May 7, 2024 • 24 mins
Does your overflowing to-do list force you to work long after the sun goes down? Or have you trying to cram in time to catch up in the mornings or on weekends just to get everything done?
Each day we might cross off a few things but add a dozen more until we feel like we’re hopelessly running on a treadmill in a dark tunnel with no end in sight.
In this conversation, I’m going to share how you can finally break free of that never-ending to-do list and get more done without working longer hours. By the end, you’ll have a better way to organize your day and understand how to prepare to be most productive.
Because you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your health, date nights or family dinners to get everything done.
Here's where you can access 5 Ways to Calm the Calendar Chaos:
www.theothersideofbusy.com/chaos
00:00 Breaking Free from the Never-Ending To-Do List
01:57 Introducing the Daily Big Three Strategy
10:27 Maximizing Productivity with Your Superhuman Time
15:36 Prioritizing Focus for Maximum Efficiency
21:27 Implementing Guardrails for Work-Life Balance
23:35 Closing Thoughts and Additional Resources
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Does your overflowing to-do listforce you to work long after the
sun goes down?
Or have you trying to cram inextra time to catch up in the
morning or on weekends?
Each day, we might cross a fewthings off.
It was more get added until wejust feel like we're constantly
running on this treadmill in adark tunnel with no end in
(00:23):
sight.
Well in this conversation, I'mgoing to share with you how you
can finally break free of that.
Never ending to do list.
And get more done withoutworking longer hours.
By the end, you'll have a betterway to organize your day and
understand.
How you can prepare to be yourmost productive.
Because you shouldn't have tosacrifice your health.
(00:45):
Date nights or family dinners toget everything done.
As women, it's easy to feelover-scheduled over tired and
some days just over it.
It's time to ditch the guilt.
Still get things done and havetime left for ourselves and the
most important people in ourlives.
(01:05):
How do we do that?
You're about to find out.
Hey there.
My name is Jenna.
And here you'll find the latestbiohacks mindset shifts and
calendar control strategies.
To get you to the other side ofbusy.
I'll bring you insights on howto get more done during the
Workday so you can shut it off.
And prioritize what trulymatters.
(01:25):
In today's conversation.
I'm not only going to help youescape that hopeless, never
ending to do list.
They get more done withoutworking longer hours.
Make sure you stick around tothe end where I'll share with
you one change you can make toyour day that will have an
immediate impact on yourproductivity.
And once you do it, you'llwonder why you ever worked those
(01:46):
long hours in the first place.
All right.
So let's dive in.
I have for you.
Three strategies to help you getmore done without working longer
hours.
Strategy number one.
Throw out the to-do list.
Now let's be honest, how manythings are on that list right
now?
15.
(02:07):
30.
A hundred.
There's some research done acouple of years ago that
surveyed working professionalsand 60% of them said they had 65
or more things on their to-dolist for the week.
That's a whole lot of things toget done in five days.
15% of those people said theyhad over a hundred.
Right.
(02:27):
So even if we cross a few ofthose things off every day, we
still have dozens of thingsstaring back at us.
It's no wonder why we are leftfeeling overwhelmed and drained
by these things.
Right.
Who said that a to-do list wassuch a good idea.
Anyway.
Right.
Staring at a list of hundreds ofthings.
It doesn't make me feelaccomplished.
Does it make you feelaccomplished?
(02:50):
It's clear that the to-do listisn't serving us.
So what could we do instead?
Well, the first thing we can dois shift this idea that
everything on that to-do list iscreated equal.
Right.
Buying stamps or dog food andfinishing an important business
proposal or writing that jobdescription.
(03:11):
That's going to get you the helpthat you need to free up some
time to do meaningful work.
All of those things aren'tcreated equal.
To do lists don't havepriorities.
They don't have filters for us.
It's just a long list of things.
And so we stare at the long listof things.
And feel drained.
So first.
Take a deep breath andunderstand.
(03:33):
That everything on that list.
Doesn't carry the same weight.
All right.
The second realization andmindset shift we need to have.
Is that we don't need to doeverything on that list.
Or even all at once.
So rather than staring at a listof a hundred things and feeling
(03:55):
that emotional weight of how amI.
We're going to get all of thesethings done.
I invite you to just focus onthree.
So take out post it note, or ifyou're driving in your car,
maybe think through this.
Rather than the hundred thingsthat you wish you could get done
this week.
(04:16):
If you could only get threethings done this week.
What should they be?
Right?
These are the most importanthigh leverage, timely things
that are going to move youforward.
Right.
So research says that as humans,it's really hard for us to focus
on more than three things.
Right.
One would be great, butcertainly no more than three.
(04:38):
And that's why the to-do list isoverwhelming.
So if you create, for example, adaily big three, Rather than
that to do list, you willunderstand that these are the
biggest three priorities foryour day.
Now before you shut me down.
And say, Jenna, there's no way Ican make progress by only doing
three things.
Let's do a little mental math.
(05:00):
Okay.
So let's take a daily, bigthree.
Times 250 working days in ayear, right?
That's 750 high leverageactions.
