The Productivity Shift

Go to eliseenriquez.com/askelise to sign up for the Ask Me Anything productivity Q&A. Even if you can't attend live, you can submit a question. I'll answer all the questions I can and then send out the recording to anyone who registers.
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Did you know that there is a top-secret conspiracy that is fighting to take your time, energy, and attention from the stuff you care about? It works ruthlessly at all hours of the day and night to steal from you.

Do you know what it is?

Your email inbox. Dun, dun, dun!

OK, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. I mean, it's not really a conspiracy, but doesn't it feel that way sometimes? You think you know how your day is gonna go and then you look at your email and you're like...what the...???

Or maybe you are looking at your email first thing in the morning while you're still in bed and it starts stressing you out–and you start replying to stuff–before your feet even hit the floor. Don’t get me wrong. I don't see anything necessarily wrong with opening your email in bed. If it works for you, go for it.

Email is just another form of interruption, and interruptions are neutral. They are not good or bad. They are, by definition, things that pause the continuous progress of an activity or process.

Some interruptions are more intrusive (like a phone call from an elderly parent that doesn't normally call you in the middle of the day) and others can be kept at bay and engaged with when you choose to engage with them. Email, for most people, falls into this category.

In this episode, I’m talking about how to take back control of your time, attention, and energy. Before you let your email take over your day, start your day with intention.

After you’ve listened don’t forget to head on over to @TheProductivityShift on Instagram or Facebook to share your experiment or ideas with others.

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

I’ve got a question for you…What comes to mind when you hear the word "productivity"?

I always ask this question at the kick-off of every GYST Productivity training program. (If you are new to the podcast, let me quickly say that GYST stands for Get Your Shit Together.) The most common responses I get are things like results, efficiency, checking things off my list, getting shit done, being efficient, being organized, managing time well, etc.

All fairly positive to most people. However, sometimes people say words like elusive, unattainable, or impossible.

A few weeks ago, as I was kicking off GYST for my Spring cohort, one of my GYSTers surprised me. Her response to that question was:

I was so glad to hear her honest answer, because I often wonder how many people think this about productivity but are maybe just worried about offending me if they say it out loud to a productivity coach like me. This is exactly why I wanted to share my response with you in this episode.

Our unconscious views of productivity will determine whether or not we stick to the systems we put in place.
“If you see productivity as rigidity, boring and predictable, you could end up creating a lot of excitement in your life through the habit of procrastination, a lack of planning and a lack of systems.” ~ Elise

So what would you do differently this week if you believed that getting some productivity systems and habits in place would support you, not limit you?

If you are someone who feels like productivity is elusive, rigid, and boring AND at the same time you are ready to get off the rollercoaster of demands that everyone else is putting on you and get your shit together, then I encourage you to attend my first ever Ask Me Anything event. This is a live Q&A session on Zoom where you can share your issues around productivity with me and get some solutions you can use right away.
Our next event will be on June 14th. To register for the event go to: eliseenriquez.com/askelise   

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

If you want to get to ‘lagom’ with your brain, be sure to sign up for a free What Matters Most session. Just go to https://www.eliseenriquez.com/whatmattersmost/ to grab a spot on my calendar.
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My new favorite word is “lagom".

It's Swedish and it means “not too much, not too little, just the right amount.” I learned about ‘lagom’ on the new TV series "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning", which is based on Margareta Magnusson's book of the same name.

So what is death cleaning and what the hell does it have to do with productivity?

Swedish Death Cleaning is a practice of decluttering and organizing your stuff so that you don't burden your loved ones after you die. It's a kind thing to do for others AND for yourself, and it doesn't necessarily have to be done right before you die or even later in life. There are those who would argue it's never too early to let go of what no longer serves us. <<Ahem. I'm one of those people>>

I've always noticed some overlap between professional organizing and the productivity work I do, so I thought we could explore the parallels between Swedish death cleaning and productivity in this episode.

1. Start as early as possible so that you have time to go through everything carefully and make thoughtful decisions. The same goes for your productivity. It's never too early to make spend your time on what matters most.

