Hey, guys. Welcome back to another episode of the Reality of Winning. I'm so grateful to have you guys here today.
And in today's episode, we're going to talk about the five productivity hacks that I've used in my life to kind of grow smarter, faster and not working harder.
So if you find yourself struggling with kind of learning how to manage your business, your self development, if you find it really hard to take time to learn and grow, but still want to become better, faster, smarter, stronger, then in this episode, you're really going to get a lot out of it.
Guys, every single day I use these five things that just really honestly, they keep me on track, they keep me motivated, they keep me inspired, and they keep me moving the needle in my life. And I know they're going to do the exact same thing for you. Hey, what's up, everybody?
This is Natalie, business and marketing consultant and personal branding expert. I've helped scale and grow companies to over $10 million annually.
I'm here to walk you through everything you need to know to bridge the gap between where you are right now and where you want to go. And this is the reality of winning. Do you ever just feel absolutely exhausted, drained, frustrated?
Because you're trying every single thing that you can, but you just aren't getting the results that you want and you feel just exhausted and you almost end up asking yourself like, why am I still doing this? What is the reason behind this?
And you know, the weight of the responsibility and the expectations that kind of make it when you're an entrepreneur are really tough. And those things can kind of, you know, keep you lying awake at night just feeling like overwhelmed.
And like, you know, I went for this thing, I'm doing it, I'm feeling overwhelmed, I'm frustrated, I have imposter syndrome, I'm depressed, I'm anxious, I have so much fear. And, you know, it's just, it's a never ending process.
But you're not alone on this journey and we all go through these things and we all feel that way sometimes. And I think it's okay to just kind of give yourself permission to feel the way that you need to feel in those moments.
And when you can really allow yourself to just know that two things can coexist at the same time, so it's okay. And you can be afraid and successful at the same time. Those two things can coexist.
So I think it's really important that we remind ourselves of that on a regular and consistent basis.
Something that's just really helped me you know, consistently move the needle inside of my life and keep driving my car forward in the lane that I want to be in is having the right tools and systems not only inside of my business, but inside of my day to day life.
I mean, I've done so many different trials and errors over the last decade of you know, what's going to work for me, how do I fit what into my schedule.
I've gone through the motions of working 60 hours a week and you know, being completely burned out, frustrated, unmotivated, not being able to sleep at night and just trying, like should I start meditating, should I journal? Like what are the key things that are going to actually make me feel happy, consistent, motivated and inspired.
So you know, guys, I really want you to take this episode really seriously and take your life seriously and really try to apply things into your life with real intention so that when you do face these problems, you have the right strategy and system in place to show up for not just yourself, but, but for the people in your life and people in your business, for your clients, for your customers, they're all relying on you. And instead of having that feel like a pressure point, I want you to feel inspired and motivated from it.
I remember one, at one point in my life I honestly felt like, because you hear it online so much, like, you know, you have to hustle, you have to grind, you need to work until you die and work 16 hours a day.
And I honestly, I remember feeling like if I wasn't working six or seven days a week, if I wasn't working at least 60 to 70 hours a week, that I was never going to be able to make it. And this really just started to make me resent my work. It made, you know, relationships disappear in my life. It made me feel frustrated.
I started gaining weight because I was, you know, stressed out, not eating properly, not taking care of myself, myself or my soul. I wasn't moving as much and I began to just resemble four walls that encompass my office.
So if you're in that same position right now, honestly guys, there's a light at the end of this tunnel and I'm here to tell you that you do not have to work 12 hours a day to have your dream business, your dream life and your financial freedom. It's just not the case. It might have been at one point when technology wasn't as advanced as it is today.
But you need people around you, you need the right tools around you, you need the right systems around you and that could be automations inside of your Business if you are a solopreneur. And yes, it takes time to set everything up, but that is just like a short term kind of suffering.
