Breaking the Timeline by Shana Francis

Has anyone ever told you that you're spreading yourself too thin, and that you need to pick one thing and really commit to it? Someone said exactly that to me in a meeting. They weren't being unkind, they were trying to help. I nodded, went home, thought about it for three days, and came back to where I started: I don't think picking one lane is the answer. I think it's just the only one we've been taught.

Right now I teach, I'm studying a master's in leadership and education, I run a coaching practice, and I make this podcast and a newsletter. I didn't choose between them. In this episode I talk about what that actually looks like, not the highlight version, including a real Tuesday from my week and the difference between being tired and being depleted.

The question I want us to sit with isn't "how do I manage all of this?" It's this: what if the problem isn't that you're doing too much, but that you're narrating it wrong?

I'm Shana, a senior lecturer in teacher education and a CMI Level 7 leadership coach and mentor.

Some links are affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Why multi-passionate people aren't failing to focus, they're being measured against a single-track career model that was never built for them

- The reframe: stop asking "which one do I choose?" and start asking what the version of you who holds all of it without apologising looks like

- The narrative problem: why the word "also" quietly makes one version of you the real one, and why "because" changes the whole sentence

- Cognitive flexibility, and why what you've been calling scattered might actually be a skill

- A coaching client who thought she had to quit her side business to be taken seriously as a teacher, and what we found when we pulled it apart

CONTINUE EXPLORING

Your one thing this week: write down three things you do, or want to do, that other people think are incompatible. Then write one sentence that connects them, starting with "I'm interested in...", "I keep coming back to..." or "Everything I do is really about...".

If you're holding several things at once, the free Personal Ecosystem Assessment helps you see how they connect and which areas need attention: https://ecomap.shanafrancis.com/

My recommended tools and kit: https://benable.com/shanafrancisofficial (some links may be affiliate)

CONNECT WITH ME

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanafrancisofficial

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Website: https://shanafrancis.com

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Has anyone ever told you to pick a lane? What did they say, and what did you say back?

Nobody is coming to tap you on the shoulder, and you probably already know that. You're prepared, you've done the work, you've likely got more than enough for the next move, and yet you're still in a holding pattern, adding one more thing to the list before you go for it.

There's a specific kind of exhaustion that comes with that: being ready for something that hasn't happened yet. It's like revising for an exam that never gets scheduled, because you're waiting for someone else to set the date. In this episode I give that pattern a name, credential collecting, and talk about why it looks so much like ambition from the outside.

I also share the moment that changed how I see all of this: going for a Head of Year role earlier than anyone expected, when the voice in my head (and some people around me) said it wasn't my time.

I'm Shana, a senior lecturer in teacher education and a CMI Level 7 leadership coach and mentor.

Some links are affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Credential collecting: when preparing becomes a permanent substitute for acting, and why it's such a convincing form of avoidance

- Why the old career model (earn the credentials, wait to be noticed) was built for a different world, and who actually wrote your definition of "ready"

- Feedback versus opinions: one tells you something specific you can work on, the other projects someone else's timeline onto yours

- My Head of Year application: separating what people told me from what was actually true, and what being in the role taught me that waiting never could

- Why so many good opportunities never get posted, and go to the person who is already visible and already in the room

CONTINUE EXPLORING

Your one thing this week: write down the role or opportunity you've been quietly building towards, the one you actually want. Then work backwards. What is one action, not a course and not a plan, that you could take this week to move visibly towards it?

My recommended tools and kit: https://benable.com/shanafrancisofficial (some links may be affiliate)

CONNECT WITH ME

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanafrancisofficial

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Website: https://shanafrancis.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What's the role or opportunity you've been waiting to be invited into, the one you already know you want?

Right now I'm in one of those seasons where the plate isn't just full, it's spilling onto the table and the floor. My master's dissertation is due in May, and when my participants dropped out I had to change the whole direction of the study. I'm training for my second Hyrox women's doubles race, rebranding how I show up online, editing every video myself, and still teaching full time.

A friend said something recently that stuck with me: "I've got so much I want to do, but I don't even know where to start, so I'm just kind of frozen." That's the thing nobody talks about. It's often not laziness. It's decision fatigue, where doing nothing starts to feel easier than doing something wrong.