2. Take stock of your possessions. This is what the bonus brain is all about - it holds everything that needs to be remembered so you be intentional about how you spend your time.

3. Decide what to keep. This could look like getting clear on what matters most in my definition of productivity.

4. Decide what to discard. What are you going to let go of so that you can spend your time on this planet with your people the way you want to?

5. Consider what to leave behind. What do you want your time here on earth to mean?

6. Organize your possessions. The same can be said for your goals, projects, and actions.

So tell me, where do you have "too much" right now? And what is one small thing you could do this week to get closer to lagom in that area? Be sure to head on over to TheProductivityShift on Instagram or Facebook for the emoji challenge. Use emojis to tell me what area of your life has too much and use emojis to express how you'll feel when you get to lagom in that area. Or use words if you prefer.

Resources:

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter, by Margareta Magnusson https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gentle-Art-Swedish-Death-Cleaning/dp/1786891085

“Psychology: Your Attention, Please” based on a study by Princeton University Neuroscience professor Sabine Kastner https://paw.princeton.edu/article/psychology-your-attention-please

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

"Time is a created thing. Say you want it, believe it, and work for it, and it will be yours." ~ Emily Dickinson

My podcast usually attracts women in charge, the ones everyone tracks down to make shit happen. And you do make it happen; maybe even so amazingly well that you make it look effortless.

But on the inside, there can be frustration. Struggle. Overwhelm. A knowing that things could feel a little calmer than they feel now. A little, dare I say...easier.

Ultimately, when it comes down to it, it's all about time. How much time do you have and how do you use it? And let's face it – your time is largely spoken for. So it's not about creating more time. You only get 24 hours in a day...and hopefully, at least ⅓ of those are spent sleeping!

It's actually about reclaiming your time.

In this episode, I lay out 3 things you must do to take your time back.
1 - Find your compelling why.
2 - Develop a growth mindset.
3 - Put systems and habits in place that support you.

What is the next step you'll take out of those 3? Head on over to The Productivity Shift on Instagram or Facebook and share which one you're going to focus on in the Weekly Shift Post.

And if you picked "put systems and habits in place that support you", your next step is easy - go to daretoprioritize.com to sign up for my Dare to Prioritize challenge, a live 5-day challenge that I host to help people reclaim their time. We'll kick things off on May 22.

Resources:
"Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by psychologist and Standford Psychology researcher, Dr. Carol Dweck - https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1683075056&sr=1-1

"Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by psychologist and University of Pennsylvania researcher, Dr. Angela Duckworth - https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-book/

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

"OMG, I feel so much lighter!" This is what Molly had to say after just 2 sessions in my productivity coaching community.

Wanna know what the big shift was? We moved her from keeping everything in her head to getting it all in one place so she could decide how to use her time.

My challenge for you in this episode is to get it all out of your head.

I find that many of my clients who focus more on their five senses hold a lot of information in their heads. Despite building external systems they trust, when they get stressed, they tend to think they can trust their own brains even more.

It all falls apart, though, when volume increases too fast AND/OR they take on something new, and this habit of holding stuff in their heads is a sure sign to me that they are feeling overwhelmed.

You see, constantly cycling through your projects, worries, busyness, problems, etc over and over again is usually masking one of 2 things:
:: A lack of priorities
:: A bigger problem you are trying to avoid

The key to breaking out of this cycle is to get things out of your head.

So if this sounds like you, and you want that shift that Molly experienced once she moved everything out of her head, walk with me through this episode and I will show you how.

And if, after all that, you’re ready to set up a system you can trust, then Dare to Prioritize might just be the thing you need. It’s a LIVE 5-day challenge where I guide you through the daily process of brain dumping, prioritizing, and planning action so you can take back your time.

Head on over to daretoprioritize.com to sign up.

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

If you want to deepen this week’s experiment, then sign up for the Dare to Prioritize Challenge, a week-long challenge that starts May 22nd. In this challenge, I help you take back your time so you can use it for what matters most.

