Latest / Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing / #228| How Being Yourself Can Make You More Productive and Less Overwhelmed
Transcript
- 0:00Michelle Gauthier: You don't need to become someone else.
- 0:01Michelle Gauthier: You just need to become more yourself and work around that.
- 0:05Michelle Gauthier: You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less.
- 0:17Michelle Gauthier: I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former Overwhelmed Working Woman and current life coach.
- 0:22Michelle Gauthier: On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's Working Woman experiences.
- 0:27Michelle Gauthier: And in each episode, you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease, and relaxation to your life.
- 0:34Michelle Gauthier: Hey friend, thanks for joining today.
- 0:39Michelle Gauthier: Today we're going to be talking about one of the most powerful things that you can do to become more productive, less distracted, and less overwhelmed.
- 0:48Michelle Gauthier: And that is learning how to plan and structure your day around who you are and what actually works for you.
- 0:55Michelle Gauthier: Not works for like the Instagram person who you follow, not what works for me, not what works for the coworker who sits in the office next to you, but what actually works for you.
- 1:05Michelle Gauthier: This is something that I work with on every single one of my clients.
- 1:09Michelle Gauthier: And it's just really learning to understand what works best for your own brain, not judging what that is, but instead embracing it.
- 1:17Michelle Gauthier: There are lots of things to consider when you're answering this question of what works for me, what is my personality, my planning personality, my productivity personality.
- 1:26Michelle Gauthier: But today, when you listen, you'll discover the three key questions that you need to ask yourself in order to plan in a way that works for you.
- 1:34Michelle Gauthier: We'll talk about how to plan around your natural energy and how to build a structure that really reduces your overwhelm instead of creating more of it.
- 1:42Michelle Gauthier: I was reminded of this this week when I was working with a client and we were talking about the way in which she does her job.
- 1:48Michelle Gauthier: So she has a really big, stressful job, and she has peers at her level who do this really big stressful job in a completely different way than she does.
- 1:58Michelle Gauthier: And at first that kind of made her feel like she was doing it wrong or that she should maybe be more like them.
- 2:04Michelle Gauthier: But what we've been working on over the six months that we're working together is her really embracing who she is and taking the things that she does differently and to do those more.
- 2:13Michelle Gauthier: And she feels so much better about it.
- 2:15Michelle Gauthier: She feels more confident about the way that she's working in her job.
- 2:20Michelle Gauthier: And it's just been really fun to see her embrace who she is.
- 2:23Michelle Gauthier: So she didn't actually have to change at all.
- 2:25Michelle Gauthier: She just had to change the way that she was thinking in order to become more productive.
- 2:30Michelle Gauthier: When I work with all of my one-on-one clients, the overall goal is to just help make their lives feel more calm, less overwhelming, less stressful, more intentional, and like they're really leaning into what they want and who they really are.
- 2:45Michelle Gauthier: And it makes such a huge difference in their lives.
- 2:48Michelle Gauthier: If you are in that position where you feel like you're overwhelmed all the time, maybe you don't feel like you're being your full self, something feels like it's really missing, I think one-on-one coaching could be a great fit for you.
- 2:59Michelle Gauthier: If you're hearing this message and thinking, yes, maybe, maybe that is for me, I'm putting a link in the show notes because I have a one-on-one coaching spot open and I would love to talk to you.
- 3:08Michelle Gauthier: Okay, let's get into it.
- 3:10Michelle Gauthier: So, as I mentioned, the goal by the end of this short episode is for you to get clarity on a few new things about yourself so that you can feel less overwhelmed and be more productive.
- 3:21Michelle Gauthier: But before we start on those questions, I want you to think about when in your life have you felt productive and calm?
- 3:28Michelle Gauthier: Like when is a time that you felt like you were really firing on all cylinders and like things were really working for you?
- 3:34Michelle Gauthier: Was it a time when you were doing weekly planning at the beginning of the week?
- 3:39Michelle Gauthier: Was it a time where you worked in a job where your day was naturally broken up and you were able to get up and walk around and walk away from your desk?
- 3:47Michelle Gauthier: Is it a time where you could make your own schedule?
- 3:50Michelle Gauthier: So just think about it for you.
- 3:51Michelle Gauthier: If you were to look back and think of a time in your life when you felt the most productive while also not feeling stressed and overwhelmed, what was going on?
- 4:00Michelle Gauthier: Okay, now we're gonna dig into these questions where you're gonna try to figure out the answer for you and then embrace this thing about you.
- 4:07Michelle Gauthier: Number one is when do you feel most naturally energized during the day?
- 4:11Michelle Gauthier: Not when you think you should.
- 4:12Michelle Gauthier: You know, there's that whole like 5 a.m.
- 4:14Michelle Gauthier: club concept of like get up and if you want to be more successful, get up even earlier.
- 4:20Michelle Gauthier: And maybe that works for you and maybe that doesn't.