So this episode isn't aesthetic productivity content. It's the four systems and tools actually running my life right now, the things I've had to drop, and a ten-minute life audit you can do this week.

I'm Shana, a senior lecturer in teacher education and a CMI Level 7 leadership coach and mentor.

Some links are affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Notion as a blank page: why it took me about three months to build a hub I actually use, what's in it (weekly priorities, content, dissertation, coaching, a brain dump) and why starting from a template helps, especially if you're ADHD

- Time blocking without the guilt: fixed commitments in the calendar, and rough windows for everything else so you can work with your energy

- How I use the Eisenhower Matrix with real examples (marking, content, meetings) and where AI fits for the tasks I delegate, like drafting emails

- Asana for projects with other people, from brand collaborations to events, plus the rainbow unicorn

- The honest bit: closing my Flodesk account, moving to Substack, and stopping the funnels and products that never felt like me

CONTINUE EXPLORING

Your one thing this week: a ten-minute life audit. Write down everything you're currently doing. Next to each one, ask: is this serving who I am becoming? Then drop one thing that isn't serving your current season. Delegate it, delay it, or decide it doesn't need to happen right now.

Mentioned in the episode:

Eisenhower Matrix explainer: https://www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix/

Hyrox: https://hyrox.com/the-fitness-race/

Notion: https://www.notion.so

Asana: https://asana.com

My recommended tools and kit: https://benable.com/shanafrancisofficial (some links may be affiliate)

CONNECT WITH ME

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanafrancisofficial

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Website: https://shanafrancis.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

When you did your audit, what was the one thing you decided to drop?

Have you ever walked into a room and just known you were different? That the space wasn't built for you, and that you'd have to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously?

I came into teaching through PE, and the sports and education world in this country is predominantly male and predominantly white British. I walked in as a young Black woman, and from day one there was a quiet pressure: work harder, prove more, take up less space. Nobody tells you how exhausting that is. The code-switching, monitoring how you come across, wondering whether being passed over in a meeting was about your idea or something else entirely.

In this episode I share my own story and the three reframes that changed how I move through spaces where I don't see myself reflected. It's a shorter, more focused episode, and it's okay if you're not there yet.

I'm Shana, a senior lecturer in teacher education and a CMI Level 7 leadership coach and mentor.

Some links are affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Why I wanted to talk about what it actually feels like, not diversity and inclusion as policy and tick boxes

- Reframe one: your difference is not a deficit. The things that made me feel "other" are the things that make me effective

- Reframe two: you don't have to earn your place, you occupy it

- Reframe three: you're not just in the room, you're expanding it, and why that can be a purpose without becoming a burden

- Your one thing: pick one situation where you've been shrinking (a meeting, even a group chat) and take up the space that's already yours

CONTINUE EXPLORING

Your one thing this week: choose just one conversation or situation where you usually hold back, and try one of the three reframes in it. If someone close to you needs this too, send it to them and keep each other accountable.

My recommended tools and kit: https://benable.com/shanafrancisofficial (some links may be affiliate)

CONNECT WITH ME

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanafrancisofficial

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Website: https://shanafrancis.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Where have you been shrinking something about yourself that might actually be your greatest strength?

For a lot of us early in our careers, saying no and getting blacklisted feel like the same thing. Say no once, and the promotion's gone, your reputation's ruined, and your name is quietly crossed off some invisible list. In this episode I want to talk about being strategic with what you say yes and no to, so your career moves in the direction you actually want, not in the direction of whoever shouted loudest that week.

I learned this the hard way in schools. I was asked to lead a brand new BTEC programme: the scheme of work, the assessment, the resources and the delivery. On paper it was a dream opportunity, and I said yes because I wanted to prove I could lead something. I learned a lot, but it pulled me away from the pastoral and mentoring work I actually cared about, and put me on the edge of burnout, which doesn't make you more promotable.

Careers rarely drift because of one big choice. They drift from lots of small, unexamined yeses.

I'm Shana, a senior lecturer in teacher education and a CMI Level 7 leadership coach and mentor.

