Productivity | Motivation, Distractions, & and Getting Sh*t Done

In today’s episode, we dive into the topic of productivity—what it means, why it’s essential, and how to improve it in an increasingly distracting world. Whether you're a student, entrepreneur, or stay-at-home parent, mastering productivity can help you accomplish more while maintaining balance in your life. We’ll discuss common obstacles to productivity and share practical strategies to stay focused and efficient. Plus, we’ll break down the Pomodoro Technique and how it can revolutionize the way you work.

• Join the conversation: What are some of the biggest obstacles in your life relating to productivity? How did your weekly challenge go? Share your reflections in the comments or via our social media.
• Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @generationalteapod, watch us on YouTube, and listen to us wherever you get your podcasts!
• What She Said: ““Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” -Anne Lamott
• Microphone flags by Impact PBS: https://impactpbs.com/ 
• Intro music by Cymatix
• Logo by @makariann 

Business email: generationalteapod@gmail.com

Transcript

0:11

Well, we're back. Welcome to the Generational Tea Podcast. I'm Ronnie. And I'm Kena. We're so glad you guys have joined us again. This is episode number seven. We are well on our way and have a great topic for you guys today. Before we get too deep into the conversation, I'd like to just give a shout out. We have some friends live here locally and they have made us these microphone flags. Tell us more about that. Yes. These are actually Rhonda's friends from church and they actually just hired me. So I have a job. So I actually get to be in the production of the microphone flags, which is really cool. they have a really large company, I think. It's the largest microphone flag company in the states. They've run it out of their home, really nice people, and they put so much care into making sure every single one turns out perfect. The name of their company is Impact. Yes. Thank you, Impact PBS, and thank you, Ellen and Glenn, for making us beautiful custom mic flags with our logo on them. They're so cute. Yes. Yes. We'll make sure that we have their contact information in show notes. Yep. You can look at their website. Awesome. Awesome. For sure. yeah, like you said, we're going to dig into productivity today. Do you want to shed some light on why we decided to do this specific topic? Let's do it. Sure. doing what we're doing now, with podcasting is really the first thing that I've really put myself out there for in a long time. I was nervous starting and still can get nervous every now and then. but one thing that. We saw and that we agree that we struggle with is Productivity and finding space for it and creating the space because you really, I don't feel like you can ever find extra space. You just have to create a space. And normally that happens when you get rid of. Yeah, because we all have a full plate. So, yeah, definitely. I mean, productivity is something a lot of people struggle with in this day and age where we have so much technology and we just have like a culture of busyness. I think also here in the States and we all have stuff to get done. Like we're all working our butts off cause living's expensive and there's a million things we want to do. I feel like I've been struggling with my productivity massively ever since college. Like, getting out into the adult world, getting a job, being married, having to maintain long distance friendships and long distance relationships with my family, and podcasting, and still trying to do, the things I enjoy doing. And I have not been approaching it the right way. I'm kind of just constantly running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Like, Oh, I have to do this right now. Oh my gosh, how am I going to finish this? So we've all thought this would be a very good topic to dive into. Even for us as we get into podcasting to be more structured. So we just have the energy that we need to outside of What all of our responsibilities basically Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it, and today is January 31st. Mm-hmm And I know a lot of folks make New Year's resolutions, and a lot of them are, I'm gonna be more organized, or I'm gonna be more productive. I'm gonna use my time wisely, I'm gonna limit distractions. And here we are at the end of January, and if you're still struggling with that, you're not alone. We want to talk about it today. We want you guys to take away a practical application that you can start today. You do not have to purchase anything, And we want to talk through it and, figure this out with you. Yeah, I'm excited to share kind of what we prepared because when we prepare these outlines, I mean just speaking for me, but I feel like you would probably agree. We're researching all these things and I'm like, wow, this would really help make my life better or we're just getting into the research and I'm like, this is why it's so hard for me to be productive and just helps me identify things and then look ahead to see, okay, I can implement this to maybe help myself get better at being more productive. And that way I have more free time to do what I want. So I'm excited. I, and I really love the, how this podcast is coming along where like we're learning and challenging ourselves while we're also I'm excited. with you guys, resources, information we've learned. Yeah. So I'm really excited about it. and on that note. We would really like some feedback. We do want to continue to grow so we can reach more people. And a lot of that is feedback from you guys, especially in the form of reviews. We would really appreciate that. That will help us reach more people and get our podcasts higher up into the algorithm. However, that stuff works. I'm not very eloquent when it comes to describing that, but we would really appreciate that. Or if you just want to comment messages on our social media, generational tea pod, we obviously have really broad topics that we could probably split into a million different episodes Hyper fixating on a single point.'cause there's just so much there. So if you feel like we've missed anything, if you have questions or if this maybe inspires you to suggest another topic for us, let us know. Yeah. Like we wanna hear more. We want you guys to be able to help shape where this podcast is gonna go and the topics we're gonna cover and all that good stuff.'cause we have our own lives, we have things we struggle with. We have things we need to improve. And so a lot of our early episodes are gonna be. Things that we struggle with or things that we think are important to address, things like that. But we want to hear from a wide variety of people, what they're facing, what their problems are, what they want us to dissect. I think that's going to be the coolest thing about this podcast is us coming together and learning from each other and helping each other. And just these little miniscule ways that will hopefully add up to some serious big changes. Yeah, yeah, you guys were so glad that you've joined us for this ride. It will be a fun ride for sure But yeah, Kena as we get into this I have a question. What is the biggest obstacle to your own personal Productivity. My adorable animals! No. It's true. I mean, it's kind of true because I'm constantly like, oh my god, you're so