That's a lot of progress on yourgoals.
And after you do that daily, bigthree everyday, then you can go
back to some of that busy work,maybe some of those other things
that aren't as high of apriority.
(05:20):
That may be still need to getdone at some point in life.
Alright, by focusing on a dailybig three.
You get the most important workdone.
So typically the next question Iget then is general.
What's the most important work.
I'm glad you asked.
Prioritizing is one of thebiggest struggles I see working
(05:41):
with clients.
And it's because we just, wedon't know where to start.
We are not given the tools tofilter out what's most
important.
So have you heard of theEisenhower matrix?
Eisenhower was president of theUnited States.
And he used this to really helphim as president filter through
what was most important in whatdeserved his time.
(06:02):
So think about a matrix in termsof importance and urgency.
All right.
And that first.
Quadrant.
Would be what's most importantand what's most urgent, right?
We'll call that quadrant one.
That is the do section.
So those are the things thatabsolutely positively need to
(06:22):
get done.
And under a schedule.
So that's the, do those arethings that should make your
daily big three.
They might be things like finishthat job listing so we can make
a new hire.
Uh, finish that paperwork thatneeds to get off to the
attorney.
To include in the articles ofincorporation for this new piece
(06:44):
of business.
Right.
These are the things that areurgent.
And important.
All right.
If it is important.
But not urgent.
Those are the things that youschedule.
So let's say it's finishing abusiness proposal, but you said
it wasn't going to be done for aweek.
And that was great with theprospect.
(07:05):
Then you maybe can schedule thatfor tomorrow.
It makes tomorrow's daily bigthree.
Not today's.
So, if it is important andurgent, Perfect for today's
daily.
Big three, if it is important,but not urgent.
Perfect to be scheduled in thefuture.
And I would argue.
That if it is not important ornot urgent.
(07:28):
Those things shouldn't be doneat all.
All right quickly, if it is.
Timely meaning it's urgent, butit's not important.
Those are the things you shouldbe delegating.
All right.
So back to what makes the dailybig three.
The first filter of what goes onthat list is what is important.
And urgent.
All right.
After you think through that.
(07:49):
Then start looking at yourgoals.
A lot of folks that I work withget stuck in paralysis analysis
on how do I make progress onthis goal?
But they forget that.
Each goal.
It's just broken down into aseries of small steps.
Right.
How do we get from here to thenext state?
(08:10):
We take one step at a time.
So.
After you get the urgent andimportant on the list.
Look at your goals and say, whatis the next best action that I
can take?
And move me toward that goal andput that on the daily big three.
So for example, If one of myprofessional goals was to start
(08:32):
a podcast.
Something that might make mydaily big three might be
researching podcasting hosts.
Right.
That would be something that isgoing to move me toward my goal
of hosting a podcast.
All right.
If you have a goal of adding somany new clients, maybe
something that goes on yourdaily, big three.
(08:54):
Is a certain number ofreach-outs or attending a
networking event.
Whatever's going to move youtoward that client acquisition
goal.
That's great for the daily bigthree.
Now as you're considering thisdaily big three, I also want you
to remember that you are not aone dimensional human being work
is not the only thing that youdo, right?
You have relationships, you havespirituality, you have to take
(09:16):
care of your health.
Uh, maybe you're a parent.
Maybe you are a caregiver,right?
So there are certainly otherthings that might fall into
this.
So keep that in mind, as you'resetting this daily, big three,
if you're running an agingparent, Off to an appointment.
That means you have to take offwork at two o'clock or leave
your home office at two o'clock.
Maybe you only have a daily bigtoo for work things.
(09:37):
And then the daily big three isjust to show up.
To be present.
Ron time, take mom to thatappointment.
So think about the daily bigthree in terms of the broad
perspective and not just work.
All right.
I promise if you focus on three,you're going to feel more
accomplished than you ever didwith that really long to-do
(10:00):
list.
So I invite you.
To the rest of this week or.
Uh, maybe this day even thinkabout what are the most
important three things that youcould get done to move you
toward your goals.
All right.
So that's step one to gettingmore done without working longer
hours by focusing on the mostimportant.
(10:21):
High leverage work.
That's going to move you forwardand letting the busy work.
Fall away.
Okay.
Step two.
Is to understand when you aremost productive.
All right.
There's this really interesting.
Idea called the time energyparadox.
And it's something that a lot offolks don't rasp when they
think.
(10:42):
Oh, if I work 80 hours a weekand you work 40 hours a week,
clearly I'm going to get moredone.
That's actually not the case.
We all know this.
Because if you ever hold it allnight or in college, or you try
to work and burn the candle atboth ends, we know at some point
you hit a wall.
Right.
So there's this time energyparadox.
(11:03):
And the idea is that while yourtime is fixed, We all get the
same amount of hours in a week.
Our energy flexes, right.
There are times when our energyis much higher.
And much lower.
So rather than thinking that wecan just push through and slog
through, let's say 80 hours oreven 50 hours a week.
What if we instead.
(11:24):
Capitalized on the times inwhich we had the most energy.
And then protected that time.
