The Intentional Advantage

Do you ever get to the end of the day and have a dissatisfaction with your day even though you were constantly getting things done? We are constantly hearing the buzz words "busy" & "hustle" in our day to day lives, but those words are meaningless if you're not getting meaningful or important things done. Today on the podcast, I'm sharing what it means to be present & how when productivity is combined with presence, it leads to accomplishments that are worthwhile and meaningful.

What's In This Episode:

• Accomplishing meaningful goals through combining productivity and presence
• What it really means to be present
• Recognizing stumbling blocks through being present
• Be deliberate with your time: How to check in with yourself + a FREE Download
• Actionable ways you can be more present and cultivate a happier life

We all have that voice inside of our head that makes us doubt ourselves. When left to fester and grow, this self doubt turns into a paralyzing fear of commitment. Today, I'm sharing a strategy that will help you battle your inner critic before it even speaks up. I'll also share about a mindset that will keep you from letting a fear of commitment drive your decisions.

What's In This Episode:

• Two combating voices in our heads: the inner critic and the voice of realistic thinking
• Battling your inner critic before it speaks up with the "Fake It Til You Make It" strategy
• What happens when we let self doubt grow into fear of commitment
• The "Complete It or Kill It" mindset
• Commit to show up and do something

When we think of procrastination, it's easy to believe that it is simply about poor time management, but in reality it has nothing to do with time management and everything to do with our emotions. Today, I'm sharing the most common excuses we use to justify our procrastination & tips on how to combat each of those excuses. It is so important to press into the excuses we give, to recognize the harm that procrastination is doing to your work and to commit to change.

What's In This Episode:

• Fight Procrastination: Why it's not about time management
• Letting go of the shame & guilt associated with procrastination
• Questions to ask yourself when you can't get started on a task
• 6 excuses you're using to justify procrastination & tips on how to combat each
• Commit to tackle your procrastination mindset

We often think planning out each detail will bring us success, but overthinking your next move really just leads to analysis paralysis and extra stress. Today, I'm sharing my favorite quick tips with you that will allow you stop overthinking and propel you forward to take action. The 'perfect' time will never come… now is the time to get started and move forward with your projects, goals and dreams.

What's In This Episode:

• How overthinking and overplanning is actually procrastination • Letting go of your uncertainty and embrace 'good enough' • Become a Satisficer: make decisions when your criteria is met, not waiting for perfect conditions • 4 quick tips to help you stop overthinking and start taking action

Be sure to join my free training at inkwellpress.com/5habits

Have you ever had a passion or hobby, but somehow felt you lacked the time to put effort into it? When life happens, we sometimes put off the little things that make us happy. In today's mini episode, I'm sharing one of my favorite passions with you, and how I carved out time to rediscover this activity by redirecting it from a stumbling block to a starting block.

Feeling like you don't have enough time is a common stumbling block, but today we're flipping that on its head. It's not about having time - it's how we spend it. I'm so excited to have author and time tracking expert Laura Vanderkam back on the show to discuss time discipline versus time freedom and how to change your perspective of the time in your day. By the end of our interview, you'll be asking yourself, "What makes today memorable?" and understand how to create intentional days going forward.

What's In This Episode:

• Look at how you spend your time: The Paradox of time discipline and time freedom • Being a self interrupter: Learn how to open up time and space for yourself • Savoring time: Why it's not MORE that you need • Stretching the experience of your time through intentional days • Feeling 'off the clock' by putting time into perspective

RSVP to my Free Online Training: 5 Healthy Habits to Boost Your Productivity at inkwellpress.com/5habits. Each Tuesday, I'll be offering YouTube videos on that week's podcast topic. Let's dive deeper into productivity and living purposefully together.

In this week's podcast episode, we talked about being a self interrupter. What do you think one of the biggest sources of interruption and distraction might for us? I would guess that social media and technology instantly came to mind. Today, I'll share a few simple ways we can be mindful when engaging with others using technology so that it is enriching our lives instead of interrupting.

We're surrounded by technology, notifications, alarms, calls and the misconception that multitasking is a good thing, making it increasingly difficult to focus on real work. We often blame others for distracting us, but consider what you can actionably do to prevent interruptions from others - and yourself. Listen today and find out if you're a self interrupter, why we distract ourselves and the 5 habits to cultivate that will increase your attention span, allowing you to hone in on any task you want to complete.

What's In This Episode:

• Discover how 'distractable' you are - what do we do when nothing is occupying our attention? • How multitasking is hurting your productivity, and how to fix it with monotasking • Changing your brain and your behavior to diminish interruptions • 5 good habits that will boost your attention span and increase focus

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From tragedy comes intense beauty. For thousands of years, Sri Lanka was a key trade and shipping port for silk from China to Europe…but the route was not an easy one. In today's mini episode, I'll share what hundreds of shipwrecks from Sri Lanka can teach us about our failures and unfinished journeys.

Feeling uninspired can keep us from going after our goals and dreams, leaving us dreading our work, and worse - keeping us from taking a single step to begin. I want to share a secret with you, though… it's not about finding inspiration, it's about being motivated. I'll explain how those two feelings are different and the surprising way boundaries can set you free. We'll use 5 different methods to create motivation so that you begin to make real progress and feel challenged and energized to keep going forward.

What's In This Episode:

• Working within boundaries to increase freedom & inspiration
• Why it's more about your need for motivation, not inspiration
• Measuring your progress to create awareness and challenge yourself
• Decrease your risk of burnout with 5 ways you can boost motivation
• Shifting your uninspired, unmotivated mindset with small steps

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