How to manage your time and energy

Imagine you've just reached the end of the workday. You feel fulfilled. Everything that was important was taken care of. Everyone was happy with their day. And you know, looking forward, that tomorrow will be just as productive and fulfilling. Wouldn't that be great? And that's coming up next Welcome to this episode of Marc Haine Live. This is where small business owners and entrepreneurs pick up core skill sets to help them work on their business, not just in their business. I am your host, Service Expert and Master of Experiences Marc Haine. And today, my guest is renowned podcaster and coach, Deborah Kosowski. We will be talking about what it takes to truly be successful through developing a great mindset, managing your energy, and using some key tools to make sure that you work on what's important. But before we get to that, I just want to remind you to subscribe to this podcast and make sure that you ring the bell because that'll set you up to receive notifications whenever I bring you some fresh new content. And while you're at it, feel free to look me up on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and of course, on Instagram. And feel free to use the hashtag #ExperienceLeadership. I'll be the first one to tell you that I have used the phrase so often. I'm so busy. And what's sad about that is I kind of Wear it like a badge of honor. In the moment, I'm proud. You know, I've been taking care of stuff. I've been doing things. But then, as I'm taking care of stuff, more stuff comes up on the horizon. Critical stuff. And at the end of the day, I am shocked that the day is over. I'm exhausted and looking at my to-do list for the very next day. And now, I'm stressed that I haven't done quite enough today. So that brings me to our Question of the Day. So, have you felt that way? That the day ends long before your task list does and you're looking at the next day and wish that you could be more productive, more on track, and not so darn tired? I'd love to hear your comments about this and answer the question. Has it happened to you? Go ahead and share your experience on social media and make sure that you share this episode and hashtag it #ExperienceLeadership. Now, I have to say, I have waited so long to have today's guest on my show. Debra Kasowski is a 3-time bestselling author, a 2-time TEDx speaker, and the podcast host of the popular The Millionaire Woman Show. Debra has been featured in the Edmonton Journal, Global TV, and CTV. She is a productivity and mindset expert and a sought-after keynote speaker. Debra, welcome to the show! It's so great to have you.

I am so excited that we could fit this in. I'm equally excited to be on your show, Marc.

This is wonderful. Debra, maybe you could start off by telling us a little bit about what you do for your clients.

Well, the biggest thing that I do for my clients is helping them see and gain the clarity that they need because they often don't see the possibilities in front of them.

Oh, and that goes right along with a lot of things we've said on this show. You cannot see the label from inside the bottle.

Exactly. And that clarity is just the first part. And as you develop clarity, the path And those stepping stones form a path in order to go in the direction that you want. But it all starts with getting clear. And I help those who feel like they're not clear, or they feel like they're stuck, or they've hit a plateau. And we start digging into what could be holding them back and moving forward and creating plans. And of course, nothing happens without execution.

Right. Yeah, you know, and today we're talking about this Disease of Being Busy. Why do you think that this is such an important topic for leaders today?

We can get caught up in so many different things. And there are so many distractions in the world right now. We have everything from the cell phone to the TV, to the radio, to having all this stimulus and not being focused truly and being mindful and being in this present moment. We also have our history of the past that we think about things that had happened in the past. We're reflecting, sometimes keeping some of that energy there. And then, we have some anxiety about the future. What am I going to do when? And it all can throw us off our game. So, you need to create a game plan.

Yeah. And so, have you seen then with your clients that you're working with, have you seen that throughout the pandemic, leaders have had to adjust like crazy in some aspects of their business?

Yeah, there has been a lot of adjustment, especially with going online. And even with going online, they still carry the same habits that they had with them before. So, geography from being in the office to being online doesn't change the persona. You have to really set up your day and being able more so at home for those working at home to create that boundary between home and work, right? Because those lines can get very blurred.

How do you think from what you've been saying, how do you think that leaders have fared with this busy disease during the remote working new generation?

I think leaders have become more resilient than ever before. They've had to pull and dig deep, pull on the tools that they've had. And it takes them to a totally different level of connection Being more engaging, being more innovative and creative with engagement with virtual teams especially. And when it comes to thinking about busy, are we focused on being busy or are we focused on being productive? Busy is grabbing a file folder and just marching through the office looking like we're getting things done. But when it comes to productivity, And we want to have that performance that leads to our profits, we need to be dialed in and focused in on what it is that we want to be doing.

