The Productivity Shift

Hey there! If you are listening to this episode the week that it's released, I want you to know that this is your last chance to join my productivity masterclass, Stop Wasting Your Time, where I'll be sharing with you the three ways that you can stop wasting time and make more out of this precious life of yours.

Head on over to eliseenriquez.com/masterclass to sign up
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If you’ve been following this podcast for a while, you may already know that it’s all about serving women on a mission. My mission to make the world a better place involves owning a business, and business ownership has been very lonely for me.

While I can tell myself, "nobody does it on their own”, our American culture is very much about the individual - pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and making things happen. What I've taken a LONG time to learn is making things happen is waaay better when you have a team.

This doesn't necessarily mean hiring employees. Sometimes it's having someone to bounce ideas off of. Sometimes it's having a friend to talk to or getting a hug.

Sometimes, though, you reach a point in your business where you are ready to bring on some professional help. That is where today's guest comes in.

Valerie Trapunsky founded ChatterBoss company in 2017 after a decade spent working as a top-level assistant for A-list celebrities and as the Chief of Staff for high-net-worth individuals and CEOs. During that time, Valerie developed a passion for effective problem-solving, and became committed to bringing the same level of excellent service to solo entrepreneurs and small business owners. 

Valerie’s exceptional problem-solving skills and genuine love of people are the foundation of everything they do at ChatterBoss. They strive to solve customer needs through a combination of intelligent technology, intelligent systems, and most importantly, intelligent people. Together, the whole team has built a product that clients can trust to deliver personalized, reliable, and thoughtful service.

My biggest takeaways from our conversation were:

Are you ready to build out your team? Check out ChatterBoss.com or download the app via iOS App Store or Google Play. Friends of the Productivity Breakthrough get a $50 discount on the onboarding if they use the code BREAKTHROUGH when signing up!

Question of the Week: Who do you need to add to your team this week?

The doors are opening this week to my GYST: Build Your Bonus Brain Course.

Head on over to eliseenriquez.com/masterclass to grab a spot in the masterclass and to get details on how to sign up.
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Guess what, as of July 11th, I have been married for two years to my amazing wife Kim! But what some of you may not know is that I was married before.

I was married to a wonderful guy. He and I met when we were in high school and we dated through our last couple of years of high school and then dated off and on in college.

In this episode, I share all about that relationship, our marriage, and what that ultimately helped me realize that I wasn’t down with where we were headed as a couple.

And the thing that stood out for me when retelling this story was what I took away from that feeling of the ’not this’ space, because it can be a hard place to be.

For anybody out there who is in that space, whether it's big like a marriage, relationship, a job or career OR something a little less life-changing...

No matter how big or small it is, "not this" can be such a gift but it can also be really hard because you want to know "OK so what is it that I want".

All I can tell you is:

And so if you are in a state of "not this" no matter how big or small, I really encourage you to:

1 - take a step back and establish what is true.

2 - Get a clear picture of your reality before you start exploring options.

3 - Get a clear picture of what is currently happening in your life and in your world and what that means for what you actually do want.

4 - If there's alignment, then it might just be some tweaks that need to get made.

5 - If there isn't alignment, then there might be bigger changes to explore.

And if you’re still hanging on to something that doesn’t feel right, maybe my question of the week can help you work towards some clarity…

What percentage of your time this week is being spent on fulfilling activities? And are you ok with that?

You know I love to hear from you, so be sure to head on over to my Instragram page and either leave a reply in the comments to the question of the week post OR send me a DM.

PS: If you need help building a bonus brain to help you see the reality of your live so you can start thriving, be sure to sign up for my free masterclass this week. Head on over to eliseenriquez.com/masterclass

Are you ready to alter your values and beliefs around productivity SO THAT you can make every day your best day? I hope you'll join me for the FREE masterclass I'm teaching next week. 

Head on over to eliseenriquez.com/masterclass to register.
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“Technology bullies are pervasive and everywhere, and you come across them in these four systems. Like if you're using a web browser to check your email and all of a sudden you're stuck on one page and no matter what you click, nothing happens.

