#184| How Imposter Syndrome Can Actually Help Your Productivity (With the Right Mindset): Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

Ever hear that little voice whisper “Who do you think you are?” when you take on something new?

That voice is imposter syndrome—and instead of being proof that you’re unqualified, it might actually be a signal that you’re growing. If you’ve ever felt stuck or paralyzed by self-doubt, this episode flips the script to help you see imposter syndrome in a whole new way.

In this conversation, you’ll discover:

• Why simply noticing imposter syndrome is the first win toward confidence
• How to reframe doubt as a growth signal instead of a stop sign
• A practical exercise to track your small wins so confidence builds faster than fear

Press play now to learn how to turn imposter syndrome into your most powerful growth tool.

Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.

Send Me a Message - Have a question, comment, or just want to say hi? Message me here, I'd love to chat!

Work With Me - Interested in working with me 1-on-1, taking a class, or joining one of my coaching groups? Message me here to get the scoop.

Want More? - If you love the content of this podcast, you'll love our Simple Sunday newsletter too. When you sign up, you’ll receive a simple dose of inspiration, practical tips, and a little fun—designed to help you start your week with simplicity and intention. Sign up here

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 that little voice that says who do
you think you are?
That is imposter syndrome, andwhile it can sometimes feel
awful, it can actually be a signthat you're growing.
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.

(00:20):
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
.
Hi friend, thanks so much forjoining today.

(00:42):
Today we're going to be talkingabout imposter syndrome, but
we're going to kind of flip iton its head and look at how
having imposter syndrome canactually help you and your
productivity, as long as youhave the right mindset with it.
What we're talking about todayis why noticing and knowing that
you're in imposter syndrome isa win in and of itself, and then

(01:03):
how to reframe your doubt as asignal of growth.
And then a simple way to buildand you know I'm not going to
leave you without a tip so Iwill give you a simple way to
build your confidence whilestill taking action, instead of
just being stuck in impostersyndrome.
Before I jump into all of that,I want to thank everybody who

(01:24):
did the declutter challenge lastweek.
That was so much fun and wejust decluttered so much stuff.
I wish I could see a picture ofeverything that left your
houses and your inboxes and yourcalendars, but I envision it in
my mind to be amazing.
So thanks to everybody whojoined that, and I wanted to let
you know that I have onecoaching spot open for
one-on-one coaching.
So if that is calling to youand you feel like you might be

(01:47):
ready to do some one-on-onecoaching with me, go to the link
in the show notes and set up atime for a discovery session.
Okay, let's talk impostersyndrome.
Think about times when you feltlike I am so not qualified for
this.
There are a couple times, bothin my career and my personal
life, where I have definitelythought that I got a promotion

(02:08):
when I was probably still in my20s yes, I was definitely still
in my 20s and I went for a jobthat I thought was really too
big for me.
And then I got the job and thenI started on my first day and I
freaked out in my mind.
I basically gave myself amigraine and had to leave the
office and thought who hired mefor this?
I have no idea what I'm doing.

(02:30):
The other one was when weadopted our son.
He's our first child and Idon't know if it's because we
had very little notice or ifevery parent feels like this,
whether you grow the child inyour belly or not.
But when we left the hospitalwith him I seriously thought
does everyone know?
We have no idea what we'redoing here.
I don't know how to take careof a baby.

(02:51):
I've always been good with kids, quote unquote.
I have no idea what I'm doingand I can give you a million
small examples.
Like my son's school asked meto chair their auction, which is
their biggest fundraiser forthe year, and I was like oh yeah
, sure I can do that.
And then I started doing.
I was like no idea how to dothis.
So there have been many, many,many starting my business.

(03:12):
I could go on and on.
You get the point.
Everybody listening has hadimposter syndrome at one time or
another.
Noticing that you're inimposter syndrome is the first
step to solving the problematicpart of it.
So the problematic part ofimposter syndrome is when you
just can't do anything becauseyou're so paralyzed by the idea

(03:32):
that you don't know what you'redoing.
But noticing it and giving it aname is the very first step.
So once you notice you haveimposter syndrome and that
you're feeling it, in thatmoment that will help you even
start to shift out, when you cansee it as something that is
happening and it's not you andyou're an imposter, but your
brain is telling you that youdon't know what you're doing.

(03:54):
Even that is a step in theright direction, because having
awareness is where the solutionstarts.
The second thing to do is to,instead of taking it as a red
flag like, oh my gosh, this isthe wrong thing.
I have no idea what I'm doing,just think of it as a growth
flag.
What color is a growth flag?
I mean mine's pink, obviously.

(04:15):
But think about what color yourgrowth flag is.
You feel like an imposterbecause you're doing something
new, not because you don't knowwhat you're doing.
And when your brain isstretching and your identity is
expanding, the discomfortdoesn't mean you're unqualified.
It just means you're learning,you're evolving.
One great thing to do, when yourealize you're in this situation

(04:35):
and are able to say this isn'ta red flag, it's a growth flag
is to ask yourself where have Ipreviously succeeded in learning
something new?
When I work with my clients onthis, I literally have them tell
me, tell me an example of threeplaces where you succeeded in
learning something new.
So maybe it's learning a newjob, maybe it's something as

(04:55):
simple, as the son who I was soworried about is 18 now.
So I did a pretty good job atgetting him to this point.
I've started many a new jobs.
I've started my own business,and even small things Like, for
example, when I first gotdivorced, I was like I don't
know how to grill.
I don't know why.
That was intimidating.
But guess what?
I can totally grill now.

(05:17):
No problem.
If you take the time to writedown some examples, it's really
helpful because it lets yourbrain see the proof that you are
a person who can learn newthings.
The third thing to do is, afteryou've got your list of things
that you've done, where you haveproven that you can learn new
things and succeed at new things, is to start tracking your wins
in your new situation.

(05:38):
So if we go back to my exampleof the position where I was like
, oh my gosh, I don't know how Igot this job.
I have no idea what I'm doing.
If I would have, this wouldhave saved me a lot of time and
energy.
If I would have done this, Ididn't know anything about this
at the time.
Hopefully I'm saving you beforeyou get into this situation the
next time.
But when you start taking actionanyway imperfect action,

(06:02):
knowing that you're learningthen you start recording new
evidence of what you figured outand ask yourself really small
things like what did I figureout today?
And the small wins will add upfast and then your confidence
will be built.
So, for example, if I'mthinking back to this job that I
was apparently superunderqualified for, in my own

(06:23):
mind it's like okay, I reachedout to all the clients who are
going to be my clients in thisjob.
I met with somebody else whodoes this job to understand how
we're supposed to bill our time.
I called my first client andtalked about how we want to have
our weekly calls.
You know, I just started takinglittle steps and eventually you
build up this list of evidenceand pretty soon you're the pro

(06:46):
that somebody else is asking fortheir opinion.
So, in summary, impostersyndrome isn't a failure, it's
feedback, and the feedback thatyour brain is giving you is whoa
, watch out, we're doingsomething new.
This is unfamiliar, but justchange that to be.
This is a growth flag.
I I promise you that whenyou're doing something new,
you're probably never going tofeel ready.

(07:07):
So just keep going, one bravestep at a time.
Document where you've done itbefore.
Once you start doing the newthing, document your evidence
that you're learning new thingsand succeeding, and you will
minimize the time that you spendin that unproductive imposter
syndrome and maximize yourlearning so that you eventually
will feel completely comfortablein that new situation.

(07:28):
Have a great week.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
website at michellegauthier.
com.
See you next week.