To get the most important workdone.
All right.
I like to call this yoursuperhuman time.
So everyone's got a little bitof a different archetype around
this.
You might've heard of energyarchetypes, but it's this idea
that if you only had two hourstoday to do the work.
(11:48):
When would you want to do it?
You know, there's some morningpeople who are like, I really
love working from about nineo'clock to 11 o'clock that's
when I get the most work done.
There are others who say LA.
Late afternoon, give me two tofour or three to five.
I was talking to a businessowner last week, who said like
10 to midnight is when I am mymost creative.
(12:09):
Rate.
Whatever that is for you.
Ask yourself.
If you only had two hours towork today.
When would you love that time tobe.
Now, why is this important?
It's because if you are tryingto get your daily big three,
your highest leverage work donefrom three to five.
(12:30):
But you've hit a wall.
You have no energy.
You've got this like energycrash.
Maybe your blood sugar dropsfrom lunch or whatever the thing
is.
Right.
You are not going to be asproductive in those two hours.
So if you're a morning person,Two hours in the morning might
be worth so much more to you.
Then two hours in the afternoonor evening.
(12:52):
So understanding this aboutyourself is really important.
It's so step one here isidentifying.
When is your superhuman time?
For me?
It's nine to 11 for the kindnessbook with last week, who is a
creative graphic designer.
I tend to midnight, right?
Whatever that is for youidentify it.
Step two then.
Is blacken, put it on yourcalendar in guard at.
(13:15):
Honor it.
What does that even mean?
It means don't take meetingsduring this time.
Don't decide to take anappointment or get your workout
in, in this time, right?
This time is sacred.
So if, for example, yoursuperhuman time is like mine.
It's nine to 11.
I really try not to takemeetings during that time.
(13:38):
And I have a focus block on mycalendar that says focus time.
And in those two hours, that'swhat I focus on my daily big
three.
All right.
Once you've identified this onceyou've put it on your calendar
and you've started protecting itby not putting meetings or
things over top of it.
Then it's really important tohave conversations with those
(13:58):
around you about why you areprotecting this time.
So, for example, if you work ona team, it'd be really important
to communicate your superhumantime to your team.
Let's say you have a team leaderwho wants to hold meetings in
the middle of your superhumantime.
It'd be really helpful for youto have a conversation that
says, you know, I am, Iunderstand that these meetings
(14:19):
are important for our team.
This is really when I feel likeI show up and get the most work
done.
Would it be possible to shiftthese meetings?
You know, to the afternoon ortwo another time.
So I could really protect thisand do more for our team.
Let's say as a business owner.
You have clients who want toschedule during that time.
It's as simple as saying, I haveanother commitment and you, do
(14:42):
you have a commitment toyourself to get the most
important high leverage workdone during that time?
It might also be that you areagain, let's go back to the
caregiving example.
I had a client last week who wastalking about.
How she runs her mom to a lot ofappointments, and sometimes she
gets a lot of phone calls fromher mom.
And that can interrupt her time.
(15:05):
But by communicating to her momthat she really needed.
For her, it was 10:00 AM to noonto get her most important work
done.
She was able to clear thosedistractions really focused
during that time and then showup for her mom.
Well, outside of that time, Andher mom was really grateful to
give her that time because shewas serving her in so many other
(15:25):
ways outside of that time.
Right.
So identify your superhuman timeand protect it, communicate it
to those who are really going toneed to know about it so they
can support you in that way.
All right.
And then strategy number three,to get more done during work
hours is to prioritize yourfocus, right?
So let's say you have yoursuperhuman time.
(15:47):
And you show up whatever thatis.
Let's use nine to 11 as anexample.
But last night I stayed up until1:00 AM watching something on
Netflix.
Well, I probably didn't get asmuch sleep as I wanted, which
means I'm probably a littlegroggy.
So when I show up at 9:00 AM todo the work, to sit down and
really focus, my brain probablyisn't fully here is if I
(16:10):
would've got a really goodnight's sleep.
Or maybe you had a, a girls'night and you had a few more
glasses of wine than you mightnormally have on a regular
evening.
And so your brain is working ata little slower pace, or maybe
you're a little groggy.
You have some fog there, right?
You're not showing up as thebest version of you to get
(16:30):
things done.
And so your work hours might endup stretching because you're not
as effective with the work hoursthat you have.
So the importance here is toprioritize doing what you need
to do so you can show up wellfor the work and get it done.
What does this look like?
Well, let me use a racingexample.
(16:53):
If any of you have ever done anykind of competition, maybe you
can relate, but I used to runhalf marathons.
And so the day before a race,really the 48 hours before a
race, our key.
But especially the night beforea race is extremely important.
Right.
So we went, uh, for my, one ofmy birthdays.
We went and did the half ironman from, or half Ironman, half
(17:16):
marathon from Napa Sonoma.
And so we were traveling with mysix month old at the time.
And I knew we needed a goodnight's rest.
So we had a great dinner thenight before, so we had
nutrition.
We hydrated really well the daybefore.
So we would be set to go thereand I went to bed early to have
a great night's rest.
