How to Have Your Most Productive Year Yet

Welcome to The In Between Podcast. I'm Astrid.

And I'm Alexis. And we're 2 best friends on a journey to living a fun, intentional life.

We know it's easier to share on a season of life once it's behind you, but what about when you're in the middle of the growth, confusion, and decision-making?

This lifestyle podcast is for the everyday gal who loves to travel, talk about business, relationships, fashion, and everything in between. Hello friends, and welcome back to Welcome to another episode of The In Between Pod. It is one half of the podcast, Alexis.

And the other half, Astrid. And today we are talking about one of my absolute favorite topics, which is productivity and time management, which I am so passionate about this because I feel like sometimes people feel like time management can put a strain on you or can put you into a box. But really, when you're able to first decide how you want your days to run and what you want your week to look like and create that focus, you have a lot more freedom with your time and you're choosing things before everybody else is choosing things for you. So we're going to be sharing today some of our favorite tips and tricks and how we handle productivity and time management in different seasons of our year, different seasons of our mood. Um, and you get to have a really honest account of also how different we can manage our time and you can take some tips and tricks to see what might work best for you.

Yeah, I'm excited for this one because I think around the new year we start to reevaluate how we are spending our time. Some things we might want to stop doing, some things you might want to start doing. And at the beginning of the year when there's new things you want to try, new habits you want to build, new routines, Sometimes there's this overwhelm of like, where does that fit in? Like maybe you want to start a side hustle or you have this big project that you want to work on, or it's like, where am I going to find the time? Or I can never do that thing because I don't, I don't have time for it. Or like, how do I make time for it? And so I think this is an interesting conversation specifically to be having this time of year as a lot of us are wanting to start things. Or maybe stop things. And a lot of that comes down to where does it land on our calendar?

Absolutely. But before we jump into that, tell us about your weekend.

Oh, my weekend. Well, um, Matthew and I went to the Texans game. They were in a wildcard game to make the playoffs and they won. It was my very first, um, Texans game. So I've been to NFL games before, but never here in Houston. And that was So much fun. The vibes, like, it was so much fun. We had truly a great time and it was a nice mix of productivity and relaxation. So I love weekends like that where I can like still get things done and I organized my pantry. We hung our new TV, like got some things in order. And I also rested. I read, you know, some books and like that just feels really nice. So I had a great weekend. What about you, girl?

Oh, that sounds so fun. Your Texas game was everything.

It was great.

That looks amazing.

Also, can I just say, like, Matthew and I are on hole 30 right now, and when we— those tickets were free, actually. Am I lucky girl syndrome this year? Let me tell you right now, it is in full effect. I feel very thankful for that. So yeah, we ended up landing free club tickets, like at club level, like box tickets.

How?

And through Matthew's work.

Okay.

And I'm like, thank you so much. Um, but you know, we're on Whole30 and we get to the game and I'm like, we can't have anything here. Like everything is deep fried and salted and we love that. Like, I love that. But Whole30 is kind of like a diet I hate using the word diet, but it is. It is a 30-day diet nutrition reset. And, we were on the way and I was like, okay, this is going to be interesting. We're on Dry January. So, we ate a big meal before we went. All that to say, I really had to exercise my mental toughness, not because I was trying to restrict myself from eating something that was bad for me, but because—

Mm-hmm.

15 days ago, I made a commitment that this was what I was going to do. And there was something about like committing to that, keeping that promise and saying like, hey, I know we're at this cool game. It feels like this once in a lifetime. Oh my gosh, when are we ever going to be here again kind of thing? But I drank my water and had a great time and it didn't take away from my experience. And I think that sometimes we can like attach like, oh, I'm not going to really experience the whole thing if I don't Get a beer, or if I don't, whatever. And that wasn't the case at all. We had such a good time, and I'm really proud of myself. I'm proud of myself for like continuing to keep those promises and not let circumstances dictate my behavior.

Yeah, I'm so proud of you.

I feel like that didn't exactly.

I needed that to be on the pod.

You're like, "Thank you." I need the reassurance.

Everyone, thank you. Alexis, how proud we are of her. Oh my gosh. But yeah, what a good weekend. Yeah, for me, it's— I've been enjoying the slowness of this January and not having to shoot on a weekend. It's like reviving my spirit after spending so many weekends back to back. And so Friday night was one of those. My boyfriend texted me, he's like, I made reservations, pick you up at 6. It was just like so fun. It, it threw us back to like our early dating Uh, days, and we just had the absolute best time that night. And then Saturday we went to the gym. It was very chill. We went to the gym. We've been rewatching Breaking Bad, which has been really, really fun. And we started planning our trip to Italy this summer. So we spent a lot of time on TikTok evaluating different locations, seeing what we want, looking at hotels and Airbnbs and getting a little bit more of a closer idea, which was Honestly, so fun. I started getting emotional seeing some of the TikToks, which is— was very interesting for me to get emotional over seeing like a view and be like, oh, I'm gonna be there. Um, but I, I love that. I guess that new side of me where now I am savoring these privileges that I get to have and that I let myself get excited and I'm not too removed from it or too like, oh yeah, we're just doing this thing. Um, but I let myself. Feel all of it. And it was just fun. It was just fun to let our minds dream. And yeah, and Sunday we went to the gym again and then just prepped for the week, kind of like relaxed a little bit as well and meal prepped. And this kind of goes hand in hand with what we're talking about today. But one thing that I'm learning in my meal prep process is that the sacredness of needing my Sundays to reset, but also relax and almost be completely tuned out for the last half of my Sunday before the week starts so I can have a mental rest is important. And so I don't want to spend my afternoon all doing chores and meal prepping and everything. So I have been learning that and consolidating to 1, max 2 dishes that I am making for for the rest of the week when before I was like making just like so many different variations and we were in the kitchen for like 3 hours, 4 hours. And I was like, get me outta here. I started resenting it and I was like, I don't wanna do this anymore. So sometimes it's just about tweaking a specific thing in the process and not the thing itself. And that worked out really, really well. So meal prepped, sticking to our goals, sticking to our habits, and it's been successful so far.