adorable, come here. And we have a full circus of, it's a whole petting zoo around here, that's all the crazy babies. Yes, on a real note though, definitely my phone, for sure. like I said, I have a lot of long distance people that I keep in touch with from college or my family that I don't live close to anymore. So that's my main form of communication, which is obviously a time sucker on my phone. And I have notifications coming in constantly, and then also I podcast, so I have stuff like that coming in on my phone all the time too. And then social media is a huge factor, which is something I think a lot of us deal with in relation to productivity, so I'll just notice I'm sitting down to do something, and I'll have notifications come up, and I'm like, oh, I need to address that, I respond to that right now, or I might forget later. And then before you know it, one hour task becomes like three hours because I keep getting interrupted. I'm like, wow, I could definitely be more productive. Yes, yes. So we hope that all of us can learn how to create the space for productivity. what I've found is my life is a plate. My whole life is a play. My family, everything that I do, work, family, whatever is going on, that is a play. Responsibilities, tasks,, hobbies, things that we enjoy, and I feel like I am walking around and I have a full play. So in order for me to pick up a new hobby, or to add on that task, or to teach that Bible study, or to lead that group, I have to take things off of my plate in order to make space for things That I want to do. Yeah. And I think we're all just trying to figure this out as we go and I am so grateful that my friends are very gracious that Kane is gracious. My family, my husband, we all understand. doing this study has been so eye opening to me and we'll get more into that later. But I would say the last six months have probably been Some of the most productive months that I've had in decades, honestly decades. So I, but I need to improve. So I'm definitely looking forward to this. Yes, absolutely., Well, that's great that you definitely improved on productivity. I feel like you are being a more productive person. So now it's a matter of like, how can I maximize my productivity? So what do you feel like is your biggest obstacle to that? Feeling overwhelmed. Yeah, I feel that me personally being overwhelmed is paralyzing. Same. And so we've had various things happen in the last couple of years. My father passed away. My mom still lives at home. She's still in great health. We're so grateful for that. but it definitely shifts focus as Jim and I continued to get older. Our parents are getting older. Jim being, semi retired or thinking about retirement since September, him being at home all the time has been an adjustment as well. But, yeah. Yeah. It's curious how, we just did an episode on transitions, and I feel like if you don't have, habits surrounding your productivity, life's transitions will just throw you out of whack. Absolutely. For sure. Yeah. For sure. One thing I wanted to mention also, Kena, is in doing the research, and we, don't research together, we do our own researches, we come up with outlines, so, when we talk about a topic, we've each researched it separately, and I found a lot Um, of articles and studies done on work productivity. It was more difficult to find information and studies on personal productivity. And those are very different. And you moms that are working full time, taking care of kids full time, dads, all that, You can get in a rut you go to work, you know, what's expected of you and you are productive at work, but what happens when you leave that door when you get in that car and go back home? What would happen to me is I genuinely would just want to go home and take a nap, but that's not possible if you have dinner that needs to be cooked and such. really and truly today, I know some of you may own your own business, so your work and personal productivity probably are more intertwined, but, as we're talking about this, I would really like to challenge our listeners. To think about personal productivity. We have a lot of control over that. And I feel like that is the best place that we should focus our efforts. Yeah, I agree. I think. Personal habits tend to carry over into business habits, whereas the reverse is usually not the same. Because you're right, if you're going into the office, you sit down there and you have to be productive or, I mean, you'll get fired. Well, who knows? Well, I guess depending on the job, but I would venture to guess that's how it goes. And then, that's interesting you say that because we are so focused on being productive in the workplace. Yeah, yeah, but yet if we could put at least as much effort into our personal productivity, our family productivity, I think for sure we can move into a place where life isn't happening to us. Agreed. Yeah. We're happening to life. That's right. That's right. That is right. Well, to start off, we're going to really get into the what and why. I think in most of our episodes, we're going to start out after we do our opening questions into probably like a definition or an in depth analysis of what it is we're talking about so that we have that front and center, and then we can really dive into the nitty gritty of everything that goes with that. So personal productivity, like you said, is what we're focusing on. And this is the ability to complete tasks and achieve goals consistently and efficiently, which I'd be struggling with that. Yeah. At least getting things done consistently. I feel like one, one week I'm killing it. I'm so focused. And then the other week I'm like, I just want to take a nap. I'm so depressed. This to do list feels so long. There's so many difficult things. I don't want to get done. Yada, yada, yada. So this is going to be really good for me to get into in terms of building habits. I feel like I'm learning so much from every episode we do, and I'm excited that we get to share stuff that we really feel like helped us to examine and to implement in our own lives. Yeah, that's why I love this podcast so much. Yeah. another aspect of personal productivity is the ability to do things. efficiently and consistently but with less effort getting more done with less effort in a society where it is more more is always more it's never enough it's got to be more money more beauty More of a house, more vacations, and so we really are limited where as we want to try to streamline our lives where we are getting things done with less effort because you do work and then you come home and you have home tasks. Where is the time for your spouse and your Children? Yeah. And so that's what we want to hopefully help you guys. and us as well, just kind of round out our efforts in order to really correlate with our desires and with our goals. Yes. Yes. So I think that pressure when I'm struggling with productivity or I'm getting things done, but I'm so distracted and I have so many things that are pulling me away and then I keep coming back to what I'm doing. Yeah. At the end of the day, I am like so more exhausted than I would be just sitting down and doing that one task for two, three hours or however long it takes to get done. Versus if I'm stopping every ten minutes to respond to a text, respond to an email, check on my social posts, whatever, whatever, whatever, I get even more exhausted. So I really do like