Right.
(17:36):
All of the things that I wantedto do.
So I could show up for the racethe next morning, prepared and
ready to go.
So that's in an ideal world,what it would look like to show
up and focus.
Now, what can derail that?
Well, my six month old waking upin the middle of the night and
not going back to sleep thatcould make me show up and not
focus and, and perform in a wayI wanted.
(17:57):
So I hope that example helps,but there's a lot of other
things that kind of get in theway of us showing up as our best
selves for that superhuman timeor just for any meetings that we
have even.
So.
What do you need to do beforeyou show up to work?
So you can show up?
Well, All right.
So that might include thingslike getting enough sleep.
(18:20):
Making sure you are.
Uh, getting in the nutritionthat you need in the morning, so
that you're full.
And can focus and you're not,you know, your belly's not
rumbling to go off and grab asnack.
Uh, maybe it means for you thatyou need to black out
distractions, right?
Our phones.
Go off 350 times a day.
(18:44):
If this thing is what's pullingyou away and showing up focused,
then what do you need to do toprevent that distraction from
happening?
Or maybe that distraction iskeeping you up late and you're
not getting the sleep you needto really show up and focus on
the work for your brain to besharp.
And get that work done asquickly as you could.
And finally, I want to justreally emphasize this idea of
(19:08):
rest.
Uh, you will learn this aboutme, but I really do believe that
rest is the most underratedproductivity hack we have that
we don't leverage enough.
The CDC says that the American.
Adult average is six hoursasleep, but we really need
seven.
To nine.
So, what can you do to try toget a good night's rest?
(19:29):
So your brain can show up, readyto focus all.
Right.
But rest is not just sleep.
It's also shutting off work.
When you are done with work.
So your brain can.
Free up.
And relax and do other things.
And you'll find that when you'renot thinking about work all the
time, You come back to work witha free brain, maybe a new
(19:52):
perspective that you hadn'tthought of because it had that
opportunity to let go of it fora minute.
And come back.
Right.
It's those things where likeyou're trying to solve a problem
and then you go sleep on it andyou wake up with a great idea.
All right.
So your third strategy is toprioritize whatever you need to
do to really show up focusedduring those work hours.
(20:15):
Because if you don't, it willtake you a longer amount of time
to do the same work.
All right.
In a moment, I'm going to sharewith you.
One change that you can make.
Today that will have animmediate impact on your
productivity.
But first.
If you're ready to hop off thatto-do list hamster wheel.
Awesome.
Schedule your superhuman timeand just.
(20:37):
Crank it.
Focus on that work.
And run.
But I know that some women needa little extra help and
direction.
So I've put together somethingpretty great that I'd love to
share.
It's a free resource called fivestrategies to calm the calendar
chaos.
This is, especially for those ofyou that have really chaotic
calendars feel like you neverhave time for yourself or to.
(21:00):
You know, fit in those things.
Outside of that crazy to-dolist.
So in this, I'll share with youa way to plan your days and your
weeks.
So you can get into a groove andget more done in each working
session.
That'll help you free upvaluable time for your
priorities outside of work.
So you can sign up to receivethis@theothersideofbusy.com
(21:22):
slash chaos.
Or you can click on the link inthe show notes.
All right.
I promised you one change thatif gone every single day, We'll
help you get more done.
And you can implement it.
Today.
Ad.
Guardrails.
I have guardrails are on thehighway to protect your car from
(21:42):
careening into danger and chaos.
But we can also provide the samekind of guardrails to provide
you safety on your calendar.
So what do I mean by guardrails?
They are a start.
And a stop time to your Workday.
And if you Corinne outside, ifwork expands outside of these
guardrails, it can spill into anencroach on your personal
(22:06):
commitments.
Your personal values costingyou.
In the long run.
So by choosing a consistentstart and stop time.
Every day.
You are making work contract.
To those hours.
So hear me out here.
There was a guy named Parkinson.
Maybe you've heard of him.
He has this thing calledParkinson's law.
They did a study where theyprovided work to two different
(22:30):
groups in a workplaceenvironment.
And to the first group, theysaid, here's your work for
today?
And the second group, they said,here's your work.
You can leave when you get itdone.
Yes, who got it done morequickly?
The ones who could leave whenthey got it done.
Because they finished theproject and left.
But the first group made thework, expand to the hours
allotted.
(22:51):
So while work can expand to thehours allotted in the same
fashion working contract.
So constraint can be a reallypowerful tool.
For us.
And you've experienced this.
If you've ever gone on avacation, right.
You get more done.
Dave before you leave onvacation, then maybe you did the
four days prior.
Because you have a deadline, youhave constraint.
(23:13):
And that really gives you focusand motivation.
So your action step is to choosea start and stop time and put
that black in your calendar.
So you're prompted to leave workor leave your home office desk.
On time.
I promise your focus during theday will improve knowing you
have this boundary in place.
(23:35):
I wanted to mention before I go.
If you're not quite sure whereto even get started during your
Workday.
You're not alone.
I hear this from clients.
All the time and I want to help.
Sign up for a free get shit donesession.
