The Time Academy Podcast is a unique time management podcast. It consists of short reflections that explore how we think about time and how that thinking influences our decision-making. Each episode covers one topic and only lasts a few minutes but will hopefully echo for some time thereafter.

The Time Academy Podcast is a unique time management podcast. It consists of short reflections that explore how we think about time and how that thinking influences our decision-making. Each episode covers one topic and only lasts a few minutes but will hopefully echo for some time thereafter.
Listen to the Trailer
Sign up for weekly questions that challenge & inspire and get the free Time Academy Guide!
The Time Academy Podcast is a unique time management podcast that asks questions of our relationship with time.
Big ones and small ones but questions nonetheless.
For example, how did this podcast become your priority just now?
You may think, “this is not my priority” and yet surely our priorities are what we do, not what we say or think?
In fact, stepping back a little, how did you decide to allocate your time throughout your day today as you switched from one priority to another?
The podcast won’t likely offer many answers, but it will hopefully offer different questions. And let’s be honest – if you are not comfortable with questions this podcast may not be for you. Similarly, if you are just seeking ready answers, you’ll probably find insight elsewhere.
For me, possibility comes not from seeking answers but from learning to ask better questions and that ultimately is the purpose of this podcast.
Possibility comes not from seeking answers but from learning to ask better questions!
The 20 episodes of this time management podcast consist of short reflections in which I share some of my own insights but most importantly I leave you with some questions that might offer a slightly different perspective. Each episode covers one topic and, as befits a reflection on time, only lasts a few minutes but will hopefully echo for some time thereafter!
If you find the reflections useful, please let others know about this unique time management podcast. I would also love to get your feedback and hear your stories so please feel free to email me at hello @ tomoleary.ie

Episode 20 – Your Priorities Are What You Do
Our priorities are what we do, not what we say or think.
Many people struggle with this, saying one thing whilst their actions tell a different story.
So, what priorities are you actually living?
Do these differ from the stories you tell yourself?
Indeed, how do you even know what your true priorities are?
Much of our lives are lived through default behaviour (habits, routines, rituals…).
Such behaviour can become so ingrained that we hardly notice it.
And yet it can highly condition how we allocate our time and energy.
What do you do on auto-pilot?
Life is in many ways a quest for balance.
- How balanced do you feel your life it?
- What part of your life is getting the short straw?
- What might you do about it?
- In short, where might you benefit from more balance in your life?
We clearly don’t know what a particular day may hold or what might best prepare us for that day.
And yet, it is clear that there probably are ways of better preparing for whatever that day has in store for us.
And that preparation starts with our morning routine.
Episode 16 – How Do I Allocate Time? (Part II)
This episode builds on and works with the same basic concepts as Episode 15 so if you haven’t listened to that yet my invitation is to do so now!
The first key point is that we do allocate time.
It is a deliberate choice.
- The question then is what rules govern how you allocate your time?
- What have you made your priority?
- How do you even know?
Episode 15 – How Do I Allocate Time? (Part I)
Whether we realise it or not we are continually answering the question of How do I Allocate Time?
And yet, are we aware of how exactly we make these decisions?
For example, how will you decide what exactly to do today?
Or even next?
Episode 14 – How Are Your Physical Environments Affecting You?
- Is place important to you?
- For example, does it matter where you work?
- Is one office the same as another?
In reality, our physical environments affect not only our health but also our productivity.
Episode 13 – Making the World Too Small
The idea of making the world too small is inspired by the poet David Whyte and yet the concept is eternal.
It is about the conversations we choose to have with ourselves and others, and equally importantly the conversations we choose to avoid.
So what conversations are you avoiding?
Where are you refusing to look?
Episode 12 – Doing versus Accomplishing
Whilst often used almost interchangeably, when you start unpicking Doing and Accomplishing you realise that they can lead to two very different life paths.
Imagine, instead of having a to-do list, you had a to-accomplish list?
How would that feel?
Episode 11 – How is Past Experience Affecting You?
We may think the past is past and so is gone and yet we are ultimately products of the past.
Our habits are memories of past experiences, our schedules are past commitments over our time, our thought patterns are ways of thinking from the past.
The past is thus only truly past when we set it down.
So, what are you carrying with you that you might put down?
Episode 10 – Time Tenses: Past, Present and Future
How much of your time do you feel you spend in the present?
What hold does the past have over you?
In fact, what hold does the future have over you?
Does one of the three tenses have more sway?
