September 17, 2023 • 29 mins
This week on The Ambitious Introvert® Podcast I’m wrapping up this decision fatigue mini series with some of my favourite ‘life hacks’ - the ones that get things running on auto as much as possible, freeing up my bandwidth for the juicy, important decisions in life!
I’ve shared many of these with my clients over the years, and though some of them sound sneakily simple, I promise you the compound results of implementing them will blow you away. As introverts, adding these energy savers into our routine and life admin can make a HUGE difference on what we have left in the tank at the end of the day.
I’m sharing:
- Why, once again, planning ahead is worth the initial effort to save you energy through the week
- How you can use automations to limit your decision making in life, not just business
- The super effective way I make sure I don’t skip workouts and mindset practices with the excuse of ‘not knowing what I want to do’
- How buying pyjamas and going to the dentist are both activities that have opportunities to be optimised!
If you ever fall behind with life admin, or feel overwhelmed and overstimulated by it, this episode is for you!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Ambitious Introvert podcast,
created especially forintroverts, empaths and highly
sensitive entrepreneurs to helpyou build, grow and scale a
successful, sustainable business.
I'm your host, emma LouiseParks, business and mindset
coach for ambitious introverts.
After 17 years working as anair traffic controller the
(00:26):
ultimate fast-paced,high-stimulus, extrovert
friendly role my mission now isto show introverts that they,
too, can create big results andsuccess because of who they are,
not in spite of it.
I focus on introvert friendlybusiness and marketing strategy
to help you switch overwhelm forclarity, confidence and clients
(00:47):
.
Hello, welcome to this thirdsolo episode in a row of the
Ambitious Introvert podcast.
I'm Emma Louise and thisepisode is actually going to
wrap up this mini series thingthat I've had going on, all
about decisions and decisionfatigue and really how to make
(01:11):
the most of our energy by onlymaking the decisions that really
really matter for us.
Last week we talked about inbusiness and this week I'm going
to talk about in life.
So if you are new here or ifyou've skipped a few weeks,
highly, highly recommend thatyou go and listen to the
previous two episodes.
First, because it's going togive a lot more context around
(01:34):
this.
It's going to give a lot morecontext around what decision
fatigue actually is, why ithappens, what we can do about it
.
And then last week inparticular, I did a deep dive
into how we can avoid it inbusiness, and I have to say it's
been a while since I've donesolo episodes and I have been
shocked but thrilled at how manypeople have reached out from
(01:55):
these episodes to say that itresonated with them very much.
I've had a lot of this is me,this is how I feel A lot of
reshares, a lot of people saying, last week in particular, they
were like this could be a cause.
This is so great.
So it's really great to knowthat this has been valuable
content.
So if you did miss out on those, I highly, highly, highly
(02:17):
recommend that you, like I say,go into those first and then
come back so you have morecontext.
If you did listen, I hope youenjoyed them too.
And then this week we're goingto wrap up talking about the
decision savers that we can usein life, because, ultimately,
how we feel in life, how thingsare happening in life, how we're
(02:38):
dealing with life, admin, howwe are just basically being a
human and adulting, does have animpact on how we act and feel
In our business.
There's no way around it, nomatter how much we might try to
separate and compartmentalize.
It's just not possible.
And as someone who, as I saidin the previous episodes, had a
(03:00):
job that required many, manythousands, if not tens of
thousands, of decisions andimportant decisions each day, I
really doubled down on makingsure that I wasn't wasting my
decision-making muscle in lifeon things actually probably
don't really matter that much,because I would get home and I
(03:24):
had nothing left in the tankwhen it came to making good
decisions.
So I'm going to show a littlebit more about that.
Before I do, a very quickreminder that this week is the
last week that you can get onboard for Quiet Power, the
mini-mind.
We kick off on the 26th ofSeptember and if you have not
(03:45):
heard about this mini-mind, thisis one of the most exciting
things that I have launched inrecent years, because it's so,
so different to the rest of myoffers.
It's different in that it'smuch shorter.
It's an eight-week container,which feels very exciting.
It's very different in that itis focused purely on your own
(04:07):
personal development andself-mastery.
So, while, of course, that isgoing to have a huge impact on
your business, because strategyalone does not cut it.
This is probably the firstcontainer I've released in a
very, very long time that doesnot have a business strategy
focus.
This is about you, it's aboutyour growth, it's about your
(04:29):
development and it's about theway you are able to conduct
yourself as you run yourbusiness, something that is
vitally important at every stage, from day one, right the way up
to scaling, selling, whateverposition you are in.
And it's really a collection ofthe tools and the skills and
(04:50):
the practices that I have triedmyself over the last 20 years
and as a 1.3 in human design,all the things I've learned,
experimented with and reallyseen what are the most powerful
things that I can do to bringmyself to a place where I feel
regulated and I have resiliencein my business, and I've seen
(05:13):
these things work over and overagain for clients as well, over
the last four and a half years.
So these are real, proventechniques, and I've put them
together in the quiet power ofmany minds, in a way that you
will learn the skills.
I will guide you through them,we'll work through them together
during the eight weeks and thenyou'll have that as, I guess, a
(05:36):
framework to take with you onyour business journey and when
there is a bump in the road orwhen something comes up that
feels challenging, or whenyou're ready to up level and
make some bold moves, you knowexactly how to approach it.
You know what the things are todo to support your mindset and
(05:57):
support your energy, and Ialmost could have called this
something like the self-coachingtoolkit, because that's
essentially what you'll belearning to do is, how do I
coach myself through thesesituations and how do I bring
awareness to what I'm thinking,and then how do I take action
from that place.
So if you haven't learned, youknow.
(06:18):
If that's not enough for you,you want to know more about it,
do pop to the link in the shownotes and read all about it.
Send me a message, feel free toemail, send me a DM on
Instagram.
I'm happy to answer anyquestions, see if it is could be
the right fit for you.
