January 22, 2026 • 20 mins
I sat down to record an episode about business systems.
And as I started organizing my thoughts, I realized the systems that are actually holding my life together right now aren’t the ones we usually talk about.
They’re quieter.
Running underneath the surface.
This episode is a look inside these daily rhythms, movement, and practices that help me stay grounded in this season of life.
This conversation is an invitation to look at the real systems that sustain our work and life a little differently.
Enjoy!
-Carla
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isDifferently.
Welcome back.
Today we're talking aboutsystems again that help my life
and business work.
In the last episode, I talkedabout systems that help my life
(00:22):
flow and some daily rhythms thatreally ground me and steady my
days.
So if you haven't listened tothat one yet, I want to
encourage you to start therebecause this episode is really a
continuation of thatconversation.
So when I first, as a littlerecap, when I first started
thinking about doing an episodeon systems for you, I honestly
(00:44):
was thinking about just talkingbusiness systems, tools and apps
and the practical stuff.
Um, the thing we usually thinkof when we think of systems.
But as I started putting mythoughts together and realized
there was so much more to share,and maybe um kinds of systems
that we don't often think aboutthat are really a steady force
(01:05):
in our life or that could be asteady force in our life and
help with our not just our workand business, but our our
clarity, our headspace, ourwell-being, um, our marriage,
all the things.
So, and one of the most, youknow, some of the most impactful
ones were not actually anythingto do with business systems,
(01:27):
which totally surprised me.
And it's counter what our brain,at least my brain, is always
telling me that I have to domore, work harder, be better, be
more efficient, optimize,maximize all the things.
So, in this episode, I want togive you a peek into the a few
(01:48):
more of the systems that arehelping my life and business
work in this season.
Some are relational, some aremore practical, and then we're
definitely gonna get into justsome business tools that are so
fun that have changed the waythat I do business.
So, as you listen, you're I wantyou to notice what's already
happening in your life.
Um, the systems that are alreadysupporting you that may look
(02:11):
similar or totally differentthan what I'm doing.
Um, and maybe you're gonna seesome small space that you could
make a simple shift.
Um, sometimes this the thingsthat were working last year
maybe aren't the things thatyou're gonna need this year.
And as the world is changingfaster and faster, I think we
have to be looking at all ofthis a little bit differently.
(02:34):
As leaders, I think it's gonnabe more get more and more and
more important that we know howto keep ourselves healthy and
grounded and our mind um in theright places so that we are
healthy in our thoughts and sothat we can stay grounded and
support all the people aroundus.
(02:56):
Okay, let's talk some of thosesystems.
So the first one I want to talkabout today is really about kind
of relationships and community.
Um, and I think that this issomething I'm really excited
about because we live in alonely world and I talk to a lot
of people who are lonely, and Iget lonely too.
(03:19):
Um, I think our world haschanged since COVID.
I mean, you think about, I wasjust talking to my husband about
how much time I spend on Zoomand how many friends I have that
are virtual that I've never met.
And I think this was the firsttime I really sat down to like
deeply think about that.
(03:40):
Um and I was, I think beforethat, I was kind of discounting
some of these virtualcommunities and relationships.
And as I sat down and reallythought about where I spend my
time every week and every day,these people and these
communities have a deep impactin my life.
(04:00):
And they're some of my very bestfriends.
So I'm wondering what you'rethinking about that.
Like these relations do readthese relationships and
communities matter and theycount.
And I'm wondering if, you know,our local communities have kind
of changed the way we connectand finding like-minded people,
(04:21):
it may become more and morevirtual.
And so I'm just kind of wrappingmy arms around this and feeling
really, really grateful for thethe relationships that I've
built in that way.
So that when I talk about like asystem for this, it's really
like making sure that you havethose touch points that help you
(04:45):
thrive, that help you feelconnected, that help you feel
alive, that energize you andinspire you.
That might be touch points viatext.
It might be people that you talkto on a regular basis.
Like my niece and I, we've beentalking like every day for the
last year.
We talk almost every day.
It's a really important touchpoint in my life that um is
(05:07):
life-giving.
I have a friend that I we try toget together once every two
weeks to have coffee or gohiking or go to lunch.
That's so important to me.
Connecting with my boys, whetherit's on FaceTime or via text or
a get together, those areimportant.
My virtual touch points.
Um, so what are these touchpoints for you?