And I always feel and think, you know, am I feeling comfortable with suffering, you know, putting in 40 hours into making this happen so that for the Next, you know, six to 12 months, I don't have to put another 40 hours into it. I only have to check in maybe for an hour a week. And that sacrifice is big enough for me to say, yes, I'm going to get a valuable ROI on doing this.
So I'm willing to sacrifice that time and energy.
And I think thinking long term and not thinking about short term gratification, short term pain, if you can take out the short term thinking from your life and really understand that what you're doing today is lining up your future, every single thing is going to change for you.
The last thing I want to say before I dive into these five things, guys, is that at one point you will become, if you're not already the thing that is holding your business back.
And if right now you are struggling with your routine, you're struggling with your mindset, you're not making enough time to move during your day, you're working too many hours, if you're burned out, you're the thing standing in the way of your business growing and becoming the success that it deserves to be and that you deserve to have.
So really taken what I'm going to talk about today and really own it because this is going to change your life if you actually take the time to implement the right strategies and systems into your life to get the life that you want.
So I'm going to share my five key things that I do every single week now to keep me in balance, keep me growing in my knowledge, helps me focus on self care, self love and growing my business. So as soon as I wake up in the morning, I really try to just set the intention for my day. I get asked a lot, do you set an alarm?
Do you want to wake up at a certain time?
And honestly, because I go to bed at a reasonable hour, I get my full eight hours and I'm able to kind of wake up between 4 and 4:30 every now and then I'll wake up at 5.
But as long as I'm up before 5am, which my body's natural circadian rhythm just kind of does on its own now I feel like I can work between, you know, 5am to about 11 or 12 in the later on and I can get a lot of the core stuff done in my day. So to set the intentions, when I wake up, I definitely turn on my TV and I put on a meditation from YouTube.
And just kind of the meditations that I search out are just kind of a compelling future meditation, one that is making you automatically think about what you're working towards. And it just really drives that home for me.
And I find knowing and thinking about the future that I want to have and what I'm going to work really hard today for, that really moves the needle for me. And then I go into my Bible app and I'll do a daily devotional.
I take maybe 15 minutes and just kind of really go in and hone in on finding my right purpose and setting my brain up properly to treat the world the way it deserves to be treated. So those are the two core things that I do. Then I always hop into my hardest stuff. I always get that done in the morning.
So whether I'm working on, you know, developing a different lead magnet, if it's recording podcast episodes, if it's making video content, if it's writing newsletters, blogs, like all of the stuff that's going to move the needle inside of my business, I focus on and get done immediately. First thing in the morning, no distractions. And then I'll tap into more surface level work later in the afternoon.
So that could be responding to emails, it could be engaging on social media platforms, it could be, you know, just stuff that doesn't require as much brain power.
And I find being able to prioritize my tasks from most important to least important really has changed the game for me and has allowed my productivity to just skyrocket exponentially.
And everything is always getting done consistently, especially, especially after setting the tone and intention and thinking about why I'm doing it first thing in the morning. So I'll often work until about 11 or 10. And then I go in, I get ready and while I'm getting ready, I play my Alexa.
We go through my favorite self development podcast. I kind of rotate between Ed Mylett, Brendan Broussard, Lewis Howes, Dean Graziosi, Tony Robbins, any one of those guys.
This is my like again, just heavy work.
Take that little break to get ready and then I'm able to just dedicate my time to self development and setting my tone and intentions again and just making sure my mind stays right even after doing a heavy workload. So I'll do that. I'll get into a 30 minute yoga or workout and just kind of move my body, take my dogs for their 30 minute walk.
And then I start my appointments and you know, working with clients and everything like that. And I find guys, even if I wake up and I'm feeling just a bit off, as soon as I dive in and invest my time to getting my mind right, I'm ready to go.
And like it is, it's just honestly such a game changer if you take anything away. Just set the intention and the tone for your day. So my second productivity hack is kind of what I'm doing while I'm working out or walking my dogs.