- 4:23Michelle Gauthier: So when in the day do you feel sharp and creative?
- 4:26Michelle Gauthier: For some people, it's like 6 a.m.
- 4:27Michelle Gauthier: For example, I literally wrote this podcast at 6 a.m.
- 4:30Michelle Gauthier: For others, it's like 10 p.m.
- 4:33Michelle Gauthier: And if you're not a morning person, you don't need to join the 5 a.m.
- 4:37Michelle Gauthier: club and force a morning routine that makes you feel miserable.
- 4:40Michelle Gauthier: Instead, you need to think about and embrace the times where you feel most creative and productive.
- 4:45Michelle Gauthier: I feel like the handsome man friend and I are complete opposites on this.
- 4:49Michelle Gauthier: So my most likely time to go to the gym is either 5 30 in the morning or 8 30 in the morning.
- 4:55Michelle Gauthier: And his most likely, actually only time, I don't think I've ever seen him go to the gym in the morning, is like 6 p.m.
- 5:01Michelle Gauthier: or 7 p.m.
- 5:02Michelle Gauthier: I think I would rather die than go to the gym at 7 p.m., but that's when he feels like he most wants to exercise.
- 5:09Michelle Gauthier: In the evenings, we'll be watching a TV show and I'll say, okay, I'm done.
- 5:13Michelle Gauthier: I'm gonna go to bed.
- 5:14Michelle Gauthier: He's like, okay, I think I'm gonna go do a couple hours of work.
- 5:16Michelle Gauthier: I'm like, a couple hours of work?
- 5:18Michelle Gauthier: Oh my gosh, I could just never do it.
- 5:20Michelle Gauthier: But I also am awake in the morning, and as soon as I'm awake, I'm awake.
- 5:25Michelle Gauthier: And he's he is not a morning person.
- 5:27Michelle Gauthier: He's quiet, he really doesn't want to talk.
- 5:30Michelle Gauthier: I actually kind of try to avoid him because I'm overwhelmingly awake in the morning.
- 5:35Michelle Gauthier: So those are two examples of people who are both successful in their careers and handle it in totally different ways.
- 5:43Michelle Gauthier: And the goal in knowing this is to plan your schedule around when you most naturally feel most energized and to think about which tasks or meetings or things that you should do during that time when you naturally feel most energized.
- 5:57Michelle Gauthier: So for me, for my job, those are the times where I like to create things.
- 6:01Michelle Gauthier: So I write articles, I write podcasts, I plan my client's sessions, those kinds of things in my naturally most energized times.
- 6:09Michelle Gauthier: If I'm actually recording the podcast, I can do that later on in the day because the hard thinking about what to say has already been done.
- 6:16Michelle Gauthier: So how does that apply to you and your job?
- 6:19Michelle Gauthier: And if your brain is saying, well, I don't have the kind of job where I can make my own schedule.
- 6:23Michelle Gauthier: Other people put meetings on my calendar.
- 6:25Michelle Gauthier: I remember that.
- 6:26Michelle Gauthier: I have been there too.
- 6:27Michelle Gauthier: And if you think about what's in your control, there's probably more than you think.
- 6:32Michelle Gauthier: For example, there are meetings that you're in charge of that you schedule the time for.
- 6:36Michelle Gauthier: There is the time that you start work, there are the times that you can block off on your calendar when you need to do heads-down work without being disturbed.
- 6:44Michelle Gauthier: You can even put yourself on do not disturb, even if it feels a little bit uncomfortable.
- 6:48Michelle Gauthier: So I would push you if your brain said, Well, I like to work in the morning, but I always have a lot of meetings in the morning.
- 6:54Michelle Gauthier: How can you change that?
- 6:55Michelle Gauthier: Where can you make a slight change to your own schedule?
- 6:58Michelle Gauthier: Okay, so that's question number one.
- 7:00Michelle Gauthier: Question number two is how much detail actually works for you?
- 7:03Michelle Gauthier: So on the scale of I am a super detailed need to know everything, plan everything, have everything written down on my calendar to I just fly by the seat of my pants.
- 7:14Michelle Gauthier: Where are you on that sliding scale?
- 7:17Michelle Gauthier: Do you feel calm if you see every hour of the day mapped out, or does that stress you out?
- 7:22Michelle Gauthier: I personally have tried the super detailed planning where I had every hour accounted for.
- 7:27Michelle Gauthier: So on my calendar, I'll definitely have client sessions.
- 7:30Michelle Gauthier: I have the time blocked off where, for example, I need to go pick up my daughter after practice, those kinds of things.
- 7:35Michelle Gauthier: But I tried to schedule in like from eight to nine, I'm gonna write a podcast, and from nine to ten, I'm going to plan my next month of content.
- 7:45Michelle Gauthier: And that just did not work for me.
- 7:47Michelle Gauthier: It felt like handcuffs.
