In-Between: My Productivity Hacks

I'm talking about productivity hacks on this week's in-between. We know there's a million plus ways to be more productive/ get more out of your day/ get better with your time management. If you're anything like me, you've read the articles, maybe even some books but still struggling to get it all together because information overload. This isn't a topic new to the pod, but in today's episode, I go more into what current habits/systems I'm trying to work on in relation to productivity and focus. I'm also going into the things that ARE actually working for me (for now). We're always a work in progress, and that's one of the many layers of life's beauty. LOL. Cheesy or not, this episode will make you giggle and possibly offer a tip or trick related to our good ole personal productivity.  

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Transcript

Elizabeth: 0:07

Hello. Hello. Welcome back to an all new episode of the in between podcast. I'm your host, Elizabeth Cheney. Happy Halloween. Technically Halloween has just passed since this comes out, but I am recording it on Halloween. So I'm a little bit of the Halloween spirit. I also just got back from a work event where I don't know, for whatever reason, my company is really big on Halloween. Probably because it's one of the safer holidays, I don't know, don't want to get into it, but we did like, um, some games and there was like a costume contest and all of that. I was Dr. Saddler from Jurassic Park, she was Laura Dern's character, my co worker was Dr. Grant, um, and we also had a dinosaur party to it, so it was fun, good times, it's always a good time to see the team. We also made, like, well at least the marketing game, well not a game, but station, was beading, like beading bracelets, necklaces, whatever. I don't think anybody did a necklace, let's be real. But I... Did one of those like, well, not that I went to a Taylor Swift concert, but. If you were anywhere on the internet during her heiress tour, everyone was freaking out about these, um, letter bracelets and it was like friendship bracelets. And I don't know, I guess it had lyrics to her songs. I really have no idea, but I was like, Ooh, I'm going to make one. And it says the in between podcast and then has a little butterfly. So that was nice. But yeah, always good to see everyone. Um, cause you know, we work remote and remember a few weeks ago I talked about, um, Um, speaking on my company's women's ERG about ADHD while I was talking to the executive who sponsors that specific ERG and she was like, Hey, you need to come back, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Let's talk topics. It's in this I'm planning out 2024. So I don't know. I had a really, really good conversation with her and you know, her and I already have a relationship, a good relationship, work relationship. So it's, it's really fun to kind of bring both our passions together in addition just to our work friendship, if you will. Um, and I was like, Hey, I would love to have you come on the pod too. And I'm leaving her nameless for now, just in case she, if she doesn't, if she doesn't want to come on the pod, then I haven't like, you know, put her name out there. But, uh, the point I bringing up or the reason I'm bringing this up is just, besides getting to see everybody and get to have fun and not really have to worry about work, work, right. It was good to. Connect, network with her because it looks like there's some opportunity there. So, um, not that I'm sharing this because all of y'all work at the same company I do, because I know y'all don't, but just to say, hey, your girl's getting out there little by little. Spreading that light. Spreading that good juju. So, no matter how big or how small, take the opportunity. Remember what I say? Leap, and the net will appear. Same old, same old, right? Right. So, but anyways, I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Last week was a little stressful. Um, just, yeah, it was, it was a really crazy week, a lot of stuff going on. And I just want to say, despite having Monday been a little off to a bumpy start last week, I was able to get. kind of control of my week, if that makes any sense, um, and it ended up great. So I guess what I, I want to say to that or explain myself a little bit is not that Monday was just so horrible, and I was just losing my mind, but when you have really, like when you have really bad anxiety, and you have a really bad panic attack, it's not that I am saying that that's gonna play into my whole week, but For me, especially, maybe this is my ADHD or my anxiety, I'm not sure, or both, option C, all of the above, but I get in my head a lot, and if I feel off track, even though I'm not off track, mentally in my mind, I'm like, oh god, I've lost it, I've lost my, I've lost my wind, I've lost, I've lost my focus, which, point being, I have not lost any of that, but for it to happen on a Monday with like a really bad anxiety attack, just being overwhelmed with, House stuff and what are we doing and just is this the right time to do this? I don't even know It was overwhelming But the point being is I did not let it affect my week I told myself it is too early in the week to call the week a loss already Remember, there is always tomorrow. Remember I talked about last week, there's always tomorrow. And so that's exactly what I did. I took the week by the horn, so to speak, and I had a really great weekend. I