Video Length: 18 minutes & 12 seconds

Transcription below, edited slightly for clarity

If your personal & professional life feels scattered & without direction - pressing you to continue getting it all done while inching you closer & closer to burnout with each box checked - you’ve likely missed the shadow amongst the light. Today, I’m sharing what essential step you must take BEFORE you plan, & a mini how-to guide to implement it. I help clients every day to illuminate their blind spot & utilize their hard work mentality to add to their life, rather than take away from it - & it starts with one foundational step.

Today, we're talking about how to plan a productive week. This is something that comes up with my clients a lot, specifically this value of productivity:

How to be most effective, especially when we're juggling a lot of things at the same time. 

Today I'm sharing the one essential thing you must do to plan a productive week. All of my clients, & myself, resonate with the fact that we want to feel productive. We want to feel accomplished & we want to feel organized & a lot of my clients, & myself, we like our calendars & our budget & our systems.

It feels good to have all of this kind of under control, right? It gives us a sense of control of our life. There's a shadow side though, that often gets missed, especially because the sense of organization, control, & productivity is celebrated by bosses, by teachers, by our systems that we are in. 

We don't look for a shadow side because we're just getting celebrated all the time & we're celebrating ourselves, right, we're thinking we're checking all the boxes. & yes, we are. So, there's a light side to this, this is definitely a strength for us to hold. & today, this one thing that we must do before we plan addresses the shadow side, so that the shadow side doesn't take over. You'll understand what I mean here in a moment. 

The one thing to do, we're going to dive right in, the one thing to do is to pause before you start planning. & what this does to address the shadow side is ensure that you're not planning non-essential tasks. This may sound basic. However, I think oftentimes we forget, or it doesn't seem obvious, what the non-essential tasks are.

We love planning & organizing & we immediately pull up our spreadsheet or our calendar or our checklist & start writing things down to organize things we don't realize that we're writing down things that don't need to be written down, we're organizing & structuring our days & feeling stressed out about things that we don't need to feel stressed out about. 

& so, this one thing, to pause before doing that & reflect, will keep us from making a list full of things that don't matter, it will keep us from feeling stressed over things that we don't need to be stressed out or overwhelmed over, something that doesn't even matter. & so, pausing is essential. Specifically, to ask why & I'll walk you through a step by step of what this looks like. 

However, I want to address something that's probably going to come up for many of us right away, which is “I don't have time to pause.” Especially if we're sitting down to organize a week, create a task list, we're probably already in this mindset of planning mode, & I need to figure it out & react, & I just have too much going on, there's too much on our plates right now. 

That's probably the mode that we're in, when we sit down to plan, & if not, that's great, then this is just going to be an easy entrance into this one thing to do before you start this planning. However, if we're already in the state of overwhelm & trying to control & organize, then the thing that's going to come up most commonly is:

I don't have time to pause

I don't have time to step back

& ask these important imperative questions before going about what I was going to do anyway when I was originally sitting down. & so I want to address that head on, & also just highly encourage you & motivate you to understand that this pausing is the best use of your time.

Especially when it comes to planning & prioritizing a productive week is the pause, is reserving the time & prioritizing the time to ask these reflective questions, even though our historic belief is “that isn't productive.” What is productive is putting things in a list, putting things in a spreadsheet, putting things in our calendars. But this is the best, the best use of your time, again, in order to reduce the overwhelm in order to plan the most productive week & the most productive, long term plan. This isn't just about week to week. 

So, what does this look like once we've gotten over the mindset of “I don't have time” & we're understanding okay there is something I need to do before I sit down & plan. I'm open at least to try this. It's to ask yourself WHY, why are you in this mode of planning in the first place, of maybe reactivity. Why is it important for every single item on your list to be on your list. 

Why, & really dig under, not just ask okay why, why have this client call. Because they scheduled a call with me? Or because I'm a coach & so I have client calls. Really get to a deeper layer of why, why do I give a personal example, “Why do I want to finish this project by next week?” I could say “Well, because it's the deadline & it's going out to my members next week & so therefore I have to make sure that all of this is done before that happens.”

That's a good second layer level why, however, I could dig even deeper & say “Well because I wanted to create a membership program so I could reach more people & give them really valuable insights that I have been teaching one on one clients for years.” Okay, there's a really good why.

So, I want to create this membership site. Is this doing what I intended my membership site to do? So what I'm actually creating is the task, I'm actually writing down on my list “Is that fulfilling the original why to the membership, to the inspiration, to what my client's needs are in the membership?” & then you get to that level of if there isn't alignment. 

If there's a lack of alignment between the why, the deep layer why, & this task that you're writing down & likely reacting to make sure it happens, then it's time to step back & maybe this specific task (depending on how things are) you can't just immediately eliminate, but it provides this opportunity to question & say, do I really need this task or want this task to be the one that I make time for in my week, or could there be an even better one? 

One that's in greater alignment, one that achieves the why in a better, more efficient way? & let's zoom out even further. So, something I often coach clients through is when they're starting their own business. Everyone has a different motive for this. Some people have this passion that they just want to enact & live. Some people want to create a life of freedom, some people don't want to follow someone else's instruction, they want to live a life of freedom. 

That can be your big picture why, even if it's like a really day to day task it's to say “Okay, well this is to run my business, I want to make sure that I have income so that I can become a sustainable business.” Great. Why do you want to be a sustainable business? State your why, that big picture why & then when you have that on the forefront of your mind & have it parallel with the task at hand, with what you're trying to plan for, to say “Does this align? Does this match.” 