We're hearing all these reports now about burnout. We're talking obviously the Great Resignation that's happening. The remote work lifestyle now has had some conflicts. Some people do very well in it. Other people have a lot of challenges. For leaders, have you seen specific problems that have popped up because they're working from home?

Well, one of the things is that people are resilient in the fact that they can recognize where they have the most energy. And the traditional workday for some businesses is 9 to 5, 8 to 4. But the entrepreneur works way beyond those hours.

Guaranteed.

And what I recognize is we have these long to-do lists. But we don't look at our energy. We look at the time of the day and we say, okay, we're gonna put it in an 8-hour block and this is what I need to do in 8 hours. And we're not managing the energy of what gives us the most energy. And if we work on projects that excite us and get things done, Then, we have this infused energy. And then, I often refer to Brian Tracy. Many people talk about eat that frog. If you have that one thing that's hard that you're not sure you can conquer and you put that at the front of the day and you get that done, I tell you, your energy is skyrocketed for the rest of the day to work on anything else that you need to. So, when we work on managing our energy, when is our most productive time? You hit me up at 2, 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I'm better off going to the gym. I'm better off going for a walk, doing some stretches, or cooking supper, or something else because that's my downtime. It's not the time where I feel most stimulated and come alive. Whereas, if you hit me up at 9 o'clock in the morning, I can get juiced up. And even later in the evening. But I know which times kind of where your energy tanks.

Right.

So, people need to be cognizant of where do I have the most energy when it comes to what project? What type of projects are they? Or is there certain routines like, is there team meetings that I can infuse that energy and engagement? Because when you recognize what motivates and where you get energized, you're going to be able to know how to shift your state into being who you need to be. Because often, leaders need to be almost like chameleons, right? They need to be able to shift with the people that they're working with because it's not a cookie-cutter approach. When we think about emotional intelligence, a leader has to be adaptable to each of the persons that they are in contact with, knowing their style, knowing how to best lead them and knowing how to best bring out the best in them.

Right, right. So, for the leaders that you haven't seen who have found this magic bullet, what are you seeing as an outfall to what's the things that are holding them back right now?

Well, outfall, they're exhausted. They're having regrets of not being able to spend time with family. They're not getting their projects done. They're not feeling like they're having meaning in the work that they do. And this is where we're starting to see some of that great resignation because people want to be focused on doing something meaningful in the world, knowing that they've contributed and made a difference. And what happens is when we don't have that, we start questioning where we are, what we're doing, and thinking that there's got to be something else out there. And you also want to have some significance. To what you're doing, that your skills are being utilized fully. So, I think the fallout really comes down to when people aren't able to live fully into who they are, stand in the power of who they are, use the skills, talents, and abilities that they can bring to the table. That's where the fallout starts happening. They start questioning where they're at and what else could be possible for them.

Yeah. And so then, they start only questioning. They might not even realize that it's capacity that they're missing. They might think, I just really suck at this and I'm just such a terrible leader. And their whole kind of perception of who they are gets affected.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's really interesting. You started tapping into this, the energy management stuff. And I'd like to get a little bit deeper into what leaders can do to tap into their energy. And we'll get to that right after this.

When the spotlight shines on your business, are customers applauding or yawning? In other words, how is your business performing? Make your business a star with a new book, Lights! Camera! Action!, Business Operational Excellence Through the Lens of Live Theater by Marc Haine. Marc uses his business and acting experience to help you see your business like a live show. So you can create a performance your customers will never forget. Buy Lights! Camera! Action! today at your favorite online retailer or directly at marchaine.com.

I am speaking with Certified Executive Coach Debra Kasowski. Debra, we're seeing constant reports now. Mental health is a big topic right now. How much of what you're seeing in leadership habits are contributing now to this, to the increased levels of burnout and mental health issues that we're seeing? How much of people's past habits are causing today's challenges?

