7 Productivity Methods for a Better Life [Re-release]

Do you ever feel like you're constantly trying new productivity tools, apps, and systems, but still find yourself overwhelmed by everything you need to remember and manage? Maybe you have a calendar, a to-do list, reminders, and countless notes—but you're still spending too much mental energy figuring out what needs to happen next.

The problem isn't always that you need a better productivity app. Sometimes, what you really need are simple, repeatable processes that take work off your brain and make everyday life easier to manage.

In this re-release, Lisa revisits one of her favorite behind-the-scenes episodes and shares the seven productivity techniques she uses regularly to keep both her business and home life running as smoothly as possible. From mind sweeping and task lists to automation, templates, checklists, scheduling, and a family command center, she walks through the practical systems that help her stay organized without relying on complicated productivity hacks.

You'll learn why mind sweeping can help clear mental clutter, how to turn an overwhelming to-do list into a focused list of your most important tasks, and why automating repetitive work can save more energy than you might realize. Lisa also explains how templates and checklists can simplify recurring tasks, reduce the chance of forgetting important steps, and make delegation easier.

You'll also discover how using your calendar as a central source of information can help you manage both personal and professional responsibilities, and how a simple command center can reduce the mental load of coordinating a busy household. Throughout the episode, Lisa emphasizes an important principle: the goal isn't to find the perfect platform or productivity system, but to create processes that genuinely work for you.

Because this is a re-release, Lisa also shares a few updates to the tools mentioned in the original episode, including the transition from Acuity to Calendly and from ConvertKit to Kit. While the technology may change, the underlying productivity techniques continue to stand the test of time.

This week, episode 328 of the Positively Living® Podcast explores seven practical productivity methods that can help you reduce mental clutter, simplify recurring responsibilities, save energy, and create systems that support both your work and your everyday life.

Key Takeaways:

• Discover how mind sweeping can clear mental clutter and get tasks out of your head.
• Learn how to use focused task lists and Most Important Things (MITs) to prioritize your day.
• Explore how automation can reduce repetitive work and save mental energy.
• Discover how templates can make recurring emails, posts, and communications faster and easier.
• Learn how checklists can prevent missed steps, support delegation, and create simple SOPs.
• Understand how scheduling and reminders can help you stay on top of both personal and professional commitments.
• Discover how a family command center can reduce mental load and improve household communication.
• Learn why visual systems can make responsibilities and schedules easier for everyone to understand.
• Explore why consistent processes matter more than constantly finding new productivity tools.
• Discover how sustainable productivity is about creating systems that keep life moving without adding overwhelm or burnout.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

Learn more about Positively LivingⓇ and Lisa at https://positivelyproductive.com/podcast/

Stop trying to fit into someone else’s productivity rules! Grab my free Productivity Toolkit, a collection of workbooks designed to help you explore how you work, uncover what truly matters to you, and create your very own energy-friendly systems. Get it here: www.positivelyproductive.com/plpkit

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LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Episode 178 7 Techniques and Tools Used by a Productivity Expert

Episode 220 How Decluttering Helps You Stress Less and Focus Better

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Transcript

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Lisa Zawrotny: 0:20

In this list, I'm including a good bit of what I do for my business, but it also includes things that keep my home life running as smoothly as is realistic. If there's a tool you want to try, I likely have it listed on my favorites page, or I will include a link to it in the show notes. Wherever possible, I like to keep these things accessible and budget friendly. You're listening to the Positively Living podcast. I'm your host Lisa Zorotne, founder of Positively Productive Systems, and a productivity coach certified in positive psychology and stress management. Join me as we explore ways to live a more proactive, positive life with episodes on productivity, self-awareness, mindset, entrepreneur life, habits and systems, simplicity, fun, and more. I understand overwhelm personally as a multi-passionate entrepreneur, wife and mom to kids and cats, and as a caregiver. I'm here to help you choose what's right for you, so you can do less, live more, and breathe easier. Sound good? Let's get to it. Welcome to the Positively Living podcast. I'm your host Lisa, and today I'm revisiting one of my favorite episodes because times change and processes do too, and I want to make sure you have the most current picture of how I work. This one goes behind the scenes on what I genuinely use pretty much daily to keep my life and business moving forward. We're covering productivity techniques and the tools that go with them, things like mind sweeping, to-do lists, automation, templates, checklists, scheduling, and the command center that I use for my family. And if any of those words made you perk up a little bit and take notice, then you're going to love this episode. A