am trying to be better about my habits and my time commitments and this and this, and I think this has like been, the past year, the, the thing I've been working on the most. So last year it was consistency, this year it's like managing my workload and it's not that I am just doing so much all the time, I mean, I am doing a lot, but I don't give myself enough time where time is due, so to speak, on the things that require more time, more focus, um, which again, I've been talking about this on the podcast all year, so y'all know what I'm talking about, the point being, We started off on a bumpy start last week, but we ended awesome. We ended with 100, 10 out of 10, all the, the scores were scored, all the balls went into the net. It was great. It was a great time. Um, this past weekend went to a little small Halloween party. One of my girlfriends, uh, check out her new house, which I've already seen it before, but you know, this was like her first like breaking, breaking in the house kind of thing. And then Sunday I. I didn't deep clean the entire apartment, which, you know, that was my goal, but I need to like remind myself, it doesn't matter how small your apartment is to deep clean the entire thing in a day is not attainable. But I did everything that counts and I got like, I don't know, like 75 percent of it done. And then I actually started working on my, my, my website and I'll get into that momentarily. Um, and then, yeah, just did a bunch of other little things. Did I do everything that I wanted to do? No. I don't know, but. Let's be real, I had a very ambitious amount of things on my list to do. But I did like at least half of them, if not more. And you know what? Hell yeah. I am no longer going to beat myself up over what I don't do and instead I'm gonna focus on what I did do. Now she says that And, uh, we all know that that may not always be the case. Okay, okay. But, uh, now, right now, today, today years old, I, that's what I choose to do. That's what I choose to focus on. And that's exactly what I did Sunday. And let me tell you, it was great. I didn't have the Sunday scaries. I didn't really get bad anxiety. So let me tell you, there is something to be said about how we speak to ourselves. So. That's my lesson for today. Uh, okay, but anywho. Um, Halloween, yes. So, hopefully you guys had a good Halloween. Love to see your costumes. I love the creativity. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not much of a Halloween girly. I'll be honest, like, I don't like spooky stuff. Although I've, I've, I've had several, um, paranormal type people on the pod whom I love and I actually like, you know, am inspired by their bravery and the, and the things they talk about and the things they're not afraid of. Uh, I've even been on a paranormal podcast, but personally, your girl is not a spooky babe. Alright? I like a good candy corn earring. I like some themed earrings. I say that and I'm wearing themed earrings. Um, let's see. I like the idea of scary movies, but I hate them. Because I will watch a scary movie and then at 30 something years old will need to sleep with a nightlight. So, I'm not, I'm not ashamed to admit that. Uh, maybe I should be. Maybe I should not put that out onto the world. And everyone knows that I am just a giant wuss. But... I think there's something to be said about knowing your strengths and recognizing and accepting your weaknesses. And spooky stuff is a weakness. Am I right? Am I right? But anyways, uh, like, like my horror kind of movies are like Casper. Or Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, and that one's like a double win because it could be Halloween or it could be Christmas. Uh, but I'm definitely one of those chicks who's like, November 1st, Christmas music is on, and if my husband would let me, the house would be decorated. But, you know, it is what it is. Maybe when we actually get a house, we'll be there. And speaking of house, so yeah, that was like, all of that shit was kind of what spiraled last week. I mean, that's like a whole other story. I won't get into it. But... After talking to our lender, talking to our realtor, we're all on the same page now. I feel like I got my team, and I'm like, I gotta say, I really do love the team that me and Stan have to get this, this path forged, so to speak. So, super pumped, super ready, and there was not shit available this weekend. No new homes. No new homes. So, you know. I have barely even looked at homes to have the heartbreak, but I've already felt the heartbreak. So, it's fine, it's fine. This, you know, I um, I know this sounds weird. Well, it's me, so is it really that weird? But, I know you can't predict what's going to happen. I can't predict when we're going to find a house, where the house is going to be. I mean, obviously we're looking in specific areas, but we're looking, we're looking really hard in like three different areas. But... I do trust and have faith that it is going to work out. And it's going to work out in the foreseeable future. I'm just going to trust the process. Um, because God knows I have enough to worry about. God knows we all have enough to stress about. So let's just not stress about the things that we can't control. Okay? Easier said than done. I, I know. I know. But, you gotta, you gotta start. You gotta try somewhere. Right, right. So, there's that. And then, remember how a few weeks ago, I was like, I gave you a really short episode because I had a crick