Well, that's a technology bully and there's a couple of strategies you could use to get out of that particular situation. Whether it is clear your cookies and cache in that browser, or turn the damn thing off and turn the damn thing back on.” ~ Nicole Lux-Ritchie

You know that we are all about moving forward what matters most here and you can do the work to get clear about what matters most for you AND sometimes you encounter roadblocks.

And one of the biggest roadblocks can be TECHNOLOGY.

If technology is bullying you in any way right now, then you are in the right place because my guest in this episode is Nicole Lux-Ritchie, a technology guide, and fellow productivity & systems dork.

And by the way, even if you aren't struggling with tech, Nicole and I talk about a LOT of other things having to do with moving forward what matters most, so go on and tune in.

Nicole and I covered A LOT of ground, but my big takeaways from this episode are:

:: Technology is here to help you...if it isn't helping you, reach out to Nicole!

:: You don't have to be naturally organized to actually be organized. Being organized is an experience you create. It's really about giving yourself the time to decide what matters most and set up simple systems to SUPPORT you.

:: There are simple tweaks you can make to your digital office to make life and work easier, and you can have fun with that. So go to luxcentric.com/game to play Nicole's Rescue Your Digital Office game.

Sooo...I have a question for you…

Question of the week: How is technology getting in your way?

Head on over to Instagram and tell me all about it on the Question of the Week post or DM me directly.

And remember to sign up for your spot in next week's productivity revolution masterclass by going to eliseenriquez.com/masterclass

There's still time to join my DARE TO PRIORITIZE challenge. Head on over to the eliseenriquez.com/challenge to join us.
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— Suddenly everything I had been feeling was being uttered by this supporting character in a movie that I randomly picked on a flight home. I pushed pause on the movie, I opened my journal, and I wrote the words, "I think my marriage is over".

That was September, 2015. It would take me until mid-November 2015 to finally tell my then-husband.—

Does your life feel like you’ve completely given it over to something or someone else to control and direct? Does it feel like you’re always waiting around, hoping for the chance to finally be yourself or live for the things that fill you with joy?

In this episode, I give you a glimpse into how I got out from behind the shadows and into the driver’s seat of my own life.

It seems really weird that it took a heartbreaking moment in a movie, when this supporting character —faced with the shattering news of a terminal cancer diagnosis— suddenly realized that she’d never really given herself a chance to be and live, for me to face the reality and take the first utterly terrifying steps to reclaim my life.

I don't want you to be that character in the movie. Needing the bad news to wake you up only to find that it's too late.

“Be me on that plane. Listen to someone else's story. Get inspired. Remember that YOU are in charge of your life and get back behind the wheel.” ~ Elise

And even if you fee like you are already in the driver's seat of your life, remember that you gotta pause every now and again to check in with yourself.

Check your direction.

Check the health of your vehicle.

Check your passengers.

Check your fuel.

I've actually created a FUN way to do that. There's still time to join my DARE TO PRIORITZE challenge. It's a free, LIVE challenge I'm running this week to help you take stock and chart your course every day so that you can keep heading where you want to go and have the kind of impact you want to have in your life.

Head on over to the eliseenriquez.com/challenge to join us.

I am running my popular and free Dare to Prioritize Challenge, and it starts next week.
So head on over to eliseenriquez.com/challenge to make sure you get signed up for this
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In this episode you are going to hear Wendy Posillico and I talk about living with intention and giving yourself time each day to be more intentional.

Wendy is an athlete, a coach, a mentor, an explorer, and the founder of Live Your June.

She draws on her special education experience, human development background, and a lifetime experience in competitive sports and the most up to date research on high performance. In doing so, she created the June Performance Mindset coaching process. She designed her coaching for anyone in a transition period looking to harness the power of perspective.

Wendy helps ambitious humans instigate the connection with who they are and who they were born to be because the imprint they leave on their people and the world matters.

Wendy and I had so much fun chatting, and my main takeaways from her were:

Question of the week: What is it that brings you alive? What is ONE thing you could do this week to feel that way?

And if you'd like to join Wendy’s Be Intentional 7-Day challenge, head over to this link.

Meditation Apps we mentioned:

I hope you'll join me for the challenge. Head on over to eliseenriquez.com/challenge to sign up

AND

If you would like to be a part of an upcoming What Matters Most episode, head over to eliseenriquez.com/whatmattersmost to learn more.
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I cooked up something new that I'm really excited about. Something I've been thinking about doing for a while and wasn't sure how to pull off, until it all just clicked into place. I am calling it a What Matters Most episode.