And you know, the most important thing that I've learned through this is to just kind of listen to my body because sometimes I need a mental break and just need to focus on movement and just being present in the moment and disconnecting from the heavy workload. So I give myself permission in those moments to just kind of do what feels right.
And if it is just listening to some really upbeat music, sometimes it's just doing and moving in silence and just being there. So I listen to my body and I don't challenge myself that I have to do this. But a lot of times what I do like to do is tune into an audio book.
I love the Audible app, so I'll listen to different stuff. Sometimes it's self development, sometimes it's marketing related.
Every now and then I'm part of the Growth Day group app from Ed Mylett and Brendan Burchard.
So I'll turn that on sometimes and listen to one of the videos on self development or productivity or anything that can help me just kind of, you know, stay top of mind with the things that need to be done in order to achieve the results that I want in my life and to keep me disciplined and consistent. Because my brain needs a constant reminder of what I should and should not be doing.
And when I have that president in my life on a consistent, steady basis, then I'm able to really kind of tune in, tap into it. And it's just so much easier to stay consistent when you're consistently being reminded of what you have to do.
So the third thing that I really focus on and I'm actually gonna just kind of like weave into a subtopic here about eating. So I only usually eat one or two times a day. Every now and then I'll eat three times a day.
If I'm hungry more than that, I will eat and just give my body what it needs to function optimally. But I think it's really important to control your insulin levels.
And honestly, I find When I eat less frequently but larger meals, I actually perform better. I have more energy when I do this.
And the most important change that I've made is I'll actually only eat like protein, vegetables, eggs, meat, cheese, that kind of thing first thing in the day. And if I want a carbohydrate, I make sure that it's after 7pm just because carbs will kind of just bog me down.
They'll take my energy, they'll make me feel a bit more lethargic. Even if it's just something like a potato, like it just make. It's just heavier.
So I just kind of, you know, allow myself to only do that later in the evening.
So my first meal is usually around 4pm I'll often have a shake maybe around noon, and then my first meals at 4:00pm so during this time I open up my laptop, I put it on my island, and I listen to YouTube videos on productivity and increasing a flow state. So I listen to Rhian Doris usually, who will talk about productivity and flow states. And he's part of the flow research, I think academy it is.
But I know that I have to keep my mind focused on being able to be more productive.
And if I don't consistently even just remind myself of these things that I already know, I'll lose my focus on it and I'll stop doing the things that move the needle in my life.
So it's really crucial for me to always kind of be learning in those core areas of my life so that I can keep growing and get my desired outcomes in life and business. So food time all about flow state and product productivity hack research.
And I think it's really important to, you know, figure out what kind of ways that, you know, you can make your life improve and be more productive, where you're multitasking in a very effective and efficient way. Right? Not while you're working. Now this is something that I'm just going to tie in here because it's so important and I've.
I've definitely implemented this for probably about the last six months now.
Hey guys, if you're enjoying today's episode, why don't you take a quick screenshot and just go and share it and then tag me at Natalie Nads N A T A L I E N A D Z so go ahead and tag me in the post. Show me your listening and I can't wait to see those shares.
You can't try and do really intentional work while listening to a podcast, listening to a motivational YouTube video, listening to daily affirmations or anything like that, even music with words.
So I've been applying this and doing really deep, focused work and trying to achieve my flow states, which I feel like I can now tap into on, you know, just whenever I need it.
But I listen to like edm, study focus kind of beat music now from I listened to it on YouTube actually, but I find just having that beat in the background is enough for like extra noise. But it's not enough because there's no words in it to kind of distract me from the tasks that I'm doing.
So, biggest productivity hack, don't multitask. Focus on doing one thing and doing it really well. So I'm actually now working with only one tab open at a time.
So all other tabs are closed on my computer. I am not going to, you know, my phone is face down or in the other room. I'm not going to get distracted.
I let everybody know, hey guys, I only check my phone three quarter times a day. If you need to get in touch with me and it's emergency, give me a call during those times.
So I checked my phone at 7am, around 1pm and again around 7 or 8pm so people know when I'll be responding to them. They have a clear intention.