Good. It's also interesting too when you like start, you have this habit and you know that you want to do it, but then you begin to resent it because something about it like ticks you off. You're like, oh, like this is like ticking me off. Like, why am I mad right now? I don't want to be in the kitchen.

I told Nick this weekend, I was like, I, I turned around, I was like, I promise I'm not mad at you. I am just being a rebel teenager that doesn't want to be doing this right now, but I know I committed to it and I have to do my Sunday thing so that I can have a successful week. But I just want to order food and lay on the couch and I'm pissed about it.

Oh girl, that was us too. Like, yeah, I totally get that. Doing, doing things that are good for you even though sometimes you do not want to do them. Um, so with that, let's transition into what you're in between right now. Every episode, we always— literally every single week, Astrid and I bring up things that we're in between, whether that's in life or in business, because we believe that you are always in between Something. So do you want to kick us off? What are you in between right now?

Yeah, I can kick us off. Um, okay, well, this one's a little bit more on the personal/vulnerable side, but it's been a good learning curve, and I want to share for anyone that it might encourage them. And it's my boyfriend and I have started to take days off Like where we don't see each other. And sometimes when you're in a relationship, and especially like if you might live with someone, which I don't live with him, but if you're close to proximity with them, you want to see each other all the time. And that desire is always there. And that's beautiful and so fun. And also something that we're both learning in this season is the importance of individuality in our relationship and having the own space and time to do our own hobbies and hang out with our own friends and still giving each other the quality time over just quantity of time. And so I think we kept giving each other so much quantity because we missed each other and I was gone a lot and then he was really busy too. And so that quantity felt like it filled the hole, but really it wasn't about the quantity. We were seeking more quality. Quality. And so we shifted things a little bit last week, and it worked out amazing. We basically took a day in between throughout the week to not see each other in those evenings. And like, he got to hang out with, you know, his dog and catch up on his chores and like do all the things he wants to do. And so did I. And so that has been really different. I've never done something like this in a relationship before where We took time away from each other during the week without it being a fight or without it being like, I need space from you. It's all peace and love. It's just being able to keep that individuality. And it was hard at first. Absolutely. It felt very, very different. And then at the same time, once that awkward stage of trying something new came, I was like, This is the best thing we could do for our relationship. And as we progress forward and as more commitment, everything happens down the road, it's like, okay, I actually am realizing that maybe even within marriage, maybe you and Matthew experience this too, having those days where you just go and do your own thing in your own space is so important. So we're in that season of learning it. And it was hard at first. I feel like I'm very much a quality time person. At the same time, I feel like I'm breaking some patterns that I observed growing up of like, we always do everything together. And so that has been something to work through, but it has felt really healthy, really loving. And yeah, and every time that we spend time together, it's just been like, we're just so stoked for it and we treasure that so much.

I'm proud of you. I think it takes a lot of awareness to recognize like where you might feel that like breakdown of like, okay, am I losing a sense of my individuality in a relationship? I mean, being married, I, I like, you're with someone all the time. And I think another piece is whenever we were doing distance, hmm, then like when we saw each other, it was like, oh my gosh. But now that we're together full-time, all the time, We still on the weekends have to be intentional of like, yeah, go golfing. I'm gonna go do this with my girlfriends and I'm gonna go to book club. And like, just having individuality inside the relationship is so healthy because I think it helps you like nurture your habits and nurture your hobbies outside of just that partnership. So like Matthew has habits that I don't have and vice versa. And same with hobbies. But when you want to spend all your time together, or you do spend all your time together, sometimes that means like our habits and our hobbies don't get nurtured because we're just like together. And yeah, oh, well, he's not going to want to go golfing because I don't want to go. Or like, I'm not going to put together a puzzle or read a book because he's not reading. So let's do something that we both want. And then sometimes that means I'm not doing things I really want, and vice versa for him. So I love this. I think this is like It's a peak maturity point in a relationship when you get to that point where you're like, okay, we're prioritizing our individuality. There's nothing wrong. There's no argument. There's no conflict. And like, I love you and I want to go do this thing for myself and you love me and you want to go do this thing for yourself. And like, that's actually healthy.