Well, that's a really great question, Marc. So, when it comes to the habits that people have, are they setting themselves up for success? Because often, the habits that we get into because they're a habit, it's something that we're so used to doing. I like to use the analogy of a wheelbarrow. So, if you have a wheelbarrow that you've gone on a path multiple times, you form a rut. And that's very similar to how our neural pathways work in the brain is going down one path with the same thing. So, that's that same habit. And when we need to change habits, it's more difficult because we have to push that wheelbarrow and Form that new path and go over and over and over. So, they say it takes up to 66 days to really truly change a habit. I challenge people to do it for 75 to 90 to really make it a lifestyle change. So, here's the thing that would be beneficial for people to infuse some of their energy because our to-do lists are getting so long. But here's the thing that happens. Is people will have this long to-do list and then, they'll look in their calendar and the calendar will be blank. They'll be like, oh yeah, that's just my workday. But unless we assign and give direction to the things on the to-do list, they don't make it into the calendar. For example, I've spoken with entrepreneurs that they'll have family members or friends say, oh well, you work at home. Oh yeah, can you run this to the dry cleaner? Can you do this errand? Can you go pick up this medication at the pharmacy? And it's like, This is my workday. I need to be able to plan it into my day. So, what I want to challenge people to do because they'll look or they want to go for lunch. They'll look at the calendar. Oh, nothing on the calendar. Might as well go. And then, this to-do list sits there. So, we want to take our to-do list and block it into the calendar in chunks of time. But here's the optimal thing when we talk about energy management. You've probably heard of the Pomodoro method. That's doing the 20 and 5-minute break, 20 and 5-minute break. For some people, that works. But you need to figure out what's the optimal time for you. So for me, my optimal time of work is 45 minutes. I can focus in, dial in for 45 minutes straight. Then, I'll take a 15-minute break. And by doing this in chunks of time, what I recognize is I can get more done.

Yeah.

In 4-hour blocks than someone does in an 8-hour day in the office because it's very focused, concentrated time. I've put my to-do list in the calendar. Things get done and then the list gets minimized, right? It's when we continuously work off the calendar and see that we haven't blocked anything in and our day's free and we're just wandering through our email waiting for direction. Oh, I'll troubleshoot these emails versus getting what need done because emails are often what other people are asking you to do. So, one of the habits I would suggest when you're going into your inbox in the morning is that you search for people's names of who you need responses from first before you start answering everyone else.

Good hint right there because how often do we just get into it? And especially like, I don't know, people like me for instance, where I get up in the morning. The very first thing I do is I scan through all the emails. I delete all the newsletters and all the junk stuff that I don't want. And then, I flag all the things I think I'm gonna have to address today. But inevitably, there becomes an email that I start having to stress over. So, as I'm getting ready for work, I'm now stressing over this one thing that I need to get done. Because like you said, anytime somebody sends you an email, It's not because you want something. It's because they want something.

Yeah. And I highly suggest to people that like you said, when you're getting up in the morning, getting ready to go to work or setting up your day, that really thinking about how do you want to ground yourself? How do you need to mentally prepare for your day? Like I often recommend that people do a form of meditation, or prayer, or journaling, whatever works for them. Setting that structure for the beginning of their day to review their timeline of their schedule. And also, book in the end of the day the same way. Build in these rituals for yourself to unwind so you can show up as the best leader the next day.

Fantastic! How does a person go? You said, find out what works for them. How do they figure this out? Because it sounds like there's a lot of trial and error involved.

Yeah.

Life is an experiment. And when you are open to getting creative and innovative, magical things can happen for you. It's a matter of testing it. Start with the Pomodoro method. And there are online timers that you can set on your computer screen that will hide behind everything that you're doing and it will ring off when you're done. You can do it on your phone. You can do it multiple different ways. Or some people have the classic egg timer. That they'll turn on for 20 minutes. But if you get to that 20 minutes and you just feel like you're just getting into it, I would suggest that you push the time for the next block and then test that. It's going to be trial and error for you to figure out what works best for you. But if you're open that it's an experiment, then you can see where you have your optimal time of performance.

So, how does one measure that? Because there's lots of books and lots of articles about being in a flow state. But not a lot of them tell you how you know you're in it, right? So, like you said, you set aside 25 minutes as your initial kick at the can. And you turn around and you say, well, it took me 20 minutes just to get kind of up and ready. Is there something they should be looking at on how do I kickstart myself faster?

Well, you could use it for the trial and error part. You can use a scaling saying, where am I at right now just getting into it? 0 to 10. 10, I feel totally in flow. 0, I'm just waking up. And give yourself a scale after that 20 minutes. And you're like, you know what? That 20 minutes wasn't so bad. I'll take a 5-minute break and let me test it for 25 or 30. And then, see how you feel at the end of it. This might take a few days to really get into it. But truly, the flow state is when you lose track of time. And the alarm's gonna say, you know what? You've done fantastic. But now, you deserve a break.

Right.