the idea of less effort. You're still getting that feeling of accomplishment, getting what you need to do done. And then after that, when you can put your to do list away, then you still have some mental sanity. Yes, you have something to give. Be with your family. Yeah. Do the things you like to do without just feeling like, oh, I can't wait to get in bed. It's been such a long day. Yes. Yes. For sure. For sure. so basically what we're looking at is quality versus quantity, and those are obviously very different, but I do think in a fast paced world where it's got to be more, it's got to be more every day, you got to top that, the quantity begins to over ride the quality and what you end up with is a mess, a big pile of mess in the middle of the kitchen floor. Yes, yes, for sure. So, um, yeah, for sure. Absolutely. before we get into the tips and the how to and all that, we do want to have a quick discussion on why it is so important that we have. Solid habits when it comes to personal productivity, and I feel like we've already kind of mentioned some, and it almost seems like it's self explanatory, but, I mean, like you were just saying, in a world that's So wired for instant gratification, we have social media, we have mobile devices on us all the time, like sometimes more than one, it can be difficult to stay focused and do one thing, especially for long periods of time, especially when it's a task. That's maybe like tedious and routine or something. That's like a little bit more difficult. I mean, yeah, I feel like we can all relate to that, whether we're stay at home mom, whether we're a business owner, whether we're. Working an office job or we're working from home, like in any way, this world is wired us to be instantly gratified and to constantly be pulling away and getting more hits of dopamine. So making us collectively unfocused and less productive. So that's why productivity is so important. And if you get done more done in less time, you can take on harder, more important tasks. And then, like we said, you can also have time to do what you really like to do at the end of the day. I know I like to play video games or read books at the end of the day, but like I was saying, a lot of times I'll be so overwhelmed, and I won't have gotten done what I need to get done, and so I'm trying to sit down and read my book, and in the back of my mind, I'm like, I didn't finish two of the things on my to do list that I wanted to do, and now it's just Sitting back there bugging me and I feel like I should go back to it. And so I can't be fully present and enjoy what I'm trying to enjoy. Yes. Do you relate to that? Yes. I was also thinking as you were saying that something we haven't talked about in preparing for this, but I was thinking about you and Weston and college athletes or high school and college athletes. there is a win. You get to experience a win, whether that's practice, you know, you spike the ball in a way. I don't know a lot about volleyball, but, it is so different once you transition out of being an athlete. you go from practicing, you know, basically as a college athlete, you're in class and then you work Like a 40 hour a week job, and then you need to train outside of that job for 20 hours a week. And so when you're busy like that, you can have little small wins. And like you said, it, releases that dopamine. And then all of a sudden you graduate and you don't go pro or don't continue on into a master's program. And boom, that's over. Yeah, that's true. I've never really thought about it, but in college, we're so busy, and everything is so structured, and yeah, like, I'm getting grades, I'm getting feedback from my coach, I'm having a good practice, I'm winning a game, like, all those things are giving me dopamine, and like, also the physical activity of being an athlete, too, also releases dopamine, but, Really just, I think when I was in college, I was like, so happy all the time because of that. And then also like the feeling of accomplishment because I was being so productive because I had to be. And then I went into. Life after that, and I had a job that I didn't like, and I wasn't playing sports, I wasn't really being active, and like all that dopamine just went away. And I was super depressed, and I had talked about this in previous episodes too. It was obviously for other reasons other than that, but I went from like massive productivity and accomplishment to like, Zero direction, minimal productivity, minimal accomplishments, and very little, few wins, very few wins. It was rough. Yeah. Still is, but we're making it. That's why we also need to create space. For the wins, the little wins. And a lot of times those are just your own pats on the back. But I think that's a skill that you have to learn. Definitely one I didn't have at that point in my life. But I feel like I do now and that's helping me. Yeah, and I think that's the beauty of yours and Weston's relationship. Is that you kind of went through that together. Yeah, Yeah. So I just interrupted it all because I'm good at that. You guys are gonna well, you got into my next point, which was why productivity is important is that feeling of accomplishment, that releasing of dopamine. If we're being very highly productive and limiting distractions, that's going to give you a natural mood enhancer, it's going to help. It might not change your life, but it will help you. And I feel like that almost builds on top of each other, where if you're being productive and you're getting that dopamine and you're getting that accomplishment and you have habits with productivity, like it just keeps, keeps rolling and like a positive snowball. I don't know what the word is I'm looking for. Well, the last job I had, because that's the other thing too, is, really figuring out what you're good at. If you're in a position that you. Don't really feel like you fit in. Maybe you are an introvert and you have a sales job and you need to go out and meet new people. cold calls, whatever that is. Just like me as an extrovert. If I had to sit in an office or a cubicle all day, it would be tiring taxing. I would be overwhelmed all the time. So we're not telling you to quit your job, but what we would Always encourage folks to do is take inventory every now and then and look at things that you really feel like you are hitting the wall every time you go to try to do this every time you, um, okay, let's just say I want to go out and I want to run a 10 K. That's a goal of mine. Love to do it. Have a terrible back It's not gonna happen. Yeah, I can't put my square person in a round hole So just think about that as you're thinking and taking inventory and make sure that you're in a position a job that You're really made for it. It doesn't mean that that's going to come immediately It may be that you need to work this job because it's paying the bills right now, but Maybe down the line you can start thinking about okay, if I could do anything What would that look like or what parts of my job or my home life? Are wins, you know, I hate to cook. I'm just gonna say it right now Not only do I not like to cook I hate to go to the grocery store And she hates vegetables. Yes. Yes. Corn, potatoes, major food groups, a hundred percent. Yes, yes. And I raised, Weston is just like a little mini me, so I take ownership of that. But again, I am not someone that should be doing a podcast on cooking. True.

