Being Productive, Even When You're Feeling Overwhelmed
The Life Solved Podcast | EPISODE #1
With host Lauren Eckert, M.Ed., Executive Functioning Coach with guest Executive Functioning Coach, Dolores Terry
In this episode of the Life Solved Podcast, host Lauren invites Dolores, the director of adult programs and an executive function coach from Life Solved, to discuss productivity and helping clients who feel overwhelmed. They talk about various challenges people face when it comes to productivity and some tools and strategies that can be used to overcome them.
Challenges Faced By Clients
Dolores shares that clients often feel overwhelmed, stuck, frustrated, and almost desperate, despite being in different professions and seasons of their life. Most of them are on the overwhelmed bus, driving past their life. They don't know what to do and think that they are alone in this situation. They also share the challenges they face in trying to be productive, such as not being able to manage time and feeling inefficient.
Tools and Strategies to Overcome Challenges
Dolores suggests that the best way to start is by slowing down and being intentional with time. They use different tools to help clients invest in their upcoming week, such as a weekly power hour, which involves dedicating time on a weekly basis to invest in oneself. They explain that this investment of time pays off tenfold in the long run. By thinking ahead and troubleshooting potential conflicts or big tasks, clients can buy back all the time they thought they didn't have.
In conclusion, feeling overwhelmed and unproductive can be a common experience for many people, but there are strategies and tools that can help us shift from chaos to calm. Taking the time to slow down, reflect on our goals and priorities, and be intentional with our time can make a significant impact on our productivity and overall well-being. Utilizing resources like coaching, time-management tools, and support from others can also be beneficial in navigating these challenges. By committing to these practices, we can become more productive and efficient in our daily lives, and ultimately create more space for the things that truly matter.
Transcript
The Life Solved Coaching Podcast Episode #1: Being Productive, Even When You're Feeling Overwhelmed
[00:00:54] Lauren: thank you so much, Dolores, for joining us today. We're so excited to be here to talk about productivity and helping our clients when they feel overwhelmed. I thought maybe you could start with a little introduction. Who are you? How are you connected to Life solved? Then we'll go from there.
Dolores: Thank you Lauren, for having me. My name's Dolores I have been with Life Solved almost a year now and I joined Life Solved from the coaching space. I have been an executive leadership coach for over 10 years, and joined the team as part of, bringing my skill set, that executive leadership and also my corporate experience over to, Life Solved and today serve in a director of adult programs and an executive function coach, which I love.
Lauren: One of the things that, I was thinking about cuz we've known each other for a long time and, you kind of formally came on board about a year ago, but we were really trying to fill this need of, we were getting an influx of adults really looking for the support and we were kind of informally supporting them, but hadn't quite built out the way we wanted to support them fully. And so you've been a big part of us building out this adult program and all of the modules and the group program, and it's been a wonderful year and we're so thankful to have you on board. And so that's why I thought it would be a great place to start since we both get to talk to all of these adults that call and have kind of similar concerns and similar challenges they're facing. And so when I was thinking about what would be something that people might find really useful or helpful around productivity, around getting things done, I feel like this is always such a hot topic, you know, like, ah, I just can't, I need to be more efficient. I need to have better time management.
But I thought we could really today just zoom in on being productive,especially when you're feeling overwhelmed. And so I first wanted to ask you and also share some thoughts like what are some of the things that you hear a lot from clients around, like that overwhelmed feeling or just not really being productive.
Dolores: That's a great question. It's fascinating in that it doesn't matter where people are and what season of their life, what profession, but there's a consistent thread there of folks coming to us. They feel just overwhelmed, stuck, frustrated, and almost desperate in, some circumstances where they've tried everything.
[00:03:11] Dolores: They don't know what to do, and it's amazing. They also feel like it's just them.
[00:03:16] Lauren: Yeah.
[00:03:17] Dolores: When in fact, everybody comes at some level with the same story essentially. Typically where we like to start is just getting them to a space where they can slow down. To recognize, okay, what's going on?
What are the things that are important to me? What are my goals? Because a lot of folks are literally on the overwhelmed bus and driving past their life. They're, like I said, so frustrated. So I think from a tool standpoint, it's most important just to pause, to have getting them to a place where they can slow down and then being intentional with their time.
[00:03:54] Dolores: And we use different tools for that. But I think the biggest thing is, dedicating time on a weekly basis where they can invest in their upcoming week. We refer to it in the adult program as our power hour. And it truly is a power hour. So most of the folks we work with, we start there and we ask them to just commit to doing that and in their week.