So then, you get that chance to recharge. And we know that when people do any kind of form of physical activity, so even if you went for a quick walk around the block or walking to the bathroom, that there's more blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, which gives you more focus and concentration.

Wow!

So, even when people would be writing exams or taking leadership courses and then they have to do an assessment of some kind, get some exercise before it because the blood flow goes to the prefrontal cortex and you'll be more focused and better concentrating. And you'll do better because you have Stronger focus, concentration, and you've eliminated some of that distraction because your blood is flowing. You're moving. And when we are in movement, we have emotion. And emotion makes us move. So, when we feel good, we keep moving. And then, as we start seeing things getting accomplished throughout the day, what we're going to do is build some momentum.

Nice, nice. This is really fascinating, Debra. Could you let everybody— because I'm sure people are watching this and going, oh my God, how do I get in touch with this lady? Could you let everybody know how they can get in touch with you?

Absolutely. You can go over to my website at debrakasowski.com. That's Debra Kasowski with an S. It's D-E-B-R-A-K-A-S-O-W-S-K-I.com. Right now, you can get a 3-part video course on making habits So, this is a great topic for us to be talking about getting those habits in place because there are derailers that can take you off your game. So, we want to build focus and consistency so you can take those goals, those dreams, whatever it is that you have focused on for your vision for yourself and make them happen. So, I have that there. I would also love for you to join me on social media. I am on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, as well as Instagram.

Super easy to find. And of course, all of this is going to be in the show notes. I'd like to get into some more practical tips and tricks. And we'll do that right after this.

When you're delivering an important speech to a huge audience, it's easy to lose your place or go way over time. Give yourself an advantage with the Pro Speaker Presentation Speech Timer app. No more checking your watch or calling for time. The Pro Speaker Presentation Speech Timer app It keeps you on track with easy-to-see timers, even changing color for visual prompts during your speech. And you can set audio cues to practice or set it to vibrate so you don't even have to look. Be the pro you know you are. Download the app at speakerpresentationtimer.com.

Welcome back! I hope you are getting lots from today's episodes. Like, I am thinking to myself, oh, thank goodness this is going to be on YouTube so I can replay it and take my notes. Because being the host, I can't look down and take notes. But I'm hoping everybody is because we're uncovering a lot of information about how busy we are, or rather how busy we think we are. And Debra's tips and tricks are coming through loud and clear. So, if you are enjoying today's episode, please go ahead and leave a review and share it on LinkedIn.

Thank you.

Debra, we've talked a lot about some stuff that we need to get into. Leaders need to get into a mindset. And yet, I think some of the challenges that leaders have is the fact that their mindset is set for a reason. What can they do to get back on track and shift out of how they normally think mentally?

That's a great question. And when it comes to mindset, we really got to think about what our priorities are. Because when it comes to priority, what we're seeing is Yeah. When people say, I'm too busy for that, what they're truly saying, it's not important to me right now. That's not important to me. So, if you— I even tell that when people say that to their kids. I can't do that right now. It's saying, that's not important to me. Where we got to start saying, you know what? It is important to me. I will block some time for it and I will get it done. With the leadership mindset, Often, we're seeing that we get into our routines. And sometimes, it's difficult for people to transition and start thinking differently. And this is where leaders need to also think as a coach is, how can I see this situation from a different perspective? And when we shift like a kaleidoscope, we see a different picture and we can make adjustments as we go. So, if I'm blocking time, for example, in a calendar, And I say, I'm going to give myself 4 hours to work on this project. Time will expand to whatever we give it. And you're better off working in smaller chunks of time that are focused and concentrated that you will get more accomplished in smaller chunks of time than giving yourself 4 hours for something that actually probably could have took you an hour or less.

Yeah, it really comes down to this idea. We started the show off talking about how we think about being busy. But it's this self-talk aspect of it. Like somebody's saying, I'm going to block something for 4 hours because then I'm going to feel by blocking it for 4 hours, oh, I'm going to be working on that project for 4 hours. But inside that project is a bunch of little tasks that you're not really at the end of the day not giving yourself credit for. So, how important is it for people to reprogram how they're talking to themselves?