(05:31):
And I'm not, I'm not talking asystem like you have to have
some rigid system, but I'm sureyou can think about like, oh
yeah, I sometimes scan my phoneand kind of look and make sure
I've responded to all my peopleon text that are important and
that are a priority.
Um, what are the touch points inmy week that are
relationship-based that give meenergy?
(05:51):
Um, and really thinking about itlike that, even inside of your
marriage, um, because thesethings impact both your business
and your life.
It gives you personally, itgives you a space to talk things
through, to be inspired, to bechallenged, to grow.
And in your business, likehaving business besties that I'm
(06:14):
consistent with, that I'vecreated some depth with over
time, who understand reallyentrepreneurship and how
passionate we get about that,and the challenges and the wins
and the ideas and the questionsand the creativity.
Um, like those connections sparkall of that.
It gives me a space where I'mchallenged to grow.
(06:38):
And it also means my husbanddoesn't have to hear everything
about my business.
I mean, he hears a lot, and anymore than that is too much, to
be honest.
So that's truly a gift to ourmarriage.
So, connection isn't extra, it'sfoundational.
And what does it look like inyour life?
(06:58):
You probably already have this,but it might be important to
just kind of look.
What does this look like in yourlife?
What are these touch points?
Do you need to add them?
Do you need to eliminate them?
Like, what does that look like?
Okay, the second system I wantto talk about is really just a
snapshot of what's supporting mybusiness right now.
(07:20):
Um, and before I share these, Iwant to just say like, this is
not, you need to have thesetools.
Um, I this is really just mesharing because I think it's
curious.
I love to hear what otherbusiness owners are using.
Um, and so over time I'velearned that the tools that I
choose matter more than I thinkI initially realized.
(07:41):
And I think we all havedifferent desires.
Like I like to choose tools thatgive me creative freedom, that
help me show up consistently inmy business, and that provide a
structure where I can deliverreally good service for my
clients that keep me organizedbecause, and that are simple and
(08:04):
kind of easy to use, intuitive,because when I dread opening a
tool, or there's something aboutthe tool that keeps robbing my
time and energy over and overand over again and creates
frustration, that has impact.
It has impact on my work, it hasimpact on my energy, on my
creativity, and often can likederail my day.
(08:27):
Um, you know what I mean.
When you have to get on techsupport or it's just like an
ongoing issue that never getsresolved, that robs your energy
and your time.
Okay, so the first one I want toshare is Notion.
Notion is a writing tool or app,and it's where most of my
writing lives.
Like some of my writing stilllives in Google Docs.
(08:49):
A lot of my writing lives inpaper notebooks.
Um, but Notion is really mydigital thinking space.
It's where I do timed writings,it's where I do my online
journal, it's where, like in thelast episode, I talked about,
you know, kind of um usingwriting, you know, throughout my
day.
(09:10):
That's usually where I do it, isin Notion or in a paper
notebook.
Um, everything content relatedstarts in Notion.
It either starts in my journalsor it starts with me kind of,
you know, just riffing on atopic in there.
Um so I love Notion because it'sall in one place.
(09:30):
And it allows me to kind oforganize it by folder.
And so that's Notion.
Flowdesk is my email platform,and I switched last year from
MailChimp that I used for yearsand years and years.
Um, and I love Flowdesk.
It's simple, it's clean, it'svisually beautiful.
I feel like I can be morecreative inside of it without
(09:52):
adding complication.
The the um visual side of it andthe reporting is really clear
and simple.
They don't have a ton, a ton offeatures that overcomplicate the
system.
And it makes connecting andstaying in touch with my email
community feel enjoyable.
(10:12):
Um, and like I want to get inthere.
So that's huge.
The third system I use in mybusiness that I've used for
years is Coach Accountable.
I had the founder on at the endof last year, and we had a great
conversation.
Um, but he's the founder of thesoftware, and this is a big one
for me.
It organizes everythingclient-related and keeps me
(10:35):
deeply connected to the peoplethat I work with.
It hell it holds content, itallows me to repurpose content
and brand content.
It um keeps me and my clientsdeeply connected between
conversations.
So we're we're interacting overtheir writing in between our
(10:56):
sessions.
Um it allows me to, yeah, Italked about repurposing.
It allows me to be preparedgreatly for our sessions.