I set the boundaries with it and that's been a real game changer to help increase my productivity and not have a bunch of messages going on that aren't purposeful. So again, take control of your time and set expectations for the other people in your life to really be able to manage your own time effectively.
So that's a big thing.
But really, honestly guys, when you remove words, you remove, you know, external things and you stop trying to do too many things at once, you end up being able to do one thing extremely well. All right, so my fourth productivity hack, guys, and I really love this one and it's actually changed so dramatically for me.
So I would say probably about eight to around eight, ten months ago, I made a decision that Netflix and Prime Video, all of the different subscription based TV models that I had, were not adding any value to my life and I really started to value my time and use my time with more intention.
So with that being said, I decided I'm going to cancel all these subscriptions and make it harder for me to waste time or not do the things that I want to do. So I canceled all of them and I removed and changed the habit to giving myself like an hour and a half to two hours of watch time.
And I created a Habit of learning during those times. So I'll listen to about two or three long form videos on YouTube to keep my mind fresh and always thinking about new ideas and ways to improve.
So during this time, and I do this five days a week now, I recently just signed back up for a Netflix subscription.
And basically what I'm doing five days a week is putting my time and energy for an hour and a half to two hours on learning more about marketing, sales, finance, like all of those things.
And then on a Friday evening and on a Sunday, I get myself permission to watch some Netflix, take my mind off of it and just have like my time to unwind, recharge, not think so much. Because your brain does need a little bit of a break. So that's how I've navigated it.
And knowing that I have time to like enjoy and then other times for learning helps me stay disciplined and consistent with the rules and the standards that I've set for myself.
And having to first I had to remove the habit completely and replace it before I actually gave myself permission to say like, okay, now that you're disciplined enough and you've proven and provided evidence to support that you can do this long term, we can add that back in now. So for me that was just the way that I chose to do it. You might choose it a different way, but trade your screen time for something more valuable.
So I actually rotate and listen to Alex Hermosi. He talks a lot about, you know, business, marketing, copywriting, sales, how to stay disciplined and focused.
He has a really great mindset and perspective on different things and just how he says it is so great.
And then I'll listen to his wife a lot on Leila Hermozy and she talks more about like systems, your team mindset, how to rewire your brain, how to change thought patterns, how to become a really great CEO and boss. And I love all of her content and she's just, she's, she's got a brilliant mind and if you're not already listening to her, I highly recommend it.
So then I go into Gary Vaynerchuk and you know, Gary V, you might know him as that, but he's all about intention, empathy and really kind of keeping your purpose and your core values present. So I love that. And he's always just talking about taking action and doing the things and not being afraid. So he's got a lot of great value in there.
I'll listen to Cheryl Perez about consulting businesses, service based businesses, just kind of systems processes. She's really, really Good for that.
I'll listen to Cody Sanchez on buying small businesses, flipping them, increasing the value of them, increasing the revenue, and just kind of building wealth long term in a very creative way. Then I listened to Pat Flynn on everything you need to know about podcasting. I've listened to him for probably about eight years now.
And then a new one I started listening to is Alex Cantoni, and she's all about copywriting. She's got the copy posse, and she's just done a really great job.
I found her on LinkedIn, saw her YouTube videos, and she's just got a lot of really great, good, solid information. And then I listened to a few more people, like Dan Lock.
He is actually a Canadian, which I love, because we don't have a lot of Canadian marketing people. But he's a sales guy. And, you know, he always talks about the. The sales pitch and how to serve in a way that to sell, you have to serve.
In order to serve, you have to sell. Sorry, I messed that one up. But in order to serve, you do have to sell.
So that was something that I kind of struggled with as I made a transition from a chief marketing officer to business owner. And I just, you know, wanted to be very intentional about it.
So he helped me kind of work through that and just, you know, he does things in a very authentic way.