in my neck. Well, y'all know I have neck issues anyway because of my, my car accident and all that crap. Well, my neck has been driving me crazy. And I would love to do an episode, maybe not just specifically on chronic pain, but like silent suffering. Uh, because you can like throw mental health into that too. And not that that's what this episode today is about, but... I have chronic pain, and most people don't realize it because I don't show it. Um, and then of course like I kind of gaslight myself that when I'm really feeling pain, like right now, I don't feel like I'm allowed to talk about it because I don't outwardly show that I'm in physical pain all the time, or I don't talk about it and express myself often about how much pain I'm in. So like when I'm really, REALLY in pain, And it's even harder to mask. I still feel this anxiety that I'm not allowed to admit it. Because I feel like I'm faking it. Even though I'm not. It's like I have already assumed what the public will think. And I think they're going to think I'm faking it. And you know what? Some of them may think that. Maybe. Um, let me tell you. I may do some things for attention. Podcast. But not like, you know, narcissistic attention. Just like, hey, I want to help. I want to be your friend. But when it comes to self. Like physical pain and injuries and sicknesses, you're never going to see me faking. So, um, just want to say, for anybody else who struggles with chronic pain, I see you. I feel you. Um, go easy on yourself and don't feel guilty for being in the pain. It is literally silent suffering. And, um, yeah, sorry. I'm like going on a soapbox and, uh, didn't mean to. And I, and like I said, I just, I want to do like an episode on this kind of stuff anyway. But just to say that, to say, um, your girl's neck is killing her, I'm in a lot of pain, I just wanna like, I don't know, I haven't been sleeping, it's been causing me so much pain, I don't know, it's just, it's even hard to describe, like, It's like all this weird pressure, it almost feels like one of my ears is like clogged, but I can't really bend my neck all the way to the right. And now because I've been messing with it so hard, the left side now hurts and I've created a problem on that side. And yes, I go to the chiropractor, I do all the damn things. I still do all the exercises I learned in physical therapy and I don't know what gives. But I can say, I finally just said screw it. I buy skincare. When I run out, I buy shampoo, conditioner when I run out. So why do I feel like I can't buy myself a massage? Because something tells me that that's like, I don't know, entitlement or bougie ness. I don't know. But I scheduled a massage, and Stan gets to have one too because, you know, whatever. We're two peas in a pod. He's gotta come with, right? Uh, I'm just kidding, he doesn't have to come with, but I know he could use one too. But I'm finally getting a massage. And it's probably, like, several years overdue. Uh, I did have this, like, amazing massage therapist before COVID. I literally called her my spirit guide. Um, just so incredibly connected with her. And when COVID happened, all this, uh, she quit doing massage for multiple reasons. Um, and I haven't been. Like, the last time I got massaged was, like, February. Or, like, when I was going consistently every two weeks. It was, like, February 2020. And I don't know, part of it was just, like... I think I was kind of mourning the loss of her. I know that sounds so lame, maybe it doesn't, I don't know why I need to assume that, but I was in so much physical pain and I was in such a, this is like before my mental health really peaked in terms of my low spot, like peaked to my low spot, so what's the opposite of peaked? I don't even know. So yeah, instead of peaking like high, it was peaking low. Um, so she was like the first person to kind of validate me. In my pain because I don't know all these doctors gaslighted me and this and this and here I am going on about chronic pain again the point being this woman I had a connection and when it the relationship kind of stopped not that we're we're not friends or anything like that but I mean she quit doing massage so I wasn't seeing her for that anymore it hurt and then COVID happened and then mental health and fucking fun times so I'm finally going back to get a massage I'm gonna try this place out So hopefully this neck pain will at least not be as intense as it is right now. Um, even recording this is like a little hard because I don't know, it's just so sensitive. So sorry to just go off and ramble about neck pain, chronic pain, all of that, but chances are if you yourself don't struggle with chronic pain, you probably know somebody. So maybe I'm just saying all this to either validate you. Or to maybe make you go, you know what, I should be easier on my friend, or my sister, or my parent because chronic pain is no fun. I mean think about it, if you like hurt yourself and you don't have chronic pain, let's say you twist your ankle or something, that shit hurts. So imagine like if you're in like that kind of pain all the time. Because to be honest, sometimes chronic pain be like that. Because the user, the user, is that the right way to describe this? But like me, like for me personally, I have kind of gotten used to it, right? Um. And because I've kind of gotten used to it, and it's chronic, so it's all the time, I don't want to just keep talking about it. Like, hey Liz, what's