And the last way that thisparticular program is very
different to anything I'veoffered recently is the price
(06:38):
point, because it's been a longtime since I've had a program
that was under $1,000 for theentire program.
That also gives you one-on-onecoaching with me, so there will
be calls six weeks out of theeight and there will be space
for every single person to havehot seat, coaching or ask
(07:00):
questions or be guided andsupported in any way they choose
, depending on what's coming upfor them.
So I am very excited.
If you feel excited too, if youwould like to join me, like I
say, head to show notes and allthe details will be there.
So on with the episode.
What I will say to tie that inis being able to make.
(07:24):
Being able to put things inplace to enable you to make less
decisions can requireboundaries.
It can require you to think andact differently than you have
before, and that's exactly thetype of thing the MiniMind will
support you with when those kindof things come up.
What you get this feelsdifferent and a little bit
(07:44):
uncomfortable, but I can see thebenefit of doing it.
I just feel a little bit ooharound it.
Those are the exact kind ofpractices and tools that are
going to help you in thosesituations.
So if you're listening toanything that I share now and
you think that makes so muchsense, but, oh, I can't do that
because what also?
And so think, or ooh, I can'tdo that because I've never done
(08:07):
it that way before.
Know that that's the exact kindof support that you would get
inside of quiet power.
So how do we make less decisionsin life to save our energy and
our decision-making muscle forthe ones that are important?
Number one and this is one ofthe first things I ever
(08:32):
implemented, I would say,because I get very overwhelmed
and overstimulated when I'mpresented with too many options,
which I know is very common,and I almost get a hangover from
it.
If I'm researching somethingwhich I love to do one-three in
(08:55):
human design, there's a pointthat's too much for me, and it's
usually upon me before I know,and suddenly I have zero energy,
everything's gone, nothing'smaking sense anymore.
I've just crammed my brain withinformation, not actually done
anything with it, and I can'tmake a decision.
So one of the things I did, oneof the very first things I did,
(09:17):
is I recognized that in thisday and age let's say I wanted
to buy some pajamas If I go ontoGoogle and click ladies'
pajamas, I'm going to beabsolutely completely
overwhelmed.
So I actually made a decisionto only buy my pajamas from Gap.
This was about 10 years ago andit has changed since.
(09:40):
However, at that time I reallyliked Gap.
Gap was good.
It was good quality, it fit mewell, it was quite neutral.
I liked the colors.
I liked the materials, I likedthe styles.
Generally, if I went into Gap orlooked at their website and
looked at their loungewear orpajamas, there was always
something that I liked.
So I was like why am I lookingeverywhere else?
(10:04):
Why am I looking at Gap?
And then why am I going andlooking at Marks Spencer and
John Lewis and another shop andanother shop and actually
spending a lot of time andenergy on something that
probably isn't that important inthe grand scheme of life?
Yes, I want to have nice,comfortable pajamas to
loungewear on the house in.
Is Gap going to provide thatfor me?
(10:25):
Like 80% of the time, yes.
So that was one of the firstthings I did.
I was like, oh, I need pajamas,I'm just going to go to Gap.
And unless there was nothing inGap that I liked, I didn't go
anywhere else, because I justrealized how much time and
energy I was spending justlooking at things.
So, number one know where yougo for certain items.
(10:45):
Maybe it's skincare, maybe it'sfood, maybe it's pajamas, maybe
it's pet food, whatever.
But know where you go, know theplaces that serve you really
well, for it that 80% of thetime, have what you need and go
there first and, unless theyreally really can't help, don't
go anywhere else.
That was one of the biggestthings for me and that came from
(11:09):
a place of, like I say, beingexhausted from making so many
decisions as an air trafficcontroller.
Number two I talked about thisin the first episode of this
mini series, where I said manypeople, many, many very
influential people, such asBarack Obama, steve Jobs they
(11:30):
wear either the same outfit orthey have a very limited
wardrobe where everythingmatches everything, so that they
don't have to make a decision.
They don't have to think whatcolour tie should I wear, or
should I wear like jeans orchinos today?
Now, if you are someone that'svery creative and very into
fashion, you might be like I'mLouise, are you kidding?
(11:52):
I'm not just wearing the samething every day.
That's going to kill me.
I get that.
However, when I was in my joband I had to get up early and I
just was tired, I didn't want tothink and I definitely didn't
want to be making decisions.
I would plan my outfit thenight before.
I would just choose something.
It took me two minutes before Iwent to bed.
(12:14):
I would check the weather andthen I would be like, ok, that's
fine, I'm going to wear that,I'm going to wear that, I would
get it out.
I would end it on the front ofthe wardrobe and it's there.
So when I got up in the morning, one less decision to make.
This also works really well.
If you want to work out in themornings, get your exercise
clothes out and just put themout next to the bed or wherever
(12:34):
is nearby.
It's one less decision to make,because if you're anything like
me, you can make a milliondecisions and they can all stop
you from doing something that'sgood for you.
Like exercise, because I'd belike oh, do I feel like
exercising?
What do I feel like doing?
Oh, what should I wear?
Even getting into that likewhat should I wear?
It can be enough for me to gono, this is just too much and I
(12:56):
can't be bothered now.
So get outfits out the nightbefore, including exercise
clothes.
Number three is not uncommon,and I'm sure many of you do it,
but planning your meals out forthe week and where I found this
really helpful is obviously inbeing able to shop and know
what's needed.
But also for me, if I need todecide on the day what I'm going
(13:19):
to make, I'm probably going toget takeout.
So it's much healthier andcheaper for me to plan meals out
for the week.
And whether that's having likea meal delivery service that
brings the ingredients, so it'sjust like great, I don't have to
think about it.
You know I already planned themeals when I put them in the
order, or whether it's like okay, I'm like Tuesday I'm going to
(13:40):
make this and I'm waiting tohave leftovers.
