Learn | Do | Become

Quick Note from April: Today’s podcast is Eric’s first solo episode (woohoo!) created in preparation for our “Fun with Finances” class happening Wednesday, March 25th @ 6pm Pacific. (If you miss the sign-up window, a recording will be inside the ARISE membership, and you can begin your free 60-day trial of ARISE here!) We hope you enjoy today’s episode!

You can click “play” above or skim the transcript here:

Hey there, it’s Eric Perry with LearnDoBecome, and I’m sitting here in our little recording area that April often uses. I’m recording my own kind of secret podcast — April doesn’t know I’m doing this, and I don’t generally do podcasts on my own. I don’t think I ever have. I usually join April on hers, so I hope this is valuable and worth listening to.

But I just wanted to come and share with you a few things that we’re doing over at LearnDoBecome, and especially in our ARISE community there. It’s an incredible place where we focus on six things that are really important to building a life of happiness, of peace and joy. In ARISE, we’ve just had a chance to get to know some of the most incredible people as ARISErs — just some incredible community members, fellow journeyers, and fellow ARISErs.

And one of the things I wanted to kind of focus on in this little recording is talking about some of the principles of financial planning, financial management, and getting to a place of financial independence. We’re actually doing a free class for anybody who’d like to come, just to give them an introduction to some of the things that we talk about in ARISE, particularly relating to finance. That class will be on Wednesday night, March 25th, at 6 p.m. Pacific time, and whatever time that is for your time zone. We’d love to have you join us. You’re welcome to sign up and just get the information — the link to the class — by going to LearnDoBecome.com/growth. It’ll just be an hour long.

We’re going to have a lot of fun. The focus is actually making your finances simple and fun, which are two words that typically don’t go with the F word we know as finances. But in ARISE, and in all the things I’ve done helping friends and family work on their finances, I’m a big believer in making it as simple and as fun as it possibly can be — helping each person manage their finances in a way where they can actually see and feel the progress they’re making, and just doing simple things consistently to get those kinds of results.

And I think it’s true in finance as it is in most areas of our lives — consistent effort over time, over a good amount of time, can produce an incredible result. And that consistent effort doesn’t have to be painful; it doesn’t have to be worrisome at all.

So on this call, we’re going to have a lot of fun talking about a number of principles. We’re going to talk about some of the psychology behind money — how we think about it, how we save it, how we invest it. Also, the psychology of spending it, using it for meaningful purposes, and being able to get excited about using it in ways to lift and bless people’s lives.

It’s actually been really exciting. Over the last five years we’ve been doing ARISE, we’ll focus on finances probably twice a year, sometimes three times, because it’s a pretty popular topic. And it’s amazing to watch the ARISErs’ progress and growth in the specific areas or ways they’re intending to make progress, and to hear their success stories. So we’ll share a few of those on the call that we do on Wednesday evening. And even if you’re not able to make it, I encourage you to sign up — we’ll be sending a short, limited-time replay for those who couldn’t make it.

We are going to have some fun giveaways for the people who are on the call with us. But I just wanted to touch on a few principles that we may touch on in that call, and if not, in other future calls or things we do in ARISE — just some principles that hopefully can get you excited about getting a better handle on your finances and not being stressed or worried about them.

One of the activities we are going to focus on for probably 15 or 20 minutes is helping each person on the call make and complete their own financial net worth statement. Now, most people are like, “Ah, I don’t want to do that. That doesn’t sound interesting or fun, or I don’t even know how to do it.” Or they’re just thinking, “I don’t want to see how bad things are.”

What I would say about your financial net worth statement is that it’s just a snapshot — a point in time. It’s like a scoreboard that tells you where things are. It’s not a comparison against anybody else; it’s just to show you where you’re at. And in 15 to 20 minutes, I promise, you’ll be able to — you can download a Google Sheet that I’ve got ready for everybody coming to the call. You literally just fill in the things that you have in your life: your assets. It could be your home, it could be your car, it could be other things — your investment accounts, your bank accounts, other things that are valuable in some way. You just list all those things out and then put a ballpark amount, just a rough guess at what they are. You can simply go back and put real values on those later.

Down below, we’ll list out any liabilities — debts, things that you owe — largely connected to those assets. It could be a mortgage on the house or a car loan. Maybe it’s a credit card bill or two or three, student loans, things like that. And then we’re going to show you how the sheet will automatically do the math to tell you what your financial net worth is, so you can see where you stand.

A lot of people are like, “Well, I don’t want to see that.” But if you don’t know where you are, you don’t know what needs to be done to make progress. And you also aren’t able to see the progress as you’re making it, which is actually really motivating.

So I encourage people to do an update of this little financial net worth statement about every three months. We’re coming up to the end of March — that’s actually the best time to do it, at the end of a quarter — and then we’ll do it again at the end of June, end of September, end of December. Just keep that cycle going. And I promise you, when you see this scoreboard, when you see this snapshot, and you see the progress you’re making, it’s going to motivate you to keep going. It’s also going to point out a few things, or motivate you to do a few things, that are going to help you get into a stronger financial position quarter by quarter.

So if you want to come on that call, we’re going to walk through and get that done in 15 to 20 minutes — no stress, no hassle. And you’ll be able to use that tool every three months to track that progress. I really encourage you to consider that. I promise we’ll make it fun — we’ll be cracking jokes and having a good time while we’re doing it. It’s really not hard at all. But literally, you’ll be able to see how you can start dropping down your liabilities and debts, while you watch your assets increase in value over time.

Another thing we’ll touch on is just watching your cash flow. I don’t want to use the B word and talk about doing a budget. Budgets are extremely helpful, but as I’ve talked with friends and family and others, I’ve encouraged them to take a month or two and just generally track where their money is going — just to see where it’s coming in from and where it’s going. And then once you’ve seen that for a couple of months, it’s actually not that hard to build a budget around that that works for you — one that allows you to spend in the categories that you value. Everybody’s priorities and values around money are going to be different, and that’s fine. Money is simply a tool to help us accomplish the things we value. But once you’ve seen where it comes and goes for a couple of months, you can build a very simple cash flow statement of income and outgo, and give each category a general target for where things should land.

And one of the principles we talk about often is that money is fungible — you can move it from place to place. It doesn’t have to stay in one category. If you decide one month you want to do a lot more eating out and entertainment, you might decide to cut back in another area that isn’t quite as important. It’s a really simple, helpful way to do it.

When we’re on this call, you’re actually going to hear me talk about some of the people in my life that I’ve really been encouraged by. One is my mom, who’s now 75 years old. I’ve been working with her on this kind of stuff for about six or seven years, encouraging her in the places where she wanted a little bit of extra help. She didn’t want to do a budget at first, but after a while — and I was never pushy or requiring her to do anything — after a few months she said, “Okay, I’ll kind of keep track of where things are going.” And then we built a budget from that a few months later, and it’s been incredible.