new? Oh, you know, my neck hurts again. Oh yeah, my neck is just so locked, I can't move it. Yeah, every time I move to the left, I feel a spike from the top of my ear all the way down the side of my oblique. Yeah, it's great. Great times. I don't want to be like that. God. So, no more silent suffering. Doesn't mean I'm going to be annoying and be like, guys, my neck really hurts, but I am going to get a frickin massage and not feel guilty about it, okay? And that's the word. You hear me? You hear me? We're always a work in progress, right? Always work in progress. And that kind of leads me to what I want to talk about in today's episode. Not that I haven't talked about productivity and this and this and time management before but, you know, a current in between theme in my life is getting better at my systems and my habits and more or less establishing them and I wanted to share some productivity hacks that I do and that I've also like Um, seen online that I would like to try more of, um, that I've, I've seen that works for others. Maybe it'll work for you. And I just want to buffer this and say, I do feel a little disingenuine even feeling like I can talk about this, like Elizabeth productivity hacks because, well, I don't feel like I am some productivity guru. Like I have figured it out. I have made the app and wrote the book and. Definition of productivity. There's my picture. You know what I mean? So I'm just like do I even have like credibility to even talk about this? but I can't be a wizard at everything believe it or not and Neither can you and so when I say work in progress? That's kind of like what I had that lead me into when I was thinking about this week's episode, because I do try to think like, what am I struggling with currently in between, in between what you're in between? This is my in between. And I did want to share this cause I am working actively working and striving to be better at this and better at that. Again, we're always a work in progress, so even if I like start rockin it, and not, not just start, but like I'm really rockin rollin I've got my, I got my strong to do's, my rituals in the morning, my rituals in the evening, this, this, this, this, this, this. That doesn't mean that I'm not gonna falter, and doesn't mean that I can't improve or change things around. So, I say disingenuine because I feel like I'm not even at that place yet where I could start to work it, work it, switch it up. I'm establishing. I am whatever. I am whatever. I am whatever. And because I talk about this a lot on the podcast, I also want to say, sometimes I don't give myself credit. Like, I'll sit here and think, oh, I don't have these great habits. I don't have this routine set in place. But actually, like, I do have some stuff locked and loaded. I do have some stuff rocking and rolling. and this kind of goes also back to, we need to remember the voice we have with ourselves, that inner narrative is so important. And so, the past couple, like, past week or so, any time a negative thought comes into my mind. Like, Sunday, I didn't get everything on my to do list, but I followed it immediately with, Well, you made a pretty long to do list that was overly ambitious and you kind of already knew that. Also, you did a lot. Look at all the things you did do. Boom. I'm not gonna mourn or feel shitty about myself because I didn't do everything and some be like heck Yeah, I actually did all of this and that's more than I did last weekend So with these productivity hacks and establishing routines and habits and rituals same concept so I am NOT being disingenuine by by giving you this advice and talking about this topic because I'm a work in progress and aren't we all again? I can't be a wizard at everything Although I do try So first and foremost, I just wanna say I bought a planner. I was talking about that a few weeks ago. I bought a planner. I have had my relationship with planners off and on the past couple years, and it does work when I'm like really crushing it. Like I'm in a good mental, my mental spot doing my habits, this and this, my routines, and I'm kind of tired of all these. Sticky notes that I have everywhere because I do I think I've been doing a good job of managing my to do list because that's that's That's another big point of my productivity hack if that's my that's why my biggest productivity hack is more manageable to do lists but Um, since I started doing that and not just trying to get all my thoughts on paper and then having like a jarbled, conjumbled, yes, I just made both those words up, basically hot mess of a to do list, um, I still don't have like a one stop shop for all my stuff. That sounds weird. I have multiple journals, this or this, not that I even journal consistently, but I wanted something that like, Hey, now that I've actually implemented these better practices, these, these grounding techniques, these habits, these rituals. And I want to be better at them and do them consistently because, I mean, it really does make a difference in my day if I started off with boom, bap, boom, bap, boom, right? At night, I'm more calm if I'm boom, bap, boom, bap, boom. I get all my things done. I was like, I need a planner, because I think that's going to help. It's going to help me with my goal setting for the week. It's going to help me, like, Look at all the the meetings and appointments that I have scheduled. It's gonna help me think about the to do's that I want to achieve this