Unlock Your Genius Zone

The 3 Productivity Traps Sucking 80% of Your Time | Ep. 51

• Ine-Wilme Coetzee • Episode 51

Share episode

Send us a text

Feeling overwhelmed in your business? Here’s the truth: You’re not actually overwhelmed—you’re avoiding the hard stuff. 😳

In this episode, I’m giving you a tough-love reality check (because I know you can handle it). You’ll discover:

🔥 Why "overwhelm" is a lie—and how it’s actually disguised procrastination

🚀 The 3 productivity traps that are keeping you stuck (Are you an endless learner, task shuffler, or perfectionist procrastinator?)

💡 How to ruthlessly eliminate 80% of your to-do list so you can finally gain momentum

⚡ The 3-step framework to stop spinning your wheels and take action NOW

You’ll also hear how musicians master the art of taking fast, imperfect action (literally taking creative risks on stage, in a highly competitive environment) and how YOU can apply the same strategy to launch your ideas and start winning in business.

🎯 If you’ve ever felt like you’re drowning in tasks, this episode will change how you work—forever.

📌 Don’t just listen—TAKE ACTION.

🎟 Sign up for the Million Dollar Idea Workshop: https://www.innervoiceinstituteofmusic.com/fymdi-workshop

🎙 Press play now and let’s break free from fake productivity! 🚀

Podcast intro music: J.S. Bach Cello Suites, Suite No. 3 in C major, Prelude 
Musician: Mari Coetzee 

_______________________________________________________________

🎵 Have Questions?
Save time and book a free discovery call to see how we could work together!
https://www.innervoiceinstituteofmusic.com/discoverycall


🎵 Struggling with focus in entrepreneurship? Click on the link to get access to the Private Podcast Flow State Formula for creative entrepreneurship activations to start trusting yourself in your work again!
https://www.innervoiceinstituteofmusic.com/private-podcast-opt-in-page


🎵Curious about working together?
Join the next free workshop I'm hosting: https://www.innervoiceinstituteofmusic.com/workshop-registration


🎵Weekly episodes aren't enough for you?
You can connect with me over on Instagram at @ine.wilme

Speaker 1:

If you are feeling overwhelmed in your business, then I have a little bit of a hard truth for you. You are not actually overwhelmed. You are avoiding the hard stuff and this is tough love in this video, but I know you can take it, because you have really big goals and you know that you're capable of reaching those. You are feeling frustrated that you haven't reached them yet and you're actually getting caught in a couple of lies. So in this video, we will be talking about how to stop spinning your wheels and getting overwhelmed with all of your ideas and get out of the overwhelm trap and into momentum you ready. So the first thing that I want to talk about is why overwhelm really is a lie, why it's a myth. Most entrepreneurs think that they're overwhelmed because they have too much to do, but here's the truth Overwhelm is actually a smokescreen for avoidance. If you are telling yourself I need to have this idea absolutely perfect before anybody else sees it, you go and do busy work because you think that is making you ready to sell. It's getting you your idea ready to be seen in the marketplace. You are actually doing procrastinating type of work instead of the real work. So what this actually looks like this is like fake overwhelm, which are actually distractions. This looks like spending hours tweaking your website, making sure that the headers are perfectly spaced, like that, the spacing is absolutely perfect. Instead of selling, it could be rewriting your offer again. Instead of creating opportunities for yourself to present it. It could be researching new strategies, instead of just doubling down on the one that you know has given you a little bit of success and really just putting the reps in. We do this to keep ourselves safe. There's a part of your brain called the neocortex that is really like a reptilian brain, is what a lot of scientists call it and this part of your brain, whenever you're faced with something that feels uncomfortable, it tries to keep you safe. And by following the reptilian brain, the neocortex, you are actually following your fears instead of following your dreams, and it keeps you safe. It keeps you from doing the hard, uncomfortable thing that'll actually move the needle.

Speaker 1:

So there are three kinds of people or three types of avoidance that is keeping you stuck right now. The first one is the endless learner. So the endless learner is someone who feels like they just need more knowledge, they need more information, they need more tactics, they need more training, they need more skills before they can actually sell their idea, before they can launch their idea, before they can put themselves in that uncomfortable, vulnerable place where people can actually buy their idea. And this type of person maybe you take endless certifications, maybe you take endless trainings and endless skill building type of courses, but you have no leads, like you've done so many different workshops, so many different skill development things in your lifetime of business, but you are not seeing any real progress. Maybe you are the endless learner Person number one.

Speaker 1:

The second type of person is called the task shuffler, and I used to be this type of person, so I can really speak from a painful experience here. This is the type of person who has this endless to-do list with tasks that feel productive but they're not actually making you money. So, for instance, this could be editing your Instagram bio for the 19th time in the last three weeks because it feels like it's not optimized to get people to convert and actually follow you. And this is like, instead of sending a sales email, instead of following up with someone who expressed interest in your idea, maybe spending a whole week designing Canva graphics instead of spending't directly lead to sales, audience growth or some sort of delivery of your ideas. It is probably a distraction.