And then 30 minutes together.
We'll take a look at that to dolist.
We'll prioritize it based on theEisenhower matrix and your most
(23:57):
important goals.
And out of it, we'll help youcome up with your daily big
three.
Because you deserve to feel moreaccomplished at the end of every
Workday and the peace of knowingthat you can relax, knowing that
all that important work thatdone.
So you can truly focus and showup for your most important
relationships.
Knowing that all of those thingshave been handled.
(24:20):
All right.
Until next time.
I'm rooting for you.
Does your overflowing to-do listforce you to work long after the
sun goes down?
Or have you trying to cram inextra time to catch up in the
morning or on weekends?
Each day, we might cross a fewthings off.
It was more get added until wejust feel like we're constantly
running on this treadmill in adark tunnel with no end in
(00:23):
sight.
Well in this conversation, I'mgoing to share with you how you
can finally break free of that.
Never ending to do list.
And get more done withoutworking longer hours.
By the end, you'll have a betterway to organize your day and
understand.
How you can prepare to be yourmost productive.
Because you shouldn't have tosacrifice your health.
(00:45):
Date nights or family dinners toget everything done.
As women, it's easy to feelover-scheduled over tired and
some days just over it.
It's time to ditch the guilt.
Still get things done and havetime left for ourselves and the
most important people in ourlives.
(01:05):
How do we do that?
You're about to find out.
Hey there.
My name is Jenna.
And here you'll find the latestbiohacks mindset shifts and
calendar control strategies.
To get you to the other side ofbusy.
I'll bring you insights on howto get more done during the
Workday so you can shut it off.
And prioritize what trulymatters.
(01:25):
In today's conversation.
I'm not only going to help youescape that hopeless, never
ending to do list.
They get more done withoutworking longer hours.
Make sure you stick around tothe end where I'll share with
you one change you can make toyour day that will have an
immediate impact on yourproductivity.
And once you do it, you'llwonder why you ever worked those
(01:46):
long hours in the first place.
All right.
So let's dive in.
I have for you.
Three strategies to help you getmore done without working longer
hours.
Strategy number one.
Throw out the to-do list.
Now let's be honest, how manythings are on that list right
now?
15.
(02:07):
30.
A hundred.
There's some research done acouple of years ago that
surveyed working professionalsand 60% of them said they had 65
or more things on their to-dolist for the week.
That's a whole lot of things toget done in five days.
15% of those people said theyhad over a hundred.
Right.
(02:27):
So even if we cross a few ofthose things off every day, we
still have dozens of thingsstaring back at us.
It's no wonder why we are leftfeeling overwhelmed and drained
by these things.
Right.
Who said that a to-do list wassuch a good idea.
Anyway.
Right.
Staring at a list of hundreds ofthings.
It doesn't make me feelaccomplished.
Does it make you feelaccomplished?
(02:50):
It's clear that the to-do listisn't serving us.
So what could we do instead?
Well, the first thing we can dois shift this idea that
everything on that to-do list iscreated equal.
Right.
Buying stamps or dog food andfinishing an important business
proposal or writing that jobdescription.
(03:11):
That's going to get you the helpthat you need to free up some
time to do meaningful work.
All of those things aren'tcreated equal.
To do lists don't havepriorities.
They don't have filters for us.
It's just a long list of things.
And so we stare at the long listof things.
And feel drained.
So first.
Take a deep breath andunderstand.
(03:33):
That everything on that list.
Doesn't carry the same weight.
All right.
The second realization andmindset shift we need to have.
Is that we don't need to doeverything on that list.
Or even all at once.
So rather than staring at a listof a hundred things and feeling
(03:55):
that emotional weight of how amI.
We're going to get all of thesethings done.
I invite you to just focus onthree.
So take out post it note, or ifyou're driving in your car,
maybe think through this.
Rather than the hundred thingsthat you wish you could get done
this week.
(04:16):
If you could only get threethings done this week.
What should they be?
Right?
These are the most importanthigh leverage, timely things
that are going to move youforward.
Right.
So research says that as humans,it's really hard for us to focus
on more than three things.
Right.
One would be great, butcertainly no more than three.
(04:38):
And that's why the to-do list isoverwhelming.
So if you create, for example, adaily big three, Rather than
that to do list, you willunderstand that these are the
biggest three priorities foryour day.
Now before you shut me down.
And say, Jenna, there's no way Ican make progress by only doing
three things.
Let's do a little mental math.
(05:00):
Okay.
So let's take a daily, bigthree.
Times 250 working days in ayear, right?
That's 750 high leverageactions.
That's a lot of progress on yourgoals.
And after you do that daily, bigthree everyday, then you can go
back to some of that busy work,maybe some of those other things
that aren't as high of apriority.
(05:20):
That may be still need to getdone at some point in life.
Alright, by focusing on a dailybig three.
You get the most important workdone.
So typically the next question Iget then is general.
What's the most important work.
I'm glad you asked.
Prioritizing is one of thebiggest struggles I see working
(05:41):
with clients.
And it's because we just, wedon't know where to start.