On Thursday I'll make this.
On Friday I have leftovers, butI know and it's there and it's
planned out, and when I don'thave to think, I'm much more
likely to make healthy choicesand just I'm much more likely to
stick to the plan.
Basically, like we talked aboutlast week, when you've got a
plan versus no plan, you're muchmore likely to stick to it.
So knowing your meals for theweek can definitely save time
(14:05):
and effort and money andcalories, but also save that
decision fatigue of I don't knowwhat I want, what am I going to
eat?
And in that similar vein, numberfour have a set rotation of
recipes that you love, just fornormal days.
So for me an apology to thevegetarians.
It's things like.
(14:25):
I love chili and it's supereasy to make, so I can make a
big pot of chili and have thaton the go even while I'm on a
client call.
I have an instant part.
If you don't have an instantpart, I highly recommend an
instant part.
I will pop a link in the shownotes for you.
Beef brisket in the instantpart easiest thing ever, super
(14:45):
quick, get so many meals out ofit.
Really great, these things thatI just don't have to think
about Now.
I love new recipes.
I love more complex recipes.
I love the art of cooking assuch, but I love that at the
weekends, a long time off.
But on make your average workday and weeknight, it's good for
(15:07):
me to go.
I just make that because I knowexactly how to do it and I know
that I enjoy it.
So think about those recipesthat you just get so easy for
you to make that you enjoy.
You know they always go downwell and have those on rotation
so that you know you are mixingthem up.
You're not going to get toobored, but it requires far less
thinking and decision makingthan if you're making something
(15:30):
new and complex.
Staying on food again with anumber five, if you can, if your
lifestyle allows.
Look again your grocery isdelivered in the same slot each
week, so a lot of supermarketswill do this here in the UK.
You can reserve your slot inthe same slot, each week, same
time, and you can even put likea basic order in, so it's always
(15:54):
the same thing.
So you know you'll always getcoffee and bananas and smoothies
and you know whatever elseyou'll get your things that you
need on a day-to-day basis.
You can always get like a packof granola or you can always get
cat food and those things come.
And even if you get super busyand you do nothing else and you
(16:15):
don't edit that order, you knowthat that order will come and
you will have your basics andyou will have things in for the
week without having to eventhink about it.
So if that works for yourlifestyle I appreciate some
people maybe traveling more orworking shifts or whatever
Consider that just to have thosethings come in without you
(16:36):
needing to decide like should Iget groceries, when should I get
them delivered?
What should I get put in there?
Just having those items come inat the same time each week will
save you so much of that.
Number six again I know manypeople choose to boycott Amazon
and I understand that the taximplications of some of their
(16:58):
decisions do not sit well withpeople.
However, if you are an Amazonuser, think about using
subscribe and save foressentials, because they will
then auto ship and save youmoney.
So where this has been reallygood for me is things like dried
pet food that I can get onAmazon.
(17:18):
I know roughly how long a bigbag of dried pet food lasts for
my animals and I can set it tobe delivered every month or
every two months automatically,and you usually get somewhere
between five and 15% off.
Also good with things likerazor blades or kitchen roll or
just really random basic stuffthat we don't want to think
(17:40):
about on a day to day basis, butit's bad news if we actually
run out of it.
So if you are an Amazon user,then do consider that.
I know a lot of other websitesare doing this.
Actually, I use a pet websitehere in the UK and they do that
with pet food.
So when you order you canchoose is it a one off or do you
want this auto deliver everyfour weeks?
(18:02):
So if whether it's Amazon ornot.
Look for these options.
My actually deodorant does this.
I use wild deodorant, which isa natural brand, and they do
this as well, where it autoships the refills every three
months.
So, anywhere that you can dothis.
If it's things that you knowthat you use on a regular basis
but you don't want to have to bethinking about replacing them,
(18:25):
really really great way.
Number seven moving more intoour development now, and this is
one that I have suggested somany clients who said it's been
a game changer for them, andthat is thinking about things
like EFT or meditations.
Create a playlist of them.
(18:47):
Now, whether this is on YouTube, I use YouTube for EFT quite
often and I use insight timerfor meditations personally, and
both of those you can access forfree, which is great, but if I
need to go and find a meditationthat I like the look of, or you
know what type of meditation doI want to do today, or the same
(19:09):
with the EFT, I'm like oh, eft,like what do I want to do?
What do I want to tap about?
You know what's been going on?
All of these things, all ofthese decisions are drained in
me.
So I and I always recommend toclients create a playlist, sit
down for 15 minutes and justcommit to creating a playlist of
(19:31):
EFT meditations, whatever youuse that resonate with you at
that time.
And don't overthink it.
If it's just like, oh, thatone's about money, mindset Great
.
Or oh, this one's abouttrusting myself, that sounds
like something I would need,don't overthink it.
Don't look for the perfectthings.
Just put them all in a playlistand then you can just literally
(19:53):
play each day the next one thatcomes up without having to
think.
This does require an element ofsurrender, especially if you
are a recovering control freak,like I am, because your brain
will say, oh, but there might bea better one.
What if I don't feel like doingthat today?
And the answer there is thatdone is better than perfect.
So if you can just create thelist and then not have to think
(20:16):
about it, I will guarantee youwill do it more than you used to
when you were looking for theperfect one.
And what did you feel like doingtoday?
Because it's literallydelivered to you on a plate.
You just go into the playlist.
There's one at the top, youplay it and you do it, and this
is a really great way to createthese habits for your mindset,
(20:37):
for your energy, for your mentalhealth, rather than getting
caught up in getting it rightand getting perfect and having
to research and find the rightone.
And this, I'm talking all ofthese things from experience.
So number seven get a playlisttogether of these things like
tap in meditations, whatever itis.
Same for podcasts.
(20:57):
Actually, if you're looking forlike inspirational podcast, if
you like to listen to a podcastevery day, just spend some time
each month saving some episodesso that you're not scrolling
through and looking likeimmediately before you want to
listen.