Some links are affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Why every yes that comes from fear or guilt turns your career from a path into a reaction

- Saying no to extra work that doesn't move your career, and how to tell an aligned opportunity from busy work dressed up as one

- The unpaid emotional labour that never appears on your job description, and why being the strong one for everyone isn't part of your contract

- "Bad" opportunities that are simply wrong for you right now, and the social side of work: group chats, Teams messages and always being available

- The real shift: you're not at work to be useful to everyone at all times. If you never say no, you never really choose

CONTINUE EXPLORING

Your one thing this week: get your actual job description out. List everything extra you've picked up that isn't on it. For each one, ask: does this move me towards the work and leadership I actually want, and am I mostly doing it because I'm scared to say no? Then choose one thing to start stepping back from, and notice what it frees up.

My recommended tools and kit: https://benable.com/shanafrancisofficial (some links may be affiliate)

CONNECT WITH ME

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanafrancisofficial

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Website: https://shanafrancis.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What's the one yes you're ready to step back from, and what do you think it'll make space for?

If you've ever sat in a meeting thinking, "I actually know what I'm talking about, but I'm the youngest here, so I'll stay quiet," this first episode of Breaking the Timeline is for you.

I start with what my week actually looked like: teaching, emails, master's work in the evenings, Notion tabs on tabs, and a laundry basket one outfit away from a safety hazard. There was a win too. A couple of years ago I'd have spent a whole weekend over-preparing for a meeting with senior staff and practising a "serious" voice. This time I still did the work, but I walked in as me, and people listened.

That gap between how people see you and how you feel inside is where a lot of the "too young to lead" story lives. In this episode we drag that story into the light, look at where you're probably already leading without calling it that, and finish with one small "lead now" move for the week.

I'm Shana, a senior lecturer in teacher education and a CMI Level 7 leadership coach and mentor.

Some links are affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Being told to step up and sit down at the same time, and why so many people in their 20s carry real responsibility on a "junior" title

- Why nobody hands you a "you may now lead" badge, and why "too young" is often about being new, not your age

- Being the closest to what's happening on the ground, and why stating what you're noticing is already leadership

- The invisible leadership you're already doing, why it's worth noting down, and why burning out on "prove myself" tasks doesn't make you look like a leader

- Dropping the work voice: using the same clear, honest brain you use with your friends in your meetings

CONTINUE EXPLORING

Your one thing this week: write one "lead now" sentence and use it once. Finish this line in your notes app: "If I was already seen as a leader here, I would..." Turn it into something you can actually say, such as "I've got a thought on this. Can I jump in quickly?" Then notice how it felt.

My recommended tools and kit: https://benable.com/shanafrancisofficial (some links may be affiliate)

CONNECT WITH ME

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanafrancisofficial

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Website: https://shanafrancis.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What's your "lead now" sentence, and how did it feel when you actually said it?

If you're juggling a lot right now (a full-time job, maybe a new degree, or just trying to show up as yourself at work) you've probably noticed there aren't many places that keep young professionals in mind. The overwhelm and the pressure to have it all together can get a lot when you're quietly trying to figure it out for yourself.

Breaking the Timeline is my answer to that. I'm Shana, a senior lecturer in teacher education and a CMI Level 7 leadership coach and mentor. I have more than one passion, and I'm navigating the same journey in real time, without trying to burn out.

In every episode we have honest conversations about leadership, career strategy, productivity systems that actually work for us, boundaries without the guilt, and building authority without waiting for a title. No corporate jargon and no toxic hustle culture.

Some links are affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

IN THIS EPISODE

- Who the podcast is for, and why I started it

- What we'll talk about: leadership, careers, productivity and systems, boundaries and growth

- How each episode works, as your own "office hours", ending with one small thing to try that week

CONTINUE EXPLORING

Start with the first full episode, "Too Young to Lead? Let's Talk About That", wherever you're listening.

My recommended tools and kit: https://benable.com/shanafrancisofficial (some links may be affiliate)

CONNECT WITH ME

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanafrancisofficial

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shanafrancisofficial

Website: https://shanafrancis.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What's one thing you're quietly trying to figure out on your own right now?