5 Planner tips you need to create more ease in your business and life

5 Planner tips you need to create more ease in your business and life

So the other day I was scrolling on Facebook (yes I know!) and I realized that it was that time of year when everyone is looking for a perfect planner for the next year. 

Don't get me wrong, planners are awesome (you know I have one, and I'm gonna get into why I have one in a little bit). But in this post, I'm going to share with you why your 2021 planner won't make you more productive and what to do with your planner if you do get one.

This way you will actually be more productive without hustling, without burning yourself out. 

Comment below if you are getting a 2021 planner and want to use it better! 

Reason #1) Your expectations for the year to come

The question that I want to ask you is…

How many years have you gotten a new planner, set big goals for the year, and then halfway through you realize that you're not even working on your goals and you beat yourself up over it?

In the past, whenever I got a new planner, I would open it up, I would be so excited, I'd have all these amazing intentions for how to spend my time to be able to reach the goals that I have set. 

As you can imagine, you know what happens next, I get off track, something shifts. Something comes up and prevents me from reaching my goals. Whatever the case may be, I did not follow the perfect plan that I created in January and then I feel like I'm the one to blame. I am discouraged, I beat myself up over it and that's not the full truth of what actually happened. 

But there are so many reasons why we don't follow through with our original plans and goals that we set. And if 2020 has taught us anything about the world is that everything shifts. We need to be flexible with our goals, with our plans, with our schedules. 

So, if you often find yourself in that cycle of setting huge brand new goals and getting super excited at the beginning of the year, and then beating yourself up for not being able to follow through with it, know that this is a super common cycle that we are all set to. 

I am bringing this up now because, if you go into your planner before setting your huge high expectation goals for the year, you can come into it with full awareness of this cycle and set better goals. 

Personally, I don't set annual goals. There's a ton of research and reasons why but what I personally use and teach in my business is quarter planning.  So I have rough intentions of what I want my life to look like in a year but I never set hard goals or hard plans for the year.

I do them in quarter chunks because I know that things are going to shift internally, inside of myself the goals that I want to achieve and externally, around us. 

If you have not planned quarterly yet and you're in this cycle, I would definitely tell you to look into planning quarterly instead of annually. Sign up for my Q1 Planning workshop by clicking here.

Glorified to-do lists

The next reason why your 2021 planner won't make you more productive is that usually planners are just glorified to-do lists.

They're just pretty books that we write down lists in and lists don't work. They're good for a single purpose of just brain dumping but lists don't actually show us how much time we have and when we're actually going to get those tasks on our list done. 

I want to talk about the concept of a to-do list. To-do lists focus our attention and energy on all of the things that we have not done yet. This leaves us with this unaccomplished, unfulfilled, continue to beat yourself up, burned out, hustling type mindset and mentality, when our to-do lists never end.

I don't know a single person that is more productive when they feel behind, exhausted, and can never get enough stuff done.  For the people who are reading this and you’re thinking “oh my planner has places for me to write in my gratitude for the day, my top three” and all these other things that aren't just a to-do list, those are still things that you need to fill in and that you are going to beat yourself up about for not completing every single day.

I have so many clients and people in my personal life that tell me “Oh I'm bad because I didn't fill out my gratitude in my big three years”. Whatever you want to call it of the day. Bottom line is that planners often make us feel like a failure or not good enough. So that is not going to make you more productive. 

I could talk about how to make to-do lists better for days and how to actually complete your to-do list without feeling crappy about yourself, which I have tons of blogs on... What I'll say here is that we need to pay more attention and energy to the things that we have accomplished and that we have gotten done. This is the opposite of feeling crappy about yourself. When you focus, acknowledge, reflect, and celebrate on all the things that you have done, you are more motivated, energized, fulfilled.  All of those feelings, are what you need to feel to continue that momentum and continue to get things done. 

In the beginning, I told you that I have a planner. Yes, I do have a paper planner but guess what I use my paper planner to do? I write all the things that I have done or I spent my time on. If I skip a day, I don’t beat myself up over it.  I either go back and fill it in or I literally just not fill it in because it doesn't define my worth. 

You can read this post all about the three things most people miss when they write a to-do list. It will help you figure out maybe some things that you need to start incorporating into your time management systems and organization.