Yeah. I think sometimes that can be misinterpreted as, especially especially if you have an anxious attachment style, as rejection. Like, I need space, or I need something away from you, or I want to do this thing without you. But when we can filter that through in a healthy mindset, it's huge. And one thing that I found for myself is I ebb and flow in seasons through life, and specifically with my job. I'm gone a lot, and then I'm home, and then I'm gone a lot. And so I caught my mindset where I was like, I'm going to bottle up all the time with you in January. And then in January, it's like, okay, no, we still need to keep like all of this space and individuality. And like, okay, I have a busy February, but you will be here in March and April and May and June and all the other months of the year. So, um, I think that that can also be hard when we feel like we haven't spent the quality time in a season and then jumping into one where you just want to like have the person you love most all to yourself.

Yeah, that's a good point. That's a good point. Well, I love that y'all are figuring it out, finding your way together one day at a time. What am I in between right now? I am in between old patterns of overwhelm and the way that I used to cope with overwhelm And this new version of me, this new 2024 version of me that's focused on fun, you know, and like wants things to feel free and lighthearted. And so, um, the realities of my role at work also— well, uh, I'm gonna save that. I'm gonna save that for another— I'm gonna save that for a couple episodes. Sorry, I'm not gonna say that yet. Um, but there's just like a lot of things happening at work, good things, and like things happening with The Deep Reset and coaching and just so many good things are happening right now. And I know you know this so well in your own business, Astrid, is the overwhelm that comes with the opportunity and the follow-through and seeing it all the way through. So I am learning how to still infuse fun into the overwhelm that I feel. Reframe the word overwhelm. But yeah, I'm just like trying to figure out how not to get into that like frustrated, ah, like, like, you know how you just get frazzled or anxious or it keeps you up at night or you get angry or like mad or frustrated? Like, I don't want to be that way and I haven't, but I can sometimes feel my thoughts kind of weave themselves back to like my default settings. And so as I'm trying to really rewire this like lighthearted, fun. Yes, this is a lot. It is a lot. And like, how can we do this in a way that feels good to us and that brings us energy and that we are actively choosing this task, we're choosing this project, like we are showing up with our full energy? That takes like a whole other like mindset shift and like uplevel. So I'm really on the way there, and I do feel myself like continuing to climb that mountain, a mental mountain. Um, but I also still feel that tug down the mountain of like, you know, those old thought patterns. So that's where I'm at right now.

Oh my gosh, so true. Like, even when you're doing a project that you're so excited for and that you love, some of that overwhelm comes through because there is a lot to execute. And I don't know if this happens to you, but I almost think that there is this association of even a fun project that we have with work and our full-time job. And so it almost feels like, okay, we're 24/7 or whatever many hours you're awake in the day in full work mode. And it's really hard for our brains to separate, this was work and this is a fun project. And so we carry that energy just by association.

Yeah.

And so I'm proud of you for actively bringing that to the surface. And it's not an easy task to break that through and say, okay, how can I help my brain, my nervous system, myself just completely separate and be like, we want this. This is fun. This is exciting. This is a fun project. And how can we bring that lightheartedness into it? And it's just a mental reframe that I think is really hard because our brains automatically associate Yeah, that's a great point.

And I think too, when you take your work really seriously and you have that like very serious focus, it can sometimes bring this like lens of like, okay, it's just— not that it's just marketing or it's just a business, because it is important, but it's like not life or death.

Yeah.

And so I think like when we take everything so serious, we can lose some of that lightheartedness. So, and like perspective really of like Hey, this is important. And like, let's add some perspective in here. Um, and that's been really helpful. So yeah, I'm learning, learning and living.

Well, I am so proud of you. What a great way to start the new year. And I can't wait to see, honestly, at the end of like this month, whenever you've finished this project and you've gone through it, like What your takes are on it, of trying something new, trying a different energy towards a project and seeing how you like your thoughts on it.

Yeah, me too. Me too. With that, let's shift into our topic around productivity and time management. So when it comes to productivity, time management routines, I think that it's important to start this conversation By acknowledging that when we are distracted, when our mental health is struggling, when we're really busy, sometimes this idea of like building routines or time blocking or like figuring out how to be most productive—it just doesn't work. And so I think it's helpful to like take take a stock of where you are right now and apply what works, throw out what doesn't. But this is really to just give you a lot of different ideas of different ways that you can. Um, you know, manage your time. If you struggle with productivity— this is something I've struggled with a lot— and like just that work ethic of like trying to get so much done, I have really given myself a lot of compassion and still made progress in the way that I approach productivity. So where can you apply compassion to your current circumstances while also being open to learning? Like, is there a different way I could do this? Is there a different strategy that I could apply that would make this feel easier, fun, and maybe even more efficient. Because sometimes when we're like in the middle of a project and we avoid it, we sometimes end up on our phones, we're scrolling, you know, we're kind of looking for ways to like get out of doing it or procrastinate. So I fully relate with that and just want to acknowledge that before we even jump in, because I think that it's a very real experience for all of us, especially when we work remote. too. Like, I, you know, you, you are fully accountable for the work that you get done. No one is seeing anything unless you get it done digitally. So yeah, I just wanted to bring that up before we dive in.