Over the last six years, she’ll send me a little handwritten sheet that she prints out each month — the same sheet, filled in with a little bit of detail around what she spent. I put it into a spreadsheet for her just to keep track, and she’s staying within the categories she’s set for herself. But it’s actually liberated her, where she can spend quite a bit of money in categories that she values, like gifts, experiences, and activities for others. That’s her love language.

So we’ll talk about how to build a budget — a cash flow of in and out — that really works for you, your life, your family, and your situation. It just opens up a world of opportunities. It’s even allowed her to have a little extra every month that she can set aside and continue investing, on top of what she’s already invested, as she moves toward retirement. She’s in a much better situation now than she ever dreamed of being, even ten years ago. It’s just been really encouraging to watch her.

Her name’s Peg, and a lot of the ARISErs just love Peg because they realize that at age 75, she got her serious start when she was probably in her mid-60s. And they’re like, “Wow, I’m actually younger than that, so maybe it’s not too late for me.” And that is one of the principles I just encourage you with as you’re listening to this and thinking about finances and your own financial independence: it is never too late. You can absolutely start today, make some adjustments, make some simple changes that will literally add up and compound into something far greater than you can even imagine right now.

You’ll also hear me talk a little bit about our 18-year-old son, who’s our youngest. He’s actually been very excited about finances since he was a boy. When he got his first job, he decided he was going to set aside a certain percentage of what he made and start putting it into the stock market — into an index fund, which means it’s spread across maybe the largest or fastest-growing companies in the United States, as a diversified approach. He’s just set aside money month by month for a few years now, and it’s incredible to watch the trajectory he’s on.

Maybe some of you have seen that infographic of how money compounds over time — especially if you put it in early and give it lots of time to grow, how that curve just almost moves straight up toward the later years of life. Wherever you are, if you start today and let money start to compound for you, it will surprise you. It really will surprise you how much it will be.

A number of people have referred to compounding interest or compounding growth as the eighth wonder of the world. We’ll talk a little more about what compounding really means, and even something called the Rule of 72 — where if you take the number 72 and divide it by the interest rate you’re getting, it will tell you how many years it takes for your money to double. So if you invest money at 6% interest, it’ll take 12 years (72 divided by 6). If you’re getting 12% interest, it’ll only take 6 years for your money to double. That Rule of 72 tells you how long it would take your money to double at a certain interest rate. Compounding at 6, 9, or 12%, you can figure out how many years your money will keep doubling, then doubling again, and doubling again.

Many of us have heard that story about grains of rice on a chessboard, or folding a paper in half again and again — you’re doubling it every time. The rice goes from one to two to four to eight, and by the time you get to the end of the chessboard, there’s no way you can even contain the amount of rice you have. Similarly, if you fold a piece of paper in half enough times, it would actually reach the moon. Compounding — when you keep doubling something — really is a wonder of the world.

We want to help you use some of your money to set aside and do that, while still enjoying a quality of life and being able to do things now and in the immediate future that also add to your joy, happiness, and enjoyment of that money.

I’m just going back over some of the things I’d made a note to mention. It’s been really fun to talk with people in ARISE and take some of their questions. We don’t give financial advice or specific financial direction or investing advice, but we talk about principles — especially from really important books we’ve read. I probably have about 20 books that I just love in the area of personal finance. We’ll actually be doing a giveaway during our call on Wednesday night — for those who are on the call, we’ll give away copies of a number of those books. And I actually have maybe even an extra special giveaway I’m debating doing (I haven’t decided — I still need to talk to April about it). But for those who are on the call Wednesday night, we’re excited to reward you in a number of ways for being there and for taking time with us.

The purpose, really, is to help people get a better handle on their finances and on these kinds of elements of life that contribute to being able to live the lives we want. Money isn’t the most important thing by any stretch of the imagination. But when you have enough monetary and temporal resources, you breathe a lot better. Your heart rate and blood pressure are better. You sleep better at night. You’re more peaceful. You know that you have a plan and the resources to take care of the things you need to take care of now, and also things that may arise that you can’t plan for or control. Having those resources available to you just gives you greater peace of mind. And I think it allows you to enjoy your life and your loved ones a lot more.

That really is my primary reason for wanting to talk with and help people with their finances — to figure out how they want to move in a better direction than maybe where they feel like they’re going, where it feels like all their dollars are going toward cost of living and paying down debt or paying interest on debt. We want to help people get out from under that.

Debt does have a place or two where it can be useful and helpful. But by and large, we try to avoid it and get rid of it as quickly as we can, because any money you’re paying in interest would be far better spent by getting out from under that debt — having the cash on hand, saving it up in advance to make those purchases without any debt or financing.

I was actually talking to a friend the other day about a car he had purchased — about a $40,000 car, new. As soon as he drove off the lot, the depreciation and lowering in value starts. It was worth quite a bit less, and though he’d been able to put some money down, the payment on it was about $670 plus insurance on top of that. I just asked him, “Wouldn’t it feel good to have a car that’s entirely paid off — no payments, lower insurance — where you have more cash free every month to do what you really want to do with it?” And he said, “Well, yeah, but how would I do that?”

So we actually got online and I said, “Look, if you’d be willing to consider that same model car, maybe six years older, still in great condition, low mileage, and consider selling the one you have — being able to take the time to find the right car, exactly the one you want, but a little older and used, in great condition, inspected and checked out…” It’s been interesting to watch that discussion progress. I’ve had a few other friends who’ve done that as well — gotten out from underneath a car payment and the higher insurance costs — and what they can do with that extra three, four, or five hundred dollars a month, either improving their quality of life or setting it aside and letting it grow through a conservative, reasonable investment. It’s incredible watching their progress already start to take off.

One of our special sessions in August of last year was helping people recognize that if you start now and are consistent, Dave Ramsey — a well-known personal finance author — has a book called Baby Steps Millionaires. It parallels the findings that Stanley and Danko made 25 or 30 years ago in a book called The Millionaire Next Door, saying that if people will live a moderate, modest, conservative life, set aside money every month, invest it, and let it grow, most people can become net worth millionaires — little by little, letting it grow through their investments, their home equity, and beyond. I’m here to tell you that’s absolutely possible for most people, especially those living inside the United States of America. We have a lot of opportunities available to us that many of us don’t take advantage of.

