EP106: The Key to Productivity
SO MUCH TO DO…
…so little time. That is where the power of productivity comes in!
Enjoy!
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(The notes below are only a brief summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email request to: angie@angie-robinson.com. We’d be happy to provide that!)
When we start new goals - we typically are pretty energized. Sometimes that energy can wear off!
Part of what gets you to that end goal is productivity. In general, being productive means being able to efficiently use your time, energy and resources to achieve your goals and produce those meaningful results. It involves being focused, organized and effective in your efforts to accomplish those tasks and make progress in all kinds of areas of your life, whether it's at work or personal projects or whatever other responsibilities you might have in front of you.
Being productive can mean something different to everyone. What really matters is the way in which you get to being productive. There are so many types of productivity tools, apps, software and hacks.
I'm a big fan of the tools and the hacks. I'm a fan because we want to be efficient in our roles, especially as entrepreneurs and leaders. We have a lot going on, a lot of responsibility and a lot of things to do.
In addition to the tools, hacks and the methodologies that help us be more productive - here is the key: your mindset and your own awareness of your thoughts. That's the magic.
A lot of what might get in the way of being productive is in the subconscious. It's happening in your own brain and you might not even know it. When you can bring it to light by being intentional and aware, you can remove those thought barriers. That doesn't mean that you will necessarily always get the things done that you want. If that is the case, you can at least have some agency over whether or not you beat yourself up, blame other people or blame other situations for you not being productive. When you can be aware of the subconscious and the conscious thoughts and the mindset leading into your task or doing the things that you're doing - that really can make a huge difference.
Let’s dig in!
We’ll start with the definition of mindset. Mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and make sense of yourself. Mindset influences how you're going to think, feel, and behave in a given situation. Your mindset predetermines how you're going to show up and how you're going to approach something. For example, if you have a growth mindset, you're going into your life and into your leadership with a belief that your talents and your abilities can be developed over time through effort and persistence. Having a growth mindset means that you believe that you and everyone can get more skilled and more talented if you work at it.
The opposite of that growth mindset is a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset sounds more like “I am who I am” and “I can't change no matter what I do”.
Whatever that mindset is, it’s going to impact how you show up, how you progress and how you approach the situation. It will also determine your level of productivity.
I see mindset as the top layer. It's the overarching umbrella of how you approach things and how you are priming your brain. But then if you take it a layer deeper, it's that thought awareness that really creates the results. The thoughts you have is either going to support your mindset or erode it. We have 50,000 - 70,000 thoughts a day. They just keep coming! If you get distracted - you are going to have some thought about that. That very thought can completely impact your mindset, thus impacting your productivity.
Let's talk about how thought awareness is going to impact productivity specifically:
Check in with yourself about things like standards. What standards are you putting on yourself? Productivity is going to mean something different for everyone, your level and standard around your productivity might be different than your coworkers or your spouses or anyone else's. We all have some self-imposed standard of productivity. And we're also probably going to have some expectations put on us by other people. Here is where the thought work comes in - ask yourself: What do you think about your own standards? Are they realistic? What happens if you don't meet them? Is it something that fuels you and motivates you or do you beat yourself up? Do those standards need to be shifted or changed? Do you need to go from an A+ standard to a B- standard? The same is true about expectations put on you by others. Are they realistic? How do you feel about those? If you don't meet them, what do you make them mean about yourself? Do you have to look for ways to communicate some differences that need to be made around those expectations? You are having thoughts subconsciously. The subconscious thoughts actually impact the way you show up and the results that you create. Bringing some light and awareness around the standards and expectations is really important in productivity is time management.
Understand how mindset and thoughts impact your method of time management. I believe that there is one guaranteed way to manage time. Everyone operates differently and has different ways of thinking, different ways that their brain works. You need to figure out the best way for you. Whatever that is - when you are creating structures for time management - you are typically making decisions and plans proactively - before the time is actually upon you. The key is this: honor your commitment. Because when the actual time is upon you - your brain my offer you all kinds of reasons to not stick to your plan. You might be tired, or have something else more interesting in front of you. When you listen to your brain - your productivity is compromised. When you can be onto yourself and decide ahead of time about how you're going to honor your commitment,,,that is where the magic is.
Be intentional about honoring your energy. When you are really tired or stressed - your body is telling you that you need a break. It might be hard to take that break for all kinds of reasons. But productivity isn’t at it’s best when we don’t honor what the body needs. For example - when you’re really tired - you might try to power through on things, but chances are your brain isn’t as engaged as it should be. Your results may not end up as intended. But taking even as little as 15-30 minutes to take a quick nap or a walk will help your productivity in the long run.
Plan for distractions. Distractions happen. It might be somebody at your door who needs to talk to you right now, an email, text or phone call that comes your way or last minute meeting request. We might have the best intentions on being productive and then a distraction gets in the way. Your thoughts can come into play. Your brain might tell you things like “I'm so annoyed at these people don't ever leave me alone.” or “I can't ever get anything done.” You might be resentful and not show up the best way for those people. Or you might be thinking “Oh my gosh, I better answer this email right away because I want them to think that I'm paying attention!” So then you choose to answer the email right away - you give into the distraction. It’s helpful to notice these thoughts because you can then stop and recognize that these thoughts really aren't helpful. You can put some boundaries up ahead of time.
Tap into the future version of yourself. Imagine the person at the end of the day who has checked everything off their list or the person at the end of the week who feels fulfilled by their productivity. What would that person tell you in the moment? What would they tell you to do when the distractions appear or the unhelpful thoughts show up? Become that future version right now.
There are many more ways that mindset and thought awareness can impact your productivity. And when you intentionally make them a part of your productivity strategy - it means that you're supporting yourself your desire to accomplish the things that you need to accomplish in order to be productive. Again, I think that the tools and the hacks and the apps and the programs can be great. But to reap the benefits of them - pay attention to what is underneath it all - your mindset.
What Do You Think?
Do you pay attention to your thoughts in your productivity?
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