So I think it's just important to invest the time and energy into making our minds stimulated and actually doing the things and continuously growing in our own knowledge and not just staying complacent, because then you become unaware that you're the thing holding your company back, and you never want to be in that position. So you have to know what to do and how to do it. I'll take notes, I'll write out new ideas. If things that inspire me, I'll send myself a text.
I'll add it to my notes, which is connected to my Mac computer and my laptop, so I get access to them no matter what device I'm listening to, which I really, really love.
And then if I have, you know, different social media content ideas that come out of it, I put it into my task management software so that I can revisit it. So in my task management software, I actually have an open loop section.
Now, I consider an open loop something that's just kind of like, oh, a really good, awesome idea. Something that has inspired you, an inspired thought that you haven't taken action on.
So you keep thinking about, like, oh, yeah, I should do this, I should do this. And so I started Putting all of these through. I think Jordan Rayner's book, Redeeming your time, really, really exceptional book.
So he talked about the open loops and recommended the strategy. So I've implemented it into my life.
So I now put all of these open loops or ideas, inspired thoughts down into an open loop kind of form on, not a form, but a board in my task management software.
And then once a week I'll actually take the time to organize all of those open loops, open thoughts, but they're out of my head and I know that I'm going to figure them out and attach actions and plans to implement them into my day. Whether it's a blog post, a social media post, a webinar recording, whatever it could be.
Maybe it's something about getting a new picture for, you know, an area of my house, like whatever kind of open loop that it is, put it on there, let it go and then deal with it once a week.
Where I can I get, can I do this right away or do I need to map out time and put it into my schedule and then I kind of just implement it in that way? So that's part of my, you know, number four, the last productivity that I have is right before bed.
Whatever we take in right before bed is so crucial because our subconscious will, you know, continue even listening while we're sleeping. So I really like to take this time to do, I'll either do listening to my bible app, the audio player for it, or I'll listen to a book on YouTube.
They have tons of audiobooks on there, which is great because you don't have to pay for them. And then other times I might just be like exhausted and ready to just, you know, hit the hay right away.
So I'll listen to a, you know, 20 minute meditation and just fall asleep. If I'm listening to a meditation, I turn on Dr.
Joe Dispenza, who is a neuroscientist and he's dedicated his entire life to figuring out happiness, how the conscious mind works, subconscious mind, rewiring thought patterns. So there's a lot of really great core valuable information in there.
And because he's devoted so much time, I just find like the intention and the purpose behind every word inside of his meditations. They're all psychological based, they're all science based and you know, it just really helps me.
I just, I, I'm attracted to them so I, I keep listening to them. So those are the ones that I'll listen to if I'm going to read a book or listen To a book before bed.
Like I said, either the Bible or I'll listen to something on human behavior patterns. I'll listen to psychology. I'll do one about like how we think, rewiring our thought patterns. A couple examples.
The magic of thinking big, the game of life and how to play it different stuff like that, that. So, you know, it's just an important time to connect with yourself spiritually.
And I think it's like, you know, a lot to take in, but you're, you're able to absorb more and more as time goes on. And when I first started this, I felt like my brain needed an off switch.
But the more I committed to it, the more I said that it's okay if I don't do this full out the first day, but if I continue trying to add these pieces into my life, then I'm really able to kind of, you know, just. You. Let's, let's look at it like this. If you start a diet and you eat healthy for one day, you don't lose all the weight.
So if you're going to implement one of these new productivity hacks or all of them into your life, just give yourself a lot of love and grace and understanding and know that it's okay if you're not perfect right away and you have permission to kind of just work yourself into a routine, play with it, see what's going to fit and just give yourself permission to do that. The last thing I want to talk about here is so important because balance is key to productivity.
And I'm the type of person who used to feel like I should always be doing something to move the needle in my life. I should always be, you know, doing something that is going to give me an roi. Like if I was.
Now I feel sometimes too like if I'm just watching something on Netflix, I get bored really quick and I just want to do something else like eat or, you know, I'll, I'm not stimulated enough.