It was actually fascinating to hear from a number of ARISErs who messaged us confidentially after that session, letting us know that as they’ve been doing some of these things consistently — working with some of the principles from these experts and books we’ve recommended — how many of them have been able to move toward and cross over that milestone and beyond it.

So that really is my hope for everybody who’s working with us: to start today, to start getting a clear picture of what their financial situation is. Even as we talk about that financial net worth statement, a lot of people say, “I don’t know if I want to see it — I know it’s bad.” But how bad is it, really? It can’t be impossibly unrecoverable. And even if you’re at negative $20,000, negative $50,000, or negative $100,000, you can figure out where you’re at and start taking steps and making plans to move forward. So maybe in three months, you’re only at negative $50,000 instead of negative $75,000, or even better. And the coolest thing is when you cross over into the black and watch that number get more and more positive because of your consistent efforts.

I love seeing those transformation stories — people coming from being in debt, having this hole they’re in, and being able to work consistently to get out of that hole and then start building upward, creating the financial future and the lives that they want for themselves, for their family, and for their future.

So again, I know I’ve probably talked about a thousand principles here in a 20-minute recording, and I hope it hasn’t been too boring. But I am just really excited about this — if you can’t tell! I love watching people make progress, achieve goals, and hit milestones that are important to them. And I would love to invite you to come to this free class. We’ll be teaching it on Wednesday, March 25th, at 6 p.m. Pacific time. And again, if you can’t make it for whatever reason, still register. And if you would, share this link with friends, family, and others, and invite them to come have some fun with finances — making them fun and simple, getting a picture of where they are on their financial net worth, and learning a few principles that’ll give them motivation and desire to keep moving forward.

And the last thing I’ll bring up on the financial net worth — when we introduced this with our ARISErs back in January — is that your financial net worth is only a snapshot of your financial standing. It is not a complete measurement of what you are truly worth when you think about all the things that make you meaningful and valuable as a person: your relationships, your work, your abilities, skills, and talents. You have an infinite and inestimable worth. When we say “I know my financial net worth,” we also know there’s a real or true net worth beyond that. We’ll probably touch on that on the call as well — the financial side is just one measurement among many things that give you worth. But it does help to have more opportunities and possibilities when our finances are in a place of prosperity and independence, where we feel like we can really do for ourselves, for others, and give to others in ways that are meaningful to us.

So I will wrap up now. I’ll maybe hand this off to April and surprise her with it! I do hope that you can make it to that class — Wednesday, March 25th, 6 p.m. Pacific time. The link to register and get all the materials we’ll send out to you is LearnDoBecome.com/growth. Again, I’m Eric Perry, and I’m grateful you’ve taken the time to listen. I hope that we can be of service to you and help you in the future. Have a great rest of your day.

FREE “Fun with Finances” Training March 25, 2026 @6pm Pacific

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

STEP Coaching Membership Now Open!

The post [PODCAST 320]: “Fun with Finances” – Prepare for Our March 25th Event with Eric! appeared first on Learn | Do | Become.

Quick Note: You can click “play” above for the podcast version, skim the written version below, or watch the video version on YouTube by clicking here!

Sometimes “productivity” is about learning to skills around time blocking, filing, creating lists, and organizing projects, but sometimes it’s about what’s happening inside our brains. I’ve made some changes lately that have made a BIG impact on my mood, energy, and productivity, and I’m excited to share some of the details with you here today!

I Do a Morning Mind Sweep of Emotions

I Prioritize JOY

I Notice and Adjust Personality Characteristics that Lead to Exhaustion.

OLD Personality Characteristics:

NEW Personality Adjustments:

I Acknowledge that Becomers Keep Learning

Karie wrote, “My office and creative space is finally clear and organized!! My Command Central is on the left side of my desk (my working side) and I have more bins and storage than I need but I’m trying different methods to see what sticks. haha It took me a little longer than I hoped but boy does it feel good! There is still some Level 4 work to do on the cabinet but I have clear, organized space to be productive and focused. Before and after pics show the difference.”

Karen wrote, “Ok. This is my progression celebration! The first is my Before from Aug 2023. The second is my After from Aug 2023 of clearing out the space to get it ready for my Command Center. Well, now, in July 2024 (after another clean out) I finally have my Command Central!! Woohoo!! I am so excited to put this to work and let my brain rest! Celebrate good times! ”

Podcast: 7 “Rules” I Need to Replace

Podcast: “Achiever” Verses “Becomer” – A Self-Assessment

Book: The MindBody Prescription

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

STEP Coaching Membership Now Open!

The post [PODCAST 319]: 4 Productivity Boosts that Happened Inside My Head appeared first on Learn | Do | Become.

Quick Note: You can click “play” above for the podcast version, skim the written version below, or watch the video version on YouTube by clicking here!

Hello and welcome to LearnDoBecome! Have you ever gotten stuck on a project and it just didn’t feel fun anymore? Maybe it even felt heavy on your shoulders, and you wondered WHY you never felt motivated to work on it?

Today we’re diving into an interview that Eric and I did with an amazing community member named Nance. She’d posted inside our STEP Mastery community group (that’s part of our Steps to Everyday Productivity program) about how she’d been stuck on a project to organize her office. But then, while working inside our new STEP Coaching membership, she learned how to get things moving and build momentum–that now extends well beyond the office.

This is a great interview to listen to while you’re tidying up at the end of the day or going out for a walk and some fresh air. And, as you listen, I invite you to think about how YOU can feel more joy and momentum in your life.

And if you feel encouraged by Nance’s story and by the principles we discuss today and you’re looking to build your STEP Command Central and create a strong foundation for an organized life, I’ll include links below to our STEP Information page, as well as our new STEP Coaching information page. Plus, we have a free training called “How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles” that we think you’ll love.

And, of course, if you want to work with me, Eric, and Team LearnDoBecome on a monthly basis to architect your life and go deeper into areas like finance, relationships, and purpose, we’ll include a link to our ARISE information page, as well!

Have an amazing day, and we’ll see you soon at LearnDoBecome.com!

Video: What to Do When a Project “Balloons”

Podcast: Name What You Did Instead (Simple Productivity Tip When Your List Doesn’t Get Done)

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

STEP Coaching Membership Now Open!

The post [PODCAST 318]: Small Steps, Big Momentum: A Real-Life Breakthrough Story with Nance! appeared first on Learn | Do | Become.

Quick Note: You can click “play” above for the podcast version, skim the written version below, or watch the video version on YouTube by clicking here!

Eric and I had our morning meeting today, and a lot of little tasks came out of it. I felt overwhelmed for half a second, and then I remembered all I need to do is use my STEP System!!! So I want to walk you through what I did.

