027: Make Time Work For You: Discover Your Productivity Superpower

Hey, have you heard there's a new style of CEO on the block. The modern CEO. And she is changing the way businesses are run. She's setting her own hours and her own salary. She's creating a business around what matters most to her. Freedom, family, and impact. And her corner office looks nothing like what you'd see on Wall Street. It's a kitchen t your grandma's lake house, a spacious home office, the living room floor maybe surrounded by kids and crayons or the local coffee shop. Your business, your way. This modern CEO is here to stay. Because when you embrace your role as modern CEO, you will have more freedom, more profit, and more fun. Most importantly, you'll fall in love with your life and a business in a way you've only dreamed. Trust me, this isn't a pipe dream reserved for only a select few. You are the modern CEO. You are creating a business and life you love because a better business means a better life. Hey. Hey. Welcome to the podcast. I am so excited to be here with you today. And if you listened to our last episode, you know that today we are kicking off our new series. We're diving deep today into our how to Clone Yourself series. And yet, how to Clone Yourself is one part hiring. We're gonna get to that in a few episodes from here because we've got some prep work to do before we talk about hiring, backing it up a little. We gotta talk about our systems. How can we clone ourselves and have more impact and get more done simply by redesigning our systems and how we show up. But we're gonna back it up even further, and we're gonna cover the first couple of steps in the how to Clone Yourself process, which is all about getting more done. And really, we're gonna dive deep into how you run your business and how you run your life so that you can have more impact and get more done without actually doing more work. This is one part leverage. This is one part how you manage your time, and this is one part focus. In fact, I had a recent lesson in focus, and I have something super excited to tell you guys at the end of this little story. But first, let me tell you how it started. When we came to Ethiopia, I knew that time was going to move at a slower, richer pace. My friend Elsa Isaac, who's a stylist, shared this with me, and she's actually from the neighboring country, Eritrea, and she said, enjoy that slower, richer pace of life. And I was so excited about the prospect of that. And as we lived here, I breathed into that And I enjoyed that so much. And in that slower, richer pace of life, I wanted to get more done. And it was happening, right? I was getting more done in the business. I was writing more. I'm creating more content. I'm not showing up in the way I had envisioned. Because we are making adjustments to life here, right? So there's some. Some time spent adjusting. But as we got closer and closer to the end of the school year, I thought, man, I want to have something really big to show for my first year living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, because I wanted time to slow down. Doesn't actually work that way at high elevation. Actually, Google it. Time moves faster, but day to day, moment to moment, it feels like it's moving slower here. And I wanted to have something to show for that extra space in my day, in my calendar. And, boy, we're getting close to the end here. I'm like, oh, my gosh, I have to get something big done. And then it hit me. I have been talking about writing a book called how to Clone Yourself for a long time. In fact, the book was almost written. We had gone through all of the texts. We've created transcripts of some of our training, and we've started to put modifications in place that make it right in line with what we envisioned for the book. Like, how am I gonna get this done? How will I get well, first you just gotta start, right? You've gotta dive in and you've gotta start writing. And I realized as I was writing about how much time it was taking me to accomplish each chapter. Now, this is research that's already been completed. It's content I know inside and out. It's content I live and I breathe, and I consult with my clients on at howtocloneyourself.com, when I do recruiting for them, or when we talk about how to build a team and get systems in place so you can do more without actually doing more work. So I've got. I know this content. I know I can knock it out. And I realized as I started writing about how much time it was taking me, it was taking me about an average of an hour a chapter. Some I could move faster on because the content was already really solid. Other content took me a little bit longer because it felt like it was a hot mess and it needed serious updating in my brain and for the modern way of doing business and showing up in the world, in your life. So I had to make some serious updates. But on average, about an hour, chapter, then plot twist. The government announces they're going to be shutting down the Internet on and off for two weeks because the students are taking their year end exams and they wanted to prevent cheating. What the. What, they're going to shut down the Internet? Yeah. This is actually common in African countries. It happens in Sudan, it happens in Chad, it happens here in Ethiopia from time to time. It