We are not given the tools tofilter out what's most
important.
So have you heard of theEisenhower matrix?
Eisenhower was president of theUnited States.
And he used this to really helphim as president filter through
what was most important in whatdeserved his time.
(06:02):
So think about a matrix in termsof importance and urgency.
All right.
And that first.
Quadrant.
Would be what's most importantand what's most urgent, right?
We'll call that quadrant one.
That is the do section.
So those are the things thatabsolutely positively need to
(06:22):
get done.
And under a schedule.
So that's the, do those arethings that should make your
daily big three.
They might be things like finishthat job listing so we can make
a new hire.
Uh, finish that paperwork thatneeds to get off to the
attorney.
To include in the articles ofincorporation for this new piece
(06:44):
of business.
Right.
These are the things that areurgent.
And important.
All right.
If it is important.
But not urgent.
Those are the things that youschedule.
So let's say it's finishing abusiness proposal, but you said
it wasn't going to be done for aweek.
And that was great with theprospect.
(07:05):
Then you maybe can schedule thatfor tomorrow.
It makes tomorrow's daily bigthree.
Not today's.
So, if it is important andurgent, Perfect for today's
daily.
Big three, if it is important,but not urgent.
Perfect to be scheduled in thefuture.
And I would argue.
That if it is not important ornot urgent.
(07:28):
Those things shouldn't be doneat all.
All right quickly, if it is.
Timely meaning it's urgent, butit's not important.
Those are the things you shouldbe delegating.
All right.
So back to what makes the dailybig three.
The first filter of what goes onthat list is what is important.
And urgent.
All right.
After you think through that.
(07:49):
Then start looking at yourgoals.
A lot of folks that I work withget stuck in paralysis analysis
on how do I make progress onthis goal?
But they forget that.
Each goal.
It's just broken down into aseries of small steps.
Right.
How do we get from here to thenext state?
(08:10):
We take one step at a time.
So.
After you get the urgent andimportant on the list.
Look at your goals and say, whatis the next best action that I
can take?
And move me toward that goal andput that on the daily big three.
So for example, If one of myprofessional goals was to start
(08:32):
a podcast.
Something that might make mydaily big three might be
researching podcasting hosts.
Right.
That would be something that isgoing to move me toward my goal
of hosting a podcast.
All right.
If you have a goal of adding somany new clients, maybe
something that goes on yourdaily, big three.
(08:54):
Is a certain number ofreach-outs or attending a
networking event.
Whatever's going to move youtoward that client acquisition
goal.
That's great for the daily bigthree.
Now as you're considering thisdaily big three, I also want you
to remember that you are not aone dimensional human being work
is not the only thing that youdo, right?
You have relationships, you havespirituality, you have to take
(09:16):
care of your health.
Uh, maybe you're a parent.
Maybe you are a caregiver,right?
So there are certainly otherthings that might fall into
this.
So keep that in mind, as you'resetting this daily, big three,
if you're running an agingparent, Off to an appointment.
That means you have to take offwork at two o'clock or leave
your home office at two o'clock.
Maybe you only have a daily bigtoo for work things.
(09:37):
And then the daily big three isjust to show up.
To be present.
Ron time, take mom to thatappointment.
So think about the daily bigthree in terms of the broad
perspective and not just work.
All right.
I promise if you focus on three,you're going to feel more
accomplished than you ever didwith that really long to-do
(10:00):
list.
So I invite you.
To the rest of this week or.
Uh, maybe this day even thinkabout what are the most
important three things that youcould get done to move you
toward your goals.
All right.
So that's step one to gettingmore done without working longer
hours by focusing on the mostimportant.
(10:21):
High leverage work.
That's going to move you forwardand letting the busy work.
Fall away.
Okay.
Step two.
Is to understand when you aremost productive.
All right.
There's this really interesting.
Idea called the time energyparadox.
And it's something that a lot offolks don't rasp when they
think.
(10:42):
Oh, if I work 80 hours a weekand you work 40 hours a week,
clearly I'm going to get moredone.
That's actually not the case.
We all know this.
Because if you ever hold it allnight or in college, or you try
to work and burn the candle atboth ends, we know at some point
you hit a wall.
Right.
So there's this time energyparadox.
(11:03):
And the idea is that while yourtime is fixed, We all get the
same amount of hours in a week.
Our energy flexes, right.
There are times when our energyis much higher.
And much lower.
So rather than thinking that wecan just push through and slog
through, let's say 80 hours oreven 50 hours a week.
What if we instead.
(11:24):
Capitalized on the times inwhich we had the most energy.
And then protected that time.
To get the most important workdone.
All right.
I like to call this yoursuperhuman time.
So everyone's got a little bitof a different archetype around
this.
You might've heard of energyarchetypes, but it's this idea
that if you only had two hourstoday to do the work.
(11:48):
When would you want to do it?
You know, there's some morningpeople who are like, I really
love working from about nineo'clock to 11 o'clock that's
when I get the most work done.
There are others who say LA.
Late afternoon, give me two tofour or three to five.
I was talking to a businessowner last week, who said like
10 to midnight is when I am mymost creative.