Here’s the list of tasks and how I handled each one:

Once all of these were safely in my Command Central, I just moved on with the other things I had planned for the day! It gave me such a lift, and it gives me confidence–knowing that even when a lot depends on me, I can organize the information appropriately so my mind and body can feel calm.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!

This first one comes from Anastasia:

This next one comes from Jennifer:

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

STEP Coaching Membership Now Open!

Do you ever feel frustrated at the end of the day when you didn’t get everything done that you had hoped?

Today I’m sharing some practical ways to solve this problem so you can consistently “wake up excited and go to bed content”–even when things don’t go as planned.

If you’re new here, I’m April Perry with LearnDoBecome.com, and we help people who are drowning in the details of life to create simple systems so they can do what matters most.

We all know how it feels when you have a list for the day, and then you barely scratch it.

It can feel incredibly challenging, especially when we feel like we’re under pressure, and, to compensate, we might either push ourselves beyond what’s healthy in order to get it all done–or we get frustrated with ourselves (or with others) for not completing what was needed, and that can lead to a general sense of powerlessness over our schedules, decreased confidence in our ability to get things done, or an increase of overall tension we feel as we approach each day.

FIRST, we want to make sure our lists are super short and that we put things on our N/A list or Routines List as much as possible, so only the MUST dos are on our list for the day. That solves a lot of it. Most of what we have on our list is stuff we want, but it’s flexible.

Then, if you still don’t complete what felt like a manageable list…name what you did instead–and then use that as an educational experience to figure out if you need to make changes for the future or if you just need to accept that some days require more flexibility.

If you clearly name what you did instead, you’ll start to see patterns. Here are a few questions you could ask yourself that might be helpful:

To bring this to life, I’ll give a recent example from my life. I had a few computer/creative projects on my list one day, and I got only a fraction of my work done. Not wanting to repeat that scenario, I named what I did instead:

Looking back, now it’s pretty clear why I didn’t get as much done that day as I’d hoped.

And when we had children in our home, the situations were very similar (someone came home feeling really sad/happy/curious/worried and wanted to talk, someone needed help with a homework assignment, someone wanted me to see something funny or just visit…I don’t regret any of those moments).

If you catch yourself in a situation like this, here are a couple of questions that might be helpful:

Question #1: Can I adjust my expectations for the rest of the day to acknowledge the energy that was spent on these other things?

The former version of me would have just worked into the night and pushed myself until everything got done, and sometimes that might be necessary, but that kind of “work ethic” tends to keep me in a constant state of vigilance that isn’t sustainable long-term. The new version of me went ahead and moved 90 minutes of work over to the next day, when I did have quiet time on the calendar–AND I decided I would pop over to the library to get it done if needed.

Question #2: How can I better match my expectations to my reality in the future?

We may not have complete control of our time or energy, but we can learn from our experiences and build some simple systems to prepare for the unexpected (or we can create systems to renegotiate our expectations once plans have changed). When we do that, each day becomes less of a struggle and more of a “happy dance.”

Community Celebrations!

Amanda shared, “My area to work on for this month’s topic was my command central. I was motivated afterr the call and as I worked through it, I could feel my energy increasing. After having to split my time last year between our business, handling 2 family probate estates and of course our family life, I needed to revise my command central back to my more “normal” way of doing things. I was able to combine everything back into one command central rather than 3. The cubbies now have the following slots: Read & Review, Immediate Action, Pending, Current Project/Next Actions. My drawer is where I keep my monthly tickler files as well as support material for current projects and future projects. I went through future projects yesterday and it felt so good to decide what to keep and what to let go! Finally, I updated my current projects yesterday board to truly reflect my current projects. I have too many current projects but some are so small or require extended waiting periods, so I left them up there. My energy is BACK! Winter has been rough here in Iowa and as a parent, but now I feel ready to tackle my projects because I know they are all organized into nice bite sized pieces!!! Thank you all for being a part of this group and helping create the energy in it!”

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

STEP Coaching Membership Now Open!

If you’re in a phase of life where you are overwhelmed by “stuff” and trying to get out, I want to share some encouragement today, and I want to give you something that you can truly look forward to.

I know that when you have rooms full of clutter, drawers that are jammed full of random things, piles of paper all over your desk and kitchen counters, and piles of decisions that need to be made everywhere you turn, it can take over your life. It feels nearly impossible to “think bigger” or to dream or to have fun or to serve because not only do you have a zillion things right in front of you that need your attention, but the piles keep growing. It can feel like you’re being buried alive.

And even if you don’t have physical piles that anyone else can see (because either you have some organization system in place or you’re good at “hiding” your piles), most people in the world have more mental and digital clutter than they know what to do with. It’s like an invisible suffocation–a weight on your shoulders and in your mind that you carry 24-7.

I want to be very, very clear. There is nothing wrong with you if you are drowning in piles of stuff. You aren’t lazy. You aren’t inadequate. You aren’t a failure. You aren’t unskilled. You aren’t just “a messy person.”

When we put something in a pile, it’s because our brain knows it is important, but we simply don’t know what to do with it at the time.

That’s it. We care, we’re responsible, and we’re not just going to “throw it away” or delete it. But so much is coming at us, and we’re doing our best to prioritize our own needs and everyone else’s needs that we do what we can, and at some point we have to stop and rest. The cycle repeats itself, and we end up buried in stuff and exhausted, thinking there is no way out.

But there IS a way out. I promise there is, and we are here at LearnDoBecome to not only HELP you get out, but to support you as you create a life that is even better than you imagined.

Not everyone’s piles will say the same thing. Some people might legitimately be fine with their piles. They might even consider them to be “healthy piles” because they are safely holding items that can be dealt with or accessed at a later date. Eric is like this. We should do a podcast about this because he and I are wired differently when it comes to piles, but his genuinely don’t cause him stress.

His piles don’t cause me stress either, but when I was personally living in piles, this is the message I was constantly receiving:

My piles were reflections of how I was living my life–not enough boundaries, not clear on my needs, putting too much on myself, etc. You understand. Again, it’s not that something was “wrong” with me. It’s just that I needed to give my brain the bandwidth and the instructions to engage appropriately with my life.

It’s amazing how much of our clutter and overwhelm is linked to our internal wiring. Over the years here at LearnDoBecome, I have been very open about my need for healing. I’ve worked with cognitive behavioral therapists, hired coaches to help me get past fears, learned how to address my tendency toward people pleasing, and developed new skills so I don’t totally avoid confrontation. Due to a huge increase of stress in 2020, my digestion took a hit, and I worked with doctors for years to find the right foods to heal my system.

Even now, I’m recovering from a virus and getting my voice back–and it’s opened my eyes to some deeper healing I need to do with my nervous system. Goodness, it can be painful.