And number eight is in asimilar vein.
But do the same for yourworkouts.
If you use any kind of app orYouTube or something like
(21:21):
Peloton for workouts, they willall have the option for you to
either create playlists or saveyour favorites things like that.
For the same reason, do that.
I do this for yoga.
I use YouTube for yoga andthere are certain practices that
I know are going to be good forme usually back, neck and
shoulders, because I'm a laptopfor most of the day and I really
(21:44):
like yoga before bed and Ireally like yoga that doesn't
have very much talk in or music.
So if I find these, I just savethem in a playlist and it means
that I don't have to think toomuch about it.
I can just be like, oh, I fancydoing yoga, let me just press
play and I know that the nextone that comes up will be
relevant.
(22:04):
Now you could do this in variousways.
You can save differentplaylists so you can have, like,
a chilled yoga playlist, or youcan have a yoga flow playlist,
and the same with Peloton.
I have Peloton, so with theirapp, they have weights, they
have strength training, theyhave yoga and Pilates, and then
obviously, they have the cycling, the bike workouts.
(22:25):
So I've got various thingssaved there where I don't have
to look and say, oh, which onedo I want to do, because it just
becomes so overwhelming.
So think about where you can,where can you curate these lists
of things that you will know,you will listen to, you will use
, you will watch, and just putthem there so that when it's
(22:48):
time to do it, you don't have togo through the rigmarole of
finding one.
You can just literally hit playand do it.
Number nine this is a littlesimilar to one I said last week
in business, where I said aboutusing templates feel content is
not the devil.
It's not ideal and some peopledo not like it at all because
(23:09):
they say I'd rather be creative.
But if you find yourselfstaring at a page rather than
doing anything, sometimes atemplate can just be really
helpful to give you thatinspiration or get your creative
juices flowing.
And the same here with yourmindset practice.
If you are staring at a blankjournal, going then what to
(23:30):
write, or if you find yourselfavoiding mindset practice
because it feels overwhelming toeven think about what you might
want to write about or journalabout, then use prompts, use
journal prompts.
There are journal promptseverywhere all over the internet
for free.
That will serve you really,really well.
Just think about what you areeither working towards or what
(23:52):
you're working through and whatwould make sense, and just
literally Google journal promptsfor and add the appropriate
term and you will get so manycome up.
It just again takes away youhaving to choose.
So rather than saying, hmm,should I write about today, you
just go.
Let me take this prompt for theday.
(24:12):
Do it Done.
I make it sound quite clinical.
Potentially I think that's myenneagram eight, as I'm talking,
but this will change things.
This will change the game foryou.
If you are not doing thesethings, if you recognize part of
yourself in any of the thingsI've talked about this week or
last week where the actualperformance of getting around to
(24:37):
it is enough to put you offdoing it, things like this will
change things and your brainwill not like it.
Your brain will go oh, we don'twant to use a prompt, or maybe
we don't want to use a prompt orwe don't want this prompt,
maybe we just want to go andfind something else, but that's
just a way of avoiding doing thething.
So I highly recommend creatingthese resources, patching them
(25:00):
up, having them there andknowing where you go for them,
and then, even when you feel theresistance, using them and just
pushing through and using them.
These are the kind of thingsthat have saved me so much time
and energy and have made me soconsistent in so many areas.
Then, lastly, number 10, on aslightly different note, but
(25:20):
again, learn through personalexperience.
You may remember, back inJanuary, one of the things that
I committed to this year washaving a massage at least once
per month.
Last year I was very ill for alot of the year and those kind
of self-care practicesdefinitely fell off for me for a
(25:41):
number of reasons.
So that's why I committed inJanuary that one way or the
other I would make it work.
I had a massage every singlemonth of the year and one of the
things that's really helped meto do that is to book in again
while I'm there at theappointment.
It's really easy for me to go,oh it's next month, it's a month
(26:03):
away, and say, oh, no, I'll letyou know, because I'm thinking
I want to see what else comes inand what else I'm doing.
Honestly, coming out of themassage and saying, would you
like to rebook, and be sayingyes and get in it in the diary,
means that I do not miss it.
And this can be the same withmore boring life admin as well,
like, say, going to the dentistor the opticians.
(26:24):
If it's anything that requiresyou to go on a semi-regular or
regular basis, get it booked in,because I have done this myself
with the dentist, where theylike come back in six months for
your next checkup and I'm likegreat, I'll get in touch,
because it's ages away and I'mthinking I don't want to commit,
I don't want to tie myself downin six months time and then
(26:45):
guess what?
Six months comes and theyphoned me up and they say in the
dental appointments due andthey're then fully booked for
two months.
So honestly, for the sake ofreducing admin and reducing
having to think about it andjust increasing your overall
bandwidth, get these thingsbooked in.
Get them booked in while youare there so you don't have to
(27:08):
make the decision.
It's already done.
So I know that was a lot, thatwas a whirlwind that one
probably could have been acourse as well, broken down into
more detail, but I hope thathas given you some ideas of
practices that you can put inplace or adopt that are going to
support your energy, becausethey are just going to mean less
(27:30):
decisions, which is going tomean more energy, and less
decisions in life means morebandwidth and more decision
making muscle for business orfor big decisions in life, big,
important decisions, not smallones about groceries and yoga
and journal prompts.
Those decisions do not have tobe, they do not have to take a
(27:51):
lot of energy from us.
So thank you for tuning in onceagain.
It has been so much fun toshare these ideas with you and
I've really enjoyed doing thismini series on decision fatigue.
Thank you again for tuning inand if this resonates, I would
love to hear from you.
Feel free to drop me an email,drop me a DM on Instagram,
(28:12):
however you prefer tocommunicate, and let me know
which ones resonated with youthe most.