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's such an important perspective because even as we go in and share some of the habits and hacks that have helped us in our productivity and time management, I also think it's important to know that we struggle with a lot of things every single month. We ebb and flow out of things and we constantly have to move things around. And I actually experienced this last week where I had created my whole schedule and then honestly, I was in that part of my cycle where I just needed more rest and mentally I was processing a lot and I've caught myself a little bit in freeze mode and all the things I wanted to do Specifically in the evenings, I like couldn't. And so what I had to go back through and do is, okay, my schedule for this week isn't realistic, but we are not all or nothing. It's not throw everything to the side. It's what are my top priorities that I need to do today at work and this evening? And I will make sure those priorities are done, but then I will give myself the grace afterwards to take that time because We're not robots. And that took me a while to learn and to see that in a sense I was expecting robot quality and consistent quality week to week. And that's not realistic as a woman where our hormones change every 28 days and every single day. And it's not realistic as a human that experiences happiness, sadness, depression, so many different things that we're coping, especially if you're seeking out goals. Like you're going to be internally, like fighting a lot of things. And so we're going to share the tips and tricks, but also invite the grace into your scheduling and your routines as well.

Could not agree more. I think that's a huge thing to keep in mind as we enter into this conversation. So when it comes to, um, we'll kind of talk about some life and business sides. So like, you know, the life side of being productive in time management, as well as in the career/self-employment side of things as well. So, I think a big piece is looking at your anchors. So, my anchors are my morning routine and my evening routine. And, I look at those anchors of when do they start, when do they stop, and what happens in that time block. So, when I think of my morning routine, my anchor, my beginning anchor is my 5:30 a.m. wake-up. And then, I'm going to the gym, I'm making my smoothie, I'm getting ready for the day. Listening to a podcast, I'm journaling, and I start my day and I log into work before 8:00 AM. So like that anchors me in my day so that when I prioritize that routine, I feel like I'm able to be more productive because I've prioritized myself in the morning and I have gotten out the physical energy while also prioritizing the mental energy of journaling for me personally. That I'm able to like start and open up my laptop and feel fresh towards my tasks for the day. The other anchor is my evening routine. So I'm not able to wake up early in the morning if I'm not going to bed on time and getting that 7.5 to 8 hours of primary sleep for me. So that looks like I am starting my bedtime now. I've really been working on this lately. I'm starting my bedtime around 8:00, 8:30, like starting that, like getting ready for bed. And then, I'm asleep between 9:30 and 10:00.

Mm-hmm.

And, that's that anchor evening. So, when you're looking at your time management, I think we can look at a week, but we can also look at in a day, in the very, very micro, how are you managing your mornings and your evenings? And, how can you use that as those anchor times to set you up mentally and physically so that during the day when you need to be most productive, you feel like you have Prioritize those areas so that you can really show up and give your best and kill it. So that's where I would start this conversation is on the micro, how are you showing up daily?

Absolutely. I think we underestimate a lot how much a stressful morning will take away from your energy for the entire day and create way more chaos into the day than it needs or deserves. And I think Working on your mindset and working on a morning routine that works for you. Like maybe it's a 10-minute thing, or maybe it's an hour thing or 2 hours, whatever it might be. But something that says, I am in control of my time, not everything else. I'm not rushing out the door. I'm not like putting my makeup on while I drive, which by the way, I have been there. Like I used to be chronically late and all my friends know this. I used to be chronically late for everything. Everything. And I was always rushing out. I had my smoothie, barely making it, put it in the car, drink it, do my makeup all the way on the way to work. I had 15 minutes to do all of it. And after listening to a podcast that talked about how much more extra stress we add to our lives because of that, I was like, Astrid, you are spending your stress literally on things that don't even need it. What would happen if we save that energy of stress for the things that matter, for projects that are pushing us forward, for habits that we want to actually implement, for things that matter and deserve that energy? So I think that being able to first start at what is digestible and possible for you, start there, even if it is just, hey, I'm going to wake up to just give myself enough time to get ready. Okay, do that for like a solid couple of weeks and then add on. Okay, now I'm going to add into my morning routine gratitude, or I'm going to add in something different. So yeah, start wherever it is that it feels digestible for you. And so for me, for example, I have found that very extensive morning routines actually take away from my mental like energy that by the time I'm rolling into work, I feel like I've already gotten a lot of things done. And part of that is I think I've implemented too much at once. So it felt like, oh, what's next that I have to do? And what's next that I have to do? So taking it slow will allow for that. But for me, it does start at nighttime. I've now added to my calendar 9 to 10 PM is when I'm doing like, I'm unwinding, I'm cleaning up my house, I'm putting on my PJs, skincare, uh, all those habits that are important to me happen from 9 to 10. And then at 10 is when I'm hopefully starting to fall asleep or reading a book, something like that. Then I wake up at 6 and then I start getting ready and then I make my smoothie and then I do my declarations and my prayers right after that. Sometimes it's a quick 5 minutes, sometimes it's longer. But that really helps me. This has been huge for me because it helps me get in the mindset of who I want to be and who I want to remind myself of, who I know I want to become. Before stepping into the workday or the day with my very raw thoughts of, I need to do all these things that scare me, or I need to do all these things that I don't know if I'm capable of, but I'm just going to push through. And that push-through energy can feel 10 times more exhausting when you're approaching it from that mindset. So really for me, it's just more my wellness habits and then my mindset. And that is all that my morning routine is at right now. And it ebbs and flows. In busy seasons, it's more a stripped-down version. In less busy seasons, I add other things to it, like gratitude or a morning walk when it's in the summertime, different things like that. So I agree, having those 2 anchors is such a great place to start.