(12:09):
Rate.
Whatever that is for you.
Ask yourself.
If you only had two hours towork today.
When would you love that time tobe.
Now, why is this important?
It's because if you are tryingto get your daily big three,
your highest leverage work donefrom three to five.
(12:30):
But you've hit a wall.
You have no energy.
You've got this like energycrash.
Maybe your blood sugar dropsfrom lunch or whatever the thing
is.
Right.
You are not going to be asproductive in those two hours.
So if you're a morning person,Two hours in the morning might
be worth so much more to you.
Then two hours in the afternoonor evening.
(12:52):
So understanding this aboutyourself is really important.
It's so step one here isidentifying.
When is your superhuman time?
For me?
It's nine to 11 for the kindnessbook with last week, who is a
creative graphic designer.
I tend to midnight, right?
Whatever that is for youidentify it.
Step two then.
Is blacken, put it on yourcalendar in guard at.
(13:15):
Honor it.
What does that even mean?
It means don't take meetingsduring this time.
Don't decide to take anappointment or get your workout
in, in this time, right?
This time is sacred.
So if, for example, yoursuperhuman time is like mine.
It's nine to 11.
I really try not to takemeetings during that time.
(13:38):
And I have a focus block on mycalendar that says focus time.
And in those two hours, that'swhat I focus on my daily big
three.
All right.
Once you've identified this onceyou've put it on your calendar
and you've started protecting itby not putting meetings or
things over top of it.
Then it's really important tohave conversations with those
(13:58):
around you about why you areprotecting this time.
So, for example, if you work ona team, it'd be really important
to communicate your superhumantime to your team.
Let's say you have a team leaderwho wants to hold meetings in
the middle of your superhumantime.
It'd be really helpful for youto have a conversation that
says, you know, I am, Iunderstand that these meetings
(14:19):
are important for our team.
This is really when I feel likeI show up and get the most work
done.
Would it be possible to shiftthese meetings?
You know, to the afternoon ortwo another time.
So I could really protect thisand do more for our team.
Let's say as a business owner.
You have clients who want toschedule during that time.
It's as simple as saying, I haveanother commitment and you, do
(14:42):
you have a commitment toyourself to get the most
important high leverage workdone during that time?
It might also be that you areagain, let's go back to the
caregiving example.
I had a client last week who wastalking about.
How she runs her mom to a lot ofappointments, and sometimes she
gets a lot of phone calls fromher mom.
And that can interrupt her time.
(15:05):
But by communicating to her momthat she really needed.
For her, it was 10:00 AM to noonto get her most important work
done.
She was able to clear thosedistractions really focused
during that time and then showup for her mom.
Well, outside of that time, Andher mom was really grateful to
give her that time because shewas serving her in so many other
(15:25):
ways outside of that time.
Right.
So identify your superhuman timeand protect it, communicate it
to those who are really going toneed to know about it so they
can support you in that way.
All right.
And then strategy number three,to get more done during work
hours is to prioritize yourfocus, right?
So let's say you have yoursuperhuman time.
(15:47):
And you show up whatever thatis.
Let's use nine to 11 as anexample.
But last night I stayed up until1:00 AM watching something on
Netflix.
Well, I probably didn't get asmuch sleep as I wanted, which
means I'm probably a littlegroggy.
So when I show up at 9:00 AM todo the work, to sit down and
really focus, my brain probablyisn't fully here is if I
(16:10):
would've got a really goodnight's sleep.
Or maybe you had a, a girls'night and you had a few more
glasses of wine than you mightnormally have on a regular
evening.
And so your brain is working ata little slower pace, or maybe
you're a little groggy.
You have some fog there, right?
You're not showing up as thebest version of you to get
(16:30):
things done.
And so your work hours might endup stretching because you're not
as effective with the work hoursthat you have.
So the importance here is toprioritize doing what you need
to do so you can show up wellfor the work and get it done.
What does this look like?
Well, let me use a racingexample.
(16:53):
If any of you have ever done anykind of competition, maybe you
can relate, but I used to runhalf marathons.
And so the day before a race,really the 48 hours before a
race, our key.
But especially the night beforea race is extremely important.
Right.
So we went, uh, for my, one ofmy birthdays.
We went and did the half ironman from, or half Ironman, half
(17:16):
marathon from Napa Sonoma.
And so we were traveling with mysix month old at the time.
And I knew we needed a goodnight's rest.
So we had a great dinner thenight before, so we had
nutrition.
We hydrated really well the daybefore.
So we would be set to go thereand I went to bed early to have
a great night's rest.
Right.
(17:36):
All of the things that I wantedto do.
So I could show up for the racethe next morning, prepared and
ready to go.
So that's in an ideal world,what it would look like to show
up and focus.
Now, what can derail that?
Well, my six month old waking upin the middle of the night and
not going back to sleep thatcould make me show up and not
focus and, and perform in a wayI wanted.
(17:57):
So I hope that example helps,but there's a lot of other
things that kind of get in theway of us showing up as our best
selves for that superhuman timeor just for any meetings that we
have even.