week. Okay, stuff for the podcast. Okay, I need to reach out to this guest. I need to reach out to this because right now I do have my own system, but it's like, it's just not easy. So I'll set like reminders in my phone, but I'll schedule them because if it's like a thought, I don't want to forget. I'm like, okay. Hey Siri, remind me tomorrow 8 a. m. XYZ elemental P. Then I have my post it note. Then I have my other notepad that's like podcast ideas and then it's this and it's that. It's like, all right. You see how quick that can just kind of get all over the place. So my first thing as a planner, stay tuned for more. I will keep you updated. I made a post about it and I got several inquiries, or not inquiries, that's the wrong word, several responses about it. So I did my research. And of course I was like kind of immobilized because there was like five or six different ones and of course they all claim to be the best and I'm like, ah, I hate this. So I finally just was like, all right, I can either sit here and spend, I don't know, an hour, another hour looking through all these freaking planners because it'd be like that sometimes y'all with that hyper fixation. And then I was like, or I can buy one because they're probably all great and be that much closer to creating better systems in place. So that's what I did. So that'll be here tomorrow actually, and I cannot freaking wait, so I'll keep you posted on that. another thing that not so much a productivity hack, but I just want to humble brag. You know how, well, maybe you don't do this and it's just me, but you take screenshots. Oh, I'm going to remember that for later. You see it on the internet. You save a post, you save a basic post, Instagram posts, whatever, a TikTok video, screenshot. I'm notorious for that. Every once in a while. If I'm like just like doom scrolling, I'm like, you know what, I could be doing better use of my time. I'm going to go through my screenshots. Let's just be real. I'm probably never going to get through all of them. However, there's like old emails that like I just haven't gone through from like years ago. Some actually had screenshots or like links I want to save. I went through all of my email. So maybe I didn't go through all my screenshots this weekend, but I went through all of my email and it says zero. Zero. Um, I mean, I don't know who I am, but I might be your next president. Let's be real. There you go, babies. Well, as a president, just kidding. I do not want that job, at least not right now. Um, but I do go through my email. So if you want any advice on how to take over the world, just ask me because I went through my email. Um, but other productivity tips, hacks. So far, the planner, the manageable to do lists. That is a huge thing. Big projects, long term projects, big goals, big projects. Manageable to do lists. Break things out into smaller, smaller tasks. So I talked about, I did finally work on my website this weekend. By working on it, we're still kind of in that I'm messing around and pressing buttons and seeing what they do stage. However, uh, somebody I work with, um, had explained to me how she uses ChatGPT to help her with project plans. And I'm always like, oh my god, that's a great idea. I just don't think about these things. So I asked ChatGPT, I was like, can you give me a project plan for a, like, building out a website? Um, with like a novice skill. So it gives me like, I don't know, eight or nine phases. And of course, each phase has like your tasks or steps. So then I said, can you take this project plan and break out each phase into 30 minute increments? So within like seconds, ChatGPT is giving me this whole project plan, and then giving me each phase broken out into different tasks in 30 minute increments intervals. To say that I have a roadmap is an understatement. And when you are tasked with something where you're kind of like, I do not know what I'm doing, case in point, me with this website, holy moly, that was relieving. So now I have kind of a, a roadmap. Now, we all know that starting is the hardest part. And once you start, you know, things start, start working for you and you start this or that. So even though this roadmap is a roadmap, and here's step A to step Z, It doesn't mean I have to, I'm married to it, right? It doesn't mean that I am, I have to follow, um, exactly the roadmap, but it's the roadmap to get me started. So on that note, starting, being the hardest part, um, the manageable to do lists, uh, ChatGPT is a free resource in most cases, so, hey, you got a big project, you want an idea, some help, a plan for, ChatGPT it. Who knows, I may be like, ChatGPT, help me with a social media calendar. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying. And these kind of all kind of go together, right? So, ChatGPT broke out the projects and tasks in 30 minute increments. Um, I think allotting time is really beneficial, especially if you're overwhelmed or you don't know where to start, or you're like, Ha, I got all this big stuff I gotta do, this and that, this and that. Just set a timer. Start small, like 30 minutes, 10 minutes. Five minutes. Apparently there's a two minute rule, which there are several two minute rules, so if what I'm about to say is not the two minute rule you know, just note that when I googled two minute rule, there's like so many different interpretations of what that means. But, I'm gonna go based off the Atomic Habits guy. Um, I am brain farting on his name. What is, let me see. James Clear, James Clear, side note, James Clear, I love your book, would love to have you on the pod. Uh, but he, um, he talks about the two minute rule, rule where start anything for two minutes, two minutes. You can give yourself two minutes. it's a good way to build habits. Um, two minutes can easily turn into five, can easily turn into ten. And then what I add to that is, that's two minutes you didn't do yesterday. So if you can give yourself two minutes just to start something, you are well on your way, friend. So, time increments, whether it's two, whether it's three, I think that's helpful. One thing that I, I do want to do is time blocking. Now, I know this isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea, but I think for me, and now we're gonna wait till I get my planner, because I feel like my planner's gonna be like my Bible, like my roadmap for a minute. So time blocking is basically where you are Blocking out your entire day, so it's not just that 10 a. m. to 11 a. m. meeting whatever. It's like, okay, I'm gonna wake up I'm gonna brush my teeth, brush my hair, wash my hair, wash my face, whatever. That's gonna be 30 minutes. I'm gonna make breakfast I'm gonna do my morning coffee 15 minutes. I'm gonna do these meetings. Okay, this is travel time. This is lunch. This is this I Personally, I don't think that would be like Achievable consistently for me that would be kind of exhausting because you are planning out every single moment of your day Now, also, on that note, it doesn't mean that you are jam packing your day. It's just a way for you to kind of, how it was explained online, is it, it fills up your day to avoid the multitasking or the pressure to feel like you're multitasking. Oh, I got this thought. I got this going through my head. I gotta do that project. I gotta work on that website. This, this, that. I gotta record. I gotta edit. I gotta post. I gotta ah, ah, ah. Okay. Well, this is just a way to kind of take that chaos in your mind and make it more strategic and using your whole day's schedule. So that's why I said like it's something that I want to kind of try a little bit, especially after I get this planner and I'm working on the goals and planning out my weeks and all of the stuff that I'm trying to do the rest of the, for the remaining of the year. And I like the idea of it. Plus, like, I get distracted so easily, or I get in my head about, Oh, well, I only have 20 minutes, and I really only need an hour, or I really need an hour to do this, when chances are, like, I could still do 20 minutes, and I'm gonna get something done. Like, it's not that I need the full hour. Like, I have got to work on thinking that I have to finish whatever it is. Sometimes you just gotta start, and maybe you will finish, or maybe you can finish later. You can finish tomorrow, right? Right. I think that the, the, the blocking, the time blocking is gonna help with that. Um, Just kind of keeping me on a leash, if that makes sense, like keeping me on my own mental leash, um, which I kind of like keeping me on my own mental leash. So anyways, you see like time, time tables, um, time breakdowns like these, these are kind of the reoccurring themes of my productivity hacks. because I don't know, I get really stuck with time and it's. And it's kind of like, I don't know, a man made concept, so there's that. But, uh, I'm just kidding. I digress. So, the more manageable to do lists, breaking down large goals, projects, into these like more smaller to dos, tasks, things like that. using tools like ChatGPT to help you create your own roadmap, your own plan. Like, don't feel like you just need to spend hours researching this or this, because I mean, sure, there's going to be a ton of blogs on how to build websites. And if you're anything like me, you're gonna just read every single one of those blogs. and probably still leave, like, empty handed going, Okay, but what do I do? Because, you know, you're over saturated and then you get immobilized because you're like, where do I start? This is a needle in a haystack. Maybe this is more personal. I don't know. Maybe I should just pull back a little bit, more high level. Oh, but you know what I'm trying to say here. But using tools like that, Think about the two minute rule. You can try or start anything in two minutes. So give yourself two minutes. Um, especially the harder task. Two minutes. Give two minutes. One thing that also helps me be productive is listening to music. Now, everyone has their type of music that they prefer, but for me, when it comes to focusing and working on, I don't know, a website or things that overwhelm me because I don't know how to do them necessarily. I love non lyrical music, because I'm mental, go figure. I can't focus when there's words. I don't care if it's a different language. I, if you're, if it's singing, rapping, whatever in my head, I'm not going to be able to focus. So I have found like reading playlists, creative focus playlists that have, some are jazz, some are like more upbeat. They're never like super intense, like techno or, it's more chill, go with the flow, but it's not like slow or boring. Honestly, it's kind of like whimsical sometimes, but that really helps me, keeps me focused. Like it's, you know, it's so interesting when I first started doing the pod last year and all the things that I was doing last year for the pod and my own personal development, I used playlists