So there's so much there that Ican log in and get prepared for
a session with a client that isrelevant and deep, and we can
get right into what reallymatters for them.
(11:19):
So that's coach accountable.
That is really the coachingstructure that has helped me
thrive and grow my business andsupport people really, really
well and deeply.
Canva is where creativityhappens for me as far as
graphics and images andpresentations and freebies.
And I'm sure that you use all ofthat too.
(11:41):
Um, but Canva is a fun one.
Chat GPT is kind of a new onefor me and one that I have been
experimenting with.
And there is, I guess, kind ofthe good, the bad, and the ugly.
And I I do my best to stay inthe good zone with it because I
find that it can give you somuch information, it can lead to
(12:01):
overwhelm.
And like I just want to likeshut down and walk away.
Um, but I've learned to use itas a creative thought partner,
um, is really helpful and reallyfun.
So it also is great for scanningand sorting large amounts of
information, creating documentsinside of my business.
Um it doesn't, it's alsoreminded me, I think, of how
(12:28):
important um our own thoughtsare in our own creativity and
like listening to our own spiritand making sure that that is
always, always, always inside ofeverything we do because that is
where cheat chat GBT cannotcompete.
Um yeah, and then so those arejust some fun business systems.
(12:54):
They're not all of them, butthere's some fun I wanted some
fun ones that I wanted to sharewith you.
And if you're ever wonderinganything that I use, please
don't hesitate to reach out tome.
I am happy to share anythingI've learned and anything that I
am uh using to make work andlife and business um a little
lighter, a little more flow, alittle easier.
(13:15):
Okay, the last um system that Iwant to share with you is really
more like a tracking, measuring,and reflection systems.
Um, and this one is reallyimportant because without
reflection, we miss things.
Um, and as you know, likemeasuring things is super
(13:36):
important too.
But we miss those quiet nudgesthat happened during the day,
but got lost in the shuffle ofall the busyness, all the
conversations.
And we often just forget aboutthem.
And so without reflection, we'rejust on to that next thing and
the next thing and the nextthing.
And honestly, in our head, itcan feel like never enough.
(13:56):
It can feel like we didn'treally do much or accomplish
much.
And I even saw this this year,like at the end of the year,
reflecting um with people in myfree class and also in private
coaching calls, often in intheir heads, it's like, oh, I
didn't really do, I didn'treally do what I set out to do
this year.
I didn't get very much done, andthey feel kind of down or
(14:18):
discouraged about it.
And the moment after they sitdown and just start to write and
take the time, I mean, just afew minutes to reflect and kind
of sort look through theirpictures of what they did,
they're astounded by whathappened in that year.
But often our mind thinks itneeded to look one way, and so
we just miss all that didhappen.
(14:39):
And so power of reflection.
Um, reflection often reminds methat like it's already enough,
that there's enough instead ofmore, more and more.
There are three more things Iwant to share with you.
One is a tool that I have juststarted using that just in the
last couple of weeks has reallyhelped me, but it's a daily
(15:02):
board and I've wanted to do thisfor so long, but I just got big
giant paper from Michael's, andI just have literally like a
sheet for Monday, a sheet forTuesday, and it gives me a focus
for that day.
So, for example, like Mondaysare more like CEO time and
project admin time.
(15:22):
Um, Tuesdays are podcast day,which it happens to be a
Tuesday, and I'm recording mypodcast.
In the past, I've just recorded,you know, when I could.
I never really had a rhyme or areason.
Um, Wednesdays are coaching daysand spending thoughtful time
like thinking about my clientsand thinking about what they
(15:43):
need next and having calls andsending, you know, a text or a
thoughtful note or a resource.
Thursdays are again anothercoaching day.
Friday's more of a free day.
I mean, I do calls and things,but um, as far as a focus, it's
more free and creative.
(16:03):
And then Saturdays are nowwriting days, and this is
proving to be really fruitful.
That's something new.
Something else we started doingthis last year is weekly recaps.
My husband and I do thattogether, like on Sundays.
And we look at not justbusiness, but life.
(16:24):
We look at our marriage, we lookat our health and energy, we
look at conversations andconnections through the week, we
look at our relationships withthe boys.
And I don't know, in this lastyear, we've been measuring by
fruit.
In the Bible, it talks about youwill know by the fruit.
And so the fruit in our lifetells us if things are working
(16:47):
and if we've got the rightapproach.