So, for now, have a wonderfulweek and I will see you again
next Monday.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the ambitious
introvert podcast with me, emmaLouise Parks.
If you enjoy this show, please,please subscribe, rate and
(28:34):
leave a review on iTunes as athank you.
One lucky reviewer each monthwill win a 60 minute one on one
coaching session with me, whereyou'll get the clarity and
confidence to attract your idealclients.
And if you know someone whocould benefit from listening to
the show, then please do shareand help me reach as many fellow
ambitious introverts aspossible.
Welcome to the Ambitious Introvert podcast,
created especially forintroverts, empaths and highly
sensitive entrepreneurs to helpyou build, grow and scale a
successful, sustainable business.
I'm your host, emma LouiseParks, business and mindset
coach for ambitious introverts.
After 17 years working as anair traffic controller the
(00:26):
ultimate fast-paced,high-stimulus, extrovert
friendly role my mission now isto show introverts that they,
too, can create big results andsuccess because of who they are,
not in spite of it.
I focus on introvert friendlybusiness and marketing strategy
to help you switch overwhelm forclarity, confidence and clients
(00:47):
.
Hello, welcome to this thirdsolo episode in a row of the
Ambitious Introvert podcast.
I'm Emma Louise and thisepisode is actually going to
wrap up this mini series thingthat I've had going on, all
about decisions and decisionfatigue and really how to make
(01:11):
the most of our energy by onlymaking the decisions that really
really matter for us.
Last week we talked about inbusiness and this week I'm going
to talk about in life.
So if you are new here or ifyou've skipped a few weeks,
highly, highly recommend thatyou go and listen to the
previous two episodes.
First, because it's going togive a lot more context around
(01:34):
this.
It's going to give a lot morecontext around what decision
fatigue actually is, why ithappens, what we can do about it
.
And then last week inparticular, I did a deep dive
into how we can avoid it inbusiness, and I have to say it's
been a while since I've donesolo episodes and I have been
shocked but thrilled at how manypeople have reached out from
(01:55):
these episodes to say that itresonated with them very much.
I've had a lot of this is me,this is how I feel A lot of
reshares, a lot of people saying, last week in particular, they
were like this could be a cause.
This is so great.
So it's really great to knowthat this has been valuable
content.
So if you did miss out on those, I highly, highly, highly
(02:17):
recommend that you, like I say,go into those first and then
come back so you have morecontext.
If you did listen, I hope youenjoyed them too.
And then this week we're goingto wrap up talking about the
decision savers that we can usein life, because, ultimately,
how we feel in life, how thingsare happening in life, how we're
(02:38):
dealing with life, admin, howwe are just basically being a
human and adulting, does have animpact on how we act and feel
In our business.
There's no way around it, nomatter how much we might try to
separate and compartmentalize.
It's just not possible.
And as someone who, as I saidin the previous episodes, had a
(03:00):
job that required many, manythousands, if not tens of
thousands, of decisions andimportant decisions each day, I
really doubled down on makingsure that I wasn't wasting my
decision-making muscle in lifeon things actually probably
don't really matter that much,because I would get home and I
(03:24):
had nothing left in the tankwhen it came to making good
decisions.
So I'm going to show a littlebit more about that.
Before I do, a very quickreminder that this week is the
last week that you can get onboard for Quiet Power, the
mini-mind.
We kick off on the 26th ofSeptember and if you have not
(03:45):
heard about this mini-mind, thisis one of the most exciting
things that I have launched inrecent years, because it's so,
so different to the rest of myoffers.
It's different in that it'smuch shorter.
It's an eight-week container,which feels very exciting.
It's very different in that itis focused purely on your own
(04:07):
personal development andself-mastery.
So, while, of course, that isgoing to have a huge impact on
your business, because strategyalone does not cut it.
This is probably the firstcontainer I've released in a
very, very long time that doesnot have a business strategy
focus.
This is about you, it's aboutyour growth, it's about your
(04:29):
development and it's about theway you are able to conduct
yourself as you run yourbusiness, something that is
vitally important at every stage, from day one, right the way up
to scaling, selling, whateverposition you are in.
And it's really a collection ofthe tools and the skills and
(04:50):
the practices that I have triedmyself over the last 20 years
and as a 1.3 in human design,all the things I've learned,
experimented with and reallyseen what are the most powerful
things that I can do to bringmyself to a place where I feel
regulated and I have resiliencein my business, and I've seen
(05:13):
these things work over and overagain for clients as well, over
the last four and a half years.
So these are real, proventechniques, and I've put them
together in the quiet power ofmany minds, in a way that you
will learn the skills.
I will guide you through them,we'll work through them together
during the eight weeks and thenyou'll have that as, I guess, a
(05:36):
framework to take with you onyour business journey and when
there is a bump in the road orwhen something comes up that
feels challenging, or whenyou're ready to up level and
make some bold moves, you knowexactly how to approach it.
You know what the things are todo to support your mindset and
(05:57):
support your energy, and Ialmost could have called this
something like the self-coachingtoolkit, because that's
essentially what you'll belearning to do is, how do I
coach myself through thesesituations and how do I bring
awareness to what I'm thinking,and then how do I take action
from that place.
So if you haven't learned, youknow.
(06:18):
If that's not enough for you,you want to know more about it,
do pop to the link in the shownotes and read all about it.
Send me a message, feel free toemail, send me a DM on
Instagram.
I'm happy to answer anyquestions, see if it is could be
the right fit for you.
And the last way that thisparticular program is very
different to anything I'veoffered recently is the price
(06:38):
point, because it's been a longtime since I've had a program
that was under $1,000 for theentire program.
That also gives you one-on-onecoaching with me, so there will
be calls six weeks out of theeight and there will be space
for every single person to havehot seat, coaching or ask
(07:00):
questions or be guided andsupported in any way they choose
, depending on what's coming upfor them.
So I am very excited.
