The #1 Tool to Achieve Productivity

Are you curious what the #1 productivity tool is? That’s why episode 01 of The Positively Living Podcast is about the deeper purpose of productivity and the #1 tool to achieve a higher level of productivity! 

In this episode of The Positively Living Podcast, I’m sharing the importance of productivity as a way of life and actionable steps you can take right now to be more productive without doing more. I cover the following topics:

• Why productivity is important for survival.
• How productivity practices not only helped me survive but also helped me thrive and I’m excited to share that with you.
• That creating space helped me make room for ME again.
• How I started with the necessary efficiency in mind and discovered something much greater along the way.

If you take the time to work through these phases, honestly and genuinely, you cannot help but come out the other side with a completely different perspective. 

Thank you for listening! Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of practical tips to create space for what really matters in your life.

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

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Music by Ian and Jeff Zawrotny

Transcript

Lisa Zawrotny  0:00  
Hi everyone. I'm Lisa Zawrotny and welcome to the positively living podcast. Today I want to talk to you about productivity. And when I've learned about it in my own life, I will also share the number one productivity tool you'll need to be most productive and access its deeper purpose.

Lisa Zawrotny  0:21  
You're listening to the positively living podcast. I'm your host, Lisa Zawrotny, founder of positively productive systems, and a coach certified in time and stress management. helping clients make space for what matters most in their lives. Join me each episode and we'll talk about decluttering stress management habits, personalized productivity, gratitude, and so much more. I understand the overwhelm of life because I'm a wife, Mom, two kids and cats, and a former caregiver. I'm here to help you choose what's right for you. So you can do less, live more breathe easier. Sound good? Let's get to it.

Lisa Zawrotny  1:07  
Let's start with a word. I know you've heard many times, the titles are everywhere, top productivity steps, how to be more productive. Even if you don't know what it is, you know, you want more of it. I know I always have even my business name positively productive, pays homage to what I believe our endgame is, of course, positivity is part of that, but we'll get into that in another episode. productivity is a popular buzzword that gets a lot of how-to discussion, but I'd like you to join me in looking at it from another side. There are so many ways to be productive, and you probably know a number of them. But what's the point of it? Why are we trying to be productive? Many of the productivity resources I have seen use it as a tool to do more. But the positively productive model starts with do less. So right away, you know, I'm not behind the traditional way. So what else is there to it? productivity or being productive is defined as the power of producing, being creative abundance, causing, or bringing about something. There are a number of other definitions, but those were the words that really jumped out to me because there was more to those definitions than I expected. And what I love most is that the collection of words speaks to more than just achievement or doing those words suggests fulfillment, plenty, and purpose. 

Lisa Zawrotny  2:37  
And that is what I want to highlight for you today. I experienced the deeper purpose of productivity long before seeing these definitions. I began with the necessary efficiency in mind and discovered something much greater along the way. My mother passed away on Christmas 2011. a heartbreaking loss under any circumstances. This was compounded by the aggressive and unforgiving disease of Alzheimer's. For nearly five years prior I was her primary caregiver. During that time I gave birth to two beautiful healthy children. And I was also running a business with my husband. I was a wife, Mom, and business owner and unusual sandwich caregiver, caught between parent and children with no discernible room left for me. Life moved at a blistering pace shooting challenges at me like one of those automatic ball machines. I took over as the family matriarch which is a huge responsibility. All decisions were mine. I handled my mom's health, financial, and social needs along with my own and my family's. I made appointments, shopped, cooked, cleaned, and basically kept our family going. Sleep was relegated to the optional category as was my own Health. 

Lisa Zawrotny  4:01  
If you've ever read an article on the mental load of women, this was me living it to its highest level. This time was emotional and often very confusing. It was painful, yet beautiful. I mean, we had the blessing of new life and milestone celebrations with the kids. And we had the unanticipated grief from losing my mom in pieces. Some days, I felt like I had it under control. Most days, the only thing I knew, for sure was where I put the chocolate. I still know that. The truth is, I never truly relaxed and self-care was a rare guilty pleasure. It sounds crazy to me to say that now, but I felt like I was taking away from those who we're caring for me by giving to myself. And have you ever felt like that? I was in survival mode, and I'm betting I don't have to describe what that means to you. Maybe you've been there too many You're there now. And if you are, I get it. 

Lisa Zawrotny  5:04  
For years survival mode was the rule, not the exception. I got up every day and faced it the best I could. I made so many mistakes, but I made it through and the experience affected me profoundly. I am more compassionate and patient than I ever thought I could be. And I see the world so differently now. I knowingly smile at the phrase, don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff. For me, productivity was necessary for survival. I minimized my schedule, I dropped all non essentials and unfortunately some essentials to and learned to let go of obligations and expectations most especially mine. I wrote down everything and planned ahead each week. Lists were my life and they still are embraced shortcuts and use the words easy, simple and fast in my searches for every task you can imagine, I did it unapologetically, then, because I needed it to be that way. But I still do it to this day for different reasons. 