quick note before we dive in: 2:13

a couple of the specific tools I mentioned back when this episode originally aired have changed. I've moved from Acuity to Calendly for scheduling, and ConvertKit, which I talk about in here, has been rebranded to just Kit. The techniques themselves, though, still the same. And next week, I'm going even deeper with a behind-the-scenes look at my current full tech stack. So we'll talk about the technology behind these processes. So let's get into the techniques. Welcome to the Positively Living podcast. I'm your host Lisa, and today we're going behind the scenes for a look at how I keep my life organized. I don't know about you, but I actually love these kinds of episodes because I'm incessantly curious. It makes sense that I'm a questioner, a la Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies. I want to know the details. You cannot give me too much information. I love ideas and advice, and to know how other people work and live. But I've also learned how to block out what doesn't work for me, and I encourage you to do the same. That's why I haven't really done this kind of episode yet, because my focus as a coach is to help you find what fits you. I've mentioned preferences here and there, but today I'm taking a chance and offering a more detailed view of the systems that work for me. I'll share my top seven productivity techniques that I use regularly, pretty much daily, and the tools that correspond to them. I'll do my best to explain why they work for me and why I chose the tools that I did. As you listen, I want you to focus on those details to help you determine if they're worth trying. In this list, I'm including a good bit of what I do for my business, but it also includes things that keep my home life running as smoothly as is realistic. If there's a tool you want to try, I likely have it listed on my favorites page, or I will include a link to it in the show notes wherever possible. I like to keep these things accessible and budget friendly. Let's dig in. The number one technique, and you've heard it here before, is mind sweeping. You've probably heard me talk about it not only in the podcast here, but as a guest on other shows. I mention it all the time. I use it in all of my workshops because it is so powerful. Mind sweeping, a term made famous by David Allen of getting things done, is an effective way to declutter the mind. You take what's on your mind and you get it out and into a safe space. Now, please note when you do this, whatever you call it-mind sweeping, brain dumping-doesn't matter. This is not your to-do list. It is your to-choose list, and it's there for you to process when you're ready. I do a mind sweep regularly, at least each week, but most of the time I do it daily because I need it for when I'm planning ahead, when I'm reviewing my calendar, and when I'm feeling overwhelmed. It's excellent to do before a co-working session or when you're trying to get into a flow state. Most of the time, it's an as-needed when my brain is feeling full and I need to be excused. But even making a regular practice of it as you get ready for the workday is an excellent habit. If you want to learn more, you may want to check out my episode on how to declutter your mind in one simple step. The tools you need for a mind sweep are simple. If you want a guide, you can use my focus file. I offer it for free in the multi-passionate toolkit, and it's also included in the resources vault with a quick video guide attached to it. Basically, though, you can grab any paper and pen and do this practice whenever, wherever you want. You can even use a Google Doc or notes on your phone. I do recommend writing it out if you can, because there's a neurosensory connection when you write. As long as you're capturing what's cluttering your mind? You're good to go, but preferably writing if you can. Now, my preferred tool is the Rocket Book, since I am a copious note taker and I only need these notes temporarily. The Rocket Book is perfect because I scan it, erase it once it's processed, and then I can move on to taking the next notes, and I'm not wasting paper, so that's why I prefer it. I can also keep the scan to review later if I want. If there's something that I don't want to process yet, or I want to review it just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Most of the time, though, I take that someday item, even if it's something I'm not putting into a calendar or doing as a specific task, and I'm still adding it to a section in my task management software for future review. The second productivity technique is task lists, and that can be daily and weekly because my collection of tasks and ideas keeps growing exponentially as it tends to when you're multi-passionate or you know just living life. I found it imperative to process weekly and daily lists to highlight my key tasks and to stay on track. You may have appointments you keep on your calendar, but what about the in between calls and research admin for your business or home, all the business tasks that are repeated, like social media posting and engagement and content creation. Sometimes it's the preparation time we need for appointments that really needs to go on the calendar, but hasn't. It's the things that aren't quite an appointment, but aren't necessarily an immediate task that can often fall through the cracks. And this is what I'm talking about. I keep a list of them and then apply traditional productivity concepts such as the 8020 principle and the MIT method. With the 8020 principle, you can decide what to do based on what that 20% is, and here's