Kaina G: 22:44

That would absolutely drain. Me to know and comedy podcast. Oh, for sure. We are going to do some little cooking with Rhonda and Kane. That's what we have on our content agenda is to do just some, like follow us around. Cause we're pretty funny on our day to day, especially at night when we really just let our freak flags fly. Yeah. so be on the lookout, go follow us at generational tea pod. We're going to do a lot of little segments like cooking with Ronnie and Kana. Go with us to Nordstrom Rack. Like, all kinds of crazy stuff. Yes, yes. Go thrifting with us. Yes. All that good stuff. But I do like what you were saying about knowing yourself. And I think a lot of self growth topics, really any of them, almost depend or they intertwine with some amount, some degree of self awareness and self reflection because a lot of us are, different and productivity is going to look different. Our distractions are going to look different, which is what we're going to talk about next. But I feel like if you aren't taking inventory and really taking the time to self reflect, you're not going to understand where's my productivity level at? What is distracting me? And this is just in relation to today's episode, but obviously. Right. Our last one talking about life transitions, think about how did I handle my last major life transition? Am I going through one now? Could I make it better? You know, there's so much, but really just knowing yourself is going to make, I think really any self growth topic we're going to talk about key. It's just going to be key to understanding and implementing that into your own life. Yes. Yes. We're going to talk about knowing your distractions next, which I just mentioned. And really, this is just the awareness you have of yourself and your life and the understanding of why I have trouble staying productive. And I feel like with really anything, the first major step to a solution is awareness and understanding. So we're going to dig into The four most common obstacles to productivity today, and I'm sure I can relate to every single one of them. I'm sure a lot of us can. It just might look a little different. Yes. the first one is. Obviously, we've talked about it already, but it's technology. As we hold our phones. Yes. Do you know what this little guy right here does to me? I, for those that are just listening, I am holding this iPhone in my hand. And it is a bone of contention. With me big time. I struggle. In fact, I've been looking down a lot in just a few minutes ago because I somehow got off of the screen that I need to be on and I couldn't figure out how to get back. And I didn't want to ask. Can we take a break again and show me how to get to my Google drive on my phone? I am just blown away. So yeah, it can pull us away from tasks. A lot of people that I know can get so lost in the reels and just roll and roll and roll and roll. And, it's addictive. Yes, it is a dopamine response. And so you're struggling in your marriage. But when you go to bed, each person's got their phone or their laptop or their, tablet, and you scroll until you go to bed, go to sleep. There's no time for talking. sitting in silence and just smiling and just being, is no longer an option. You have to fight for that part. Yeah. For sure. I, I recently, well not recently, I've actually had this book for like two years, so I haven't read it. That's a shocker. Yeah, well it's a self help book, and then like right as I got it, like three months later, I started reading fiction again, and I just went into a wormhole that I've never escaped from. But anyways, it's called The Dopamine Detox, I don't remember who it's from, who wrote it off the top of my head, but. I mean, reels are addictive because they release constant dopamine for us, and that's so dangerous, especially because when we're almost like when we're doing like mundane tasks or just like real life things that don't provide those chemical base, it can be like so easier for us to lose focus or like dissociate or just not be present in the moment because we're not getting constant hits of dopamine like our brains are used to. And I spent way too much time on social media. I am so down to go back to like medieval ages where we had no technology and ride horses everywhere. But I know that's not going to happen. She also wants to ride dragons that have wings and they fly. Well, wouldn't you? Come on. Sounds pretty good. I don't know. I was thinking about this the other day and I feel like I have to be present on social media because I have two podcasts and I have two businesses. Like I can't escape that. I have to know like what. What social media is saying, I have to scroll through reels at least for a little bit, but I do need to definitely set limits on that because I know it's a distraction for me and I know it's probably affecting how long I'm able to focus on tasks outside of that. So I am definitely going to be taking a lot of stuff from this episode and applying it to myself. So stay tuned to see how it works out for me. Well, and I think there's a fine line between distraction and escape. Yeah, yeah, and I think sometimes we will use the distraction to a point so that we can escape something else So for sure actually there was a study in 2018 So Nielsen report said adult Americans Spend on average 11 hours a day Interacting with media. It's great and two and a half of those hours are on social media Yeah. Exclusively. So, media, I think, I didn't include this in the outline, but he was referring to media as like radio, TV, podcast. Okay. Anything like that. But 11 hours a day is crazy because we're awake for what? Me, 10 hours. I know, I was like, well, half the day, 12 hours. Sometimes a little bit more, I guess, depending on how much sleep you need. And how long do you work? Dang. And how many hours do you work? Mm. Yeah. Um. You, you've helped me because I would always tell Kay and I couldn't really read a lot because I had a hard time focusing. And she was like, that's because you're taking in TV, stuff and your brain just constantly needs more and more and more. And you have to, back off of that. And you're solitary and you're a little candy crush games, whatever the heck you'd be playing. Yeah. Whatever I'd be playing. Yes. I told her, I'm so, I'm doing the Lord's work over here. Well I can tell if I'm like spending too much time watching TV or scrolling through social media or doing. Things like that, that