Huge, huge. Because one of the things when it comes to reprogramming your mindset is really asking yourself, what are the beliefs that are holding me back? Recently, I was talking to a group of people and they challenged me. And it was like, oh, I caught it. This belief that I kept telling myself, you know what? You're not really good at that. You're not really good at that. So, if I told myself that, What does that give me? That gives me a ticket to ride out of doing it. It gives me avoidance, which ends up being procrastination. Avoidance, procrastination. One, it can be a perfection issue because often, that's what procrastination is underlying that someone needs something to be perfect. When they think that they don't have the skill set or they don't have what it takes to get something done, Then, it's a fear. The fear of being successful. The fear of that, what if it doesn't work? How will people see me? It's really when in leadership, often people are looking up to us thinking, they've got it all together. But this is where it's so important to be vulnerable in sharing that, yeah, I've had these beliefs And now that I'm self-aware, there's no turning back. I have to use this belief and leverage it to prevent me from getting to where I want to be. And I was like, busted! Quit the act. You can't act like you're not good at something when people are telling that you are and they can see it. It's truly that you are avoiding something that you must do.

It's interesting because the other thing as well and Again, on this show, we've talked a lot about the need for leaders to have humility, to be who they are. And that's really tough, especially for the baby boomer generation because we were brought up saying, you're the boss. You're supposed to tell everybody what to do and you have to be infallible. And I've talked to women leaders who feel it's even multiplied on their backs because they're women. God forbid that they show any kind of weakness. And so, Having the humility for leaders to have the humility to turn to their team and say, okay people, I am a human being. Here's a commitment I'm going to be making and I need you to hold me accountable. And I bet you any money, a lot of the staff are going to go, what? But how magical would that be?

Yeah, I have a really good story about this, Marc. This is very recent. I had stayed late to do a meeting and I walked out of the office and someone was still there and they looked at me and they're like, are you okay? And you think with the mask and everything. And I just wasn't ready to talk about it. I'm like, no, no, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. And I left the office and all the way home, all I thought of was, Deb, that wasn't true.

Yeah.

That wasn't true. You told her you were fine. And it was because you didn't want to share in that moment. You weren't ready to share. And that's all you could have said. I'm not ready to share. And I'm not good at lying, not even the whitest lie. So, what I did is the very next day is I went straight to that individual and I said, you know what? I have to tell you what I told you last night when you recognized that I was not okay. You were right and I never want to shut down your intuition.

Nice!

Because it's important for me as a leader to ensure that your intuition is strong and to trust yourself when something seems right. And something is not right, to be able to trust your gut. And then, I sat down and there were other employees around. And I sat down and I shared with them what had occurred for me. And I had just shared just what they needed to know about how I felt about how I showed up. And I think as leaders, it's not getting into all the details because sometimes it can come across as Vomit. You know, it's too much of a thing. But I think it's important to be vulnerable, to recognize a strength in someone that they recognize something wasn't okay. And you know, that all night, that's all I thought about is how I never— not never. I didn't show up as the leader in that moment that I wanted to because I'm always leading by example. And the example would be, you know what? I'm not completely okay. But I can't talk about it right now. And I'll be happy to talk to you about it tomorrow. I just have to process because often, when we've had something go off the rails that we need time to process. Some people Yeah. And there's some situations where we need to process externally by voicing it and talking it out. And then, there's some situations where we need to sit back and reflect and internally process before we're ready to talk about it. And this was one of those times. So, it was vulnerable. But what I've got feedback from them was they so appreciated how I showed up, how I owned my thoughts, my feelings, and behavior. And we all have an opportunity to take 100% responsibility. And people are like, well, I wasn't even involved. in that. You can be actively responsible and you can be passively responsible. But even if it's 1% of deciding to just let someone go by when you know that they're upset, Hmm. you have a responsibility to say, are you okay? Especially right now in the pandemic and people being in isolation. It is so important to check on people to see, Are you okay? And it's okay not to be okay. Let's talk about it so we can help each other become more resilient. There's one thing as a leader to know thyself. But we are meant here to serve others. And we need to know ourselves before we can do that with others. And being able to manage those emotions, that emotional intelligence component to recognize the emotions in ourselves. But also to recognize them in another person and how we work together to move forward in whatever our vision, our projects, or whatever we're working on. Because ultimately, what we put out into the world, our environment is what expands and impacts others. And we each need to be able to show up as our best.

And I love that you said that because this leading by example also means that Whatever you're experiencing, I bet you your team is experiencing. And so, this idea like we talked earlier, we talked about finding your strength of when, how to set up your calendar so that you can play to your energy strengths when we talked about energy management. Well, as leaders, I think it's incumbent upon us to do the same thing with our staff, with the same thing with the people who are on our teams to figure out especially in a remote work environment, when is a good time for you to work? Yeah, yeah.