was interesting this time that they're shutting it down for exams because I immediately thought of three or four different ways that you could prevent cheating before exam time or during exam time. But that's neither here nor there. The Internet was going to be turned off, on and off at a schedule for the next two weeks. And you know what that meant. I had time to focus right on time. This gift of the Internet being shut down in advance with notice, so I could notify my clients, hey, I'm going to be online at funky times because the Internet's shutting down. And during that time I'm really going to focus and I'm going to be writing. And guess what? Because I focused, because I had planned ahead, I was able to finish writing the how to Clone Yourself book, Draft one. So draft one of the how to Clone Yourself book is almost ready to share with you. I've got to do another read through, then I'm going to be handing it off to a content editor. And I'm so glad that the person I'm going to be working with, she's actually a friend and a client, Sarah, over@thebookishfox.com I'm so excited that she not only does grammatical edits, but she's going to take a good look at the content. Because as I was writing this, there are some parts that I was thinking, this is boring. And then there's another section. I'm like, this feels like a hot mess. So we're going to hand it off. Sarah and I are going to collaborate before we share that. But right now we're going to go through a lot of the how to Clone Yourself methodology in these podcast episodes. But this story of focus and this opportunity and gift that fell into my lap right on time with the Internet going out really aligns with what we want to talk about first in the how to Clone Yourself process, which is how are you going to get more done? Right? And we don't even have a sense most of the time of where the time actually goes. Like we got to the end of the year here in Ethiopia and time was flying. Even though day to day I was really moving and embracing that slower, richer pace of life. Where did the time go? And you know, I was relieved when I found out that time actually moves a little bit faster at higher elevations. So we've got to understand where is our time going? How much time do we actually have to be productive and get stuff done day to day, moment to moment, month to month, week to week, year to year? And you know, as the average person, the average workday in the United States at least is eight hours. And we know, as I say, that so many more people working corporate jobs are working more than eight hours a day. If I could see you right now, I'd say raise your hand if you are working more than eight hours a day. And I bet as you are listening to this podcast, if you were looking around to all the other listeners, right? Look face to face with those people, there are a whole lot of hands that are up because it is a very western way of working and doing business that we are gonna put the pedal to the metal and we are gonna crank it out and we are gonna get it done. And oftentimes that means we are putting in more hours. But my goal for you is to get you under the 40 hour work week mark because it is possible to get a whole heck of a lot done and have more impact without spending more time. You know, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in an average 8 hour workday, only 2 hours and 53 minutes are actually productive. How sad is that? Only 2 hours and 53 minutes of an 8 hour workday are actually productive. So where the heck does all the time go? Well, it goes to reading the news, social media, non work conversation with colleagues, searching for a new job, anyone. You can, you can admit it. You can admit it. Smoke breaks, calls to partners or friends, making hot beverages, texting or instant messaging, making food, snacking. What? Can you believe this? Well, this is frightening, frightening data for me to look at. I bet you looked at that list and thought, oh no, that's not me, that's not me. To at least one item. And then there are other items that you may have thought, yep, that's me. For example, I don't smoke, but I remember taking walks to grab a drink, right? And spending time by the coffee machine. You guys know what I'm talking about, right? Making food, snacking, talking to people all at the same time. Because you need breaks in your day to be more productive, right? It's that slow down to speed up concept. You slow down to have a chat or because you need a break and to go grab a drink and then you Accelerate, and you can get a whole lot done in just 2 hours and 3:53 minutes. The time we spend day to day and the work activities you and I do are going to be different, right? We're running different businesses. We have different things going on in our lives. We show up in different ways. We have different personality types. Yet as a whole, you and I have something in common. It is highly likely that that unless we focus and we get intentional, we will be highly inefficient in the way we manage our days and conduct our business. And that's why I'm inviting you to clone yourself. You are not alone in this. It's a systemic problem that permeates our culture. But since you set out to do business and life different, I want you to take this first step with me. And the first step is to closely examine