Yeah, I think too, when you step back from the micro and look at the week, I want to talk about that push-through energy that you mentioned, because I think that's something that we can really struggle with in our personal lives and in our businesses or just in our careers. Like this desire of, okay, Monday hits, we didn't get what we needed to get done. Tuesday hits, we didn't get what we needed to get done. Wednesday hits and then like kind of this internal fire alarm starts to turn on and then you're like, oh my gosh. And like all the receptors are going off and saying like, we're not doing enough, we're not getting enough done, we're not being productive.

Yeah.

And so then like Thursday and Friday almost feel like you're fighting fires because Monday through Wednesday didn't go the way that you planned. And so there's an aspect here of like, okay, when I'm looking at my weeks, there are so many different microtasks that need to be done, but what are my top 3 most important things that I have to get done this week in order to move the needle? And then those are the most urgent. I prioritize them first. I also do this on a daily basis as well. Um, but on a weekly basis, it's helpful for me to say, okay, above all else, I have to get these 3 things done. How much time do I need to get them done? Where can I block them in? Something else that's helped me is on Sundays, Sunday afternoon, evenings, I'll open up my laptop for like— I literally will sometimes set a timer for 15 minutes. I do not want to be spending a lot of time on my computer on Sunday afternoon or evening, but I'll open it up. I'll I'll look at my week, I'll plan what I need to plan, I'll block what I need to block, I'll close it, and then I'll deal with it and look at it on Monday. But that also helps me start my day on Monday with a plan. So past me has already helped me plan out where my time blocks are for the week. But then back to that top 3, that also helps you communicate to people like, hey, boss, team, These are my top 3 for the week. Just wanted to let you know, is there anything that you need me to prioritize over these things? If your team gives, you know, gives you that feedback back, or even it's your partner, hey, these are the things I have on my list to get done this week for us. Is there anything that you want me to prioritize over what I have allocated here? That really helps. Another thing that helps with like not stacking too much on the list is having an overflow or parking lot list. Oh, I love that. of things to do. So if you have something pop up, like I'll often— I will oftentimes be in a meeting or, you know, working and I'm like, oh my gosh, I need to book that thing for that trip with my girlfriends in 4 months. I don't think I've actually documented that anywhere. Okay, cool. I have a running list of personal to-dos. I'm going to add that there and then I'm going to take care of that so that it doesn't distract me from the task at hand. That's another thing that's helped me not get sidetracked during my day. So those are just a few things that help me.

Yeah, absolutely. I think having that to-do list personally is huge and may sound a little bit simple, but at the same time, don't underestimate the power of what I call basically dumping everything that's in your brain onto a piece of paper and creating more room in your brain space. Whenever you're not like, oh, I have to remember to book this appointment. I have to remember. And then every few hours you're thinking about, I have to book this thing. Then you're able to clear that when you have a specific spot, like you said, of, okay, I need to book this. I'll just write this down. And later on I will go back through that list and remember. Because as someone, I think that I might be a little bit ADHD. And I just listened to a podcast on this this week and it was on productivity as an ADHD person. And when I tell you, I was like, this is me to a T. It's wild. But we, or at least me, I can be hyperfocused on productivity and how to make something most efficient. And that is my realm. And my downfall is I have really bad memory. And so the most mundane things like paying a certain bill, or like you mentioned, someone tells me, oh, Astrid, can you please bring the trash around or whatever, I will forget. So I will literally write down even the most mundane things. That way I know I'm not— things aren't falling through the cracks for what's important for the people that I've said that I'm going to do something. And then also for the things that I want to do. And so that has been really helpful for me. And then overall, like you said, being able to look at your week for the calendar and time blocking. And also something that I do is every evening when I wrap up my workday, I look at the next day and make sure that I have everything time blocked or figured out because the reality is, you know, maybe you got sick or something happened that you have to move things around. So having a daily check-in to just real quick glance at tomorrow's schedule and prep for it, or even know, okay, I have on-camera things I need to like in the morning, like get my makeup done or whatever, or the next day I don't have to. I can sleep in a little bit more because I can just wear something very comfy and that's that. And so being able to plan according to that, I think is huge. And the last thing I'll mention on the personal side of things, which also relates to business, is as a woman, you will have your energy levels ebb and flow throughout the month depending on where your cycle is at. And so something that I, uh, didn't realize early on and held myself to a very high standard of always having max productivity, but noting that you might have less energy the week that you're about to get your period is also something to plan for. So say it's like the Sunday right before, being able to create more breathing room, more margin in your schedule for things might take longer than they normally do. You might be feeling more exhausted during the evenings. You might need to go to bed a little bit earlier. Like, how can you pamper yourself a little bit more? Maybe you're time blocking in a facial mask, or like you're able to like add things in that will support your wellness. And so this is so important to know because sometimes we just hold ourselves to like this routine repeat every single week thing. And as women, we're just not created that way.