And so these weekly recapsreally help us to look like what
fruit did we produce this week?
Is there anything that needs tobe adjusted?
And instead of just focusing onbusiness, we're looking at our
whole life and business.
So we're still measuring thingslike revenue and you know, new
interest and the podcast andkeeping our eye on those things,
(17:10):
but we're keeping our eye on allthe pieces and areas of our
life.
And so that's been really fun.
It's also, again, a reflectiontool that has just reminded us
like, oh my gosh, so much to begrateful for and so much that is
happening.
Because as high achievers, asyou likely know, it's easy to
(17:31):
get focused on the more, more,more or the things that you
haven't done yet.
I highly recommend weeklyrecaps.
That's been so much fun.
As we wrap up, I want to bringthis back to the heart of why I
wanted to share these um systemswith you in the first place.
It was never about giving youmore to add to your plate or
(17:52):
more to manage or more ways tomeasure yourself, but really to
give you a peek into whatsomeone else is doing so that
you might see somethingdifferently.
You might see a possibility youhadn't seen.
You might see that you have moresystems than you realize, or you
might find one that you want tojust add this year.
And friend, the world is goingto keep telling us we need to do
(18:16):
more, we need to be more, weneed to be better, and we need
to move faster.
But what I'm learning over andover again is that the systems
that matter most are the onesthat stabilize us, the ones that
calm us, the ones that keep usgrounded and connected to the
ones we love and present so thatwe can actually live and
(18:37):
experience these moments thatwe're living right now instead
of always planning for the verynext thing and achieving more.
And what I know about or I thinkI know about you is that the
work is always gonna get done.
And the world has us believingthat if we just get that all
(18:59):
systematized, if we get that allefficient, then we're gonna be
able to relax and enjoy life.
And that is a lie.
We have to do the things, wehave to integrate the things, we
have to be an advocate forputting the systems in place in
our life that help us to beright where we are, show up for
(19:19):
this life that we're living, thework will always get done.
Okay, friend, I'll see you nextweek.
Hey, thanks for listening allthe way to the end.
Before you move on with yourday, pause and capture one
thought or takeaway that stoodout to you.
(19:40):
Write it down so it doesn't getlost in the noise.
And if you're ready to godeeper, come join me in my free
monthly class, conversation andguided writing to help you see
things differently and moveforward with clarity.
Save your spot, Carlareeves.comforward slash free class.
A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep
change in the way that we think.
I'm Carla Reeves, and this isDifferently.
Welcome back.
Today we're talking aboutsystems again that help my life
and business work.
In the last episode, I talkedabout systems that help my life
(00:22):
flow and some daily rhythms thatreally ground me and steady my
days.
So if you haven't listened tothat one yet, I want to
encourage you to start therebecause this episode is really a
continuation of thatconversation.
So when I first, as a littlerecap, when I first started
thinking about doing an episodeon systems for you, I honestly
(00:44):
was thinking about just talkingbusiness systems, tools and apps
and the practical stuff.
Um, the thing we usually thinkof when we think of systems.
But as I started putting mythoughts together and realized
there was so much more to share,and maybe um kinds of systems
that we don't often think aboutthat are really a steady force
(01:05):
in our life or that could be asteady force in our life and
help with our not just our workand business, but our our
clarity, our headspace, ourwell-being, um, our marriage,
all the things.
So, and one of the most, youknow, some of the most impactful
ones were not actually anythingto do with business systems,
(01:27):
which totally surprised me.
And it's counter what our brain,at least my brain, is always
telling me that I have to domore, work harder, be better, be
more efficient, optimize,maximize all the things.
So, in this episode, I want togive you a peek into the a few
(01:48):
more of the systems that arehelping my life and business
work in this season.
Some are relational, some aremore practical, and then we're
definitely gonna get into justsome business tools that are so
fun that have changed the waythat I do business.
So, as you listen, you're I wantyou to notice what's already
happening in your life.
Um, the systems that are alreadysupporting you that may look
(02:11):
similar or totally differentthan what I'm doing.
Um, and maybe you're gonna seesome small space that you could
make a simple shift.
Um, sometimes this the thingsthat were working last year
maybe aren't the things thatyou're gonna need this year.
And as the world is changingfaster and faster, I think we
have to be looking at all ofthis a little bit differently.