And it's interesting too because, most folks when they come to us, they're so overwhelmed. There's pushback and resistance to, no, you don't understand. I don't have time to do that. And our response is always, no, you don't have time not to do this because you'll get it back tenfold.
Yeah. And it's really about learning that that's an investment. Right. So when I pour into myself, when I take that time, and I even struggle with this, I think, like you said, people come to us at all different phases, but I always really relate to some of our clients who are wearing like a lot of different hats and they feel like if I'm gonna keep this ball, up in the air, that means I have to drop these ones, right?
[00:04:51] Lauren: And it's like you said, I love that idea of driving past my life. It's like I'm an observer. I don't know how to slow it down. I don't know how to lessen my stress or my overwhelm so that I can enjoy all of this hard work and I can enjoy the people that are around me. it's amazing how a really focused hour with the intention of mapping out my week troubleshooting for things that might be a conflict or might be, you know, like a really, oh, on Thursday I have these two big things that I have to get done. I should prepare for that, right? Like really kind of thinking ahead is going to buy you back all of that time later.
And I agree. I think at first it feels like even sometimes the coaching process, people can be like, I don't have an hour, once a week to, to pour into this. But that lets them know that, okay, I need to regroup so that I can make this time and it will come back to me as I become more efficient and get these systems in place and figure out how to manage that overwhelm.
So I love that. What are some things that you recommend during that Power Hour that people try to accomplish or, think about as they plan ahead for the upcoming week?
[00:05:54] Dolores: So, one thing I just wanna piggyback, on your comment that you made about the importance of it. A lot of folks will report that the Power Hour will give them the ability to just sleep better.
So during the power hour, typically what we like to share with people is we look at our time. Our time is such an important resource, one that we can't get back. We've got 168 hours in our week, and yet we are not intentional.
It's almost like showing up, for that Black Friday sale and they're like, let me do this, but they're not intentional. And then they get home and they've got all this stuff they spent there. What we like to share is, okay, you've got 168 hours. What are the things that you want to spend time on? So that one hour, that Power Hour provides that neutral space, where they can be intentional. And we have various tools that we use for folks depending on where they're at, but deciding if you are a professional, what type of time and what type of things are those important things that are gonna really push things forward.
From a personal standpoint, if you've got that role as a parent. What are the things that are really important to you this week? And out of that 168 account that you have, what percentage of that do you want to go towards that? What percentage, and this is an area that we often see a big void in, is self-care. Especially those folks that are trying to juggle all those things.
That's the one ball that gets dropped first. And the reality is that once you drop that ball, you're not gonna be able to juggle as well.
[00:07:25] Lauren: Like putting on that oxygen mask first before you put it on other people. I agree with you and I say a lot to clients too, it's so easy to cancel an appointment with myself,
If I've planned, I'm gonna go on a walk today because I, I'm like, oh, I'll get back to that later. I wouldn't cancel an appointment with a friend or a coworker or a boss. I would always make sure to reschedule it. And so we need to treat ourselves the same way, give ourselves the same respect we do, our friends, our coworkers, anyone else that has time on our schedule.
If I've made a plan and that's something that I value and that I know is healthy for me and good for me, and it ends up not working out for some reason, I need to reschedule that. , or I need to look at why am I not prioritizing this? Why hasn't this been happening? And I think, we know this in our own lives and we hear this from clients all the time.
Once you start making that a priority, it's not a selfish thing. It's not something that should feel guilty. This is how I make sure that I can show up in all of these other spaces. Well, because I'm rested, because I'm energized, because I'm being healthy and because I'm spending time with people I love and being filled up in ways that make me happy and feel fulfilled, I can now show up for all these other things that have to get done and may even be things I enjoy.
But I've kind of lost sight of because I'm just so overwhelmed all the time.
[00:08:35] Dolores: And another point too is, often folks when they're in that overwhelmed state, you also don't make good decisions. And that's one of the things that, that Power Hour affords people is when you're looking out forward for the next week.
There's a level of neutrality around it. Versus being in the moment on Monday morning and you've already got those 84 emails in your box and oh my goodness, I've got messages, and now we've got the texts that are, on there. But really just carving out that little bit of space where it is neutral.
[00:09:06] Dolores: You don't have to make the decision, you're able to make a decision from your prefrontal, is so powerful. and once folks start to recognize that, it's amazing how many clients we hear say, wow, I was so resistant in the beginning, but now I can't. I I need that time.
[00:09:21] Lauren: Right? I have to set up my week like that.
And if you are someone who's helping run a household or has a partner or other people that you're interacting with, the more prepared you are and the more aware you are of what is coming up, the better you can collaborate and work as a team within your household.