like this all the time. And then I kind of quit because like I've said this before, like this year has felt a little, not all over the place, but a little over the place because I feel like I've had competing priorities, personal and professional. And so, I wasn't listening to playlists as much. because it was my focus time. And I started doing that this weekend, like when I had my really productive day on Sunday and I did all of this shit, right? I was listening to a playlist and I was like thinking to myself, Oh my God, I forgot how focused I get when I listen to this music. It just blocks out all the noises because I don't know, sometimes I get overstimulated. Sometimes oftentimes I get overstimulated. I can't handle little noises and things like that. especially when I'm trying to focus on something that I'm having trouble focusing on because like the website, I don't know what I'm doing. You know what I mean? So it's like focusing on that requires a lot of effort. Because my mind wants to get distracted because it doesn't want to deal with the hard thing. It wants to go like, wait, we're used to just like doom scrolling or Instagram or this or that, whatever, whatever. So let's do that instead. So the music really helps focus. So, um, that's another big productivity hack of mine is the playlist. Um, and it's also a reminder that I needed this year or this week, excuse me., and like the last thing that I wanted to add, I'm looking at my little list here. I'm not trying to like not make eye contact, uh, is recognize your wins. So I kind of already mentioned this, like the voice we have with ourselves is the most important one, the inner narrative. so like this weekend I didn't get everything done, but I got a good bit of it done. So rather than focusing on what I didn't do, I focus on what I did do. So, acknowledge your wins, acknowledge your wins, it really does make a difference. God, it makes a difference. I have not had serious anxiety the past few days, yeah, I say past few days in terms of like, am I doing enough with the podcast? Oh, I should, cause I'm always still played with that. Like if I'm not taking every single moment of my free time to work on the podcast, then I'm a failure or it's not going to go anywhere. No, no, no, no. That's not the case. So when I've been looking at my wins and the things that I did achieve versus what I didn't do, it is completely changed my, my mental outlook on this. Of course it's easier said than done sometimes and I'm not saying that there's not going to be moments where I falter because I am human and the theme of today's episode, work in progress. Don't know why I had to sing that, but whatever. Hopefully it's entertaining. Um, but right now it works. And the more I walk the path, the easier it gets. And then like when you do fall off the horse and fall off the path because you've been doing it as long as you've been doing it, it's easier to get back up. So. Yeah, go easy on yourself. Um, and then there was this one other thing that I saw online that was funny. And as you've noticed, side note, I haven't even touched on things like the Pomodoro Technique, this and this, which I'm sure certain things I've said have elements of all the different time hack techniques. but, the real truth of it all, the real productivity hack, is find what works for you. There are so many. There's so many out there. Like I'm giving you a jambled, a jambled bunch that I've either been doing myself, I've picked up from other people, other podcasts, friends, or I've picked up from books I've read. There's no one size fits all. So you know, what may work for somebody may not work for you and that's okay. Don't let others make you feel inferior because you don't have some highlight, color coded spreadsheet to do plan each week. That's intense. And I'm never going to be that girl. That is for damn sure. I might be able to be a planner girl. I might be able to get this planner going. I might be able to keep my, my smaller to do's manageable. Alright? And that's what matters. What matters is what works for you. All I'm here to do is to giggle about it, make you feel seen, and maybe offer you some advice because this is what works for me. And it may not work for you, but it also might. Maybe worth trying. Maybe you're like, Hey, you know what? I can give two minutes. What's it going to do? Give yourself two minutes. Set a dang timer. Two minutes. But, the last thing I wanted to say, or the last little like tip or wisdom I should leave you with, not that this is like necessarily a tip trick, I mean I guess it is, but it was a Mark Twain quote that's, eat the frog. Right. Yes. I said eat the frog. Sounds very Mark Twain y. Not that I knew him, but... You know what I'm trying to say. Of course, Mark Twain would say eat the frog, but what does that mean necessarily? because I had to Google it myself, because I was like, alright, why is eat the frog in this hack list? Because I'm not following, I'm not tracking, although I will say I don't mind frog legs. I know it's kind of weird, but it kind of tastes like spicy chicken. But side note, eat the frog means do the difficult task first which, let's be real, most often that's the one that you probably procrastinate the longest on, because it's the harder one. Like for me, it's the frickin website, because I'm just like, what am I doing? That is my frog, and it's a, it is a frog that I refuse to eat, and by God, it's time that I do. It's time that