(02:34):
As leaders, I think it's gonnabe more get more and more and
more important that we know howto keep ourselves healthy and
grounded and our mind um in theright places so that we are
healthy in our thoughts and sothat we can stay grounded and
support all the people aroundus.
(02:56):
Okay, let's talk some of thosesystems.
So the first one I want to talkabout today is really about kind
of relationships and community.
Um, and I think that this issomething I'm really excited
about because we live in alonely world and I talk to a lot
of people who are lonely, and Iget lonely too.
(03:19):
Um, I think our world haschanged since COVID.
I mean, you think about, I wasjust talking to my husband about
how much time I spend on Zoomand how many friends I have that
are virtual that I've never met.
And I think this was the firsttime I really sat down to like
deeply think about that.
(03:40):
Um and I was, I think beforethat, I was kind of discounting
some of these virtualcommunities and relationships.
And as I sat down and reallythought about where I spend my
time every week and every day,these people and these
communities have a deep impactin my life.
(04:00):
And they're some of my very bestfriends.
So I'm wondering what you'rethinking about that.
Like these relations do readthese relationships and
communities matter and theycount.
And I'm wondering if, you know,our local communities have kind
of changed the way we connectand finding like-minded people,
(04:21):
it may become more and morevirtual.
And so I'm just kind of wrappingmy arms around this and feeling
really, really grateful for thethe relationships that I've
built in that way.
So that when I talk about like asystem for this, it's really
like making sure that you havethose touch points that help you
(04:45):
thrive, that help you feelconnected, that help you feel
alive, that energize you andinspire you.
That might be touch points viatext.
It might be people that you talkto on a regular basis.
Like my niece and I, we've beentalking like every day for the
last year.
We talk almost every day.
It's a really important touchpoint in my life that um is
(05:07):
life-giving.
I have a friend that I we try toget together once every two
weeks to have coffee or gohiking or go to lunch.
That's so important to me.
Connecting with my boys, whetherit's on FaceTime or via text or
a get together, those areimportant.
My virtual touch points.
Um, so what are these touchpoints for you?
(05:31):
And I'm not, I'm not talking asystem like you have to have
some rigid system, but I'm sureyou can think about like, oh
yeah, I sometimes scan my phoneand kind of look and make sure
I've responded to all my peopleon text that are important and
that are a priority.
Um, what are the touch points inmy week that are
relationship-based that give meenergy?
(05:51):
Um, and really thinking about itlike that, even inside of your
marriage, um, because thesethings impact both your business
and your life.
It gives you personally, itgives you a space to talk things
through, to be inspired, to bechallenged, to grow.
And in your business, likehaving business besties that I'm
(06:14):
consistent with, that I'vecreated some depth with over
time, who understand reallyentrepreneurship and how
passionate we get about that,and the challenges and the wins
and the ideas and the questionsand the creativity.
Um, like those connections sparkall of that.
It gives me a space where I'mchallenged to grow.
(06:38):
And it also means my husbanddoesn't have to hear everything
about my business.
I mean, he hears a lot, and anymore than that is too much, to
be honest.
So that's truly a gift to ourmarriage.
So, connection isn't extra, it'sfoundational.
And what does it look like inyour life?
(06:58):
You probably already have this,but it might be important to
just kind of look.
What does this look like in yourlife?
What are these touch points?
Do you need to add them?
Do you need to eliminate them?
Like, what does that look like?
Okay, the second system I wantto talk about is really just a
snapshot of what's supporting mybusiness right now.
(07:20):
Um, and before I share these, Iwant to just say like, this is
not, you need to have thesetools.
Um, I this is really just mesharing because I think it's
curious.
I love to hear what otherbusiness owners are using.
Um, and so over time I'velearned that the tools that I
choose matter more than I thinkI initially realized.
(07:41):
And I think we all havedifferent desires.
Like I like to choose tools thatgive me creative freedom, that
help me show up consistently inmy business, and that provide a
structure where I can deliverreally good service for my
clients that keep me organizedbecause, and that are simple and
(08:04):
kind of easy to use, intuitive,because when I dread opening a
tool, or there's something aboutthe tool that keeps robbing my
time and energy over and overand over again and creates
frustration, that has impact.
It has impact on my work, it hasimpact on my energy, on my
creativity, and often can likederail my day.
(08:27):
Um, you know what I mean.
When you have to get on techsupport or it's just like an
ongoing issue that never getsresolved, that robs your energy
and your time.