The main lesson I’m learning is that it’s all linked–which is GREAT news because when we heal in one area, it’s going to make it easier to heal in the next.

I want us to look at “getting organized” as a step toward unlocking the healing that is ahead. And I hope you feel excited about that. When we’re in panic mode–jumping from one thing to the next–there is no chance for our deepest needs to be addressed. But they’re still calling out for us to bring relief.

Now, can the deeper kinds of healing happen first? Definitely. You can still heal emotionally in a messy house, and you can create a life of joy even if you have a million digital messages waiting for you. But one thing I learned from David Allen, author of Getting Things Done® years ago, was that it is often easier to heal from the baseline–the things coming at you every day–and then work your way up from there. Getting the everyday tasks, routines, projects, etc. working effortlessly is how we create breathing room. Then WITH that breathing room, we can focus more energy on what needs to heal.

One of our new STEP Coaching members shared her biggest pain points with me, and I feel so excited for the progress she’s making.

She said, “I have 10 banker boxes full of backlog (papers: loose and in files, journals, old cards, partially filled notebooks and more) that have been sitting in my office for a year (YES, a YEAR!!!). I have actually made some progress (3 of my file cabinet drawers are now empty and the top draw has our Freedom Files now set up)!! As I type this, I am reminded how important it is to focus on the PROGRESS, especially when it’s the lack of progress that seems most visible (aka: the 10 boxes). STEP is helping me to change the pattern that allowed the backlog building up in the first place. But oh my goodness, it’s a lot of paper to get through and I feel the weight of it sometimes; I can feel buried under all that paper (which again, is why it’s important to focus on the progress that I have made!).”

I want to share what I hear when I read that.

(1) The 10 boxes of backlog are mostly mental weight. We’ve all experienced that. There’s likely very few urgent action items in the partially-filled notebooks and old cards, but when we haven’t made decisions on them and we’re not 100% sure if something is hiding in our piles, they take some of our mental energy–every single day.

(2) She feels hope even when all of it isn’t “done.” It’s okay if something take a long time. As long as you know you have the ability and the choice to get out of the pain, you can feel a measure of relief.

(3) There’s a deeper “why”–a deeper healing–that’s going to take place once these boxes are processed. No one organizes boxes of stuff because it’s the most fun option they can think of. It’s because there’s something deeper that they want on the other side of it.

As a side note, I shared with her our box story. Inside the STEP Mastery Facebook group, I wrote, “As someone who had a full ROOM of boxes when I started this, I went through each box and did an initial sort over 2-4 nights, and then I labeled any box that could wait. Things like ‘Papers from school in 1998’. By the end, I had just a handful of things that actually needed attention and then a bunch of labeled boxes I could call ‘Level 4’ and not worry about for the time being. That initial sort calmed my mind and then we were able to start on some more urgent projects without stress… Just in case that helps!”

I still remember all those nights I spent in our room of boxes. It was an office we never used because it was so cluttered, so we sat downstairs and watched TV instead. But once we cleaned out that office, we had the bandwidth to do the next project and then the next project. (Attic storage built, a new loft built, a home office set up for me and Eric, and then LearnDoBecome, which changed our lives.)

Here are a few kinds of healing I’ve been thinking about that is much easier when you are organized and no longer drowning in piles:

When people ask me what I do, the “easy answer” is that I help people get organized, but that isn’t the end goal. It’s the beginning of the journey.

I worry sometimes that I talk too much about “what’s next” when people are still in the middle of the overwhelm. So please forgive me–I’m working on that. I know it takes time to work your way out. But I want you to feel excited and hopeful that you don’t have to live in grief, resentment, stress, anger, fear, and constant overwhelm. There is beautiful healing ahead, and when you take one step at a time, I promise you’ll feel that “lift” you’ve been aching for.

I’m still processing everything I’ve been learning this past week, so I’ll share more when I can, but this season has been incredibly challenging for me, and I’ve needed to focus on healing in brand-new ways that I never anticipated. But the happy part is that, because my systems were in place, I could keep the essentials going while I rested and healed, and I feel genuine hope when I look ahead. There were a few days I started to lose that hope, and those were pretty dark. That’s why I’m sharing all of this today–because I know how discouraging it can be when you feel stuck.

It’s going to take bravery from all of us. And it seems silly that a Current Projects List, next actions, routines, microbursts, and just getting the CALENDAR cleaned up can lead to healing. It’s not the only way, but it’s a really helpful, tried-and-true way to make it happen.

If you’re new here or still not sure how we help you stop drowning in piles of clutter and architect a life of excellence, we actually made this new image to illustrate it.

LEARN:

Explore our free resources to get a feel for our methods and philosophy–and enjoy a calmer mind, clearer space, increased excitement for life, and a general sense of peace as you implement what you learn!

DO:

Build your full STEP System to completely eliminate the physical, mental, and digital piles of clutter in your life.

BECOME: 

Architect a life of excellence–with a balanced, focused effort in these six foundational areas:  a clear, exciting purpose, a truly organized environment, mental and physical well-being, a strong family and close relationships, alignment with your Higher Power, and financial stability and prosperity. 

We are so grateful you are here with us, and we can’t wait to support you as you move forward, however that works best!

Lots of love!

-April, Eric, and Team LearnDoBecome

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

STEP Coaching Membership Now Open!

Hello and welcome to LearnDoBecome Radio! I’m Alia Clawson, and today’s episode is called “Setting Our Next-in-Line Projects Up for Success.” My mom, April, is on voice rest for a few days because she got a little excited last week and overdid it a bit, so before we jump into the podcast, she asked me to share this introduction with you. So while this part is in my voice, these are her words.

I am really excited for you to listen to this episode because in less than 10 minutes, Alia has modeled how simple it can be to prepare for important events or big projects that are happening at a future date. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone say, ” I WANT to do meaningful projects–for my family, myself, my loved ones, my business, my community, etc. but with so much going on, the thought will come into my mind and then just float away. I have good intentions, but they never seem to happen.”

You probably know how that feels, right? Like in Episode 284, Claire Crawford, one of our STEPpers in our “Steps to Everyday Productivity” program, shared how she wanted to take a trip to L.A. to go to a concert with her brother. Normally, she said, she’d just lose the thought and the opportunity would pass, but when she had a SYSTEM, it was nearly effortless to create that lasting memory she and her brother will now both cherish for the rest of their lives.

Today, Alia is applying the process of creating a Next-in-Line Project and utilizing Project Support Materials to her family’s Valentine’s tradition, “We Love to Be a Family Day.” This is something our family of six did for ten full years, and she’ll share how you can learn more about it, if you’d like to start the tradition. But even if you aren’t planning to host this kind of event, just hearing her process–as a mother of two little children who runs the operations at LearnDoBecome, serves in her local community, and balances life with her husband, Josh, who is in medical school–is inspiring. (I wish I’d had “an Alia” to show me what to do when I was her age!).

