What if the problem isn’t that there aren’t enough hours in the day, but that we’re giving too many of them away?
For a long time, doing more was practically a badge of honor. More meetings. More preparation. More polishing. More yeses. More proving. And while all that effort might get results, it can also leave us burnt out, resentful, and wondering why the hell we’re working this hard when technology was supposed to make our lives easier.
In this episode, Nicole sits down with Fran Hauser, leading career expert, champion of women in the workplace, former President of Digital at Time Inc., startup investor, and acclaimed author of 20 Minutes Is the New Hour: The Ambitious Woman’s Guide to Doing Less and Achieving More.
They discuss:
Why 20 minutes might actually be enough for that hour-long meeting
The four P’s stealing our time: perfectionism, people pleasing, procrastination, and padding
How people pleasing creates overwhelm, burnout, and resentment
The power of pausing before automatically saying yes
Why saying yes to every opportunity can actually work against women professionally
How to recognize what’s underneath procrastination
Why starting messy can create momentum
How shorter timelines can force clarity and keep perfectionism from taking over
The difference between Chronos and Kairos
How leaders can experiment with shorter meetings and meeting-free time
Why doing less isn’t about caring less—it’s about being intentional with our most precious resource
The goal isn’t to reclaim 40 minutes from a meeting just to squeeze two more meetings into the space. It’s to stop giving away so much of our time to habits, expectations, and systems that don’t deserve it.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Connect with Fran:
Website: https://www.franhauser.com/
Book: https://www.franhauser.com/twentyminutes
IG: https://www.instagram.com/fran_hauser/
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franhauser/
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