If you feel excited too, if youwould like to join me, like I
say, head to show notes and allthe details will be there.
So on with the episode.
What I will say to tie that inis being able to make.
(07:24):
Being able to put things inplace to enable you to make less
decisions can requireboundaries.
It can require you to think andact differently than you have
before, and that's exactly thetype of thing the MiniMind will
support you with when those kindof things come up.
What you get this feelsdifferent and a little bit
(07:44):
uncomfortable, but I can see thebenefit of doing it.
I just feel a little bit ooharound it.
Those are the exact kind ofpractices and tools that are
going to help you in thosesituations.
So if you're listening toanything that I share now and
you think that makes so muchsense, but, oh, I can't do that
because what also?
And so think, or ooh, I can'tdo that because I've never done
(08:07):
it that way before.
Know that that's the exact kindof support that you would get
inside of quiet power.
So how do we make less decisionsin life to save our energy and
our decision-making muscle forthe ones that are important?
Number one and this is one ofthe first things I ever
(08:32):
implemented, I would say,because I get very overwhelmed
and overstimulated when I'mpresented with too many options,
which I know is very common,and I almost get a hangover from
it.
If I'm researching somethingwhich I love to do one-three in
(08:55):
human design, there's a pointthat's too much for me, and it's
usually upon me before I know,and suddenly I have zero energy,
everything's gone, nothing'smaking sense anymore.
I've just crammed my brain withinformation, not actually done
anything with it, and I can'tmake a decision.
So one of the things I did, oneof the very first things I did,
(09:17):
is I recognized that in thisday and age let's say I wanted
to buy some pajamas If I go ontoGoogle and click ladies'
pajamas, I'm going to beabsolutely completely
overwhelmed.
So I actually made a decisionto only buy my pajamas from Gap.
This was about 10 years ago andit has changed since.
(09:40):
However, at that time I reallyliked Gap.
Gap was good.
It was good quality, it fit mewell, it was quite neutral.
I liked the colors.
I liked the materials, I likedthe styles.
Generally, if I went into Gap orlooked at their website and
looked at their loungewear orpajamas, there was always
something that I liked.
So I was like why am I lookingeverywhere else?
(10:04):
Why am I looking at Gap?
And then why am I going andlooking at Marks Spencer and
John Lewis and another shop andanother shop and actually
spending a lot of time andenergy on something that
probably isn't that important inthe grand scheme of life?
Yes, I want to have nice,comfortable pajamas to
loungewear on the house in.
Is Gap going to provide thatfor me?
(10:25):
Like 80% of the time, yes.
So that was one of the firstthings I did.
I was like, oh, I need pajamas,I'm just going to go to Gap.
And unless there was nothing inGap that I liked, I didn't go
anywhere else, because I justrealized how much time and
energy I was spending justlooking at things.
So, number one know where yougo for certain items.
(10:45):
Maybe it's skincare, maybe it'sfood, maybe it's pajamas, maybe
it's pet food, whatever.
But know where you go, know theplaces that serve you really
well, for it that 80% of thetime, have what you need and go
there first and, unless theyreally really can't help, don't
go anywhere else.
That was one of the biggestthings for me and that came from
(11:09):
a place of, like I say, beingexhausted from making so many
decisions as an air trafficcontroller.
Number two I talked about thisin the first episode of this
mini series, where I said manypeople, many, many very
influential people, such asBarack Obama, steve Jobs they
(11:30):
wear either the same outfit orthey have a very limited
wardrobe where everythingmatches everything, so that they
don't have to make a decision.
They don't have to think whatcolour tie should I wear, or
should I wear like jeans orchinos today?
Now, if you are someone that'svery creative and very into
fashion, you might be like I'mLouise, are you kidding?
(11:52):
I'm not just wearing the samething every day.
That's going to kill me.
I get that.
However, when I was in my joband I had to get up early and I
just was tired, I didn't want tothink and I definitely didn't
want to be making decisions.
I would plan my outfit thenight before.
I would just choose something.
It took me two minutes before Iwent to bed.
(12:14):
I would check the weather andthen I would be like, ok, that's
fine, I'm going to wear that,I'm going to wear that, I would
get it out.
I would end it on the front ofthe wardrobe and it's there.
So when I got up in the morning, one less decision to make.
This also works really well.
If you want to work out in themornings, get your exercise
clothes out and just put themout next to the bed or wherever
(12:34):
is nearby.
It's one less decision to make,because if you're anything like
me, you can make a milliondecisions and they can all stop
you from doing something that'sgood for you.
Like exercise, because I'd belike oh, do I feel like
exercising?
What do I feel like doing?
Oh, what should I wear?
Even getting into that likewhat should I wear?
It can be enough for me to gono, this is just too much and I
(12:56):
can't be bothered now.
So get outfits out the nightbefore, including exercise
clothes.
Number three is not uncommon,and I'm sure many of you do it,
but planning your meals out forthe week and where I found this
really helpful is obviously inbeing able to shop and know
what's needed.
But also for me, if I need todecide on the day what I'm going
(13:19):
to make, I'm probably going toget takeout.
So it's much healthier andcheaper for me to plan meals out
for the week.
And whether that's having likea meal delivery service that
brings the ingredients, so it'sjust like great, I don't have to
think about it.
You know I already planned themeals when I put them in the
order, or whether it's like okay, I'm like Tuesday I'm going to
(13:40):
make this and I'm waiting tohave leftovers.
On Thursday I'll make this.
On Friday I have leftovers, butI know and it's there and it's
planned out, and when I don'thave to think, I'm much more
likely to make healthy choicesand just I'm much more likely to
stick to the plan.
Basically, like we talked aboutlast week, when you've got a
plan versus no plan, you're muchmore likely to stick to it.
So knowing your meals for theweek can definitely save time
(14:05):
and effort and money andcalories, but also save that
decision fatigue of I don't knowwhat I want, what am I going to
eat?