And if you’re listening when this podcast goes live, we have two exciting events happening this month!

(1) We are opening our STEP Coaching membership on Thursday, February 5th! This has been our most-requested offering over the past 10 years, and now it’s a reality! If you would like to get organized with real human guidance from experienced professionals who once walked in your shoes and more engagement with the STEP Community to give you a lift along the way as you build and actually USE your STEP Command Central, please visit our Coaching information page at LearnDoBecome.com/Coach. Early members get to shape the coaching experience, so if this sounds like exactly what you’ve been waiting for, please come check it out!

(2) Inside our ARISE membership in the month of February, we’re focusing on Streamlining Our Indoor Spaces

It’s all about creating BREATHING ROOM in our indoor spaces–with small, deliberate steps that reduce friction and decision fatigue. Basically, if it’s been weighing on your mind, we’re going to tackle it together (with next actions and 10-minute microbursts!). Eric and I will share our own journey (the kayak in our hallway will 100% be back in the garage.), and all of the ARISErs will be here to celebrate YOU! Our next live workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 10th at 10 am Pacific. (With a full recording provided!)

ARISE and STEP Coaching can be done together, but typically we recommend you start with STEP Coaching and then “graduate” to ARISE as you’re ready to implement your established organization skills to a balanced, well-architected life. All these links will also be on our Show Notes page.

All right, let’s jump into today’s podcast!

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I wanted to share a little bit about one of my projects that’s currently on my Next in Line Projects List and will be moving to my Current Projects List in just a couple of weeks. This project is tied to our family tradition called “We Love to Be a Family Day,” which I’ve adapted over the years to fit our current season of life. Even though our circumstances look different now, I love knowing that I can keep meaningful traditions alive by planning in a way that feels realistic and manageable for our family.

Right now, I’m in the brainstorming and gathering ideas phase, which is why this project lives on my Next in Line list. As ideas come to me, I capture them and store them in one trusted place instead of letting them float around in my head or get lost on scraps of paper. That way, even though I’m not actively working on the project yet, all of my notes, ideas, and support materials are safe and ready for when I’m prepared to take action.

Now that it is February (I recorded this podcast in mid-January), I can move this project to my Current Projects List and start turning those brainstorms into a simple, doable plan. I love knowing there’s a process for keeping track of projects that are coming up, whether it’s a family tradition, a seasonal responsibility, or something else I know is on the horizon. Having a Next in Line Projects List makes everything feel more calm, clear, and doable instead of overwhelming or vague.

________________________

As a quick closing (this is also from April), we hope that you are feeling excited about your journey with LearnDoBecome this year. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes to make each step with us feel focused, organized, and uplifting, and whether you’re here for the free resources right now or ready to jump into one of our programs or memberships, we are so, so grateful for you! We want you to wake up excited about life and go to bed feeling content with what you’ve created. We know that life can feel hard sometimes. We’re human here…

But it’s these little steps behind the scenes that add up–leaving you with more energy and capacity to do what matters most! For a map of LearnDoBecome and a Welcome Kit of free resources, please visit LearnDoBecome.com/Welcome

And if you have any questions about how to best work with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team–either through a message on social media or delivered to email(at)learndobecome.com

Thanks for sharing us with your friends, as well! We’re so grateful to have the chance to serve you! See you soon at LearnDoBecome.com.

STEP Coaching starts on February 5, 2026! The full information page can be found here!

Full Podcast About “We Love to Be a Family Day”

Free LearnDoBecome Community Facebook Group

YouTube Channel: Subscribe Here!

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

I’ve been listening to an audiobook this week called “Rest – Why You Get More Done When You Work Less.” (The title intrigued me!)

The book is SO good–I’ve been fast forwarding through a few parts, but every chapter has something powerful in it, and one of the first things I learned is that our brains aren’t “doing nothing” when they are resting. I’d never heard of the Default Mode Network before, but essentially, once we stop reading/working/focusing, our brain is still making connections and processing things in different ways, but that rest is what keeps us healthy and sane. The book also highlights some of the best writers, scientists, and thinkers in the world who had a ton of rest in their lives and didn’t push themselves like crazy.

And whether you’re looking to “get more done” or simply get more rest, today I’m sharing some practical ideas–along with some personal thoughts about rest (and why we sometimes resist it). My goal is to help you to feel calm and hopeful today.

Most of us are carrying a lot of responsibilities–with our personal lives, our families, our friends and communities, our professions, and all of the details that exist within those categories. You likely came to LearnDoBecome because you’ve felt some sense of overwhelm, and you want to create a peaceful, calm life–while still doing the things required to “keep everything going” AND you want to pursue your unique purpose or calling in life. That’s not too much to ask, right? But it often feels impossible when we’re in the middle of it all.

In today’s episode, I want to walk through some common reasons we resist rest, emphasize a few points about why rest is essential, and then dive into four practical ways we can create more mental and physical rest in our very full lives.

Resistance to Rest

This is actually the first podcast I’ve recorded in 2 ½ months because I have essentially been in bed with a virus for that whole time. This happened all through the holidays, so I kept thinking I was “better” and getting up and doing things, and my body kept shutting me down.

My most common internet search during this time was, “How do I get better faster?” Because ChatGPT kept telling me to stop trying so hard and to just REST, I thought I would try another A.I., Claude, and see if it had some better ideas.

Looking back on it now, my conversation with Claude makes me laugh. It was basically yelling at me and saying, “Why do you keep insisting that you can’t rest? Why do tasks and projects and meetings mean so much that you can’t just take a break? You’ve been sick for MONTHS. Do you honestly think that everyone else’s wants and needs mean more than your health?

Where is all of this coming from? Who’s telling you that you can’t rest? How is the world going to fall apart if you just take care of yourself?”

I finally had to accept that I needed to heal, so I stopped talking for a couple of weeks and literally rested as though it were my full-time job. Then I started to heal.

I don’t know what you are personally going through right now, but I invite you to look at your life (or ask Claude to look at your life and ask, “Am I resisting rest?”

Here are some reasons (good ones, I might add) that we often do so:

I’m clearly not great at this yet, but my years on this earth, and particularly my past couple of months have taught me that any time I resist the rest my body clearly needs, there’s a belief that needs to change.

Is Rest REALLY Essential?