So.
What do you need to do beforeyou show up to work?
So you can show up?
Well, All right.
So that might include thingslike getting enough sleep.
(18:20):
Making sure you are.
Uh, getting in the nutritionthat you need in the morning, so
that you're full.
And can focus and you're not,you know, your belly's not
rumbling to go off and grab asnack.
Uh, maybe it means for you thatyou need to black out
distractions, right?
Our phones.
Go off 350 times a day.
(18:44):
If this thing is what's pullingyou away and showing up focused,
then what do you need to do toprevent that distraction from
happening?
Or maybe that distraction iskeeping you up late and you're
not getting the sleep you needto really show up and focus on
the work for your brain to besharp.
And get that work done asquickly as you could.
And finally, I want to justreally emphasize this idea of
(19:08):
rest.
Uh, you will learn this aboutme, but I really do believe that
rest is the most underratedproductivity hack we have that
we don't leverage enough.
The CDC says that the American.
Adult average is six hoursasleep, but we really need
seven.
To nine.
So, what can you do to try toget a good night's rest?
(19:29):
So your brain can show up, readyto focus all.
Right.
But rest is not just sleep.
It's also shutting off work.
When you are done with work.
So your brain can.
Free up.
And relax and do other things.
And you'll find that when you'renot thinking about work all the
time, You come back to work witha free brain, maybe a new
(19:52):
perspective that you hadn'tthought of because it had that
opportunity to let go of it fora minute.
And come back.
Right.
It's those things where likeyou're trying to solve a problem
and then you go sleep on it andyou wake up with a great idea.
All right.
So your third strategy is toprioritize whatever you need to
do to really show up focusedduring those work hours.
(20:15):
Because if you don't, it willtake you a longer amount of time
to do the same work.
All right.
In a moment, I'm going to sharewith you.
One change that you can make.
Today that will have animmediate impact on your
productivity.
But first.
If you're ready to hop off thatto-do list hamster wheel.
Awesome.
Schedule your superhuman timeand just.
(20:37):
Crank it.
Focus on that work.
And run.
But I know that some women needa little extra help and
direction.
So I've put together somethingpretty great that I'd love to
share.
It's a free resource called fivestrategies to calm the calendar
chaos.
This is, especially for those ofyou that have really chaotic
calendars feel like you neverhave time for yourself or to.
(21:00):
You know, fit in those things.
Outside of that crazy to-dolist.
So in this, I'll share with youa way to plan your days and your
weeks.
So you can get into a groove andget more done in each working
session.
That'll help you free upvaluable time for your
priorities outside of work.
So you can sign up to receivethis@theothersideofbusy.com
(21:22):
slash chaos.
Or you can click on the link inthe show notes.
All right.
I promised you one change thatif gone every single day, We'll
help you get more done.
And you can implement it.
Today.
Ad.
Guardrails.
I have guardrails are on thehighway to protect your car from
(21:42):
careening into danger and chaos.
But we can also provide the samekind of guardrails to provide
you safety on your calendar.
So what do I mean by guardrails?
They are a start.
And a stop time to your Workday.
And if you Corinne outside, ifwork expands outside of these
guardrails, it can spill into anencroach on your personal
(22:06):
commitments.
Your personal values costingyou.
In the long run.
So by choosing a consistentstart and stop time.
Every day.
You are making work contract.
To those hours.
So hear me out here.
There was a guy named Parkinson.
Maybe you've heard of him.
He has this thing calledParkinson's law.
They did a study where theyprovided work to two different
(22:30):
groups in a workplaceenvironment.
And to the first group, theysaid, here's your work for
today?
And the second group, they said,here's your work.
You can leave when you get itdone.
Yes, who got it done morequickly?
The ones who could leave whenthey got it done.
Because they finished theproject and left.
But the first group made thework, expand to the hours
allotted.
(22:51):
So while work can expand to thehours allotted in the same
fashion working contract.
So constraint can be a reallypowerful tool.
For us.
And you've experienced this.
If you've ever gone on avacation, right.
You get more done.
Dave before you leave onvacation, then maybe you did the
four days prior.
Because you have a deadline, youhave constraint.
(23:13):
And that really gives you focusand motivation.
So your action step is to choosea start and stop time and put
that black in your calendar.
So you're prompted to leave workor leave your home office desk.
On time.
I promise your focus during theday will improve knowing you
have this boundary in place.
(23:35):
I wanted to mention before I go.
If you're not quite sure whereto even get started during your
Workday.
You're not alone.
I hear this from clients.
All the time and I want to help.
Sign up for a free get shit donesession.
And then 30 minutes together.
We'll take a look at that to dolist.
We'll prioritize it based on theEisenhower matrix and your most
(23:57):
important goals.
And out of it, we'll help youcome up with your daily big
three.
Because you deserve to feel moreaccomplished at the end of every
Workday and the peace of knowingthat you can relax, knowing that
all that important work thatdone.
So you can truly focus and showup for your most important
relationships.
Knowing that all of those thingshave been handled.
(24:20):
All right.
Until next time.
I'm rooting for you.
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