Okay, so the first one I want toshare is Notion.
Notion is a writing tool or app,and it's where most of my
writing lives.
Like some of my writing stilllives in Google Docs.
(08:49):
A lot of my writing lives inpaper notebooks.
Um, but Notion is really mydigital thinking space.
It's where I do timed writings,it's where I do my online
journal, it's where, like in thelast episode, I talked about,
you know, kind of um usingwriting, you know, throughout my
day.
(09:10):
That's usually where I do it, isin Notion or in a paper
notebook.
Um, everything content relatedstarts in Notion.
It either starts in my journalsor it starts with me kind of,
you know, just riffing on atopic in there.
Um so I love Notion because it'sall in one place.
(09:30):
And it allows me to kind oforganize it by folder.
And so that's Notion.
Flowdesk is my email platform,and I switched last year from
MailChimp that I used for yearsand years and years.
Um, and I love Flowdesk.
It's simple, it's clean, it'svisually beautiful.
I feel like I can be morecreative inside of it without
(09:52):
adding complication.
The the um visual side of it andthe reporting is really clear
and simple.
They don't have a ton, a ton offeatures that overcomplicate the
system.
And it makes connecting andstaying in touch with my email
community feel enjoyable.
(10:12):
Um, and like I want to get inthere.
So that's huge.
The third system I use in mybusiness that I've used for
years is Coach Accountable.
I had the founder on at the endof last year, and we had a great
conversation.
Um, but he's the founder of thesoftware, and this is a big one
for me.
It organizes everythingclient-related and keeps me
(10:35):
deeply connected to the peoplethat I work with.
It hell it holds content, itallows me to repurpose content
and brand content.
It um keeps me and my clientsdeeply connected between
conversations.
So we're we're interacting overtheir writing in between our
(10:56):
sessions.
Um it allows me to, yeah, Italked about repurposing.
It allows me to be preparedgreatly for our sessions.
So there's so much there that Ican log in and get prepared for
a session with a client that isrelevant and deep, and we can
get right into what reallymatters for them.
(11:19):
So that's coach accountable.
That is really the coachingstructure that has helped me
thrive and grow my business andsupport people really, really
well and deeply.
Canva is where creativityhappens for me as far as
graphics and images andpresentations and freebies.
And I'm sure that you use all ofthat too.
(11:41):
Um, but Canva is a fun one.
Chat GPT is kind of a new onefor me and one that I have been
experimenting with.
And there is, I guess, kind ofthe good, the bad, and the ugly.
And I I do my best to stay inthe good zone with it because I
find that it can give you somuch information, it can lead to
(12:01):
overwhelm.
And like I just want to likeshut down and walk away.
Um, but I've learned to use itas a creative thought partner,
um, is really helpful and reallyfun.
So it also is great for scanningand sorting large amounts of
information, creating documentsinside of my business.
Um it doesn't, it's alsoreminded me, I think, of how
(12:28):
important um our own thoughtsare in our own creativity and
like listening to our own spiritand making sure that that is
always, always, always inside ofeverything we do because that is
where cheat chat GBT cannotcompete.
Um yeah, and then so those arejust some fun business systems.
(12:54):
They're not all of them, butthere's some fun I wanted some
fun ones that I wanted to sharewith you.
And if you're ever wonderinganything that I use, please
don't hesitate to reach out tome.
I am happy to share anythingI've learned and anything that I
am uh using to make work andlife and business um a little
lighter, a little more flow, alittle easier.
(13:15):
Okay, the last um system that Iwant to share with you is really
more like a tracking, measuring,and reflection systems.
Um, and this one is reallyimportant because without
reflection, we miss things.
Um, and as you know, likemeasuring things is super
(13:36):
important too.
But we miss those quiet nudgesthat happened during the day,
but got lost in the shuffle ofall the busyness, all the
conversations.
And we often just forget aboutthem.
And so without reflection, we'rejust on to that next thing and
the next thing and the nextthing.
And honestly, in our head, itcan feel like never enough.
(13:56):
It can feel like we didn'treally do much or accomplish
much.
And I even saw this this year,like at the end of the year,
reflecting um with people in myfree class and also in private
coaching calls, often in intheir heads, it's like, oh, I
didn't really do, I didn'treally do what I set out to do
this year.
I didn't get very much done, andthey feel kind of down or
(14:18):
discouraged about it.