I agree. I'm so glad that you brought that up because there's also weeks too where we're like flying high in our energy and we're making plans and we commit. And then sometimes that 2 weeks later when we're in that stage where we're more tired, we're like, oh, why did I make this plan? Why did I commit to this? So it can kind of help you plan too, like what, what to say yes to and what to say no to depending on where you are in your cycle and just kind of knowing where you'll be energetically. The last thing I'll mention on the personal side that's really helped me with productivity and just time management. 2 quick things. One is the way that I approach meal prepping and meal planning. So on Fridays, I make the grocery list. Matthew and I do. We have a shared grocery list on both of our phones in the Notes app. So Friday, we make the grocery list. Saturday, we shop. Sunday, we cook. And that is something that has really helped me by taking that big task every single week. It's always going to happen. Breaking it into 3 separate tasks has helped it feel more fun, light. Like I don't get stressed about going to the grocery store. What are we going to eat? What are we going to make? I just, that's like a system that has really worked for me. So, um, figure out what that system is for you, because I think sometimes food and what we're going to eat and making it can actually like cause a lot of stress and cause a lot of like, especially when we're in busier seasons. How can we relieve stress by having that section of our personal lives kind of figured out? So, what is your system there? And, the other one is around weekends. So, I'm a big fan of having a really lovely blend on my weekends of I want a social activity, I want a productive activity, and I want a restorative activity. So, I want to make sure that I'm hitting those categories. I really don't want to go too far in one. Like, I don't want to have things feel too social or have things feel almost too productive where I haven't rested, or I've rested so much but I haven't necessarily paid attention to some of the things that were important for me to get done.

Mm-hmm.

And so I have a list that I, I, um, start to build on Friday, things I want to get done this weekend. You've probably seen me share this on my Instagram stories before, but if you notice, you will see things that are social, Things that are restorative and things that are productive. And that helps me with like my weekend time management because I, some, like, I think too, like you people can see like, oh my gosh, you make a to-do list every single weekend. That's too rigid. I think it's just like finding a system that works for you, but this really helps me, um, keep in mind like, oh yeah, I do wanna. And this is something too, like I wanna organize or do something productive in my home every weekend. But what I do, that's up to me in that moment. And so instead of me saying on Friday morning, I'm like, I'm going to reorganize my whole closet. And then Sunday morning I'm like, oh, I do not want to do that. That's going to take me like maybe 2.5, 3 hours. What's something that I do have energy for that I could still prioritize this goal of like wanting to be productive and organize something without it completely draining me? And so, oh, let's just Reorganize the pantry took me an hour. Cool, done. Check that off the list. So that's something that has helped with not being burnt out on the weekends and looking for ways to use them to restore and also move me forward and move Matthew and I's life forward. Because in the week, I'm very focused on my professional life, not really as much on my personal aside from like taking care of my physical mental health. But like I'm not. doing any projects on the house during the week. So the weekend is really where I get to tap into that in my personal life.

Yeah, I love that. I think that sometimes it can be really hard to set an intention or a goal, especially in January. Something is new and not part of your routine. And so being able to create some kind of system that is able to remind you like, hey, you set this intention that you want to make a new friend or you want to go hang out at a coffee shop or you want to do whatever it might be. Um, be more at the forefront helps. And so something that's helped me is I have a journal that I am able to plan every month of like my intentions for my personal life away from work. And so I want to hang out with my nephews once a month. I want to hang out with my mom, uh, at least once or twice a month. I want to— I've started to paint. And so what I've done now is like, I will put that on my calendar because again, I'm very forgetful. And to me, that doesn't feel rigid. It feels like I'm being proactive and reaching out at the beginning of the month, like, hey, when are you free? Can we hang out? this day, be able to plan for that. Then I can reflect back and be like, okay, I'm living the life that I want to live because I've created time for it now and it's a priority instead of getting to midsummer and I haven't been able to create that time for people, which really is just a lack of planning and not really a lack of time, which is something that I've had to call myself out on before. So what are those things that are important to you? Consolidate it to a few things, put it on the calendar, reevaluate every week what that looks like, and being able to create solid systems around it that really serve you and help you just live an exciting life. So, um, now on the business side of things, I absolutely geek out on the business side of things. I feel like I could talk about productivity and time management forever. Um, but something that has really helped me is thinking about productivity for the business side of things in like a funnel and being able to think about what are the wider things and how do we filter down into a more specific thing. And so for example, I will use Notion or something where I can dump all of my ideas for say marketing. Like I would brainstorm the heck out of there and then once I have a plan figured out, Then I will go ahead and create specific tasks to be able to execute that on Asana. And I'm like, okay, these are the specific days that I'm going to work on them. And then I'll go to my calendar and it's about when am I going to actually do it? So it's the what, it's the how, and then it's the when that has a specific time. So when I roll into work, say Monday morning, I'm not thinking, okay, I got to do marketing Like, what do I create? What do I look? I'm scrolling through reels. It's more, oh yeah, I had this one idea. This is what specifically I'm recording today and putting together. Let's go. We roll into that energy right away and being able to note when your most productive times are as well. And so that's a system that works for me. I know that you have a similar or some kind of a system with Circle that's really worked for you. Will you share a little bit more on that?