and ensure the time you spend or the time your team spends. If you've expanded and are growing a team in your business already or in your personal life, I want you to ensure that that time is actually productive. So here's the deal. Further research shows that when you work more than 40 hours a week, you do not actually get 40 hours of productivity. In fact, if you consistently work over 40 hours a week, you lose productivity gains and you might as well be working 20. You can work over 40 hours a week for about two or three weeks before your productivity starts to plummet and burnout starts to kick in, even if you don't feel it. I personally was the type of person who did not feel burnout. I did not feel stress. I thought I could power through, push through, do more, be more. But the reality is that our brain needs downtime. Your brain needs time to refuel because you are not a machine. You are a visionary that needs space and time and room to develop new products, to serve your clients and to create. And that is how you will have a bigger impact. Yes, your goals and your business are unique. And that's why we specifically need to evaluate your day, your work activities, your unique requirements. And we're going to start by completing a little time inventory. So step one in the how to clone yourself process, what do you do? Where does all of that valuable time go? It's time to look into the difference between being busy and being productive. So tell me now, as we're on this how to clone yourself journey together, where does all of your time go? If you can't answer that question, and let's face it, you likely can't answer that question with the level of detail and Understanding that you will want to move through the how to clone yourself process. Sure, I can look back at the week and call out some things I did. For example, this week I had my first Ethiopian dance lesson and it was awesome. I can't wait to tell you more about that and I'll even pop some things up on instastories and share. Ethiopian dancing is one of the coolest things I have done and experienced in a while. So I remember that milestone in that moment in my week. But I also oh, we decluttered the house we're getting. Summer is here, school has ended and we're actually getting ready to head back to the United States for the summer. So before we did that, I wanted to declutter. What clothes do we want to give away? What toys don't we play with anymore? Let's wipe everything down. Let's pull up the rugs, right? Lots and lots and lots of decluttering and deep cleaning. I remember that, you guys. That's about all I could call out as milestones of what I actually did or got done done this week. That's because we are in it. We are in the weeds. You are getting stuff done. But it's so easy if we don't get elevation and we don't rise up out of the weeds to spend our days stuck in busyness without ever hitting a state of flow in which we're productive and highly leveraged. And that to me, the idea that I get stuck in this place of wheel, spinning the hamster wheel, that space of busyness, is frightening to me. What's even more frightening is that a lot of us get stuck in this state spinning our wheels, rocking endlessly. Rocking means that you are in motion like the rocking chair is in motion, steadily moving back and forth but not actually going anywhere. At the end of the day, a moving rocking chair will still be in the exact same spot. So the question is, are you a rocking chair? And if you answered yes to that, instantly, don't panic. No matter how much rocking you tend to do, you can just as easily move from rocking back into productive action. And what I want for you is to be able to focus on high impact activities, your $100 bills, the most important things in your business and your life that make you money, that grow your business that personally fulfill you and contribute to your life and the lives of those around you. That's what I want you focused on in terms of high impact activities. And that's how you leverage yourself and create growth that is sustainable and that doesn't lead you to burnout or rocking. So I mentioned the time inventory and this is super important. And this is going to be your one action step to take away to move further on the how to clone yourself journey as we go through this series together. Now, if you're thinking time inventory. What? What are you talking about? I got to keep track of my time. I've got to inventory my time. Yes, yes, please. Because what I want you to do is for a period of two to three weeks, track your time from morning to night. But don't just track your time. Don't just track that. You logged into Facebook and you checked in with your clients and you checked out what was going on with your friends and what your weekend plans were or what was going on with your friends from high school and their kids. Because something, a fun photo popped up. Track that. But also track your energy associated with each of these activities. Oh. So I checked in with my clients and that felt great. I felt highly productive. I got in a state of flow. Then I popped over to the general Facebook feed and I lost track of time. That wasn't productive. I was there for about 20 minutes and then I popped up and realized, oh, wait, I've got some important work I wanted to get done