I knew if I wanted to achieve my vision for success, starting a family and being an entrepreneur, that I had to figure out a way to work less and make more money. So I set a goal to maximize my productivity. What I didn’t know during this journal was that I would get pregnant upon completing this goal!
6/2013-10/2013
6/23/13 – Continue to explore unchartered territory – balancing having it all figured out with trusting in my vision. Goal for Journal – Maximize Productivity 6/28/13 – Reflecting on where and who I connect with and want to work with. Complete, “wouldn’t it be nice if…won’t it be nice when….” exercise 7/1/13 – Advise self that I need to spend more time doing the unfun parts of my business 7/3/13 – Learn that emotions are indicator. Can’t tell is doubt is gremlin or gut… 7/8/13 – Decided that I specialize in creating cultures of learning and get really excited about it 7/13/13 – Getting better at saying no to opportunities that don’t align…after having said yes first to GIN 7/15/13 – Success is being an entrepreneur and having a family 7/16/13 – Realize pattern with affirmation seeking after I knocked myself down first…want to remove pattern 7/18/13 – Struggle with being business smart when it doesn’t fit/work for me. Not everyone gets me, which fuels my desire to succeed 7/22/13 – Brainstorm ways to improve workflow and choose one to do consistently = planning tools 7/23/13 – Feel like the world is telling me to be more confident in my writing 7/29/13 – Reading, Great by Choice Great leaders are disciplined and pace themselves. I want to be better at that. Start identifying big 5 priorities daily. Listed bragging rights and felt accomplished 8/5/13 – Let a valley of no work turn into a pit of despair and decide I need more structure 8/8/13 – Scared of slowing down and losing my edge. Choose to have faith and belief in myself, it’s for the best to pace myself. 8/15/13 – Learning is making me aware of what I don’t know and that sucks. Find solace in it being a journey and not expecting I’ll ever arrive. Feel like the universe is telling me to focus, prioritize, plan and deliver. 8/18/13 – I am learning how to better trust in my higher self. Change feels uncomfortable 8/23/13 – Grappling with my ego by reconnecting with my purpose. Contemplate, “I’m improving my productivity so that….” 8/29/13 – Doing the work builds confidence. Celebrated the milestones I have achieved 9/3/13 – Not all introductions are great connections 9/4/13 – Trying to define my deliverables 9/20/13 – Immersive learning with Get Momentum and Jason Womack 9/24/13 – Experiencing a shame spiral and empowered to work through it from Brene Brown 9/25/13 – Actively rewriting my workflow habits 9/26/13 – First learn about Conversational Intelligence and feel like everything I’m working towards is validated and affirmed 10/2/13 – Grappling with my wide range of emotions by focussing on being my best today 10/7/13 – Realize I have a bad habit of being self-effacing that I want to stop. Feel like I haven’t been happier since I started my business…but also have felt emotionally drained by it. More notes/insights from others and prompts to reflect = getting ideas out of my head 10/11/13 – Take Brene Brown’s advice that not everyone deserves to hear my vulnerability/story. Contemplate a board of advisors. 10/12/13 – Decide that entrepreneurship = control over your destiny. Want to do more Customer Discovery 10/21/13 – Feeling that the universe is conspiring in my favor and learn about vanity metrics 10/31/13 – Realize that when I create structure for myself I am more productive. Still have room for progress and celebrate a win
A big takeaway for me from this journal was that I was really productive when I had a lot of client work. But I struggled to maintain my momentum when things slowed down. Not only was I less productive during those times, I also would feel deflated. I called it my valleys turning into pits of despair…and to maximize my productivity I needed to make sure I used my slow times more wisely and to treat myself with more compassion.
I signed up for my first virtual coaching program during this time. The program is called Get Momentum and was built around Jason Womack’s book, Your Best Just Got Better. This was a big step for me, I typically shy away from Internet programs. I prefer in-person learning where I can interact more closely, seeing people’s body language and facial expressions. And it was a significant financial investment in myself.
But Get Momentum was just what I needed. Jason helped me learn how to leverage my habit of journaling so that I was clarifying my focus, planning for the future, capturing ideas, and generally being more prolific and organized at deep thinking. Meanwhile, Jodi Womack taught me how to be more compassionate with myself.
There is so much more to productivity than meets the eye, as you will see with The Rider, The Bike and The Bike Ride in the next few posts!