutter and reclaiming control. It starts with Survive and Advance, because sometimes, the only goal is to get through the day. But you can’t stop there.
Step 1: Survive and Advance—Clear the Deck
You don’t need a perfect plan right now. You just need to get through today.
Surviving and advancing is about giving yourself permission to stop obsessing over the ideal solution and instead just keep moving forward. It’s prioritizing momentum over mastery.
Think about a basketball team playing through an ugly game. They miss shots. They turn the ball over. The rhythm is off. But they grind. They adjust. They focus on just winning the moment they’re in.
Now apply that to your life.
Maybe your house is a mess, your inbox is overflowing, and your brain feels like a browser with 72 tabs open (ok, that’s me). Or worse—like one of those Amazon checkout carts that’s been abandoned with 52 items in it, and now you’re getting “still interested?” emails.
What’s the one thing you absolutely need to do today to keep things from spiraling? Do that. Don’t worry about doing it perfectly. Just execute.
And when the day is done? You survived. You advanced. Tomorrow, you do it again.
Quick Action Step:
Before today ends, write down ONE non-negotiable task that will keep things moving forward—even if it’s small. Do it before anything else.
Breaking the Cycle: From Surviving to Prioritizing
But here’s the thing—you can’t stay in survival mode forever.
Surviving and advancing is a necessary short-term strategy, but if every day feels like you’re white-knuckling through chaos, it’s time to shift gears.
At some point, you have to stop playing defense and start running a real game plan. That’s where ruthless prioritization comes in. It’s how you break the cycle of just getting through the day and start making real progress toward what actually matters.
Because let’s be honest: if you don’t decide what deserves your time and energy, someone else will decide for you.
Step 2: Ruthless Prioritization—Stop Doing It All
If you’re constantly overwhelmed, you’re probably trying to prioritize everything. And let me be blunt: that’s impossible.
When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.
So how do you decide? You practice ruthless prioritization—which means cutting through the noise and identifying what actually matters.
A few questions to help you decide:
What will make the biggest impact? What’s the one thing that, if handled, would make the rest of your week easier?
What’s actually urgent vs. what just feels urgent? Not everything that screams for your attention deserves it.
What can I let go of? Not everything needs to be done. Let that sink in.
And here’s something most of us never stop to ask ourselves: Does every request, message, or ask actually require a response at that moment?
We’re conditioned to react. The text pings, the email pops up, someone asks for a “quick favor,” and without thinking, we jump. We drop what we’re doing and switch gears, just because something new has entered our orbit.
But what if, instead of reacting, you paused for even a couple of seconds and asked yourself:
If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?
Every time you shift away from something important to respond to something less important, you’re paying a cost. Your time, your energy, your focus—it all gets chipped away.
Quick Action Step:
The next time you’re about to immediately react to an ask, wait 10 seconds before responding. Ask yourself if it really needs your attention right now—or if your time is better spent elsewhere.
BONUS: Use one of my favorite tools to help you with prioritization - the Eisenhower Matrix!
But What Happens When Prioritization Isn’t Enough?
Here’s the tricky part—when you start ruthlessly prioritizing, you’re often waiting on others. You’ve identified what matters most, but now you need a decision, a response, or some kind of clarity before you can move forward.
And sometimes? That answer never comes.
Step 3: When You Don’t Get an Answer, That Is an Answer
If someone isn’t responding, that is a response.
If a job offer isn’t materializing, that’s data. If a person in your life refuses to engage, that’s information you can use to make your next move.
Too often, we waste time waiting for closure that isn’t coming. Instead of staying in limbo, take ownership of your own next steps. Make a decision based on the reality in front of you, not the one you wish existed.
• Didn’t get the answer you needed? Move forward anyway.
• Got ghosted? That’s an answer—stop chasing.
• Uncertain about the outcome? Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t.
The Takeaway: Keep Moving Forward
Survive and advance.
Prioritize ruthlessly.
Accept the answers you do have—and act on them.
Your to-do list doesn’t need to be color-coded and perfectly balanced. It needs to be strategic.
What’s Next?
“You don’t need more time—you need fewer distractions. Take back your time today by dropping one unnecessary task. Hit reply and tell me which one—let’s start clearing the clutter together.”
Let’s Go Long together.
PS — The men’s tourney tends to get all of the headlines, but don’t sleep on the women’s tourney. Some great players and storylines to follow. Of course, the NCAA screwed up a potential killer match-up by having two highly ranked teams in the Elite Eight, but maybe they’ll actually have a proper weight room for the ladies this time around.