And when you're thinking about your time of work, and unless you have virtual meetings, and this is really important to be able to discuss it because there's accountability for your time, right? We want to make sure that we're accountable to the people who we are working with, who we're leading with for the time that we do. You're getting paid money. You're expected to put in the time. But making sure that you are not only being accountable for that time but utilizing that time. And one of the things that I also find during this time is people need to be infused with maybe reading 10 pages of a book in their industry or related to their work, or attending a webinar, or getting some education in between because Coursera has tons of courses. And a lot of these education, especially during COVID has been very strong for free education, connecting with nature, journaling. These things are what help you show up as a leader. And we do some of these things so unconsciously because it's just what we do that when we are leading by example, And helping others to step into their leaders because I believe everyone is a leader. Everyone around me is a leader and I like to walk beside them. There are times that I will be in front and there are times I am beside them. And there's times I need to go from the rear because I want them to step into who they are. They need to have people see that they're capable of so much more and be able to see And identify the strengths that they bring to the table. But it's by showing how we can show up. And that pulse, like you said, Marc, your team feels your pulse. And there are times when they're off. But if they see you never off your game, how real are you? And it could impact trust. It could impact communication. And what I've come to learn is the days that things seem tougher, or I'm pressed for schedule, they might pick up on it. They might even tell me that I have a really open policy with any of the people that I work with as leaders to say, it's okay to say, I notice, I observe something and I'm checking in to see if I'm right. I love it. It's how you're perceived.

Yeah, it's so important. And it goes again to The fact that as leaders, we as high-performing leaders, we don't do this alone. And this is where getting our own coaches happen, where the value of having a coach, somebody like yourself to be able to kind of hold up the mirror so that we can see the kind of leader or see what we are today compared to what we would like to be. And I think today, we were talking and I told you before we even got on air, I said, chances are it's going to be squirrel and we'll be talking about all sorts of stuff. I can't believe we went from being busy to now interpersonal relationships. And that's how important it is, I think, to leaders that we have this flexibility to have these conversations because they're timely. They're important. And people depend on leaders to have these conversations. So, thank you so much for that.

And it's people first. And that's why no matter who I coach, we end up talking about interpersonal skills. We talk about habits. We talk about conversation, handling conflict, navigating accountability, trust, going deep into values because we are all values-driven. What's important to you is based on your values. You will turn down things based on what lights you up, what aligns with you. And where you struggle is because you're not aligned. It's not aligned with your values.

Yes, yes. As we wrap up, are there any cautionaries to what we've been talking about today? Obviously, we're talking now about leadership habits. We're not just talking about how people manage their time and their energy and their calendars. We're talking about this idea of leadership habits and how they can become better overall leaders. They lead themselves. They lead their teams.

So, one of the things I would caution you as you start adjusting your habits. Pick one habit, maybe 2 habits. Master those before you start integrating too many because otherwise, you're going to hit the wall of overwhelm and you're just gonna stop everything. And I'd rather you take one or 2 habits and work on those past the 66 days so you integrate it as a lifestyle habit. And once those become Yeah. It's so unconscious like driving a car. Remember when you first learned how to drive a car, how awkward it felt? Well, as you've got experience, just like with leadership, you start doing it unconsciously without even thinking about it. Just like when you put your leg in your pant in the morning, you probably put the same leg every single day in your pant in that order that you don't even realize it. So, the same will come to you as you pick those 1 to 2 habits to focus on. And it could be trial and error, the time blocks. It could be putting the to-do list in the calendar, blocking it off. Here's the thing. I want you to also put blocks of time where you're going to just have some reflective time. As a leader, we learn most from the lessons that we learn. And where do we get those lessons? It's often through reflection of the interactions we've had in our day. What went well? What did not go well? How do I want to show up differently? And if a similar conversation came up, what would I do?

Love it! It is so important. And you just, as you were saying that, pictures of people working at their desk came to mind. How many times high performers are forcing themselves to eat at their desk because I just don't have time to take a break. But how important that is. Like you mentioned, just to walk around the block. And then, there was something about— I had seen some statistic about using nature. Being out in nature helps so much with so many cognitive capacities that we have as leaders. It's like, why aren't we having our offices outside?