Yes. Before I do, 2 other quick things that help me is the do not disturb mode on my phone, headphones, like putting headphones in and listening to music, either like lo-fi or like just being kind of out from the world. I don't know, headphones help me just feel very like in my own world and help me get, get tunnel vision in a good way. Um, sometimes also removing my phone from the room I'm in when I'm trying to be productive. Mm-hmm. It's really helpful on putting a physical boundary between that. And then I also got this really cool timer on Amazon, and it has like all the different, um, it has like 30 minutes, 25 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 20, and 10. And you set the timer for different tasks and it starts to count down for you. This has literally been a game freaking changer. I get things done quicker than I think I will. And it also says, hey, I'm going to answer emails for 30 minutes, put the timer on, let's go, let's crank. Yes. And then whatever I can get done, I can get done, and we got to move on to something else. Um, so setting timers has really helped me zero in on specific tasks that I need to be more time-focused and more time-conscious around. So those are like a couple of things that help me tactically. Another thing that, um, we've implemented at Circle, the company that I work at, on the marketing team is we implemented work sprints. And this is something that I've helped some of my coaching clients also implement in their own businesses. But it's where you're looking at a chunk of time. So at Circle, we— in most businesses, we look at quarterly. So what are we working on quarterly? What are our big goals? And what projects map up into those big goals? And so then each individual is responsible for creating their own project. So I have 7 projects I'm responsible for this quarter. I build out, you know, why the project is important, the different briefs, who's helping me with the projects, and then I build out all the tasks associated with that project. And then I put due dates on each individual task. And then we in Notion use something called a sprint board, which we're saying, okay, each sprint is 2 weeks. Then I go in and say, okay, which of all of these tasks for all these different projects What due date aligns with these specific weeks of the sprint? And then those—that's all I focus on in that sprint—is just the tasks that are due for all those projects in that specific two-week chunk. I think this is incredibly helpful when you have a lot of moving parts in your own in your own business or even in your own career. And even if this isn't something that you do with your team, I do think it's something that you could easily implement on your own. For you to just know, like, I remember earlier on in my career, I would log in and I would almost feel so overwhelmed by the different tasks I had to do for projects that admin tasks were like my bread and butter. I was like, ah, that's overwhelming. I'm going to answer my emails. I'm going to like do this admin, like reporting task instead of sitting in, I need to brainstorm. I need to like sit in this creative energy. I need to make a decision about this. The sprints have really helped me because I've made tasks for those, like brainstorming, make this decision, and it gets me out of admin land, which can sometimes feel a little bit more comfortable because you can see that inbox number go down. You know, you're like, oh, okay, I'm making meaningful impact over here. So I love like checking off the boxes, moving a task from, you know, not complete to in progress or Or done. And so that's just really helped me feel productive. So I think another aspect of like, yes, you can be productive, but do you feel productive? And that's where I think there's a lot of mindset work for us because we can be doing a lot of things throughout the day, but I can definitely speak for myself. I'll get to the end of the day and I'm like, was I productive? Like, was that a productive day?

Mm-hmm.

And I think that when you're able to track your work, and track these different tasks and break it down in such a like micro perspective, and you can look at what you are able to accomplish that day, it really does make you feel productive because you can see it reflected, you know, um, on a list or in a project management system or whatever it is that you use. So those are some things that have really worked for us and like legit changed my work ethic. Yeah, it's amazing. I feel so productive.

It's the best because it really helps create so much focus and it helps. There's going to be so many important, there's going to be so many urgent tasks, important tasks, and semi-important. And if we don't have the focus of like, okay, what actually moves the needle, then we're not really able to move your, our business forward or our projects forward. And so something that has really helped me as well when it comes to like the specific task of projects, especially when you have multiple things, is creating themed days. So as an entrepreneur, I've now created where like Mondays are my quote unquote CEO days. So that's the day I'm creating content ideas. That's the day that I am brainstorming. That's the day that I'm thinking, what else do I want to bring into the business? I am reaching out to those specific people. I am doing that work. And I specifically do that because ideally I'm coming off of resting the whole weekend. And that does take a lot of brain space to to execute. And then towards the last half of my day, I'm catching up on emails. I'm doing— I'm making sure that all those things are getting still attended to. And so something that I think is important is when you're able to create theme days of the main task about your career or the main task in your business, and you're able to time block all the tasks, we a lot of times overestimate how much time we actually have. And we tell ourselves, this is all the things that I need to do this week to make that job happen or that, that project happen. And so when we can realistically say, okay, on average it takes me about 4 hours to edit through this thing. So if I have to edit 5 galleries this week and I want to create content and I need to do emails, like, let's actually figure this out into my calendar for the week. Is that even possible? And so I just did this with a coaching client last week where we were able to look at all her estimates of time, of everything that it took. And we realized like, okay, she always felt like she wasn't— it was her fault that she wasn't keeping up with things. But realistically, there wasn't enough hours in the week for her to even execute that, even on her best week. So we created some systems of like, okay, this is your max capacity of clients you can have in a month. This is what all it takes for that. And now let's carve out some time on that Monday where we can figure out what can we automate, where can we be more efficient. Like we have to have that time for the tasks that we're able to actually move our business forward. Or if you're a manager, you're able to be like, what needs to get better as a team? What do I need to be doing better as a leader? And not so much executing. And so it's really a matter of redefining productivity from those admin tasks, from those things that give us that dopamine fix and saying, okay, how can I actually be productive with these specific things? So that's something that has really helped me. I've had to take a little bit of a step back, back on it during busy seasons. But overall, if you're doing it 75% of the year, you are moving your business forward and that's going to make a huge impact into where it is that your business is heading as well.

