Monkey Management

🐒 Monkey Management: Let Go of What’s Not Yours to Carry

Monkey Management

We often say yes out of love, habit, or a sense of responsibility — but in doing so, we may end up carrying more than we were meant to.

Grab your journal and your The LOTUS Within book (https://www.amazon.com/LOTUS-Within-Purpose-Ignite-Passion/dp/B0DDRDXB89 ).

This week, we’re exploring a powerful (and even playful!) concept in time management: Monkey Management.

It’s about learning to recognize which tasks are yours… and which ones belong to someone else.

🐵 What is Monkey Management?

The idea comes from a classic Harvard Business Review article called “Who’s Got the Monkey?” In this metaphor, a “monkey” represents a task or responsibility.

Monkey Management is the art of refusing to let other people’s monkeys jump onto your back — especially when they should be managing them themselves.

When someone brings you a problem and you say, “Leave it with me,” — that monkey has just moved from their shoulders to yours.

Instead, the goal is to support others without taking ownership of what’s not yours to carry.

✨ Why This Matters

Many women are conditioned to feel responsible for solving, fixing, and carrying — both emotionally and practically — for others. Monkey Management is a boundary tool. It helps you protect your time and energy, while still being supportive and available in a healthy, sustainable way.

It teaches us to ask: Is this my monkey?

And if not: How can I help you take care of your own monkey — without carrying it for you?

🖋️ Journal Prompts for the Week

This week, take time to explore where your boundaries might be stretched — and how reclaiming your time might start with letting a few monkeys go:

1. Where in my life am I carrying responsibilities that aren't mine?

2. What does it feel like when I say “yes” out of guilt instead of clarity?

3. What’s one situation where I can offer support — without taking over?

4. What stops me from returning monkeys to their rightful owners?

5. How would it feel to lighten my load this week, one monkey at a time?

Monkey Management is not about withdrawing or saying no to everything. It’s about saying yes from a place of clarity, peace, and empowerment — not exhaustion.

This week, practice noticing the monkeys. You don’t have to carry them all.

With courage and care,

Amelia Duran-Stanton

Author of The LOTUS Within