why: 8:22

the Pareto principle or 8020 principle is this idea that you can get 80% of the way to your goal with just 20% of the effort, 80% output, and 20% input. I mean, that's an incredible ratio. Think about it in terms of the clothing in your closet. About 80% of what you wear is probably about 20% of that closet, and if you switch those around, that's a really good decluttering technique. By the way, also think about this in terms of your clients, your customers, your volunteers. 80% of the income or the work that is being done comes from about 20% of those clients are volunteers. So again, you can look at what you think is your to-do list and look for that 20% that's going to get you furthest, fastest. That becomes what are called your MITs. The MIT stands for the most important thing, and it's a method essentially of focusing on the real key critical items instead of a big to-do list that can drain and undermine you. You're determining maybe like one to three tasks. Schoolhouse Rock said three is a magic number. I agree. So what are those three tasks you can use each day that you've determined by the 8020 principle? Put those down. Focus on those. The tools I use for this entire process include Todoist and the Rocket Book. I mentioned the Rocket Book already. Rocket books are for any note taking that I do because it helps me process and sketch out what's on my mind, and that includes what I need to focus on and the details surrounding it. So I sketch out what needs to be done, and then I include these tasks in Todoist because that's my chosen task management app. You could do the same in Google Tasks or Asana or Trello or any number of task management apps. If you're trying to figure out which one you like, you can link to a playlist of podcast episodes. All about tech tools on the podcast page of the website positivelyproductive.com/podcast, and I'll explain more about why I chose Todoist after I list the other techniques. Technique number three is automation. A simple proven efficiency rule is