And in that similar vein, numberfour have a set rotation of
recipes that you love, just fornormal days.
So for me an apology to thevegetarians.
It's things like.
(14:25):
I love chili and it's supereasy to make, so I can make a
big pot of chili and have thaton the go even while I'm on a
client call.
I have an instant part.
If you don't have an instantpart, I highly recommend an
instant part.
I will pop a link in the shownotes for you.
Beef brisket in the instantpart easiest thing ever, super
(14:45):
quick, get so many meals out ofit.
Really great, these things thatI just don't have to think
about Now.
I love new recipes.
I love more complex recipes.
I love the art of cooking assuch, but I love that at the
weekends, a long time off.
But on make your average workday and weeknight, it's good for
(15:07):
me to go.
I just make that because I knowexactly how to do it and I know
that I enjoy it.
So think about those recipesthat you just get so easy for
you to make that you enjoy.
You know they always go downwell and have those on rotation
so that you know you are mixingthem up.
You're not going to get toobored, but it requires far less
thinking and decision makingthan if you're making something
(15:30):
new and complex.
Staying on food again with anumber five, if you can, if your
lifestyle allows.
Look again your grocery isdelivered in the same slot each
week, so a lot of supermarketswill do this here in the UK.
You can reserve your slot inthe same slot, each week, same
time, and you can even put likea basic order in, so it's always
(15:54):
the same thing.
So you know you'll always getcoffee and bananas and smoothies
and you know whatever elseyou'll get your things that you
need on a day-to-day basis.
You can always get like a packof granola or you can always get
cat food and those things come.
And even if you get super busyand you do nothing else and you
(16:15):
don't edit that order, you knowthat that order will come and
you will have your basics andyou will have things in for the
week without having to eventhink about it.
So if that works for yourlifestyle I appreciate some
people maybe traveling more orworking shifts or whatever
Consider that just to have thosethings come in without you
(16:36):
needing to decide like should Iget groceries, when should I get
them delivered?
What should I get put in there?
Just having those items come inat the same time each week will
save you so much of that.
Number six again I know manypeople choose to boycott Amazon
and I understand that the taximplications of some of their
(16:58):
decisions do not sit well withpeople.
However, if you are an Amazonuser, think about using
subscribe and save foressentials, because they will
then auto ship and save youmoney.
So where this has been reallygood for me is things like dried
pet food that I can get onAmazon.
(17:18):
I know roughly how long a bigbag of dried pet food lasts for
my animals and I can set it tobe delivered every month or
every two months automatically,and you usually get somewhere
between five and 15% off.
Also good with things likerazor blades or kitchen roll or
just really random basic stuffthat we don't want to think
(17:40):
about on a day to day basis, butit's bad news if we actually
run out of it.
So if you are an Amazon user,then do consider that.
I know a lot of other websitesare doing this.
Actually, I use a pet websitehere in the UK and they do that
with pet food.
So when you order you canchoose is it a one off or do you
want this auto deliver everyfour weeks?
(18:02):
So if whether it's Amazon ornot.
Look for these options.
My actually deodorant does this.
I use wild deodorant, which isa natural brand, and they do
this as well, where it autoships the refills every three
months.
So, anywhere that you can dothis.
If it's things that you knowthat you use on a regular basis
but you don't want to have to bethinking about replacing them,
(18:25):
really really great way.
Number seven moving more intoour development now, and this is
one that I have suggested somany clients who said it's been
a game changer for them, andthat is thinking about things
like EFT or meditations.
Create a playlist of them.
(18:47):
Now, whether this is on YouTube, I use YouTube for EFT quite
often and I use insight timerfor meditations personally, and
both of those you can access forfree, which is great, but if I
need to go and find a meditationthat I like the look of, or you
know what type of meditation doI want to do today, or the same
(19:09):
with the EFT, I'm like oh, eft,like what do I want to do?
What do I want to tap about?
You know what's been going on?
All of these things, all ofthese decisions are drained in
me.
So I and I always recommend toclients create a playlist, sit
down for 15 minutes and justcommit to creating a playlist of
(19:31):
EFT meditations, whatever youuse that resonate with you at
that time.
And don't overthink it.
If it's just like, oh, thatone's about money, mindset Great
.
Or oh, this one's abouttrusting myself, that sounds
like something I would need,don't overthink it.
Don't look for the perfectthings.
Just put them all in a playlistand then you can just literally
(19:53):
play each day the next one thatcomes up without having to
think.
This does require an element ofsurrender, especially if you
are a recovering control freak,like I am, because your brain
will say, oh, but there might bea better one.
What if I don't feel like doingthat today?
And the answer there is thatdone is better than perfect.
So if you can just create thelist and then not have to think
(20:16):
about it, I will guarantee youwill do it more than you used to
when you were looking for theperfect one.
And what did you feel like doingtoday?
Because it's literallydelivered to you on a plate.
You just go into the playlist.
There's one at the top, youplay it and you do it, and this
is a really great way to createthese habits for your mindset,
(20:37):
for your energy, for your mentalhealth, rather than getting
caught up in getting it rightand getting perfect and having
to research and find the rightone.
And this, I'm talking all ofthese things from experience.
So number seven get a playlisttogether of these things like
tap in meditations, whatever itis.
Same for podcasts.
(20:57):
Actually, if you're looking forlike inspirational podcast, if
you like to listen to a podcastevery day, just spend some time
each month saving some episodesso that you're not scrolling
through and looking likeimmediately before you want to
listen.
And number eight is in asimilar vein.
But do the same for yourworkouts.
If you use any kind of app orYouTube or something like
(21:21):
Peloton for workouts, they willall have the option for you to
either create playlists or saveyour favorites things like that.
For the same reason, do that.
I do this for yoga.