On that note: allow me to welcome you to the first ever What Matters Most episode of The Productivity Breakthrough podcast.

In this episode, I spoke with Mona, a licensed massage practitioner.

In spite of a pandemic where her business all but shut down, as well as what could've been a career-ending shoulder surgery, Mona and her massage business are back stronger than ever...and yet she is feeling less than productive these days.

This episode gives you a chance to be the fly on the wall of our coaching session as I help Mona identify the one big thing that was stressing her out the most and how we broke that one thing down into ONE simple action Mona could take.

Our goal? Progress; one step at a time.

Editing Note: I wasn't expecting for this conversation to become a podcast episode, so this was actually an hour long conversation. By the end of it, I felt that Mona's story could be helpful for all of you and she agreed to share this with you. So I edited down our original conversation significantly to really focus on what matters most for Mona and how to make progress on that. 

All that to say, if our conversation sounds a bit choppy, that is why. What you’ll hear is the synthesis of our discussion and the progress that we make along the way.

Question of the week: What's stressing you out these days and what is one baby step you could take to make progress on it THIS WEEK?

Let me know over on my Instagram @productivitybreakthrough

If your inner critic is making you crazy, check out the FREE resource Anne created called: How to manage self-doubt in 4 simple steps.
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/614ce3f7337f1c2aacf528e2
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Knowing that you, my dear listener, might be having some quiet time where you’re finally getting to hear the whispers of wanting something new, I asked Anne Pillsbury to join me on the podcast in this episode.

Anne is an International Coaching Federation certified coach, serial reinventor, mom to 4 and creator of The Meant for More Method.

Anne helps professional women find the clarity, confidence, and courage to pivot to a career and life that fills them up and pays the family bills. Her signature Meant for More Method coaching program helps women get clear on who they are and what they want now, pinpoints the problems that are obstacles to fulfillment, and uses design-thinking principles to build what’s next. She loves her family, hiking in the mountains, gathering women and recently started line dancing.

I had so much fun chatting with Anne; she had so many eye-openers to share. I must say though that my favorite line from this interview was when Anne passionately stated, “I want us to fucking shine!”

We also talked about:

Finally, a question of the week from Anne herself: What is one action you can take to step towards your “Meant for More” life?

Head on over to @productivitybreakthrough on Instagram and share your answer with us on the QOTW post or in a DM.

You can also get more from Anne here:
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annepillsbury/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.annepillsbury.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awpillsbury/ 

Would you like to stay in the loop on some of the free programs I'm running this fall?

Head on over to https://eliseenriquez.com/intheloop/ to sign up for notifications.
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By the time this episode goes live, we will be halfway through the summer of 2022. Which means we will be over two years into a global pandemic that we've all been navigating for so long.

I don't know about you but I feel like I have tried to be an acrobat dodging this virus.
And after more than two years, we finally got it.

At the end of June Covid finally caught up with me and my wife.

I’m not gonna lie— it hit us BAD! And with a hefty to-do list staring at me, I had to figure out how I was going to be productive while being down for the count with Covid.

“I wanna remind you that in my world, productivity is about moving forward what matters most whilst remaining present to the people, opportunities and experiences all around you.“ ~ Elise

Productivity is NOT about checking things off a to-do list.

Lucky for you, in this episode, I explain exactly what I mean, and give you some helpful tips on how to stay productive even when you have a bad case of Covid.

While I have checked very few things off my list in those past two weeks I consider myself to have been highly productive.

Why?

When you shift your definition and your perspective on productivity from doing things on a list to moving forward what matters most it really changes everything.

So for me as soon as I started feeling sick, the things that mattered most shifted from what matters most when I am feeling healthy. Here is what mattered most:

:: making sure my loved ones were ok

:: taking care of my client

:: getting better

At the highest level, what matters most—our values—never really changes. Our purpose never changes. But circumstances at the ground level sometimes require a shift in what matters most in our day-to-day activities. Regularly assessing what matters most and lining up your actions to support that IS productivity.