this: 11:13

if you repeat a task, find a way to automate it. You expend energy each time you take action, no matter how simple a task is. So why not save some of that energy by letting technology do the heavy lifting? When you are attending to clients and collaborators, it can be amazing for follow through as well, I use it for my business calendar and to follow up with clients and podcast guests, among other things. I have systems in my business that allow you to schedule a call with me, whether a free discovery call or a paid coaching session, through a calendar system that will book your time in your time zone and send you reminders. I do this on a platform called Acuity Scheduling. My podcast guests schedule a recording this way as well. They receive automated confirmation and reminders. And for any of these events, the reminders that are sent out can be personalized. So I've personalized each of those with clients. I give them details about what to expect in the upcoming sessions and how they can come prepared, and that even includes links to things that they need. And for the podcast guests, it includes all the details of how we're going to record and the tools that they'll need to do so. When you go to the homepage of my website and share your name and email to access my free multi-passionate toolkit. For example, to get the focus file to do the mind sweep we just talked about, you'll receive an automated confirmation and access to a sign-in for a toolkit that has the focus file and other worksheets that I use with my clients, and I keep these on a platform called MemberVault. The platform is connected to my email system, ConvertKit, and automated to tag you for the right mailing list, so you receive the information you need to sign in to MemberVault and access those tools. The MemberVault platform is even automated to give you special access to bonuses depending upon what you purchase. For example, signature clients are auto-tagged to receive immediate access to the paid resources vault. The idea here is that you get what you need without me constantly having to respond, which gives me space to create more content for you and to coach you, another tool I automate with is ClickUp, which is where my podcast intake forms are. When you apply to be on the podcast, you automatically generate a task in ClickUp, then you're sent to my calendar. All of this is hands off for me until we get to the point where either I'm coaching you or we are recording together, and that is where I want to place my energy. Ain't technology grand? Number four on my techniques list is templates. Templates are the key to addressing repeat tasks that may not be able to be automated, but we want to speed them up. Automating works when a task or information can be repeated based on content or timing. But what if you need to customize it so automating isn't going to work? In the case of a special message or perhaps a post in a social media group, you can't quite automate it, but you can reduce the steps, and that's where templates come in. For every bit of copy I repeat, similar emails, regular promotion posts, even my bio that I'm asked for every time I'm a guest, I have a template ready to go. For example, when I post about wanting to be a podcast guest in a Facebook group, I have copy ready to share. I even include that copy in my repeat tasks in Todoist, so that task comes up. I see that it is time for me to share again because I share once a month. I copy and paste that text, add an image, and I am good to go with that post. When I invite somebody personally to be on the podcast, I use a template for the majority of the message that includes the links that they're going to need to the form that they need to fill out and those details that I don't want to forget. But I will change and customize the copy based on you know what I know about them or the idea and the topic, and then when I send or post it, that means what? Like one minute to customize what I've done instead of 10 minutes or even more to rewrite it, and also possibly not have the correct information. Number five on my list is checklists, and checklists are an awesome companion to. Templates, they can be part of a task template and are a repeat set of steps. Some of those steps could be automated, so checklists are an excellent starting point to create automation. The point of a checklist is to have a standardized set of steps that ensures you don't miss anything. Now, if this sounds like an SOP, standard operating procedure, you're absolutely right. Checklists are things that are used in places like hospitals, where they want to assure safety and quality control. This kind of approach, where you have the steps listed out, frees up your brain for more important tasks. You can focus better on each step when you don't have to think about what the next step is. Another critical reason for checklists is that they set you up to delegate tasks better. Once you have steps to follow, someone else can step in. Pun intended, I guess. I keep templates and checklists in a variety of places, such as Google Docs, Trello, and ClickUp. Bonus tip: If you want to easily track your steps at first to create the checklist, try recording what you do. You could use a regular video to do this, or something like Loom, which is really easy to use. Do what you're going to do, take the steps you are going to take, but capture it as you're doing it, and you will have the start of a checklist and of your standard operating procedures as well. Then you can share that information with someone who wants to help. Number six on the list of productivity techniques