[00:09:34] Dolores: Absolutely.
[00:09:38] Lauren: I think you can kind of relate it to like meal prepping, right?
If you're trying to eat healthy for the week and you just wait until Monday morning to frantically grab something, you're gonna be less likely to fuel yourself well and feel healthy. But if on Sunday you prep your meals and plan it out, and then when it comes time and things get more hectic or stressful, you already have a plan in place.
So it's very similar. I also liked your Black Friday analogy. That's a really good one.
[00:09:58] Dolores: Yeah. I'm serious.
[00:09:59] Lauren: Reminds me of some of these videos I've seen online where people will walk up to someone at the store and say, you have to get whatever you want and we'll pay for it. And they don't have a plan cuz no one told them that they were gonna have these two minutes so they run to the wrong section.
You know, some of them figure out, let me run to the electronics first and get a big television right. But without a plan, those two minutes are gonna look really chaotic. But if someone had told me you have two minutes in Target, and I got time on Sunday to plan it, you better believe I'll get what I need.
Right?
So I think it's that same kind of idea of just not showing up last minute frantically grabbing at things and, and trying to make it work, but coming with a plan. And I think another important thing is the plan is gonna change, right? And it's one thing to set an expectation and kind of think about my week.
There's also this element of being able to adjust as you go, knowing things are gonna pop up and other expectations. And so how do you advise people or, or encourage people to navigate that piece of it, which is. Okay. I planned my week, but now it's not going how I wanted it to, how do I rebalance or how do I regroup when that happens?
[00:11:01] Dolores: So what we do is we really try to help people, first identify what are the, the consistent threads, in their week. Because a lot of folks will have consistent interruptions, let's call 'em, or they maybe work in, Their, their workplace might have, it's not as easy as, okay, I'm gonna plan out my time and, I'm not gonna have any interruptions.
That's not real. And so what we do is we try and collect data around their specifics and then create, somewhat of a framework for their week. And we also weave in for them or encourage them to weave in time blocks of what I like to call triage time. So you've got a block of time per se, that you could potentially move around and it, we have different tools that we use, but we take that into consideration. It's not a matter of just, okay, like a meal where I can plan out all my meals. Well, what if the oven's not working, having a backup plan. And I think. Having the ability to, not be reactive right? So we have the choice.
[00:12:02] Dolores: you know, allowing the parent, the prefrontal making the decision versus the toddler. And you know what a toddler looks like at, the checkout, you know?
[00:12:10] Lauren: I have two at home, so yes, I do .
[00:12:12] Dolores: and not that the toddler's not gonna show up for us, cuz the reality is we are gonna have to, but if we can manage the majority of our time and our lives with the intentionality, what it does is it creates less drama in the moments where those things do happen. Yeah. So you have more peace around it.
[00:12:31] Lauren: I love that. And I love the idea of the triage time because one thing that I find for a lot of clients, and I know for myself too, is when I start reaching that burnout threshold or I've filled my plate up too much, I'm saying yes to everything.
There is a point where you have to confront. I have too much on my plate, right? Or I'm doing too much. And that's why I'm so overwhelmed. And so when you're doing these kind of weekly time audits and this weekly power hour, it forces you to be like, is this even realistic that I'm gonna accomplish all of this?
And so if you don't have room on your schedule for a little triage time, meaning. building in time to regroup for things that might throw you off, that might be an indicator. And a lot of times our clients realize, okay, there are some places I need to scale back because I am so overwhelmed. And so we'll talk about that in absolutely future episodes.
But part of being productive is the planning part of being productive, is setting yourself up for success with how much you've agreed to do and how much is on your plate. So, we'll, we'll get to that at a later time. But thank you so much, Dolores. This is so helpful. And I really think it's a, when we think about where do I start, I'm so overwhelmed, where do I start?
This could just be a really easy way where even this week, you know, for someone who's listening that's feeling like that stuck, frustrated, overwhelmed that you mentioned, just sitting down for an hour and just kind of seeing what's coming up this week, what are my main priorities that I definitely wanna get done?
What are some potential roadblocks that might prevent me from doing this? And just really kind of mapping out, even if you wanna only focus on the next two days, if that's where you are right now, just giving that a try and seeing is this gonna help me better, plan for the week ahead and ultimately be a little bit more productive.
Well, thank you so much and we will hopefully have you back on at a later time to share more of your amazing ideas and tools that you use
[00:14:13] Dolores: Absolutely. I'd love to.
[00:14:15] Lauren: All right. Thank you, Dolores.
[00:14:16] Dolores: You're welcome.