Our planners don’t include rest time

The third reason why your 2021 planner will not make you more productive is that our planners don't mention rest. Most of the time, a lot of people have a hard time resting, if it's even possible for them to rest. Even though the majority of us probably know that resting and taking time away from our to-do lists and our tasks is what is actually going to make us more productive, we still can't do it.

In sense, our planners do not encourage us to rest, to have quality time with our family, to knit, to watch Netflix…yet again. 

Our planners encourage us to stay exhausted, burnt out, hustling, and focusing on the things that we have not done yet so it makes rest even harder for us.

Again, those things are not going to make you more productive. So what to do instead is to have rest included in your planner. If it's not already, we need to shift our mindset to making rest and quality time with ourselves and our loved ones a non-negotiable that comes first before anything else, if it's possible for you. 

Obviously, we need to work enough to survive to pay our bills. Which is a whole other discussion around how our society is keeping us in these vicious cycles. However, we all can take a moment, whether it's just a second to take a deep breath. That needs to be in our planners, our schedules and that needs to be non-negotiable. 

The mindset shift that I needed to make in my life is that my to-do list, my tasks will truly never end. That is literally being alive, we are human.

The things that we need to do will never cease to exist. So we need to understand that in order to think “Okay, I can take some time, put my to-do list aside and actually rest”. When we have a mindset that thinks “when I just finish xyz then I can rest”, there's no finishing, there's no end, there's no being done. 

I'll just say here as a caution or a warning sign is that when you start to rest it's going to feel uncomfortable. When you do try to rest and relax, your brain starts racing.  That is the conditioning inside of us around working, just know that you are doing it right. It is not an easy thing for any of us, so I just wanted to mention that to encourage you to continue to rest even when it feels uncomfortable. That is the journey that we are all on together. 

All in all, planners really do a heck of a job reinforcing the things that we have not done. Which encourages us to continue to be exhausted, to continue to be burnt out, to continue to be stretched thin. None of those feelings or states are conducive to being productive, to get the things that we need to get done. 

In order to be truly more productive in your life, it usually takes more than just writing down on a piece of paper. There is usually a ton of mindset work that needs to go into it. True change comes from going inwards and doing the internal work to heal ourselves. We need to be able to seek better lasting solutions without having to hustle, burn ourselves to the ground, and being stretched thin in every capacity. 

If you got anything out of this post just remember to focus on the things that you have done and be able to reflect and celebrate those things. That is what is going to help you be more productive, that is going to help you feel more motivated and energized. 

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to pop them below. I would love to talk with you more about how planners don't necessarily make us more productive and what you are going to do to make a change in your planning.

Ready to heal time scarcity and live into your values? Click here to get free + supportive resources!

The 3 best strategies to finally heal the multi tasker in you

The 3 best strategies to finally heal the multi tasker in you

As entrepreneurs, we end up getting stuck in a to-do list hamster wheel of busyness!

We end up feeling behind all the time on our own self-imposed deadlines and then, really struggle to balance our work and our lives so we end up trying to multitask. 

If that is you, if you end up trying to multitask to get more things done in a day, this blog post is for you! I'm going to share three reasons why multitasking doesn't make you more productive and what to do instead so you can get more things done but in less time, less chaos, and less stress!

Our brains are not made to multitask!

What is the first reason why multitasking does not make you more productive? Our brains are not made to multitask, simple as that!

We are not made to do more than one thing at once. Our brains are designed to just accomplish one thing at a time. What we end up thinking is, multitasking is really just switching between things super fast or maybe even super slow. So putting all that pressure on your brain to do more than one thing at once is going against its nature. 

It takes a lot more time to accomplish the few things that you're trying to accomplish at once and that is going to add so much stress onto your brain and onto yourself. A study on psychology today that showed how multi-taskers are 40% less productive and it can take as long as 25 minutes to resume working after an interruption or trying to switch to the other task. For example, if you end up checking Instagram while you are trying to write a blog post.

The best thing that we can do here is recognize, acknowledge and appreciate our human nature, our brains. This is where deep self-compassion comes into the picture.

What to do instead

When you find yourself trying to multitask because you feel behind or for whatever other reason, pause, remember that you, your brain just doesn’t work this way. 

Then figure out what is the one task that you want to focus on, write it down on a piece of paper and have that front and center for you to remember. 