- 7:48Michelle Gauthier: I never did the stuff at the right quote unquote time.
- 7:51Michelle Gauthier: And I realized that for me, having the meetings on the calendar, but then having white space where I could work on whatever I have in my to-do list and I can choose which things to work on.
- 8:01Michelle Gauthier: I've got the prioritized list all ready to go.
- 8:03Michelle Gauthier: So I can be like, oh, I'm gonna work on number two right now, and then I'll work on number one later this afternoon.
- 8:08Michelle Gauthier: But for me, having that flexibility and less detail actually works better for me because too much detail creates overwhelm for my brain, because that's the kind of brain I have.
- 8:18Michelle Gauthier: Other people totally thrive on structure.
- 8:21Michelle Gauthier: They're great with that kind of stuff.
- 8:23Michelle Gauthier: They need a lot of planning, they want a lot of details.
- 8:26Michelle Gauthier: So just think about that for you and envision what you want your calendar to look like and how much planning you need to do, how much detail you need in order to be successful, because the structure should support you, not make you feel suffocated.
- 8:41Michelle Gauthier: Okay.
- 8:41Michelle Gauthier: And then the third question where you can really embrace your own preferences is how long can you realistically focus?
- 8:48Michelle Gauthier: Are you someone who can sit down and do deep work for like 90 minutes straight?
- 8:53Michelle Gauthier: Or are you more of a 30-minute sprint person?
- 8:56Michelle Gauthier: There's nothing wrong with either.
- 8:58Michelle Gauthier: There's no wrong answer.
- 8:59Michelle Gauthier: But if you expect yourself to focus for three straight hours when your brain taps out at like 45 minutes, you're gonna feel distracted and frustrated.
- 9:07Michelle Gauthier: It's not a discipline problem.
- 9:08Michelle Gauthier: It's just not knowing yourself.
- 9:10Michelle Gauthier: So plan your work blocks that match your natural attention span and then build in breaks where you need them.
- 9:16Michelle Gauthier: That way you can work with your brain instead of against it.
- 9:19Michelle Gauthier: And again, if you're thinking, I just don't have that much control over my schedule, look for those little pockets where you can.
- 9:25Michelle Gauthier: You can have them at home in the evenings, not working on work stuff unless you want to.
- 9:29Michelle Gauthier: Projects you're working on at your house, you could set a 30-minute timer and say, okay, I'm gonna work on, I don't know, cleaning out my pantry for 30 minutes.
- 9:36Michelle Gauthier: And when it's over, I'm gonna stop.
- 9:37Michelle Gauthier: And then I'll work on it for 30 more minutes tomorrow.
- 9:40Michelle Gauthier: This is the reason why my one-on-one coaching sessions are 50 minutes long.
- 9:44Michelle Gauthier: So they end at 10 minutes till the hour.
- 9:47Michelle Gauthier: We focus very hard and work very hard for 50 minutes, and then both I and my client, who is very likely going back to work, have 10 minutes where we can get up and walk around, and in my case, get a drink of water, maybe get some food, and then settle back in to focus on the next one.
- 10:03Michelle Gauthier: So if you're feeling overwhelmed or easily distracted, just consider those three questions.
- 10:08Michelle Gauthier: Number one is where in the day do I feel the most energy?
- 10:11Michelle Gauthier: Number two is how much structure and detail works for me?
- 10:15Michelle Gauthier: And number three is how long can I realistically focus?
- 10:18Michelle Gauthier: And if you think back to what I asked you to consider at the very beginning, when in your life have you felt like you're being the most effective while still feeling calm?
- 10:26Michelle Gauthier: I'm interested to know if your answers match up for that.
- 10:29Michelle Gauthier: I bet they do.
- 10:30Michelle Gauthier: Just remember that planning and productivity is not a one size fits all.
- 10:34Michelle Gauthier: Sometimes I'll see things where it's like, this is the only way to do it.
- 10:38Michelle Gauthier: And I'm sure it is the only way to do it for that particular person.
- 10:41Michelle Gauthier: But take what you need and leave the rest.
- 10:43Michelle Gauthier: Understand yourself.
- 10:44Michelle Gauthier: You don't need to become someone else.
- 10:46Michelle Gauthier: You just need to become more yourself and work around that.
- 10:49Michelle Gauthier: That's it for this week.
- 10:51Michelle Gauthier: If you are interested in this one-on-one coaching spot that is open, set up a consultation with me and we will talk through it.
- 10:58Michelle Gauthier: I will get to understand what's going on with you and why you're looking for coaching right now, and I will explain to you what we would do in coaching and how we would approach where you're trying to get.
- 11:09Michelle Gauthier: I'd love to talk to you.
- 11:10Michelle Gauthier: Have a great week.
- 11:12Michelle Gauthier: Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast.
- 11:19Michelle Gauthier: If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthier.com.
- 11:25Michelle Gauthier: See you next week.