I won’t go deep into this here because there are so many books, podcasts, and videos on this topic (“Sacred Rest” and this new book I’ve been talking about are both good ones!), but here are a few points that have been helpful to me:

Four Practical Ways We Can Create More Mental and Physical Rest

After all this, you might be thinking, “Fine, April, I believe you. Rest is good and I don’t get enough of it. How is this supposed to HELP ME?”

I’m going to share four very practical things we can do, and I’ll be pulling in some stories from our community members who are actually doing it. What we share in STEP and ARISE is designed for this exact purpose–to get you out of overwhelm through simple systems so you can do what matters most. David Allen’s book Getting Things Done® taught me this initial framework, and it has been an absolute game changer!

(1) Create “Future Buckets” that Lighten the Feeling of Overwhelm.

I talk about this all the time, but if you’re new or if you’d like a review, here at LearnDoBecome, we emphasize the importance of Project Lists. Think of a Project Pyramid–with “Current Projects” at the top, and then “Next in Line” and “Someday.” (We also have some that are “In Progress,” but other videos and podcasts talk more about that.) It is the easiest thing in the world to put 100 projects on your Current Projects List and say, “I must build my career, organize my house, write a book, figure out a new exercise plan, celebrate every birthday and holiday, volunteer with every good organization, and develop new skills like painting and breeding puppies–all while showing up to every political and social event and saving the world.” But it is difficult to say, “I am one person with a finite number of hours and a finite amount of energy. Which projects are most essential, and which ones can wait?” Why is that hard? I think it’s because we feel like we’re giving up or like we don’t care or like our dreams are DYING if they are not labeled “Current.” But it’s exactly the opposite. When we have just a few Current Projects and when the majority are Next in Line or Someday (in these “Future Buckets” I’m talking about), we can make progress and eventually get to everything that truly matters. And we can rest in the process.

This story from Ruby really touched my heart. In the midst of SO much opposition, she built her Command Central and shared that she wasn’t worried that the rest of the office was a mess because it was one of her first projects. She knows she doesn’t have to do everything at once in order to be a success.

(2) Eliminate the Problems We Can Control 

Shannon’s message made me smile. She said, “My daughter is bringing a friend home after school and MY HOUSE IS ALREADY CLEAN!” If you are new here or haven’t yet seen the power of Current Projects, Next Actions, Routines, etc. this might sound crazy, but essentially, when you break up “organizing the house” into distinct projects (maybe going room by room or section by section), and then when you establish routines that keep things generally clean (like having the family “reset the room” after use), you will never find yourself running around like a crazy person trying to tidy up. Home maintenance becomes something you do at a natural pace that works with your life. Rest fits in beautifully with that.

Chip and Cassie said the same thing: “Just want to encourage you all. For the first time in my adult life I am not freaking out when I know people are coming over! We may occasionally have a small pile here or there but it gets taken care of weekly. DO NOT GIVE UP!!! You can do this!!! It is definitely a process but so worth the time!”

So “finally getting the house clean” is one problem we can control. Another is creating a budget and a financial plan that works for us/our family and will lead us toward financial independence. Eric led an ARISE workshop on “Financial Independence from the Inside Out” a couple of weeks ago, and it was SO GOOD. Our ARISErs were able to create their Financial Net Worth Statements, and we were able to talk about sound financial principles that anyone–on any budget–can control.

When things we CAN control are not under control, we can spend so much time and energy worrying (and dealing with the fallout). But when we prioritize those controllable problems, we can save ourselves so much hassle and make room for rest.

(3) Eliminate the Burden of Procrastination

It’s no secret that people lose sleep and feel weighed down by stress when they procrastinate. I talk about this all the time, so I’ll keep this one brief, but by identifying the very next action required to move something forward and then putting it on the calendar or a weekly context-based list (phone, home, computer, errands, or to discuss) we can free ourselves from that mental weight. I used to procrastinate everything, and now I literally don’t procrastinate anything, and it’s because of this tool. Here’s a fun example from Nichellee where she needed to review her taxes so she could electronically file them. Her next action was to clear off the desk, and from there, she quickly got her project done! The reason I’ve been talking about this for nearly 2 decades is because this works!

(4) Expect an Appropriate Workload from Ourselves

There are several tools in our STEP program that can support you here–like doing a Mind Sweep, where you get everything out of your head so you can see what you’re dealing with–or writing down ALL the routines you expect yourself to do in a given day/week/month/year and adding up the time they take (and likely finding that you think you have 79 hours in a day). But the key to using these tools effectively is by adjusting accordingly. The concept of a Multiple-Choice Perfect Day has been a boost for a lot of people–helping them see that every day can be “perfect” or “complete”–even if only a few things got done.

Expecting an appropriate workload from ourselves needs to be part of our daily evaluation. For example, yesterday I made time to create our STEP Coaching Information page. I am finally able to focus on work now that my health is returning, and I thought this page would take me all day. Surprisingly, I finished in a couple hours! I was pretty tired after that project because my body is still recovering, but instead of adding more to my work load (thinking, “HEY! Look at all this time I have to do more things!”), I decided I could just rest with that extra time and consider it a gift to myself. That was huge for me, by the way…

This sweet story from Lisa inspired me, as well:

And I don’t know if you’ve listened to the awesome interview Coach Jill did with Yaisa a few weeks ago, but she shared how, prior to coming to LearnDoBecome and going through the STEP program, she was incredibly stressed with her job. While she was able to eventually get out of that position and move into a healthier one, she needed a way to manage everything that was coming at her. She shared that she was often in tears because she was so overwhelmed. And she said it wasn’t just a little bit of crying. She was sobbing a couple of times a week. A search online somehow led her to our free webinar, and that’s where her STEP journey began! Although the toxic nature of that job environment didn’t change, she shared that she was able to receive everything that was given to her and organize it appropriately (prioritized in her STEP Command Central). Now, in her new position, she has two Command Centrals–one for work and one for home–and when she finishes her work week, she shuts down her computer and shifts into “home mode”–no longer worrying about all the tasks and projects because she knows they’re under control. I listened to the interview while out on a walk, and wow–what a gift that she was willing to share!

I hope that today’s episode has been both practical and hopeful for you. I know when you’re in the middle of chaos and emails and work projects and family struggles, it can feel like the world is on your shoulders. But I know that there is a way to manage the “stuff” of life so you can get the true rest you need.

And as a side note, I’m really grateful to be back here on the podcast. There were some moments when Eric and I wondered if I was ever going to get better. We didn’t know if our “new normal” was going to be me living on the couch. One afternoon, Eric said, “If this is our life from now on, I’m here for it. I’m here for you. But I really hope you can feel better soon.” I love this community, and I know I can’t see you as I’m writing or speaking, but I read your stories and comments, and I genuinely care for you.