This is a practice you're gonna keep coming back to. Just like if you've ever tried meditation and your brain starts thinking, you simply remember that you're thinking and come back to your breath. 

Multitasking decreases your creativity

The next reason why multitasking does not make you more productive is that it kills your creativity. 

When you're over there trying to switch between tasks, from task to task, your creativity is dampened, you probably have a lot harder time thinking outside of the box. Especially when you are trying to start your own business and be of service to other people, you're not going to be in that mindset or that frame of mind when you are just jumping from thing to thing. 

And let's be honest, how many times have you had a brilliant idea when you're washing the dishes or in the shower? It's because, during those times, you are most likely just focusing on one thing. 

The reason why that happens is that ideas are born from the prefrontal cortex, which is the forehead area, but this is the part of our brains that really truly can only focus on one thing at once. 

So, as an entrepreneur, you know you need your most brainpower and your most creativity so it's not going to make you more productive by multitasking.

What to do instead

The solution here, or the way to move forward, is to define clear boundaries around your creative or deep thought focused time. Try to uphold them as best as possible, obviously knowing that this again, is a practice. You are never going to be perfect at upholding your boundaries and perfectionism is just not possible. 

Multitasking takes you out of the present moment 

The third reason why multitasking does not make you more productive is that you are not living or working in the present moment. When we race through life without truly experiencing all the small simple things about it, we are experiencing much less.

When we continue to try to multitask, eventually it does start to erode our focus and our ability to pay attention and stillness becomes completely impossible for us to even imagine integrating into our lives. 

When you are present and add more mindfulness into your day-to-day, you are more able to focus and get more things done and do it without the stress and the chaos. 

What to do instead

So the solution, or way forward here, is to practice mindfulness. Practice more breathing exercises in your day-to-day. Schedule them in your calendar or put them on your to-do list as things that you need to do.

Ready to heal time scarcity and live into your values? Click here to get free + supportive resources!

5 Telltale signs you are awesome at managing your time

Have you ever wondered if you spend your time in the best way possible?

In this post, I'm going to share with you five signs that prove you're awesome at managing your time and you're using it in the best way possible!

So hopefully you can take a deep breath, relax, and finally feel like enough, or have specific things that you can work on and maybe get some clarity on how to do that. 

You get (mostly) everything done!

Sign number one that you are awesome at managing your time is that you get (mostly) everything done on your to-do list. This one may be an obvious one but let me explain, it's a really great sign that you manage your time when you get everything on your to-do list done but not at the expense of yourself and your life. 

In order to get everything on your to-do list done and still enjoy your life, you put a realistic amount of tasks on your to-do list. Therefore, you get (mostly) all of them done. This means that you don't really struggle with procrastination or perfectionism.

And when you make a to-do list you are grounded in reality, so you know how long tasks take you. You aren't really into over-scheduling yourself, which is amazing, because so many people tend to over-schedule their life!

The flip side of that coin is, you tend to over-schedule yourself and you put a ton of stuff on your to-do list. You start working and things take way longer than you think they're going to take. You end up frustrated at the end of the week because you only got one or two things done from your massive to-do list. 

I talk about this in another video but this means that you are most likely stuck in a to-do list shame cycle. So if you are stuck, start by putting less on your to-do list. 

You can say no and delegate tasks 

The second sign that you are managing your time awesomely is that you can say no and delegate tasks to other people. Saying no to the things that you don't want to do, or things that are not at the top of your priority list is huge! As goal-getters, or high-achieving people, it is hard to say no. Especially when you have tons of creativity, energy, and passion. 

So, it means that you have a good grasp of what is important to you, your values, and the big picture of what you're trying to create in this world. It also means that you can set boundaries, which again, is huge.

The opposite, as you can probably imagine, is saying yes to all the things and having trouble delegating. 

I totally get it, it's hard to say no, boundaries feel kind of mean and harsh. So, if this is you then just start with something super small. What can you delegate to someone else that you don't need to do? Or, what are you saying yes to that you don't really want to do? That's really all that needs to be done, just start prioritizing. 

You can prioritize all your projects/goals 

The third sign that you are awesome at managing your time is you prioritize the many, many projects that you are currently working on. Or, goals, dreams, and shifts that you want to make happen in your life. Speaking of the big picture, when you know your vision, your goals, and the things that you want to make happen in your life, you are able to prioritize what's most important to you and say no to the rest. 

