#177| 3 Signs You’re Stuck in Outdated Habits & How to Release Them for a Calmer Mind and More Productivity: Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

Do you ever feel like you’re running on outdated mental software—stuck in habits that don’t serve you anymore?

In this episode, Michelle unpacks how old routines like over-checking your phone, saying “yes” too quickly, or clinging to outdated productivity hacks silently eat away at your focus and energy. If you’ve been feeling stressed, guilty for resting, or constantly overwhelmed, chances are your mental operating system needs an update.

You’ll discover:

• Three key signs your habits are outdated and quietly sabotaging your calm.
• A powerful mindset shift that helps you let go of guilt and choose rest without shame.
• Practical ways to replace stress-inducing routines with healthier, more supportive ones.

Press play now to learn how to refresh your mental software and create more space for clarity, calm, and productivity.

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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...

Episode Transcript

Michelle Gauthier (00:00):
You know how sometimes your phone won't let
you use it anymore until youupdate to the newest software.
Wish humans came with that sameautomatic forced upgrade
feature.
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that

(00:21):
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former overwhelmed
working woman and current lifecoach.
On this show we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life

(00:41):
.
Hi friend, today we're going totalk about three signs that your
mental software is outdated andneeds a reboot and an update
why letting old habits stickaround keeps you stuck and
overwhelmed, and how you can hitrefresh for a calmer, more
productive mind.

(01:01):
Before we get into that, don'tforget on Monday so this is
coming out on a Thursday onMonday, the 15th of September,
we are starting the declutterchallenge.
Sign up for that by the link inthe show notes.
It's going to be so much fun.
Next week we are going to, forall five days of the week, have

(01:22):
a short podcast episode and thenyou'll get a workbook that goes
along with it, so that you canlearn how to declutter your mind
, your email, your calendar andspaces in your house.
It's going to be tons of fun.
We're giving away prizes, etc.
Etc.
Check out all the details atthe link in the show notes.
Okay, let's think about some ofthe habits that you have maybe

(01:45):
around how you use your phone,how you feel about saying no to
things, productivity hacks orother things that you're using
and let's just take anopen-minded look at if those
habits are old and need to beupdated or if those are still
serving you.
So I went on a trip I guess it'sbeen a while now, but I went on

(02:08):
a trip with my sister and herhusband and the handsome man
friend and we went to NewOrleans to go to Jazz Fest and
we were having this super funweekend.
But we went on like a Thursdayand on Friday I noticed that the
handsome man friend was likechecking his email all day long
his work email and he was onvacation.
But he has the kind of jobwhere he would answer his

(02:31):
clients even if he's on vacation, and so I challenged him.
I said, Okay, it's Fridayafternoon, so the market's about
to close.
Work's basically about to beover.
I'll give you a hundred bucksif you can go from now until
tomorrow morning withoutchecking your email, not saying
you don't have to look at yourphone, but without checking your

(02:53):
work email.
And he said, no, I'll do better.
If I do check my email, I'llgive you a hundred dollars.
And I was like, okay, soundsgood.
So we were kind of laughingabout it.
Okay, sounds good.
So we were kind of laughingabout it.
But what was really funny thathe discovered was he was doing
it just out of such habit, likeit was just such habit that
anytime there was downtime in aconversation or if he got out

(03:15):
his phone for some other reason,he would just automatically
check his work email.
He said I can't believe howmany times I'm doing this
without even having a consciousthought about it.
And as we started talking aboutit and continue to talk about
it, he said to me that Isometimes do that too, and I did
not realize that I was doingthat either.
So it was just reallyinteresting because neither one

(03:36):
of us realized that we weredoing it.
We both noticed the otherperson did it, but we didn't
realize that we were doing itand neither one of us wanted to
be doing that.
So it was like we had thishabit that was almost muscle
memory, but it really didn't fitanymore.
So think about if you have someoutdated habit that you didn't
mean to acquire or that youacquired on purpose that you

(03:59):
don't want anymore.
So maybe you have the habit ofsaying yes without even pausing
to think if you want to say yesor no.
Or maybe the second you openyour eyes, you grab your phone
and you check Instagram or yourtext messages or whatever, and
that doesn't serve you.
Starting today, would I stillchoose this?

(04:26):
So if I were starting today andtoday was the first day that I
had a phone, would I want to sayyou know what I'm going to get
in the habit of?
I'm going to get in the habitof checking my phone every five
minutes?
No, I for sure would not saythat.
Or if this was my first day ata job, would I want to say yes
to everything that everyonetells me, starting from now
until the end of time when Iwork here?
No, I definitely would not.

(04:46):
So think about that.
If you were starting today,would you still choose this
habit?
Sign number two that your habitsmight be outdated and affecting
your productivity or causingyou overwhelm is that guilt pops
up when you try to change.
So let's say you shut yourlaptop at 6pm because you're
finished working for the day, oryou've decided you're finished

(05:07):
working for the day and youimmediately feel guilty, like
you should be doing more, andyou've got that old software
running in the background sayingmore is always better, rest is
lazy.
You have to work until it'sfinished.
If that guilty feeling pops upand gives you a negative thought
and a negative feeling, justgently investigate that.

(05:31):
Just ask yourself do I reallystill believe that or do I
really still want that habit ofworking until even 6pm every
night?
I would not work till 6pmanymore.
Do you want that habit?
Do you want the habit or theold belief that more is always
better and that rest is lazy,for example?
And if you don't, it's nevertoo late to change it.

(05:53):
That's the greatest part aboutit.
Sign number three that yourhabits might be outdated is that
your routines cause more stressthan relief.
So if you have your quoteunquote, productivity hacks and
they make you more anxious, thatmeans that habit is probably
outdated.
And things that I'm thinking ofare multitasking.

(06:14):
So I'm going to listen to acall and answer emails and order
my groceries all at the sametime.
Perfectionist editing, forexample.
Just you can edit something tothe nth degree.
That's maybe a habit that youhad, maybe when you had the
luxury of time, or a job thatwasn't so stressful, or three

(06:35):
less children than you have now,or whatever it is, and that is
an old program that is eating upall of your mental storage.
It is, and that is an oldprogram that is eating up all of
your mental storage.
So consider, if your routinesare causing you more stress than
relief, to consider somethinglike can I do B minus work or
even B plus work on this?
michellegauthier.
com I just start single taskingand see how that helps my focus

(06:57):
instead?
So, just in general, the tipthat I have for you today is,
when your phone forces an update, or your laptop, which is
usually right before a call, isabout to start, remember that
you might need one too, and takea look at your average day and
see what habits you have, goodor bad, and if you like them or
if they're just running onautopilot.

(07:20):
And if they are running onautopilot or causing you guilt
or adding stress to your life,consider subtracting it,
consider getting some newsoftware, so to speak, if you
need help with that, I am justthe person to help you do it.
Reach out to me if you'reinterested in learning more
about one-on-one coaching.
Have a great weekend.
Don't forget to sign up for thedeclutter challenge.

(07:40):
Thank you for listening to theoverwhelmed working woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
website at michellegothiercom.
See you next week.