that I use: 17:30

scheduling and reminders. Scheduling is a huge part of my day-to-day productivity. If it doesn't go on my calendar, it doesn't happen. Almost. This goes for business and for home. I make an appointment on my calendar for almost every activity, including those of my family members. I use multiple Google calendars to track business and family activities. A calendar item is created and details go into it, including locations or links as appropriate. Details needed for the appointment in the description and reminders to go with it as well. Now the calendar will have reminders set to it, and then there's also alarms. I'll set the email reminders on the calendar ahead of time when I'm creating the event, and then the night before an event, I check my calendar for the next day and I set alarms on my phone. I use Acuity for my business calendar with reminders set for clients and guests as well as for me. I also have Acuity linked to my Google Business Calendar, so I auto-populate those events in Google. I overlap multiple Google calendars so I can see business and personal events together, which keeps me from accidentally creating an event when I'm not available, I create many different kinds of calendar events. Sometimes all day ones that look like a banner across the top of your calendar for things like holiday or travel that aren't time specific. And then for time bound ones, I do very specific appointments with a start and end time. And I also do repeat ones for weekly or monthly events like music lessons or things like that. I also color code based on my family. We each have a color, and we also have a color for family events as well. All right, we are on to number seven. It was really hard to narrow it down to seven, but I think these are the seven most important productivity techniques that I use personally, and this one was one I really had to include when thinking about the productivity techniques that I use pretty much daily, and I wanted to share with you. I had to include a command center. This is a technique I've used for years to help my immediate and sometimes extended family know what to do and when. It has been amazing for people who come to visit, for babysitters, and for everyone involved in the family events. And it can also include business events as well, so that overlap is there, and people can see what's going on. It really reduces the "Hey mom, are you busy today? "Hey mom, are you recording? "Hey mom, what's for dinner? I'm not saying that goes away completely, but I have to say it's significantly reduced. Now, keeping it real, I am. I know you're shocked. I'm glad you're sitting down. I am the organizer of my family, and the mental load continues to be a challenge. But a command center actually reduces it significantly by creating a space for communication and delegation that brings everyone into the process, even if they didn't make the initial decision. They are now. In the process of reading the board, executing what's on the board, understanding what's there, asking questions about it, and keeping the family dynamic and communication very positive. As a bonus, I have noticed that when you have lists, whether it's chore lists or a command center or whatever, as kind of a third-party item, it takes away some of the challenging dynamics of well, mom said I had to do this, or you said, or I said, or that psychological defense mechanism that can happen with spouses too. So this is a third-party space where you put your information, you put what needs to get done, you generally put who's doing it, where people are going, what has to happen, and it helps everyone understand their roles. You can do a command center in a variety of ways, though they often include a whiteboard. I used to have one with a cork board to hold important school papers, but now I have two very thin magnetic whiteboards that go on the fridge where everyone can see them because someone's always getting a snack, someone's always in the kitchen. Right, it's the heart of the home. Everyone's going to see it, so that's where I do weekly prep. I lay out primary information the family needs to know, such as you know what numbered day of school is it, because that's something that you have to keep track of in middle school and high school. What about special after school events, or what you need to bring with you when I'm recording a podcast or I have an important meeting? You know, basically, where's mom going to be today, the command center includes chore details and meal planning. I love the Expo dual-sided markers for this because, just like with the calendar that I set up in Google, I do color coding on the command center as well. It's a very clear way where, for example, my oldest can look at the board and look for purple and know that those items belong to him. Now, to be clear, the command center isn't a repeat of my calendar, but it's coordinated with it. It's enough information for the family to see to understand that something's going on. Sometimes a bit more detailed, depending upon when they need to know the information. And now that my children are old enough to receive email, and we're about to get them phones, yes, we did manage to hold out until middle school and high school for this. Can't believe it, but at this point, I'm going to be able to loop them into more online calendar events. But still, we live with my mother-in-law, and we all have conversations together over dinner and in the kitchen. So the command center is an excellent visual place for everyone to not only receive information but add it if necessary. And I've mentioned living in a sea of ADHD in my home, so I have to tell you that this visual representation that is seen frequently is a very good, very effective thing. Highly recommend. Those were seven techniques. Quick, honorable mention for being my most productive self also goes to moving, you know, exercise, breathing, meditation, decluttering, and prioritizing sleep. I want to emphasize that everything that we talk about on the podcast are things that I also try to do. I walk my own talk, and those are very important. But I think that these seven that I mentioned today are really the practical steps that I take to keep us all on board, right on the same page, and to know what I'm doing and when. And sometimes I think that's one of the biggest challenges, and it certainly is why I am a coach, why I am a productivity strategist to help people figure this all out and keep things moving in the right direction without feeling the overwhelm and the burnout. Those continue to be my top seven techniques for keeping life and business running smoothly. Some things really do stand the test of time, and I actually love looking back and seeing that it means that things have become cohesive and consistent for me. And what works can continue to work. We don't always have to search for new things. I'm all about continuous improvement, but consistency has a place as well. I think it's proof that process over platform remains true. I figured out processes that serve me, and the platforms can be interchanged. If anything in there sparked your curiosity, the Rocket Book, To Doist, Calendly, anything else that I mentioned, you can find my current favorites, affiliate links, and free resources at positivelyproductive.com/resources. That's where I keep the tools I genuinely use and recommend, and update things as they evolve. And if mind sweeping caught your attention specifically, look for the guided mind sweep package available as a free resource on the resources page as well. And if the platforms are of any specific interest to you, then stay tuned for next week's episode, where we'll focus on the tech side in more detail, we'll take a closer look at my current tech stack, what I use, why I chose it, and how each tool connects back to these techniques that you just heard.