Speaker 1:

So the third type of person is the perfectionist procrastinator. Now I feel like I used to identify as a perfectionist a while ago and I kind of had to get out of that. I no longer identify as a perfectionist, but maybe you do. You feel like you are waiting for the perfect offer, the perfect message, the perfect idea, but it really is just perfectionism disguised as fear. You tell yourself you're waiting for the perfect offer, the perfect message, the perfect idea, the perfect strategy, but it really is just perfectionism disguised as strategy. It is procrastination. That is really what your perfectionism is. It is not launching because your branding isn't ready. It is waiting for the right time to pitch yourself, waiting for the right person to approach you, spending months refining an offer instead of just testing it out in the real world. That is what's going to give you actual results.

Speaker 1:

So perfection isn't the goal. Honestly, like I come from this as a professional cellist for the last 20 years, I have never, ever once in my life walked on stage feeling perfectly ready. Every single time I walk on stage, I have to have this almost swagger of confidence, like you can see if you're watching the YouTube version of this video, my posture improves, I feel grounded, I sit into my seat. This is how I feel when I'm ready for a performance. Even though I don't feel ready, you become ready. Perfection isn't the goal, momentum is, and you will never feel ready, because readiness comes from action, not preparation. So how do we even fix this? How do we fix that sense of overwhelm, like either overwhelm and having 17 different ideas you feel like you had to launch yesterday, or feeling like you have a million different tasks and things pulling you in a million different directions, like my one client did last November? How can we get into working on our businesses instead of in our businesses with this endless to-do list? That's what we're going to talk about right now. I'm going to give you three steps that'll help you get into action, and then we're going to get even deeper in the very end of the video. Okay, so here's how we shift from overwhelm into momentum.

Speaker 1:

Step number one define your money making actions. If it's not directly stirring the pot, creating new leads and making you more sales, it's probably a distraction. You are the founder of your business. You are the CEO. What is the CEO doing? Designing graphics, maybe that's a zone of genius for you. I don't know, it wasn't for me, so I had to outsource this. But if it's not directly impacting the bottom line of your business, it's probably a distraction. So step number one is define your money-making actions.

Speaker 1:

Step number two is ruthlessly eliminate distractions. Anything that does not move you forward is a distraction, and I want you to get used to having unfinished low-impact tasks on your list. I have this one task that I haven't done. I'm literally procrastinating it because it doesn't feel high-impact enough. It is cleaning out my bathroom drawers. They very much need cleaning out, but it doesn't feel like a high-impact task, so I'm not doing it Now. Obviously, I can sell myself into thinking that it is a high-impact task because I know, okay, if I clean them out, I can get ready every day. I will enjoy the process more, I will be maybe more efficient, which means that I have less time spent there and I have more time spent working on my business instead of in the business. So you really can sell yourself on anything. So be careful for this trap, but be okay if some of those low impact tasks are not finished in this season.

Speaker 1:

You need to become okay with that. Your perfectionism is holding you back. Your perfectionism is what's making you overwhelmed with this long to-do list. This book my stack's going to fall over Next is easier than 2X taught me that there really is only 20% of tasks that'll give you 80% of your results. That is the Pareto's principle. So eliminate the 80% that are distractions and think about the root of the word distraction Distraction. It removes you from creating traction. Traction means we have a foothold in momentum. Traction is required for momentum. So if you are consumed with distractions, you are being removed from momentum and you have absolutely no chance of reaching the momentum you desire because you are staying distracted. Remove 80% of your tasks that are distractions. Ruthlessly eliminate these. Okay, that's step number two.

Speaker 1:

Step number three is make quick, imperfect decisions. Something I learned a couple of weeks ago is that a decision is a good decision based on what you do after you decide, and what this means for you is that if you decide you want to try a strategy of maybe creating an Instagram reel every day and you know that, okay, I've seen a lot of success in this other person's business doing this. I should give it a try. Make the decision within 24 hours and then go all in for a set period of time. I often recommend to my clients try something for 60 to 90 days, because what your business looks like in 60 to 90 days from now is a direct reflection of what you've been doing the last 60 to 90 days. It takes a while for your action to catch up to the results, and if you do not take action, you will never see a result in 60 to 90 days. It'll take much longer than that because you are not all in. So make quick, imperfect decisions and react to the results after they're made.

Speaker 1:

So, as promised, I'm going to give you your exact next action to help you launch your idea fast, really get your idea out in the world, and this really is based in a lot of the techniques that I've seen musicians do that I personally do myself as a musician. We are able to, as professional musicians, to make creative decisions fast. We can take creative risks on stage in a highly competitive environment, in an environment that is not very suitable for growth and not very encouraging. But we have to lead with our hearts in these situations, and I have created a workshop for you where you get to learn how to lead from your heart and launch your million dollar idea in just 28 days and get this. This is without needing to lock yourself in a windowless office for months on end or learn a single new skill. In a windowless office for months on end, or learn a single new skill. You will be equipped to see if your idea is needed in the marketplace, if it really is a million dollar idea. You will get your idea validated and you'll be able to move forward fast. That is the point of the workshop. So I'm going to drop the link in the description box.

Speaker 1:

Be sure to sign up for the next one. It's coming up very quickly from the time that this video is posted. So take action. Reserve your spot. You'll get live coaching. Cannot wait to see you there. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to hit subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don't miss a single video. And if you believe that there's an entrepreneur in your world, in your community, that could benefit from this message and really start taking action with heart, with courage, with boldness, then send this video to them. You are one click away from making an impact on someone else's life. So take action right now. Send this video over and sign up for the workshop. I will see you in the room.