You are able to put a few projects on the front burner, and then everything else you're able to let go of until you have more time and space to do them because, I know you, I know you have tons of passion. I know you have tons of ideas, you are brilliant and you want so many things to come to life in your business and in your personal life. 

So, it's really easy to work on all of those things at once. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of being multi-passionate. I am as well, I think it's important to have many different projects that you're working on, to switch between and to refill your cup. But, when you have too many projects, goals, and things that you're working on at once, then you're overwhelmed, scattered, and stretched thin. 

That's not really a great sign that you're managing your time but, if you are doing that, I just want to say it's okay. There are things that you can do, so if this is you the action step that I would suggest is writing out all of the projects that you are working on currently, all of the goals, all the habits, all the routines, all the things that you're trying to do, change and be in your life. Take a look at that list and just pick three. I say “just” like it's simple, it's not simple, I want to honor that it's not simple but, I know you can do it. 

I know that you know, you can focus on three priorities max for a month, or even just start with a week. Start there. 

You can take time off 

So the fourth sign that you are amazing at managing your time is you can take time off, you have hobbies and creative outlets. It is always a great sign to me, when high achieving people and entrepreneurs have things that they can do on the side that doesn't have an end goal, doesn't have a return on investment, it's just something to get your energy up, to refill your cup, to find joy and just have fun. 

I also want to add that they are non-negotiable. So it's not just things that you do every once while when you have time. It's things that are built into your routine, like self-care habits that are just non-negotiable, that they just happen. 

It is so important to take time away from work and your projects. A great example of why this is also important for business is, the other day I had a client who had like the best idea ever while washing dishes. It is so important for your brain to just let go and have space.  

The flip side of this is, you have a really hard time stepping away from work. You don't really have things that don't turn into side hustles or extra businesses or extra leg of the business. There's nothing wrong with that either but, when everything in your life has an end goal, end result, return on investment type mindset, then there's less play, there's less creativity, there's less enjoyment. 

I bet that you value enjoyment and finding joy in your life so, the action step here is, just take a few minutes a day off of work. This can literally be anything, it could just be watching the clouds, it could be watching Netflix. I don't care what you do but, take some time off and maybe pick up a drawing class or a pottery class and just do something for fun. Have fun!

You value your human-ness!

The fifth sign that you are amazing at managing your time comes from an acronym that I just think is brilliant. It is called HALT and stands for “hungry, angry, lonely, tired”. This is probably the most important sign of them all, you are amazing at managing your time if you attend to your humanly needs. 

So, when you're hungry, when you are lonely, when you are tired, when you are angry, when you have feelings about anything, you don't push yourself. You don't hustle, you don't grind, you take time off to honor those feelings, to refill your cup. Are you sensing a pattern to refill your cup? 

You are able to use the bathroom when you need to go to the bathroom instead of continuing to work for two more hours! You go and eat lunch, breakfast, dinner, and all the meals and snacks.  You call up a friend and hang out with a friend when you need some connection, anything that you feel like a human, you can attend to. 

Speaking of being human, you are compassionate towards yourself. Like we talked about earlier, if you are stuck in a to-do list shame cycle, you don't beat yourself up, you are compassionate towards yourself. Even if you don't complete everything, you celebrate yourself, you tell yourself “good job” and you understand that you are human. 

So the flip side of this is, if you feel like you are a robot, you beat yourself up for not being perfect 100% of the time. If you put your work and your to-do list over being human, that is a huge red flag in my opinion. 

There is something that you can do about it, take time off, rest, take care of yourself. Maybe even schedule in time to just check in with yourself every single day and honor that.  This sign is like I said, the most important and it's also one that just takes time to fully integrate. 

Speaking of being human, just to reiterate, you could not be perfect at managing your time either. None of these things are black and white, they are moment to moment type things. You can get your to-do list done and be realistic one week and then the other week you want to do so much.

This is all an experiment, we're all throwing spaghetti at the wall together. So keep doing your best, keep celebrating you, keep celebrating your humanness, and comment below what makes you feel like you manage your time really well? I would love to hear it!

Want to feel confident, in control, and at peace with your time?

Click here to get free + supportive resources!