Yeah, well, this is where people have what we call eureka moments, aha moments. It's when you are so engrossed in a project that you feel like you've got maybe gotten to a point of exhaustion. You've been working on solving this and you've got all these ideas on paper. But your brain is so stimulated that it needs to have a break, whether it be a walk around. It needs a change of environment. I had one client I coached one time and I hadn't coached her for a few months. And she messaged me with a picture of her vacuuming. And she said, you know what? I was thinking about all the things that we talked about and I was vacuuming. And suddenly, I had what I call a Debra moment that, oh, this idea of what I needed to follow through on. Right? But when we are at our capacity in our bandwidth of mindset, we're unable to put any more in. And someone had mentioned to me the example of a vacuum. When your vacuum's full, unless you empty it, you don't make space for any more dirt to come in, right? So, not thinking that we have dirt coming into our mind. I think of it constant stimulation.

Well, you know me too well.

But we want to be able to give our brain a break because all of a sudden, when it gets a chance to relax, the insights, the impulses, start coming in of, oh, there's the solution and there's the solution. And it's until we allow that time and allow that download, I like to say, to come in. When you're packed at your max, you're not even open to hearing the answers. So, you need to have some downtime, whether it be reflection, whether it be in nature, whether it be listening to music, or even preparing a meal, vacuuming your house. Something that doesn't take a lot of stimulation. So, your stimulation level has to come down for those insights to be able to come in.

And as a chef, I can tell you that there is a natural process. If anybody has ever tried to make sourdough bread during the pandemic, where you're kneading the bread and you keep kneading and keep kneading and keep kneading, the next step after you've been pushing all that pressure onto that poor loaf of bread is you got to let it rest before you do anything. The gluten fibers need to relax. They need to take it easy before you can form it into the final loaf. So, there's a metaphor for you. Love it!

Love it!

Debra, this has been so great. Do you have any last thoughts of something that maybe we haven't talked about today?

Oh, you know what I encourage people to do? Find out what works for you. You know, working with a coach definitely is a benefit because they can help you see your blind spots. Often, we're not— my blind spots come up in conversation often. And with coaching, they come up and then it's like, wow, why am I holding that belief? Because it's holding me back. But what I really like to share with you is, and the landing page is still coming, is that we're going to be having a Face Your Fear Challenge Coming up November 15th to 19th, 5 days. It's completely free where every day, you're going to be posed with a question to challenge something that fears you so that you can get out of your own way, get unstuck wherever you are to start moving into your brilliance, your genius, and getting things done. So, whatever that might be for you, the questions are generalized so that they can apply to everyone who participates in the challenge. And Marc will be sending that your way.

I would, yeah. So everybody, keep an eye open on the show notes because you said it kicks off November 15th?

Yes, but we'll have a landing page for people to register ahead of time to be part of the challenge.

Perfect! And so, what does that program look like, that challenge? Is it like you're going to do 1 hour a day where you're going to meet with people? Or what does that look like?

So, the base of it is that we have 5 days. And every day, you're going to receive a video message from me You're going to get a quote and the challenge of the day. And we're going to encourage you with the hashtag #FaceTheFearChallenge to post a picture of you stepping through a fear or stepping out of your comfort zone because that's a fear on its own of doing something that's going to help you become more innovative, more creative, more resilient, and really set you up to create momentum in your life.

Fantastic!

So, each 5 days, And then, we are going to have a little surprise that what happens from fear when you conquer fear. What comes out on the other side? So, we have a surprise for you and it's going to be fabulous in setting you up for the next level of your success.

Ooh, I'm going to be looking out for that. That sounds amazing. Debra, one more time. How can people get in touch with you?

Please go over to my website at www.debrakasowski.com. That's Kasowski with an And join me on social media. I love to get into the conversation.

Thank you again, Debra. I really appreciate you being here. I love you sharing your knowledge. Your passion is obvious and of course, your expertise. Thank you so much. I am so grateful for you.

My pleasure. Thank you so much, Marc.

If you have any questions about today's episode, or you would like to get a complimentary 30-minute brainstorming session with me, and the big deal is I'd like to do it with you and your team. Why don't you go ahead and book a 30-minute complimentary discovery call on my online calendar? The link is down below. It's the one that's marked meetme.so/MarcHaine. As always, I am at your service. This is why I do this. And if you haven't done so yet, why don't you go ahead and subscribe to this feed? Follow me on social media. Be part of this conversation. My name is Marc Haine. I hope that you stay safe, stay healthy, and dare to be the exception.