You, me, Oprah and Beyoncé we've all got 24 hours in our day - Haven't we?

Well, no, actually - here's why... Listen in.

Coaching with Sarah - All details HERE

Join my email club HERE

Buy the best-selling book Drink Less; Live Better here or order from anywhere you usually buy your books.

Subscribe to my 5 day Drink Less Experiment here

Get my Habit Tracker here

Did you know I've HIDDEN a podcast episode?

It's your secret weapon at 5pm if you are feeling cravings for alcohol. You can download it here

BTW - If you didn't already know, I'm Sarah - Drink Less; Live Better founder, best-selling author, expert speaker, life coach and, as you already know, podcast host!

We don't have to hit rock bottom, we're allowed to want something different and we can CHOOSE to improve our lives from this point onwards. 

I work in the magic space where doubt, hope and action meet... oh.... and

PS I believe in you!

Let's get connected;

on Facebook

on insta

Check out Drink Less; Live Better for blog posts and more

Subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode - also please do leave a like or review and share the love! Thank you

Found the podcast useful? I'd love to have a coffee with you - you can buy it here THANK YOU!

Hello and welcome back to the Drink Less Live Better podcast. I'm Sarah Williamson. Follow me on Instagram.

For a bit of inspiration, check out my website to download free resources and read my book for insights and wisdom. Drink Less Live Better.

I have coaching sports open at the moment.

Pop me an email if you'd like more information.

Okay, let's get on with today's episode.

This one's another one in the series of things you'll never hear me say and today we all have the same 24 hours in a day.

This is a popular and totally misleading mantra.

You've probably heard it from motivational speakers, productivity gurus, or maybe your own boss or well meaning friend.

The idea is Beyonce, Oprah, you, me.

We all wake up with 24 hours ahead of us.

So if they can get so much done, why can't you? It sounds empowering, right?

But here's the it's not the full picture.

In fact, it's the kind of untruth that can leave people feeling guilty, burnt out and hopeless.

So we are going to break down why that statement is misleading, what it ignores, and how we can think about time in a way that's actually more.

Compassionate, realistic and productive.

Here we have the seduction of the phrase.

On the surface, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Sounds demographic.

Time, unlike money or privilege, seems really evenly distributed.

Everyone wakes up with a blank slate each morning.

You cannot buy more minutes in a day. Well, at least not directly.

So in theory, we're all playing the same game with time.

This is why the phrase shows up in our hustley culture. It feels like tough love.

It suggests that success is simply a matter of of discipline.

If you're not achieving what someone else has, the logic goes you must be wasting your hours.

But that framing is deeply flawed because the truth is, whilst the clock is equal, the conditions around our hours are anything but. Let's start with some basics here.

Imagine two people, both technically alive for 24 hours on the very same day as each other.

One wakes up in a safe, quiet flat, hires a cleaner, has shopping delivered and maybe a nanny who helps with the childcare. Their day is largely self directed.

The other wakes up after a night shift, gets the kids ready for school, takes two buses to work, squeezes in an appointment, but still needs to cook.

Clean and help with homework.

By the time they're a available hours.

Arrive, they are running on fumes.

Technically, both had 24 hours, but the.

Quality, flexibility and energy available inside those.

Hours Vastly different factors like wealth, health, caregiving, Responsibilities, geography, discrimination, and systemic inequality.

All shape how much control somebody really has over their time.

Saying we all have the same 24 hours in a day erases all of those realities.

Now, let's go back to Beyonce.

Did I ever tell you my Beyonce story?

I used to head up a security.

Team in a huge London landmark attraction.

And I had to escort Beyonce to.

An event on our premises one day. Imagine this.

Beyonce, her head of security, and me, the elevator together.

I've never felt more fabulous or important.

There's more stories like that, but I do believe I've diverted myself.

Okay, yes, Beyonce has 24 hours, whether she's in a lift with me or not. But Beyonce also has a team.

Stylists, personal trainers, assistants, chefs, childcare providers, accountants, managers, choreographers, and I'm sure, much more.

Every hour she spends rehearsing is supported by dozens of invisible hours other people are working to help make that both possible and also fabulous.

It doesn't mean she isn't hard working.

She clearly is.

But it does mean her time is amplified by wealth and infrastructure.

Most people don't have that. When someone says, well, Beyonce has the.

Same 24 hours as you, they're leaving out the scaffolding holding her time up.

There's a darker side to this phrase as well.

When we're told that success is purely about how we use our hours, failure often gets framed as a personal flaw.

If you're not fit enough, rich enough, productive enough, it must be because you're wasting your 24 hours. No.

What if you're juggling a disability, chronic pain, mental health struggles, or systemic barriers?

That guilt can compound the exhaustion you already felt.

Instead of motivating people, this often leads to burnout and shame.

If the phrase we all have the same 24 hours is misleading, how could we think about time differently?

First, we could acknowledge that not all 24 hours are equal.

An hour spent exhausted after a 10 hour shift is not the same as an hour after a nap and a catered lunch. Energy, resources and context matter.

Second, we can focus less on comparison and more on alignment.

Instead of asking, why am I not doing as much as the next person, we could ask, what matters to me and how can I realistically fit it into my life?

That reframes time from being a competition to being a tool for living how we want to.

And third, we can practice some compassion for ourselves and for others.

When someone doesn't maximize their hours, maybe it's not laziness, maybe it's survival recognising that builds empathy and

breaks down the illusion that productivity is the only measure of worth.

At the end of the day, the truth is simple.

We don't all have the same 24 hours.

We have 24 hours shaped by privilege.

Responsibility, health and circumstance.

Thank you for listening in today. Check out the show notes for resources and ways to work with me.

Oh, and P.S. i believe in you.