I use YouTube for yoga andthere are certain practices that
I know are going to be good forme usually back, neck and
shoulders, because I'm a laptopfor most of the day and I really
(21:44):
like yoga before bed and Ireally like yoga that doesn't
have very much talk in or music.
So if I find these, I just savethem in a playlist and it means
that I don't have to think toomuch about it.
I can just be like, oh, I fancydoing yoga, let me just press
play and I know that the nextone that comes up will be
relevant.
(22:04):
Now you could do this in variousways.
You can save differentplaylists so you can have, like,
a chilled yoga playlist, or youcan have a yoga flow playlist,
and the same with Peloton.
I have Peloton, so with theirapp, they have weights, they
have strength training, theyhave yoga and Pilates, and then
obviously, they have the cycling, the bike workouts.
(22:25):
So I've got various thingssaved there where I don't have
to look and say, oh, which onedo I want to do, because it just
becomes so overwhelming.
So think about where you can,where can you curate these lists
of things that you will know,you will listen to, you will use
, you will watch, and just putthem there so that when it's
(22:48):
time to do it, you don't have togo through the rigmarole of
finding one.
You can just literally hit playand do it.
Number nine this is a littlesimilar to one I said last week
in business, where I said aboutusing templates feel content is
not the devil.
It's not ideal and some peopledo not like it at all because
(23:09):
they say I'd rather be creative.
But if you find yourselfstaring at a page rather than
doing anything, sometimes atemplate can just be really
helpful to give you thatinspiration or get your creative
juices flowing.
And the same here with yourmindset practice.
If you are staring at a blankjournal, going then what to
(23:30):
write, or if you find yourselfavoiding mindset practice
because it feels overwhelming toeven think about what you might
want to write about or journalabout, then use prompts, use
journal prompts.
There are journal promptseverywhere all over the internet
for free.
That will serve you really,really well.
Just think about what you areeither working towards or what
(23:52):
you're working through and whatwould make sense, and just
literally Google journal promptsfor and add the appropriate
term and you will get so manycome up.
It just again takes away youhaving to choose.
So rather than saying, hmm,should I write about today, you
just go.
Let me take this prompt for theday.
(24:12):
Do it Done.
I make it sound quite clinical.
Potentially I think that's myenneagram eight, as I'm talking,
but this will change things.
This will change the game foryou.
If you are not doing thesethings, if you recognize part of
yourself in any of the thingsI've talked about this week or
last week where the actualperformance of getting around to
(24:37):
it is enough to put you offdoing it, things like this will
change things and your brainwill not like it.
Your brain will go oh, we don'twant to use a prompt, or maybe
we don't want to use a prompt orwe don't want this prompt,
maybe we just want to go andfind something else, but that's
just a way of avoiding doing thething.
So I highly recommend creatingthese resources, patching them
(25:00):
up, having them there andknowing where you go for them,
and then, even when you feel theresistance, using them and just
pushing through and using them.
These are the kind of thingsthat have saved me so much time
and energy and have made me soconsistent in so many areas.
Then, lastly, number 10, on aslightly different note, but
(25:20):
again, learn through personalexperience.
You may remember, back inJanuary, one of the things that
I committed to this year washaving a massage at least once
per month.
Last year I was very ill for alot of the year and those kind
of self-care practicesdefinitely fell off for me for a
(25:41):
number of reasons.
So that's why I committed inJanuary that one way or the
other I would make it work.
I had a massage every singlemonth of the year and one of the
things that's really helped meto do that is to book in again
while I'm there at theappointment.
It's really easy for me to go,oh it's next month, it's a month
(26:03):
away, and say, oh, no, I'll letyou know, because I'm thinking
I want to see what else comes inand what else I'm doing.
Honestly, coming out of themassage and saying, would you
like to rebook, and be sayingyes and get in it in the diary,
means that I do not miss it.
And this can be the same withmore boring life admin as well,
like, say, going to the dentistor the opticians.
(26:24):
If it's anything that requiresyou to go on a semi-regular or
regular basis, get it booked in,because I have done this myself
with the dentist, where theylike come back in six months for
your next checkup and I'm likegreat, I'll get in touch,
because it's ages away and I'mthinking I don't want to commit,
I don't want to tie myself downin six months time and then
(26:45):
guess what?
Six months comes and theyphoned me up and they say in the
dental appointments due andthey're then fully booked for
two months.
So honestly, for the sake ofreducing admin and reducing
having to think about it andjust increasing your overall
bandwidth, get these thingsbooked in.
Get them booked in while youare there so you don't have to
(27:08):
make the decision.
It's already done.
So I know that was a lot, thatwas a whirlwind that one
probably could have been acourse as well, broken down into
more detail, but I hope thathas given you some ideas of
practices that you can put inplace or adopt that are going to
support your energy, becausethey are just going to mean less
(27:30):
decisions, which is going tomean more energy, and less
decisions in life means morebandwidth and more decision
making muscle for business orfor big decisions in life, big,
important decisions, not smallones about groceries and yoga
and journal prompts.
Those decisions do not have tobe, they do not have to take a
(27:51):
lot of energy from us.
So thank you for tuning in onceagain.
It has been so much fun toshare these ideas with you and
I've really enjoyed doing thismini series on decision fatigue.
Thank you again for tuning inand if this resonates, I would
love to hear from you.
Feel free to drop me an email,drop me a DM on Instagram,
(28:12):
however you prefer tocommunicate, and let me know
which ones resonated with youthe most.
So, for now, have a wonderfulweek and I will see you again
next Monday.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the ambitious
introvert podcast with me, emmaLouise Parks.
If you enjoy this show, please,please subscribe, rate and
(28:34):
leave a review on iTunes as athank you.
One lucky reviewer each monthwill win a 60 minute one on one
coaching session with me, whereyou'll get the clarity and
confidence to attract your idealclients.
And if you know someone whocould benefit from listening to
the show, then please do shareand help me reach as many fellow
ambitious introverts aspossible.
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