today. I'm going to turn to that now. Okay. What was I going to do again? So I want you to track the activities that you do and your energy associated with those activities. As you change gears. Does the activity that's presented and in front of you give you energy? Is it life filling? Do you love it? Does it fuel you or does it drain you? Do you find yourself procrastinating it? Do you find yourself looking for something else to do so you can push that particular activity to the end of the day? Do you find yourself thinking, I wish there was someone who could help me with this particular activity? So track your time, minute to minute, day to day, what is happening and your energy level associated with it. Don't underestimate the value of the information you will gather by completing this time inventory. It's a productivity gold mine. Identifying your time and your energy sucks is the first step to get to the level of awareness you need to achieve in order to step up in your business and your life to lead your revolution. If you think this sounds crazy, this sounds excessive. Amber, I don't want to track my time for two to three weeks. Listen, I know it sounds excessive. Every time I go to do it, I think the same thing. But then I remember the impact that it's had in my life, the impact that it's had with colleagues that I worked with when I was in consulting, and the impact that it's had in the lives of my clients. And I remember that it is also excessive to spend your time spinning your wheels on 80% of the activities that don't get you the results you are looking for. To spend more than seven, more than six gotta had to do some fast math there. To spend more than 6, 6 hours of your day chit chatting, wheel spinning and procrastinating, only to get 2 hours and 53 minutes of productive time a day. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna evaluate for you personally, where does your time go, how are you spending your time, what is life giving for you and what will fuel you to be able to lead so that you can start to clone yourself just by getting some energy gains, just by blocking and filling some of the holes in the time bucket. Because there are holes galore in our time bucket right now. If you have a team that you work with, if you've got colleagues or if you've got people that are on your team, or even potentially people in your family that might be interested in this, invite them to do this time inventory with you. Actually have your team track their time associated with their tasks as well. And this does a couple of things. It's going to help you block and fill those holes in your time bucket for your entire company. It's going to help your team members be more engaged with their work as well because they are focused on the most important things. Nobody likes busy work. Nobody likes to think they're doing something that doesn't matter. And then you and the team can collaborate on where to build in efficiency so that everyone is up operating in their zone of genius down the road. In addition, whether you have a team now or not, if everyone's tracking their time, even if that's only you, you're going to know how much time various activities take in your business. And when you do go to hire or if you do reshuffle the team work activities for your existing team, you're going to have a sense of how long things take. So you will will know what you're hiring for. For example, if you know you're spending 20% of your time on social media and you're gonna hire a social media manager, you might keep 5% of that work activity, but you know that you need then 50% of someone else's time. So you can see that this how to clone yourself process is going to build as we move from one episode in this series to the next episode in the series. So we're gonna wrap up and I'm going to invite you to start today tracking your time in an Excel spreadsheet, in a Google Doc, in I notes, on your phone, wherever is a good, easy, quick place for you to track your time and the changes in your activities from moment to moment throughout your day and track your energy levels against it. And if you are still thinking, amber, I'm gonna do it. I am gonna do it because I am committed. More done without doing more work. But I'd still think that you are a little crazy for asking us to do this. I want to invite you to remember the Journey song, Don't Stop Believing. Hold on to that feeling. Oh, yeah, that's my go to. I hope I did not bust any eardrums with my singing there. And I love you so much. Thank you for being here as we move through this how to Clone Yourself series in the next episode. Because today you have started to track your time and look at where your time is going and what you are spending your precious energy on. The next step is we are going to look at what it is you actually need to do versus what you can let go of. And that can look like. Look like a lot of different things. So don't worry, I'm not going to push you to hire before you are ready because we've got a lot of other tools in our toolbox to help you clone yourself before you even get to the hiring stage. Don't stop believing. Remember, you are right on time. Everything you're doing, everything you are thinking, everything that is happening in your life right now, it's right on time. I'll see you in the next episode.