So I just feel like you have to be very consciously aware of what is going to work for you, what kind of stuff you do watch and what's going to stimulate you in the proper way. Like I don't look at, you know, guns, cursing, swearing, anything with killing inside of it.
If it's like super action packed and you know, sex scenes or, you know, anything like that, I tend to just kind of say like, this doesn't really like match with the type of person that I am.
It doesn't match with my core values and you know, like funny Things about people falling and getting hurt or, you know, those, like, ridiculousness and all those kind of shows or America's Funniest Home Videos where you're just laughing at other people's lives. Like, none of those things kind of make me feel good about myself. So I try to watch something like, really wholesome.
One of the apps that I did Transo translate over to for a really long time was Pure Flix, which is like the Christian Netflix. So I just try and keep it very like PG13, something like heartwarming. Something that is just gonna like, feed my soul.
I love, like the underdog movies with like a real strong story of how they overcame their obstacles and fought through it.
And like, those are the types of things that I want to feel in my day and that will kind of keep my intention and let me kind of just dive into that and hear someone else's story and not be involved in mine for a little bit. So for me, that's my off switch. That's what I like. But I had to learn to like, schedule my time to slack off.
So I had to give myself permission to be lazy so that I. I didn't feel guilty. Like I'm not working on my business right now and I should be. So I gave myself permission to be lazy.
So I started telling myself it's cool if you slack off these two times a week.
And knowing I had that time to slack off helped me stay disciplined the other days as well because I knew, like, you know, it's like being on a diet and having a cheat day.
It's easier to like, you know, stay consistent Monday through Friday, knowing on Saturday you get to have one little like, treat or snack or something like that, or higher carb value or anything like that. It's just always easier when there's like a carrot dangling at the end of that stick. Right? So on Fridays after 4pm, I go into downtime.
It's my slacking off. I can order food if I decide that I want to. It might even just be a salad or a pita pit thing.
But I'm like, if you don't want to cook today, you don't have to cook today. And if you want to watch Netflix, you can watch Netflix.
Sometimes I end up working until 7, and that's just what I feel like doing and what's going to serve me in that moment. But it's nice to know that I have the choice and the option there. So I like this method gives me permission to just do what feels right.
It keeps me Committed. And the second time I kind of slack off is Sunday. So that's kind of like my sanctuary for self care and the self love and taking the time for me.
So I'll work until 12 on Saturdays usually and then I get all the chores out of the way, whatever needs to be done. Groceries, meal prep, like anything that you know are the things that have to get done but aren't necessarily like the fun things.
Cleaning, you know, but I get them all out of the way and then I do try to move on Saturday, do the gym thing, do the book, audio book or book reading. And I take time to go into the self development growth day group and really just kind of devote some time to improving myself.
Going through an online module and course and, you know, it just really helps me.
And then, you know, there's a little bit of work in the morning on Sunday and maybe like two, three hours and then self care is, you know, where I go into.
So it's just taking the time to like respect and love yourself and taking a moment to appreciate myself and doing the little things like giving myself a hair treatment, you know, doing a facial, getting my nails done, you know, maybe getting a spray tan. Little things that I like to do that are part of my identity and who I am. And these little rituals just remind me, well, growth is critical.
So is my self love and self care. So these are my five key steps that help me growing and learning smarter and not hard harder.
I hope you can find a few key times to kind of double down your learning this week. And I would challenge you to say, what is the one thing that you can start today? What's that one thing?
Guys, are you going to swap your Netflix for YouTube tonight? Are you going to fall asleep to an audio book?
Are you going to try and listen to something with intention while you're, you know, doing your workout or walking? Drop a comment below, tell me what you're going to implement and change this week. And I can't wait for the next episode.
Guys, this one one is going to be so good. I have Brayden on with me and he is the find your why guys.
So if you're struggling to figure out your purpose, you don't know your intention, you're going to want to tune in. This episode is going to come out on Tuesday, so make sure you keep an eye out for that one.
Comments