Please stay close and watch for some exciting things that are about to be released! Eric and I have been working on a new, visual path for success at LearnDoBecome, plus brand-new Success Milestones inside our ARISE membership, so don’t miss that!

And we are opening our STEP Coaching membership on Thursday, February 5th 2026 to help you create and USE your STEP Command Central! The biggest request we’ve received over the years is for personalized support and more coaching, so we’ve created something really exciting to help you get results! (All the details can be found here!)

STEP Coaching Membership – Opening February 5, 2026!

Book – Rest – Why You Get More Done When You Work Less

Book – Sacred Rest

Podcast – Customizing STEP: Yaisa’s Real-Life Transformation

Video – Project Overwhelm Solved- Projects Pyramid

Free LearnDoBecome Community Facebook Group

YouTube Channel: Subscribe Here!

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Fun (and Totally Free!) Training Recording: Clear The Space – LIVE!

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!

In this episode, I walk you through how I process the digital items that come my way each day, including email, notes in my Capture Tool, and text messages. This is a real life, informal look at what end of day digital processing actually looks like and how I keep things from piling up or falling through the cracks.

I prefer to process most digital inputs at the end of the day instead of constantly checking my phone throughout the day. As a stay at home mom, this helps me stay present with my kids while still making sure nothing important is missed. I do quick scans during the day for anything urgent, then process everything in the evening for faster and calmer processing.

Throughout this episode, I reference parts of our STEP Command Central. The Command Central gives every incoming item a clear home so decisions can be made quickly. Instead of reacting to emails or texts as they arrive, I use our 8 Processing Questions (more about that linked in the show notes) to decide whether something needs action.

How I Process Emails

In this episode, I walked through several examples from my inbox and explained how I make decisions quickly.

Most emails only require a brief skim to check for hidden action items. If no action is needed, I either file the email into a general folder or delete it.

If something looks useful but needs more focused attention, I move it into my Read and Review folder so it is safely out of my inbox but easy to find later. (This is only for emails that have NO action items inside.)

For purchases or downloads, I either complete the task right away if it takes two minutes or less, or I write down the task on the “Computer” section of my Next Actions List and store the email in a temporary holding folder connected to my Next Actions List.

The goal during processing is not to finish everything. The goal is to extract actions and get items into trusted places.

I am also working on simplifying my email folders. Instead of having lots of specific categories, I am moving toward broader groupings like “Family” or “Personal.” That’s one of my Current Projects for the month.

As part of daily processing, I look for newsletters or emails I no longer want and unsubscribe. This helps reduce the volume of incoming email without needing to do a large cleanup session.

I also keep a recurring reminder to check my spam folder weekly since important emails occasionally end up there.

A Note on Using a Context Based Next Actions List

When tasks take about 5-15 minutes or require more energy, I add them to my Next Actions List. These lists are organized by where or how the task will be done, such as computer, home, errands, or to discuss.

This allows me to move emails out of my inbox without losing track of what still needs to be done.

Using and Processing My Capture Tool

I use a simple digital Capture Tool in the Notes app on my phone. Any time a thought, idea, link, or reminder pops into my head, I write it there for safekeeping.

At the end of the day, I process each item on the list and decide where it belongs in my Command Central.

This includes things like:

Then I can delete the items from my Capture Tool and have a clean slate for the coming day.

Processing Text Messages

I usually respond to texts after my kids go to bed so I am not replying late at night.

Most of my texts are simple messages back and forth with family and friends, and some occasionally include action items. If I need to take an action on something, I use the 8 Processing Questions (linked below in the Related Links section) to figure out where it goes in my Command Central.

Some Final Thoughts

Before finishing for the night, I do a quick check of work messages and apps where I have family group chats to make sure nothing urgent came in. Most days, this takes only a minute or two. I also send a couple pictures/videos from the day in the immediate family group chats since we are the only family members that live far away.

If digital clutter feels overwhelming, treating it as a project can make a big difference. With simple routines in place to handle the incoming/daily things, you can know that any digital backlog is safe and will be handled when you have time to bring it to your Current Projects List. (And don’t be afraid to break the backlog down into several smaller projects!)

And finally, I totally recognize that some people do not want to have a “perfectly clear” digital inbox. No matter what your preference is, I hope this podcast episode was a helpful tool for you to gain some extra ideas on setting up a digital processing routine that makes the most sense for you.

Command Central Overview

8 Processing Questions

Emails to Zero (aka, getting your email inbox to zero and having a safe place for your emails to be stored)

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In this episode, I talk about how to streamline digital input so it feels supportive instead of overwhelming. I focus on emails, texts, social media, apps, and all the hidden inboxes that compete for our attention.

Digital communication adds up quickly, especially when messages are coming from many different places. It is so important to intentionally design how and where communication enters your life, rather than reacting to everything as it arrives.

I recommend starting with a mind sweep to identify every place digital messages come from. This includes obvious inboxes like email and texts, along with less obvious ones like apps, websites, social platforms, and group chats.

This is not a one-time exercise. It is an ongoing collection process as you notice new sources of input over time. (So you might want to keep a digital note or physical note handy where you can record new digital input locations as you remember or encounter them again.)

Once everything is written down, I walk through how I personally sort digital inputs into three categories. These are things that can be checked daily, weekly, and as needed.

If you do not currently have a routine for checking messages, I suggest treating that as an initial Current Project. Creating a new routine takes time and effort, and it is okay to work on it gradually.

The goal is not to clear every digital backlog immediately, but to establish a solid routine going forward so new messages are handled consistently.

I’ve found it helpful to reduce digital noise by:

These changes helped me reduce stress and make digital communication easier to manage.

I’ve personally noticed the importance of separating work and personal communication whenever possible. Using dedicated tools or apps for work messages helps protect personal time and reduces the feeling of being constantly on call. (Obviously there are some jobs that require being on call, and I totally understand that this is not possible for everyone and their work situations. This is just something that has been helpful for me.)

I have also noticed how digital routines and communication boundaries can be helpful in family, school, and volunteer settings.

Technology will never be perfect, and there will always be difficult messages/items to handle. What makes the difference is knowing that you have systems in place to manage digital input calmly and intentionally.

My hope is that this episode helps you feel encouraged, supported, and empowered to customize a digital communication system that works for your life and brings more peace instead of overwhelm.

Emails to Zero Resource (Totally free!)

Free LearnDoBecome Community Facebook Group

YouTube Channel: Subscribe Here!

Brand new? Get the LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit here!

The ARISE Membership– an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.

Fun (and Totally Free!) Training Recording: Clear The Space – LIVE!

Free Training, How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles

Our Steps to Everyday Productivity program!