Episode 9 – To-do Lists and Stress
To-do lists are supposed to be helpful, right?
Sure, given our complex lives, they can help calm our brains, which have a tendency to hang on to the undone and the unfinished.
And yet, for many people they turn into millstones, nagging them about what remains to be done rather than congratulating them on what has been done.
Episode 8 – Urgent v. Important
The distinction between what is urgent and what is important goes to the heart of any discussion on time and productivity.
In fact, how do you distinguish?
In short, how do you know what is important for you today?
Episode 7 – Resetting Expectations
What do you expect from this podcast episode?
How does it help to build up a mental picture in advance?
And yet that is what many of us do all day by building up pictures of how we would like the future to be. Despite all this effort, how often does the future play out as we want? So why do we bother?
Episode 6 – Play and Creativity
Why have an episode on playfulness? What a waste of time! Adults are too busy to play. Right?
In practice, however, if we are too busy trying to crack a problem head on because we don’t have time for seeming idleness we can spend much longer than if we were to take the time to play and creatively explore whatever is in front of us.
Episode 5 – Not all Hours Are Created Equal
Not all hours are created equal and yet we often act as if they are, randomly scheduling activities throughout the day.
And yet this seemingly simple task of scheduling what when can have a direct impact on the outcome.
Episode 4 – Hard Work and Morality
The hard work mantra so prized by many may no longer be fit for purpose for modern knowledge workers.
Different attitudes and approaches to work may be more beneficial depending on what outcomes are being sought.
Episode 3 – Productivity and Not Being Enough
Ever feel like no matter how much you do there is still so much more to get done?
For many people, to-do lists are eternal with the focus on what hasn’t been done creating a sense of being incomplete, of not being enough.
Episode 2 – Thinking About Timescales
Playing with timescales allows you to create a vision (set a goal if you like) in one timescale and then focus on processes in the shorter ones (habits, routines, rituals).
Episode 1 – What Represents a Good Life for You?
This may feel a little off topic for a podcast primarily delving into time and productivity but the truth is that we spend much of our time, energy and attention answering this question in our daily actions.
Where Do I Start?
To explore your relationship with time and productivity my sense is that you first need to take a Time Out. There are bigger questions to explore such as:
- Why do I want to maximise productivity?
- What exactly do I want to accomplish?
- What will I do with the time I free up?
- What truly are my priorities?
- What time will I set aside not to be productive? (creativity, curiosity…)
- How am I contributing to my current situation?
- What gives me energy?
- What sucks energy from me?
Rushing headlong into a conversation around productivity runs the risk of becoming productive at activities that don’t truly matter.
Productivity doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is a servant to a larger vision. What then is your vision?
Time Academy Podcast – All Episodes Now Available
Summary: With all 20 episodes of the Time Academy Podcast, hosted by Tom O’Leary and produced by Bigger Questions Collective, now available, the thought-provoking time management podcast explores our relationship with time and offers a unique approach to time management and productivity. Listeners are invited to question assumptions and gain fresh perspectives.
Bigger Questions Collective is thrilled to announce the completion of the Time Academy Podcast, a thought-provoking time management podcast that explores our relationship with time. Hosted by Tom O’Leary, this time management podcast offers a unique approach to time management and productivity, inviting listeners to question their assumptions and discover new perspectives. With all 20 episodes now available, listeners can delve into a wide range of topics related to time and its impact on our lives.
The Time Academy Podcast is a captivating journey that poses essential questions about how we allocate our time, prioritize our tasks, and make choices in our daily lives. As befitting a podcast on time, episodes only last a few minutes but hopefully echo for some time thereafter. Each episode features Tom O’Leary’s reflections, compelling insights, and thought-provoking questions designed to challenge conventional thinking. The podcast aims to empower individuals to ask better questions and unlock new possibilities by nurturing curiosity and encouraging a curiosity-led leadership approach.
Listeners can explore a range of themes, including time defaults, finding balance, morning routines, the influence of past experiences, and the importance of play and creativity. From the relationship between hard work and morality to the impact of physical environments on productivity, the Time Academy Podcast offers a fresh and engaging perspective on time management.
Tom O’Leary, the host of the Time Academy Podcast, is an experienced professional dedicated to helping leaders filter out the noise and focus on what truly matters. With over two decades of personal experience living an intentional and purpose-driven life, Tom brings a wealth of insights and practical wisdom to the podcast. His innate ability to listen and empathize enables him to guide listeners on a transformative journey of self-discovery and growth.
The Time Academy Podcast is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify and Google.