Resting first is the most backward productivity hack ever.
Yet it works.
Think about it – how are you living when you’re filled up, fully rested, and centered in your purpose? What changes about your schedule?
All kinds of things, right? All of a sudden you’re slashing the coffee chats (that don’t really do anything for your referral network) and swapping them for mastermind catch-ups (‘cause you REALLY jive with those girls, and there’s never enough time on the official call to spend with them)….
Or deleting “answer my DMs” from your Wednesday morning at 10am calendar so you can drop by that local coffee shop and enjoy a rare morning out with your laptop instead (you don’t know how it is, but you ALWAYS get the best content ideas when you’re outside the home, without your kids)….
Plus doing an impromptu cooking class with your 9-year-old (that just so happens to take place every morning at 11am, and always involves prepping the Instapot for supper) so you can cut out after work and go for a solo run to clear your head before it’s time to feed the fam….
These are the nitty gritty scheduling changes that make a HUGE difference to your personal performance levels day in and day out.
Because you’re no longer forcing yourself to run on a quarter tank to do it.
- No more “almost there till coffee break time” thoughts running through your head as you struggle to focus on that last client project.
- No more “just 20 more minutes till I can tell the kids to be quiet and go to their rooms for naptime” while you’re putting out inbox fires and frying from the noise and multitasking.
- No more “gotta put in my hours today, then I promise I’ll take a nice, long bath with that new audiobook tonight” kind of bargaining with yourself.
Instead, it’s all “what do *I* need so I can keep functioning at peak energy and efficiency for my course students (plus my kids) today?”
And then you’re putting in the tea breaks and swapping out those calendar time blocks and penciling in the solo workout times in support of all that.
Because you KNOW you’re the asset in this business, and you treat yourself accordingly.
With regular refill times BEFORE you’re running on empty; frequent CEO white space sessions to let you guide and direct this company to the best of your ability to make the most impact; and recurring check-ins with your coach or biz buddies as to how you’re doing – personally and emotionally – with everything going on this quarter or this launch for you.
AKA, you’re supporting yourself through your mindset and reflection work as WELL as with your calendar and schedule. And that pays dividends down the road when you realize you’re not stressed anymore, that making decisions for the business comes so EASILY to you now, and that you seem to LOVE your work-from-home life WAY more than most of your business-running peers do.
Because you just do. It’s honest to goodness truth.
You love EVERYTHING about your schedule – and if you don’t, it’s on this week’s “to tweak” list. Period.
Like the time I was going over what I’ve got planned for tomorrow in my head, and realizing I didn’t actually look forward to the day – because I’d got nothing but chores on my list (biz tasks, homeschooling, supper, holiday line items – and no book reading or podcast binging AT ALL, as that was the ONE day a week new episodes didn’t come out).
Yet I’d never taken steps to SOLVE that problem, and instead hoped that I’d magically choose to save one of Wednesday’s podcast episodes for Thursday. (Yeah, I’m not that good at waiting – I always listened to it the day of instead of “banking” it!)
Which meant every Thursday, I was sitting there staring at an empty “To Listen” podcast folder and wondering why I felt down again.
When there WAS something I could actually DO about that perpetual lack of hobbies – for NEXT time.
So take a page from me, and insert a “what went well about my week” plus a “what did I not look forward to about my week” pair of journaling questions, and you’ll be well on your way to CEO success, the self-taught way.
Because the RIGHT answers, for YOUR specific personal situation, ARE always there right inside of you.
Just follow your emotions. You’ll find them.