give me tons of hits of dopamine when I do sit down to read, which is something I very much enjoy. Sometimes I'll have so much trouble focusing on reading, even if it's like a book I'm obsessed with. And that's kind of like how I am gauging, if I should be reducing my TV, social media time, is if I'm having trouble focusing on other tasks, which is good, because now I'm aware of it. It's just a matter of. Creating the habits that allow me to not have to always worry about that. Yeah, yeah. Number two. another big obstacle to productivity is a lack of direction. And I know I've definitely experienced this when I feel like I need to be doing something and I have a, Concept of an idea of what I want to achieve or goals I can work towards, but I haven't thought out enough to really identify the steps to make it happen, or it's just overwhelming because I'm not sure how to get to where I want to go. So when you have a goal, but you have no idea how to reach it, this can happen. Our productivity can be. affected, especially when a task is like super difficult or very big, we can get overwhelmed. this is big time for me because you get into a point where you're feeling so overwhelmed that you do not even know where to start. And that's why we need girlfriends and people to help us because, Sometimes it's just sharing, like, I would like to accomplish this. A girlfriend can say, okay, let's break that down. Because when you're in a mess between your ears and you have depression, anxiety, those kinds of things, the simplest task can be so overwhelming. So true. Just cleaning your house can be overwhelming. A monumental task, yeah. Yeah, because you don't know where to start. So I think that definitely is this lack of direction is big for me. That's something I've struggled with and recently, mostly when I started podcasting and I have a lot on my plate, like little things on my plate, I've noticed that I would do that during the week. I would have so much I need to get done, but it would feel overwhelming. I'm like, I don't even know where to start. Whatever. And I wouldn't get everything I need to get done. And so I've started like at the beginning of the week, I write down every little thing I have to do, no matter how big or small the, so I have a to do list and that helps me like have a direction. Cause I feel like I need that to be productive and I know that about myself. But that's something that's helped me when I've struggled with lack of direction. So maybe that'll help our listeners as well. I know that's something we're going to get into after we talk about the other obstacles, The third key point is overly difficult work or boredom. So maybe it's monotony. when work is overly difficult or complicated or seems hard to finish, people often procrastinate it. Finding excuses not to start or focus on smaller, easier tasks to keep their mood up. Yeah. For sure. Being overwhelmed leads to procrastination, which leads to being more overwhelmed and leads to the guilt that we women put on ourselves. So we didn't get everything accomplished or we should have kept up with that friend or whatever. So, yeah. And boredom, Talks about like tedious text. One thing, that folks have recommended is taking breaks and working in short burst and we're going to get more into that, in a little bit later. But definitely if you're trying to tackle something very difficult and you feel just, you know, overwhelmed or having a hard time being productive, there's a reason and yeah. And it's okay. God, I procrastinate so much. It's terrible. Yes. It's not as bad as it used to be, but I do. I remember very vividly, it's so weird, this class I was taking in high school, it was like one instance in high school I did not procrastinate. And I distinctly remember how good it felt. I think I wrote a really long paper like two months before it was due. What? Crushed it in one day. And that was like the most accomplished I have ever felt. Oh my word. I have got to do this more often. Why don't I, why do I keep procrastinating everything? You know what happened? I procrastinated for, Up to the stage, most tasks, But I distinctly remember how accomplished I felt, and I was like, wow, I have unlocked the secret to life. Exactly. Well, it's, and then life happens and you're like, well, shit, now. Yeah. You get, you get yourselves overwhelmed or you have a lot going on and then it's just like one thing. Causes the next, causes the next, but usually you can pull that back to procrastination. So if you're not feeling a lot of joy and accomplishment, check that area first. I have had to do that for sure. For sure, for sure. So the last major obstacle to productivity is starting too late. Yes. Relatable. I love to be a night owl, I love to stay up late. But I know that if I don't get up by a certain time and start being productive, I'm going to feel like absolute crap the rest of the day mentally because I feel like I failed and there's just not enough hours in the day, but if I would have maybe went to bed earlier and gotten up earlier and started on my day, I would feel more productive, more accomplished, and I would have the dopamine, the mood enhancers. Like it's so much easier said than done. I feel like I'm, I know this about myself, but it's still something I struggle with every day. At least now I have a job to force me to get up early, but still. Yeah, being a nurse, shift work, is a lot. And, you may be more productive in the afternoon. I'm a second shift girl. I like to get cranked up about three, and really would prefer to stay up to one every night. If I had somebody that would stay up with me. Everybody goes to sleep, even the animals. Um, at any rate, so that's something that you can kind of look at is what time of day are you the most effective? But honestly, I could stay on that shift, but that shift is not conducive to living in this house because I have a husband and we have you guys and I cannot wait until 3 p. m. to start tasks because You guys aren't gonna stay up with me till one. Yeah, so just kind of being aware of the most productive part of your day And then finding things to combat that to offset that. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely Well, we've done a lot of talking about the obstacles and knowing yourself and blah blah blah blah lots of good stuff But still now we're going to get into the how to and I'm excited I think we have some good pointers as well as a very specific technique that I think would work very well. And I think it could be applicable to really any type of work you have. So let's get into it. How to be more productive. Set goals. Like we keep saying, it's about knowing yourself. It's about reflecting. It's about taking inventory. So take time to journal. Think about what you really want to achieve and also what you can achieve realistically. This is kind of almost the first step is the self awareness and taking time to set goals and thinking about what do I want to achieve? Whether that's like in a day, in a week, in a year, doesn't matter. That'll help you. Then take the next step, which is prioritizing your productivity. Do you want to talk about that? Sure. so what you need to do is, sit down and decide what your main goal is. and then focus on those tasks first. Yeah. also. This is very interesting because I would maybe go for the easiest, most simple task first. But, it's suggested that you do the most difficult task first and the most time consuming task first, which I'm seeing now why that is so important. I've realized that as well. Ever since I've started making my weekly to do list, I always want to knock off the easier ones. And then I'll realize I have the harder ones left and I procrastinate those. Yes. And I have realized if I like, on Monday or Tuesday, I get the hardest, most difficult, most dreaded tasks done, I feel so accomplished and then everything else feels easy, almost like it's not work. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. I definitely need to get better at that for sure. Like we already kind of talked about limiting your distractions. And I think the first step to that is knowing your distractions like we talked about. Like for me, it's my animals. I have to have my dog exercise before I sit down to do something or he's going to just drive me insane. I know my phone, so I might want to like set a timer and put my phone upstairs or across the room. Stuff like that, identifying and then limiting your distractions and also maybe getting rid of things that take up space mentally or physically, kind of like you were talking about earlier with the plate analogy. I think that can be very helpful in terms of limiting distractions because I think sometimes distractions aren't even like a notification or your dog barking or anything like that. For me, sometimes the distraction is. I'm aware of something that I haven't done, or something else that I need to handle, or just really anything mentally that could be weighing on me, that's pulling me away from what I'm doing. And so, taking time to clear that up in whatever way it requires, I think, can be important for limiting distractions when it is time to be productive. Time management is a key to being productive. Efficient time management. Do you agree? Do you have anything that you feel like you've implemented maybe in the last few years being out of college as far as time management goes? Well, I generally suck at being productive. That is not true. And I thought you made the list every day. You revamped the list. I do. I revamp. Well, I also add stuff to the list, which I think may be also hurting my productivity. But I'm telling you, this girl has got that list down. Well, I think I've established more boundaries on Like, at a certain point, usually by dinner time, I, and sometimes you've seen me working past dinner time, which is bad of me, but that's because I'm not being productive enough earlier in the day, is setting boundaries on, okay, by this time of the day, I'm going to be done. It doesn't matter what I have left. I'm going to be done. I'm going to draw a line so I can take care of myself, spend time with my husband and my family, blah, blah, blah. So that's something I've helped with that's actually helped me with time management is like setting cutoffs and like knowing when those cutoffs are so that's helped me be productive earlier in the day and manage my time in a way where I know I have a certain window to get things done and I have to do it right which and sometimes I don't right right it's not always going to happen the way you want it to but I think that's helped me has anything helped you with time management? Now that Jim's home, if I have a big, something big that I want to do, or for me right now, pretty much anything that would be scheduled that takes several steps is overwhelming, but, really communicating with him and saying, Hey, this is something I want to get done this week. Can we work together on this or that if you see me, you know, like maybe it's a phone call and it has to be done in the evening is to just preface it with, Hey, I'm going to hop on this call. it's going to be 30 minutes. If I'm not back out here in 30 minutes, will you just knock on the door or something like that? and also I think, many of you may live alone. of course, uh, Those that don't live alone. You have kind of a built in accountability partner. But really communicating that prior to the event prior to the deadline. And just over communicating that with your family member, you know, there's going to be time wasters out there that, it's not going to be fun, but one person, friend might say to the other, you know, we, I know you wanted to get that book read, but, I saw you on your phone a lot this week or not necessarily like to correct them. I'm not calling them out. You can do it in a loving way. I'm just saying like if you, if you have a roommate or partner, maybe bringing them in on the time management piece because as women, We tend to be the person that maybe does more of the caretaking or, can get bogged down maybe, uh, sometimes. I think generally we have a heavier mental load, especially when we are cohabitating or we have a family. We tend to take on the mental load of a lot of things. Yes. Whether that's the childcare, the housework. I think a lot of people, us included, We Manage the social calendar, the activities, the plans, all that, right? That's a whole nother mental thing, right? Right, and we can also feel guilty when we are torn Where we feel like we should be in two or three places at the same time Yeah, we need to we have to go to this meeting and then soccer practice But I have no idea what we're gonna do for dinner. Mm hmm. And so I think Communicating with your partner with that is saying, you know, yeah, something as simple as, and I think it is productivity when you sit down at a table for a meal prior to rise in that in the time management space of, hey, I want to make this. Can you grab this while I'm doing, you know, again, there, you. Take advantage of the team. Yeah, man. And if you live alone, find someone in your accountability circle that you could say, You know, I really want to learn. I want to run a 5K by Easter. Find a friend that's a runner. Yeah, that way you have someone to help manage your time. Yes, yes. To reach cycle. Yeah. Well, I think living alone, it's a lot easier to manage your time, like you were saying. But I think if If you are married, you're cohabitating, you have a family, if, basically if your schedule is intertwined or dependent on anyone else's, You have to have the communication piece in order to successfully manage your time. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. So the next is kind of like we were talking about earlier, when there's only so many hours a day. It is a reality shown by many studies that most successful people wake up early in the morning. But I also don't want to say that like if you want to be productive and blah blah blah you have to wake up early because like you're saying some people I mean, you do your best work in the afternoon and evening. No, that's my best fun. Well, sometimes that's your most productive time. And I think that people are different. So productivity is going to look different for everybody. But I mean, getting up early and making that a priority, I think maybe when you're like training your productivity or really building habits. give you more hours in the day. I mean, it's also associated with health benefits, right? Right. When, when, and then something else I thought was interesting in a study I found was morning people also tend to anticipate problems and try to minimize them. This is called like a type of proactivity that has been linked to. Better performance, greater career success, better wages, stuff like that. So, positive things. if you know that you're a productive person in the morning, but you struggle to get up and get going, maybe find a way to change the habit and see what happens. Yeah, I would say I, I prefer the second ship, but in order to be the most productive person, I need to do the early rising and get on it fast. Yeah. Because three to midnight is my prime time, but, but I, again, I live in a household with other people. So, um, yeah, I definitely getting up early and I'm sure my husband is listening. I'm pretty sure he's downstairs right now in the kitchen and he is listening to me talk about this early morning. Productivity and he's gonna hold me accountable to that. So I better set my alarm. Good luck with that. I'll be watching it. Yes. We had talked a little bit earlier, but I think it goes without saying again. We need to hear this is work in short bursts and take breaks. you know, I'll work in no play will lead to significantly less productivity. Try not to be a productivity powerhouse. Be strategic and prioritize things like rest, mental health, and vacations from responsibilities. definitely, my parents age, Productivity. I believe a lot of it was related to success. Productivity was considered, how busy are you? So if you're busy, then you're productive. But I feel like that's still true today. You do? Okay. It just kind of looks different. Yeah, it looks different in the fact that you could be on your computer. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's true. It's very true. so do your best to not get bogged down with that and protect yourself. You don't have to always be doing something in order to be productive. Yeah. And this connects to the specific technique we're going to talk about next. And I am actually really excited to try it as part of our challenge for this week. But I tend to, because my productivity is And I'm constantly being pulled away by different things. for example, when I have to edit an episode, I'll sit down for three hours straight and edit. And by the time I'm done, I'm like, Oh, is the day over yet? I'm dead. Right. And it's interesting because research actually suggests that people only have the capacity to focus for 90 to 120 minutes for, they need a break. Which I feel like is true, at least for me, I mean, obviously everyone is different. Everything is varied, but I think that's true. And author Tony shorts explained in his book that humans aren't designed to expend energy continuously. Rather, they're meant to pulse between spending and recovering energy, which I think is definitely true. And I think for introverts, that's probably even more true. Right? Right. Because I get drained so fast, especially when I'm having to do like a test that requires a Socialization or people or whatever. But I am excited to get into this technique and it is called the Pomodoro technique. You sound exotic. It does. Do tell more. So many more step by step. You're going to identify a task you have to complete. You're going to set a timer for 25 minutes. You're going to work on that task without any distractions. So make sure if you're going to be implementing this technique, you're putting your phone out of reach, turning it on silent, making sure you have quiet space. I mean, as much as you can, I know some things are unavoidable, but really setting that up to succeed. You're going to work on that task for 25 minutes without distractions, and then when the timer ends, you're going to take a quick 5 minute break. And then You're going to repeat that two to three more times. And then after you repeat that, you're going to take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. And then if you have more work, you can start the process over again. So it's just built in breaks, which I think is good. And I also think I've never really liked timed myself on tasks or like timed breaks, but I am curious to try this and see over even the course of a week, possibly more if I really think it's producing the right results, I think it would be interesting to see how it works. Yeah, for sure. Are you going to try it for true? Well, you have to. I have to try it. one thing that I would just add to that is if you're getting ready to do a task that requires. several things, make sure to get everything together. Anticipate before you begin the task, make sure you have everything. Because with me, if I'm upstairs and I'm working on a paper or writing or whatever, but I left my water bottle downstairs. I go down to, to get my water. I pet a couple