So, after all of this, I have a question for you:

Question of the Week: How can you move your health forward this week?

Life with ADHD can be a challenge.Education, structure, and support are key to creating an easier, more fulfilling life, both at work and at home.
So, be sure to reach out to Cindy at her website cindyjobs.com for more information and support.
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“When we compare we are taking away from ourselves...and we miss out on our own genius.” ~ Cindy Jobs

How much do you know about ADHD? Have you been diagnosed with it? Is anyone in your family, friends or work circle diagnosed with ADHD?

I'm excited to bring to you an expert on ADHD in this episode. Whether it’s for you or someone else, this is your opportunity to get to see things from a different perspective and uncover resources that could support you or the people you care about with an ADHD brain. AND some of the things we discuss are relevant for any of us.

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Certified ADHD Coach, Cindy Jobs. Cindy’s passion is helping individuals with ADHD facilitate the changes necessary to create easier and more fulfilling lives.

Through coaching, Cindy’s clients become more productive, successful, and reliable by understanding their strengths and challenges, values, needs, and goals. She helps her clients better understand what’s important to them, how they may be self-sabotaging, and help them develop the structures and supports that will take them from where they are to where they want to be.

In this episode, Cindy shares her story and helps us better understand the ADHD brain. Her expertise paired with compassion make her a brilliant ADHD coach.

My main takeaways form our conversation were the universal concepts of:

Speaking of your own genius, Cindy had a question the week for you…
What strengths do you have that can be leveraged for success?

Head on over to @productivitybreakthrough on Instagram and share your answer with us.

Did you relate to a lot of the traits and behaviors that Cindy outlined about the ADHD brain?
Remember to reach out to Cindy at her website cindyjobs.com for more information and support.

I share my story about anxiety and depression in this episode. I want you to know this up front in case these topics could be triggering for you.

If you are feeling helpless and aren't sure who to let in, there are people ready to help you. Go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call 1-800-273-8255

And starting July 16 2022, you can simply dial 988 on your phone and you'll reach the hotline. ==========================================

In this episode I wanted to focus on moving forward your mental health, so I shared my journey with depression, starting from the year before my wife Kim and I got married.

There was a lot the happened around that time, in a very short period of time. Kim and I had spent the previous year doing a huge remodel, with all the pressure and upheaval that comes with that kind of project. We then moved in, with some work still to be done on the inside. Then we started landscaping our property in early 2020, and of course the project was brought to a screeching halt when the pandemic hit...leaving our whole property torn up.

Then spring brought about the unexpected and sudden death of my dad, who I was estranged from. He died just a couple of days before my cousin passed away after her long battle with cancer. And then my aunt had a life changing medical event happen, which led to my mother moving in with us.

The combination of it all led to my rock bottom., which I describe in detail in the podcast episode.

As you listen to my story, you will notice that some or most of the symptoms I was “manifesting” don’t fall under your typical, widely publicized list of signs to look out for. I wasn’t withdrawn, sleeping a lot, watching lots of TV or anything like that.

My symptoms were more like irritability and agitation.

If anything in this episode resonates with you, or sounds like someone you know, it’s worth noting that depression may look different for you or them. And similarly, the solutions you choose to handle your depression will vary from person to person, because they’re a very personal choice between you and your healthcare professional. 

Now, I’m sharing this with you to say that it's OK to not be OK. It's ok to have hard moments, hard days, hard weeks, even a hard month. But if you keep telling yourself "I'll feel better when" and at the same time telling everyone else that you’re "fine", I encourage you to try something different.

Try letting trusted people in. Try talking to your therapist or counselor. And if you don't have one, find one. The best way I know to do that is to ask your friends and family for recommendations and then research them and interview them. Talk to your doctor. Let people in.

Everyone's rock bottom can look different. Mine was being called a bully by my mom. That was enough. That was it. It was time to get help. Your rock bottom could be hearing yourself in my story.

So if you hear yourself in this story, turn toward what you're trying to avoid AND let people in.

This all brings me a very important question of the week: Who can you let in when you are feeling down?

Think about them this week. Even if you don't need them now, reach out and let them know how special they are to you.

PS: If my story makes you think of someone else, please share this episode with them so they know they are not alone.