Yeah, I'm glad you brought up that point around like helping your client carve out that Monday where she is kind of working on the business and not in the business and execution mode. It kind of helps with thinking about this through the lens of critical thinking and curiosity. So where in our business or in our careers are we able to apply curiosity and critical thinking? If we're always in execution, we're always Like going from task to task, we're not necessarily thinking about the problems that we need to solve. We're not thinking about how did that thing that we did 2 weeks ago, now that the, you know, like how did it perform? We're just not making room for that. And so where can you block off time for that critical thinking so that you can go a layer deeper? Because when we do get in execution mode, we're not thinking about that necessarily. We're just thinking about the task. So I think that is important to set aside time. And that's usually where I'm spending my Mondays and sometimes Tuesday mornings. Something I'll also say as a side hustler, working a full-time job while also having a side hustle, and Astrid knows this before she went full-time with her own business, is no joke. Like, it is no joke, my friends.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, you have to be so efficient with your time. And so like what that looks like for me is only taking coaching clients on certain days of the week and just being really specific on what times I do book those. So I always book them before work or after work. And so that then I'm not context switching, which is another thing that can really impact our productivity is switching from project to project or task to task or W-2 to side hustle. And so where are you putting those boundaries around your, yourself and around like the different categories of your work so that you can stay focused. Whereas like I sometimes need a lot of space when I'm working on virtual events, um, or summits for Circle. I need a lot of space to ideate what are the topics, who do we want to speak. Like I got to get into like brainstorming mode and it's almost like a brand brainstorm. That's— it's not something I can do in 15 minutes. Like, it's just not. And so when you're able to— but if I was trying to do that and then work on this project and work on this project, I'm not going to get as far. So where can you be mindful of that context switching? And where can you put those boundaries in between sometimes the W-2 and a side hustle to make sure that you aren't getting fatigued and burnt out because you're switching from thing to thing?

Yeah, absolutely. That can be very exhausting. And I feel like that was the kickstart to my efficiency brain was because I was side hustling for so long that if you do not plan, you will burn your business to the ground or your career or both, because there is no way.

It's a toss-up.

You have to be planning. Another thing that I wanted to say too is if you're an entrepreneur and you constantly catch yourself, your brain is going a million directions, you're scrolling, somebody advertises a course, you're like, I need this course. This is going to be the thing that I need. And then you're like listening to a podcast and they talk about this other habit that you need to do and you're like, that's what I need to be doing. Being able to grab all of those ideas and say you do have like a quote unquote CEO day and you just create a task, you add it to that day, you're able to in a way put it in the parking lot for that day where you are not impulse shopping. Quick fix solutions that you think are going to work for your business, but you can more rationally filter them through for a day that you are centered, that you can actually look at your whole business and say, does this make sense? Is this an investment that I want to make? I want to deep dive more into this. And so I think as entrepreneurs, we're so emotional about our business that we will make a lot of emotional financial decisions that hurt us in the long term. So creating some structure and some boundaries on when we do that can really help to bring those emotions down and create more focus during that time as well. So that has really helped me. And I think overall too, with like productivity and time management, I think that technology has gotten so amazing that if you are overwhelmed by technology, rightfully so, and you're missing out on time in your life if you're still doing everything so manual in your business, Where I think that if you're able to spend some time being able to improve all your processes and create a little bit of automation, a little bit of systems, you're giving yourself that time later on where you have more time to be creative, to ideate, to be in that area of what you love so much about your business. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs unfortunately are so caught up in doing everything manual from their finances to their tax tasks to their emails, to processes, that when it comes to their, their zone of genius, they're too exhausted to execute at the level that they want. So definitely carve out some time to create those systems because they'll only create more freedom for you in the long term.

Retweet. Couldn't agree more. Could not agree more. This has been such a good topic. I feel like I'm even inspired some of the strategies that you mentioned as well that I want to implement in my own business. I'm always inspired by Astrid's ability to manage so many different aspects of her business. And like, I, I've learned so much from you and continue to learn from you. So thank you for, uh, extending the knowledge.

Oh, likewise. You are the habits queen. So I feel like I'm always learning from you too of like how you do stuff. And I think even having this conversation, I'm your best friend, and I'm learning new aspects. I learned today some new aspects of your time management. So that goes to show we are all so different. There's so many things to learn. Get educated on how people do that and figure out what works best for you. And so hopefully you're feeling inspired and not overwhelmed. And just a friendly reminder to not implement all of this at all at once because You will burn out. So just grab one thing that inspired you and try one thing and run with that one.

Pick pick one thing, baby, and let us know what it is. Yeah, message like the one productivity strategy hack in your personal life or in your professional life that you know you took away from this episode. Let us know on Instagram. Actually, you can send us a DM at inbetween dot. Pod. We have been— I don't know if you've noticed, I don't know if you've noticed, okay, but we've been stepping up the content game on the Instagram. We've been putting out reels. We've been, we've been like really sharing more of the pod and just growing the community. And we're so thankful for you being here, for everyone that shares or comments or likes or sends us a DM. I just want you to know that that does not go unnoticed. It means so much to Astrid and I. So again, you can connect with us at inbetween.pod. Or you can also leave us a review, share this with a friend, leave us a review on iTunes or Spotify. Those genuinely go a long way and we always appreciate it. And if you want to connect with me personally, you can do that at Alexis Teichmiller.

And if you want to connect with me, you can do that at Astro Johanna Photo. Thank you so, so much for listening today and we'll talk to you next time.