Head on over to daretoprioritize.com to sign up
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"All the systems, apps and tools in the world don't matter if you don't have what matters most to you in them." ~ Elise

I love a to-do list! So much so that my wife bought me a t-shirt that says "Lists are my love language." Yep! It’s true.

I also love systems. I mean, I have a whole coaching program around building systems to support your productivity called GYST, which stands for Get Your Shit Together.

I have been a list and systems girl for a long time–I am deeply committed to them–and yet there was a time when what was on my list had everything on it except what mattered most to me. I've worked hard over the years to change this for myself, and now I'm dedicated to helping other people make this change too.

Now if you’re new here, it might be worth mentioning that the purpose of to-do lists in my world is not just to tick things off and get more stuff done. No. In my world, when we mention productivity, we are talking about making progress on what matters most to YOU. We are talking about not just getting stuff done that has to get done because you promised someone else, we are talking about looking inside yourself to say: who do I want to be in this world? What do I want to do? How do I want to spend my time on this planet?

In this episode, we use one of my clients’ experience as a case study to determine whether your to-do list is helping you or if it's holding you back, because let’s face it; all the systems, apps, and tools in the world don't matter if you don't have what matters most IN them.

Trust me, I have been a highly organized, get-it-done kind of person who was extremely lonely and unhappy in my old ways of productivity. If you can relate to my GYSTer or how I used to operate, it might be time for a productivity shift.

So, here's Your Weekly Shift...the little experiment you are going to run this week to shift your productivity:

To show that you are running this experiment, head on over to @theproductivityshift on Instagram or Facebook and put one of your favorite songs in the comments of the weekly shift post. Give me some music to inspire me and others!

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

If you're new to this podcast, you might not know that I love pop culture. One of my favorite pop culture treats is a good 30-minute situational comedy...or as the entertainment insiders call it...a sitcom. LOL

Did you ever watch 30 Rock? It ran from 2006 to 2013 on NBC and starred Tina Fey as Liz Lemon –one of my all-time favorite sitcom leads. Liz Lemon's love of her work is what I admire most about her. It's evident that she's passionate about what she does...to the point where she is committed to her career despite all the bullshit that she has to put up with.

I think it’s fair to say that one way you could describe Liz Lemon, especially at the beginning of the series, is “overcommitted.” She takes on too much and just takes things as they come. When everyone needs something, she's the one they turn to and she's so creative she can't help but try to do it all.

Does this sound like you at all?

Well, in this episode, I talk about what being overcommitted might look like, the risks it involves and what you can do to change things, all through the lens of Liz Lemon and her commitment or over-commitment issues.

It may not always feel like it, but, as Liz discovers, you actually have a choice and you get to decide what your life looks like. You may not be able to choose all of the stuff that comes your way, but you do get to choose how you react to all of it.

But where do you start?

Your Weekly Shift is to get real about what's going on in your world by signing up for my free and fun Dare to Prioritize challenge. Starting May 22nd I'll be going live with my Dare to Prioritize peeps every day for a week to support them in taking the first steps to get off the overcommitted bus and shift to taking back control of their time.

Head on over to daretoprioritize.com to join us!

References:
Leiter, M. P., Frank, E., & Matheson, T. J. (2009). Demands, values, and burnout: Relevance for physicians. Canadian Family Physician, 55(12), 1224-1225.

Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701-716.

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

If you are ready to prioritize what matters most to you and start taking action on that, I will have a live Dare to Prioritize challenge coming up in May. So be sure to head on over to daretoprioritize.com to join the waiting list so you are notified as soon as the doors open for registration.
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Did you ever play the game “Hot and Cold” growing up? You know, your friends would hide something and they would tell you if you were getting hotter or colder as you searched for it. Well, it turns out this game can be applied to productivity as well.

“By using the principles of hot and cold, you can hone your focus, increase your efficiency, and achieve your goals faster than ever before.” ~ Elise.

We’re hopping in the time machine in this episode for a little bit. I want you to go back with me and see little Elise in a game of hot and cold. Remember the way it was played - or at least in my family - whoever was "it" would leave the room while the other players hid a prized object somewhere in the room. When "it" returned, they would have to search for the object while the other players gave them clues by saying "hot" when they were close and "cold" when they were far away.