Lisa Zawrotny  6:17  
I can see clearly how productivity practices helped me survive, but I've also figured out how they've helped me thrive. And I'm excited to share that with you. Part of my life lesson from this time was figuring out what really needed to be in my life. When you're forced to let go of things, you have an opportunity to see what wasn't that necessary in the first place. And as you rebuild your life, you can decide what you allow back in. My first choice was simplicity. I aggressively decluttered my personal space and schedule and explore different ways I could get things done with less effort. Simplifying was my number one goal, it made space for the healing I desperately needed and my entire family benefited. 

Lisa Zawrotny  7:07  
We spent more quality time together organized spaces made chores easier, which reduce the pressure on me. Simpler systems helped life flow easier. creating space helped me make room for me again. I learned to forgive myself. And as I grieved and recovered, I pored through inspirational resources on positivity, mindset, and gratitude. I elevated self-care to mandatory and that most certainly included sleep. It still does. And I focused on ways to fill my cup up again. As soon as I increased my self-care, I saw a shift. I wasn't just happier. I showed up differently. I was a better mom and a wife. I was a better person.

Lisa Zawrotny  7:55  
Does any of this sound familiar? Have you been through something like this? I would love to know if you have, did you simplify your life? Or are you hoping to now, if you want to now then let's get into the how the part that I promised you at the beginning of this podcast? The number one productivity tool for you is not a technique or an app. It's self-awareness. That might sound tongue in cheek, but I mean it our best first tool for achievement is knowing ourselves. What I mean by this is knowing what we want. And knowing how we work best. It can be easy to take someone else's advice because they're convinced it will work for you and they convince you, you might get lucky and it will work. But when it doesn't, all too often you think something's wrong with you. Not so finding and developing the right productive habits that will work for you requires a willingness to look inside yourself and a desire to shift your perspective. It's not always easy, but the results are worth it. Instead of sending you off and simply saying, Know thyself, let me go over the four main areas I work with clients on, to identify, to shift, to reduce, and to plan. Identify your values, your dreams, your purpose, do you know what you truly value? Have you checked your core values lately? What do you really want what drives you? 

Lisa Zawrotny  9:28  
When you're clear on this and honest in your approach before you set your goals, you create a critical alignment. This not only increases your likelihood of achieving your goals, it helps you design the life you want to live to shift is to shift your perspective sometimes called your mindset. think in terms of gratitude, obligations, possessions. Ask yourself, Why do you do the things you do? Why do you buy and keep certain possessions? What kind of person Do you want to be shifting your mindset requires frequent inspiration and practice, like building a muscle. simplicity and consistency will help. Believing in your ability to shift your perspective is crucial. You can do this you can use vision boards, and you can use affirmations. You can do a gratitude journal, you can do a gratitude practice, which is something that I help people do in my free gratitude group, I will make sure to include that in the show notes. shifting your perspective will shift your expectations. The third area is to reduce and that's the decluttering part that you will hear me say all the time. 

Lisa Zawrotny  10:42  
Remove all the things that do not serve you. clutter is not just objects. It's the digital noise that surrounds you. It's the demands you make of yourself. It's your busy calendar. Every object you own owns you. Everything you say yes to represents At least one note to something else. if not more, it's time to clear your path both physical and mental. And the fourth area is to plan now that you've done all this assessment planning takes place, take what remains, and create a plan that honors your value and Foster's the changes you've made. It's about being proactive versus reactive. 

Lisa Zawrotny  11:24  
Start with a weekly review, focus on the tasks that will move you most efficiently toward your goals. Continue to apply the right productivity approaches for you, for you, and for the task to achieve those goals. If you take the time to work through these areas, honestly and genuinely, you cannot help but come out the other side with a completely different perspective. While results vary depending upon the person, the most common feeling is one of freedom. Imagine creating space in your life for those things you think you don't have time for Dreaming, helping, learning relaxing, exploring, simply being. To me, that is the deeper purpose of productivity. Would you like some help with those four areas mentioned, go to my website, positively productive calm and click on the resources link with one sign up, you'll receive access to the full, positively productive resources library that includes a core values worksheet, a joy list worksheet, which is fantastic to create your own self care guide. Until then, remember why you want to be productive, and how paying more attention to yourself is key.

Lisa Zawrotny  12:47  
Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before. Franz Kafka. Thank you for joining me On the positive living podcast, your time is precious and I'm honored you chose to spend it with me. If you'd like more information on today's show, you can find a link to the show notes on positively productive comm slash podcast. If you found value in the show, please click subscribe and even better give a quick review on iTunes. It supports me and will help others find the show. If you'd like more positive content, come join me on social media positively productive on Facebook and positively underscore Lisa on Instagram. Get ready for kids, cats, and all my quirky humor over there. I look forward to having you join me next episode. Until then keep it positive and keep making space for what matters most

Transcribed by https://otter.ai