I do. So different examples I talked about, like make that the first thing you, you, you knock out in the morning or your, your, your first thing during the day. Now also mind you, doesn't mean you have to do the whole dang thing. Maybe it's eat the frog in the two minute interval. Maybe it's eat the frog. You go to chat GPT and you're like, Hey, chat GPT, insert whatever your frog is in the scenario. How do I create a project plan around that? How do I roll this out? How do I launch this product? Whatever your frog is, use these productivity hacks or your own whatever to, to help you eat that frog first. and I do think that when you do do the hard part first, it's going to make your day more productive, and chances are you'll probably get more done with that harder, bigger task than you thought you were going to. And... And above all else, I mean, you've actually started it, whether it's two minutes, ten minutes, an hour, whatever. So, this speaks in between, as we are a work in progress. These are some productivity hacks that have worked for me. Maybe they'll work for you. Give it a try. Uh, I am gonna report back on the planner, the planner life. But I also am gonna report back on the time blocking. That's the one where I talked about, like, blocking out your entire calendar. Or your, like, for the day. Again, that is. I'm gonna tell you right now, I know not sustainable for me, but you know, let me give it a shot for a couple of weeks, like a week, see what happens after a week. Maybe I'll start even smaller. Maybe I just do two days. Let me just try, test out, let me do a test drive on Thursday, see how that works out for me. Right? Right. And again, remember, we can't all be wizards at everything, but we can for, you know, most of the things. And also. I went through my email, so snaps for me. Anywho, uh, thank you for joining me in today's episode. Um, we kind of went all over the place with chronic pain and, uh, productivity hacks. But you know what? That's life, baby. Life is all over the place sometimes. So, yeah, that's about all she wrote. And I know I say this every podcast episode, but if you're not doing so, please go follow me on Instagram, the podcast at in dot between pod, really trying to work on the growth there. So would love for you to share this with a friend, a friend, a family member, a coworker, um, maybe even your enemy. Maybe this will make them a nicer person. I don't know. I'm just kidding. Don't know why I said that. Sometimes I'm awkward, I guess. Yes. Um, but really like, I'm just trying to, I'm just trying to, I'm just trying to have us rule the world. I'm trying to get you to own your Boss Babe status. I'm trying to get us to claim our space in this world, in this universe, and I don't know, be the boss bitches that we are. Be the boss babes that we are. I'm going to reel it in because I feel like I'm getting a little crazy now. It's because I'm wearing cheetah print and it's like velvety so I feel like, grrrr, Um, yes, and for those listening. Again, your girl's on YouTube, because I filmed it. I filmed it! You know, so look, there's a win there. I'm doing it. Do I have multiple posts out each episode? No, I don't, but I'm still filming and I'm getting there. Baby steps, baby steps take you miles away. Miles down. Why exert yourself going too hard in the paint before you've even started. So, boom. That was a really weird metaphor. Don't know why I kind of like u turned and went back to talking about this, but All that said and done, I really hope you enjoyed today's episode. Um, like I said, follow me on Instagram. Um, the podcast at in. betweenpod, my personal elizabethcheney underscore. I am getting ready for a few special guests. I have planned for November, December, and I'm gonna be making posts and I want your feedback so that'd be really, really helpful for me. So asking for a friend. I am the friend, please follow me. Um, and also that way we can like hang out and I get to know you, you get to know me and you know, we can all just be boss babes together. There we are again, the boss babes. Yeah, I'm gonna probably butcher that and I'm probably gonna run to the ground and. All I'm gonna say is, adulting may no longer be a cool term, but I will die on the Hill of Boss Babe. I know it has a mixed connotation. I know it's not always positive, but here at The Inbetween, it is positive because we're all boss babes, even if we're not bosses. We are bosses of our own life because we're beautiful and we deserve to be here. Okay, okay. Woo! On that note, I'm going to go get ready for a comedy show tonight and I cannot wait to talk to you all again next week for an all new episode. All new Inbetween. That's the beauty about the Inbetween, is there's always new Inbetweens to experience. There is always Inbetweens to be had. And uh, I love doing this. And I love you being here. So hopefully you love being here with me doing this. And that way, you're just a happy family. All right. So like I said, please follow me on Instagram. Uh, share this episode, this podcast with somebody you love, somebody who could, who needs to pick me up, but who could also enjoy a good giggle here or there. And if you haven't done so already, YouTube at the in between podcast and tick tock at the in between podcast. And, uh, yeah, that's all she wrote. So thank you all for being here. I appreciate it. Love you so much. I will see you next week for an all new Inbetween. Until then, I'm Elizabeth. Bye!