I was always a bit nervous playing this game because I hated getting things wrong, especially in front of an audience. I was the kid who dreaded P.E. class because we had to do things in front of each other, and I was always afraid of making a mistake. So you can imagine how I felt playing hot and cold. Every step I took was a potential mistake, and I didn't want to let my team down.

But deep down, I knew I wanted to find the object and win the game. So I had to take a risk and start moving. Sometimes I guessed the right direction, and other times I was wrong, but I learned from my mistakes and kept going. And when I finally found the object, it was such a rewarding feeling.

Now, as a coach, I see a lot of people who get stuck in analysis paralysis. They spend so much time thinking about their goals and all the different ways they could achieve them, but they don't take action. Just like in the game of hot and cold, you have to take a risk and start moving towards your goal. You might make mistakes along the way, but you'll learn from them and keep improving until you finally reach your prize.

Let’s start you along with a little experiment in The Weekly Shift with 2 steps:

Step 1 - Think of one thing you've been putting on the back burner that you care about, are passionate or excited about that you know would be good for you and that you want to pursue. Do you have it? Say it out loud right now...or at least say it in your head right now

Step 2 - Find a way to play hot and cold with this thing, goal, project or idea by taking just one tiny step every single day this week. See how it feels to take action on it.

Take action. Get feedback. Take your next action. Get feedback. Take your next action. So on and so forth.

If you are all in on trying the shift this week, head over to @theproductivityshift on Facebook or Instagram and comment in the weekly shift post with some sort of fun emoji.

**This podcast is lovingly created by yours truly, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya.

Have you ever noticed how most productivity advice doesn’t work for women? That’s because you’re not a man who has a spouse at home who takes care of all the things. You’re juggling your business, your career, and your family. It’s a lot, and no wonder why things slip through the cracks despite your best intentions to get it all done. When you treat everything as an urgent priority, you lose all sense of what truly matters. This podcast is here to help you change all of that. One week at a time. Choose how to spend your time, so you make progress on what matters most to your life & business. Each week, Elise Enriquez, a productivity dork and certified life coach, guides you to redefine what productivity is to you. You’ll get strategies and insights you can implement right away. Lighten your load and focus on what’s most important so you can create a life and business that is meaningful to you.

Make every day your best day with my Dare to Prioritize challenge.
Head on over to daretoprioritize.com to sign up.
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“Show me your calendar and I'll tell you what you value.” ~ Anon

One thing about that quote is that it’s one of those bits of wisdom that can't be sourced. I've done enough research and from what I’ve seen, it's attributed in some form or another to a lot of different people.

The other thing is that it falls under the “annoying but true” category of personal growth wisdom. So buckle up for an annoying but true episode about what your calendar is trying to tell you.

Way back when I worked at Microsoft, my calendar was full of meetings, and I’ve got to admit – I kind of liked it, even though everybody else complained about all the meetings they had. I think it made me feel kind of important and proud that people wanted me in their meetings, and maybe some of that was FOMO.

But really, looking back at my patterns of behavior, a lot of it was me not deciding for myself what I wanted to create in my career or life. I just gave my time away to anyone who wanted or asked instead of thinking about how I actually wanted to use it, as if it was something as tangible as money.

It took me years, even after I left corporate America and had my own clients, but I finally realized how precious my time really is. I run a little observation experiment with my calendar (which I’m talking about in this episode) and the insights were nearly instantaneous. It completely transformed how I served my clients.

What do you think you'd observe by looking at how you really use your time?

Find out in Your Weekly Shift: Observe your time. At the end of each day this week, look at your calendar and reflect back on how you used your time...bonus points for printing it out and filling in stuff you worked on or did during the blank spaces in your calendar

Ask yourself: What was one thing missing from today that I wish I would have spent time on? Write that down!

**The Productivity Shift is lovingly created by me, Elise Enriquez, and produced by Rachael Sanya