of animals. I go to use the restroom. Get some Cheez Its. For sure. Maybe also some pepperoni with that. Depending on how close I am to lunch. You love a pepperoni. And you love a napperoni and cheese. Yes. Yes. For sure. But, anyways, I use the restroom. I do all this stuff. And before I know it I have not been back upstairs in 30 to 40 minutes and many times completely forgot what I was even doing upstairs. Same, that is so stinking annoying. Throw in a load of laundry. Yeah, I think I am going to implement this technique and also like schedule myself hour by hour for a week and see how it works. Yeah, let's see, let's see what have to start my Pomodoro Technique at two, or I have to sit down and edit an episode or whatever. I'm going to get myself all set up. I have my snacks, my water, my phone. On, on silent, across the range, as far away as possible. Yeah, we'll see how it goes. Yeah, just really briefly. So this technique is proven to help you focus better, avoid burnout, which is something I struggle with tremendously, and manage your time more effectively. So like we were talking earlier about time management. So tips on using the Pomodoro methods, because there are some tips and tricks to make it function as best as possible. Use the remaining time in a Pomodoro to review or make improvements to the work. So if you finish your task before your timer's up, use it to kind of filter through and make improvements, do this and that so that you don't have to do that later. And then when you do get to that longer break of 30 minutes. Yeah. Use that to tidy up, clean some of that mental clutter, maybe get a drink, be active because that'll make whatever you have to do a lot easier when you, you know, especially if I know if I have to edit and I'm sitting there for a long period of time, I have to like move my body or like get outside for a little bit. That helps me tremendously when I have to sit back down. Yeah, and then also, like, you can choose a length of time that works for you. I think these are just the recommended suggested ones. like I said, we're all different. People can focus for longer. They may need longer breaks. You never know. So I think you can adjust this based on your needs for sure. Yeah. And it's so cool because in our research I found productivity apps And there is an actual app For this method. Oh, yeah, right yeah. Many focus, promo, Pomodoro, focus, keeper, Pomodoro. Wow. There's a lot. Yeah. so maybe that's a good way to kind of hold yourself accountable. and also it's a way to look back and find those little wins. Yeah, for sure. I almost think apps are kind of dangerous when we're talking about limiting or distractions, but also I think there is a way to use apps like that without making it a distraction. Yeah. Just something to be aware of. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Shall we do what she said? All right. Today's quote is from Anne Lamont. And she is an American novelist, nonfiction writer, public speaker, and writing teacher. And she seems pretty cool. So Ronnie's going to read our quote. Almost everything will work again. If you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. It's true. Y'all, if you had any idea, this whole production fiasco that we have every time we go to film. There's something wrong. There is always something wrong with the sound on our microphones. Either it's too much feedback. Last time we couldn't hear each other in our headphones. Yes. Golly. And what's the first thing that we do? Unplug. Everything. Restart. Everything. It usually works. It's true. And it does work. Yeah. So that's great. I mean, I think that's my first instinct to everything, especially technology. If something's not working, I'm unplugging it. Yes. But I think that works for a lot of other things, including when we get burned out or overwhelmed. Right. Unplug for a few minutes, take a break. Yeah. Whether that's getting out in nature. Yeah. Yeah. Closing your eyes meditating. I don't know whatever it is for you that that works Yeah, and we're not in a race. Yeah, so you don't have to set You know, a gold medal or break a record on how fast you can get that grocery list ready. That's true. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, man, I completely understand what you're saying. It's true. But yeah, this quote is definitely a great reminder to balance your productivity with rest and to not let the scale tip one way or the other that's actually costing you in the other area. If that makes sense. All right. You ready for this week's challenge? I'm ready. Cause I am. I'm definitely gonna, I'm gonna pomodoro the crap out of this week. Well I guess I will too cause she's gonna be watching me. I'm on it. Yeah, okay. Yeah, I'm gonna be watching you like a hawk. Nah, I'm just kidding. So yes, our challenge for this week is write out your task list. For the week and then use this technique of timing yourself using the breaks, whatever, and use that to accomplish your to do list and see what happens. If you are having trouble coming up with things to put on your to do list, then like we were talking about earlier, take some time, take inventory, think about your goals, think about it could be anything, whether it's not even like a work thing. It's a personal thing. It's a family thing. I'm sorry. I mean, I don't I feel like it's that hard to come to the task list because we're constantly. I was going to say if you're having difficulty making a task list, come over, I can help you out with that. Oh my god. I got a lot of stuff that needs to be done. You cut grass pretty much any time. Yeah. So we would love as we do these challenges every week, let us know like, What did you think of the challenge? How did it go for you? And also on that note, like we'd be saying feedback, feedback, feedback, feedback. We're excited. We're just excited for the ride. we're almost eight episodes in So if you're caught up, wait to Tuesday or listen again or send it to a friend. we're excited. Glad you guys joined us today. Hope you make it a great day. It is Friday here, January 31st. So I hope you guys have a great weekend and we will see you Tuesday. What a year this month has been anyways. But yes, have a fantastic week. Thank you for joining us. Go ahead and message us. Let us know if you have any questions or feedback to give us. Give us a review pretty please. Thanks beautifuls. We love you. And we'll see you next Tuesday. See ya!