And the moment after they sitdown and just start to write and
take the time, I mean, just afew minutes to reflect and kind
of sort look through theirpictures of what they did,
they're astounded by whathappened in that year.
But often our mind thinks itneeded to look one way, and so
we just miss all that didhappen.
(14:39):
And so power of reflection.
Um, reflection often reminds methat like it's already enough,
that there's enough instead ofmore, more and more.
There are three more things Iwant to share with you.
One is a tool that I have juststarted using that just in the
last couple of weeks has reallyhelped me, but it's a daily
(15:02):
board and I've wanted to do thisfor so long, but I just got big
giant paper from Michael's, andI just have literally like a
sheet for Monday, a sheet forTuesday, and it gives me a focus
for that day.
So, for example, like Mondaysare more like CEO time and
project admin time.
(15:22):
Um, Tuesdays are podcast day,which it happens to be a
Tuesday, and I'm recording mypodcast.
In the past, I've just recorded,you know, when I could.
I never really had a rhyme or areason.
Um, Wednesdays are coaching daysand spending thoughtful time
like thinking about my clientsand thinking about what they
(15:43):
need next and having calls andsending, you know, a text or a
thoughtful note or a resource.
Thursdays are again anothercoaching day.
Friday's more of a free day.
I mean, I do calls and things,but um, as far as a focus, it's
more free and creative.
(16:03):
And then Saturdays are nowwriting days, and this is
proving to be really fruitful.
That's something new.
Something else we started doingthis last year is weekly recaps.
My husband and I do thattogether, like on Sundays.
And we look at not justbusiness, but life.
(16:24):
We look at our marriage, we lookat our health and energy, we
look at conversations andconnections through the week, we
look at our relationships withthe boys.
And I don't know, in this lastyear, we've been measuring by
fruit.
In the Bible, it talks about youwill know by the fruit.
And so the fruit in our lifetells us if things are working
(16:47):
and if we've got the rightapproach.
And so these weekly recapsreally help us to look like what
fruit did we produce this week?
Is there anything that needs tobe adjusted?
And instead of just focusing onbusiness, we're looking at our
whole life and business.
So we're still measuring thingslike revenue and you know, new
interest and the podcast andkeeping our eye on those things,
(17:10):
but we're keeping our eye on allthe pieces and areas of our
life.
And so that's been really fun.
It's also, again, a reflectiontool that has just reminded us
like, oh my gosh, so much to begrateful for and so much that is
happening.
Because as high achievers, asyou likely know, it's easy to
(17:31):
get focused on the more, more,more or the things that you
haven't done yet.
I highly recommend weeklyrecaps.
That's been so much fun.
As we wrap up, I want to bringthis back to the heart of why I
wanted to share these um systemswith you in the first place.
It was never about giving youmore to add to your plate or
(17:52):
more to manage or more ways tomeasure yourself, but really to
give you a peek into whatsomeone else is doing so that
you might see somethingdifferently.
You might see a possibility youhadn't seen.
You might see that you have moresystems than you realize, or you
might find one that you want tojust add this year.
And friend, the world is goingto keep telling us we need to do
(18:16):
more, we need to be more, weneed to be better, and we need
to move faster.
But what I'm learning over andover again is that the systems
that matter most are the onesthat stabilize us, the ones that
calm us, the ones that keep usgrounded and connected to the
ones we love and present so thatwe can actually live and
(18:37):
experience these moments thatwe're living right now instead
of always planning for the verynext thing and achieving more.
And what I know about or I thinkI know about you is that the
work is always gonna get done.
And the world has us believingthat if we just get that all
(18:59):
systematized, if we get that allefficient, then we're gonna be
able to relax and enjoy life.
And that is a lie.
We have to do the things, wehave to integrate the things, we
have to be an advocate forputting the systems in place in
our life that help us to beright where we are, show up for
(19:19):
this life that we're living, thework will always get done.
Okay, friend, I'll see you nextweek.
Hey, thanks for listening allthe way to the end.
Before you move on with yourday, pause and capture one
thought or takeaway that stoodout to you.
(19:40):
Write it down so it doesn't getlost in the noise.
And if you're ready to godeeper, come join me in my free
monthly class, conversation andguided writing to help you see
things differently and moveforward with clarity.
Save your spot, Carlareeves.comforward slash free class.
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