Sometimes as entrepreneurs, as business owners, we get into this status quo cycle of needing to do everything & needing to work overtime, & maybe I still am coming to terms with whether I believe this or not. Maybe that is the case for the first year or two or a little bit of time in business. Maybe it’s the case that we're working a little bit more. However, I know for sure, at some point, that needs to shift.

Otherwise that will be forever, & it's easy to slip into that mindset & stay in that mindset forever because that's just how we started, because that's just how it always has been. & so, the original “Why have I wanted to live a life of freedom?” Let's use that as an example, & therefore I'm creating my own business so that I can travel or do whatever you want to do with this life of freedom. 

If you're living in a business that is controlling you rather than you being in control of that business, you're not actually attaining that why, the original why that you had at the start. & so, when we're creating these plans, creating these tasks & building a business to stop first & say okay, all the different layers of the why - is this aligning with all of these things? 

If there's misalignment it's a really big cue to say “I’ve got to ditch something here.” If, however, maybe there's, I gave the example of the deadline. So, if you have a deadline, if you have a project you're trying to plan it in your week & you're writing it down on your task list, & it does align with your why but maybe it doesn't need to be done this week. So, we might want to feel this feeling of like I want to feel productive I want to feel like I did a lot of things, right?

Maybe you want to feel in charge, you want to feel in control of your business & therefore, something that helps you feel in control is to have things done ahead of time. So, if the why is to feel in control & to feel productive & to feel on top of your game, it doesn't necessarily have to be tied to getting it done before the deadline. Chances are you just want to make sure it gets done by the deadline & it just felt extra good to get it done before. 

However, if this week is a super busy week & next week looks pretty open, & you're trying to cram it all into this week because of a now historic, outdated why, outdated alignment, then take that time. Pause & say “Okay, this thing can be shifted.” Even if there is alignment, maybe there's alignment at one level of the why but not alignment at another level of the why. Notice there are multiple layers here, then give yourself permission to shift, you don't need to eliminate a task altogether, or change something so drastically. 

However, to give yourself permission to shift, even if there was an alignment in the past. I'll give another tangible example, many of you know I've been writing my book this year. The original why to writing this book, there's a lot of layers are with all of these examples. I love writing, I wanted to get this into the hands of more individuals, this alignment journey concept & what I work through with my clients all the time. 

Originally, at the beginning of 2020, I thought it was going to be speaking here that was my focus for the year. However, COVID turned that upside down as it turned all of our worlds upside down. & so I took the opportunity to kind of flip flop my timelines where I was like “Okay, instead of speaking & getting that going & then write a book, I'm going to write a book this year & then speak later whenever COVID eases up.” & so that's what I did. I flip flopped, & I wrote the book, & I'm so grateful, it is fully written, it is not fully edited, but it is fully written, & I'm so grateful for that opportunity. 

However, at the end of this year, as we're all looking at the end of a calendar year & look into a fresh start, we often impose this deadline on ourselves, that's totally unnecessary. So, personally I was imposing this deadline of “I need to write, edit, finish editing this book. I need to have a complete manuscript by the 2020, because this is the year of writing my book.” Right, that was a why that I created way back in April once I shifted & recalibrated. 

But when I was feeling stressed, especially as I'm doing a lot of holiday promotion right now, a lot of fun deals for you guys, the Experience membership is growing pretty quickly. & so, as all of this was happening I was starting to feel stress of fitting my book into my schedule & trying to plan for it & yes, I'm capable of doing it. You're capable of planning & organizing a life where it all gets done, I'm sure you're capable of it. But are you capable of doing so in a way that fosters your big why? The underlying reason for all of this in the first place. 

When I took the time to pause & reflect & ask myself that question. There wasn't a good reason for me to finish the book by the end of the year, except for this arbitrary deadline. Check in with yourself too, maybe you do still have this goal to finish this thing or do whatever it is that you're trying to plan for, but 

Does it have to be now? 

Can you recalibrate? 

Can you delegate?

Can you do it in a different way?

…& still accomplish that underlying why? 

What I did to finish that story is that I gave myself permission to not finish editing the book this year & once I gave myself permission of that, my eyes opened up to how amazing it's going to be to extend the book publishing deadline further out - for so many reasons. So, you may find that once you release the grip on how we thought it was going to be, how our plans have been thus far, & opened our eyes to different possibilities that's in greater alignment with our why anyway, we see more opportunity, & potentially, probably, it's gonna manifest in a way that feels even better & that the outcome is even greater than had we clutched a historic outdated plan. 

So it's the pause, it's to ask why. If the why does align. So, if you pause, if you ask why when you're writing this task, when you're creating your plan, when you're organizing your calendar, your schedule, & you're like “Yep, this why doesn't align, this meets the requirements that I have for myself.” & then state the why & hold that why as your center point so that as you enact the plan & you also have flexibility & accountability to maintain alignment. 

What this looks like is, let's say, at one point I'm working with a coach, this was a few years ago & I was thinking I really want to talk to more individuals one on one, that's how I connect. That's how I share coaching & explain what it is & hear what people are having challenges with right now & what their desires are right now & therefore I can support them in better ways. So, I set a goal at one point, to talk to three individuals a day about coaching, & that aligned with the why on all levels. 

After a while I was talking to three individuals a day, but it wasn't feeling good & it wasn't fulfilling that original why & so it's not that the why dissipated or that the task didn't serve a purpose & wasn't in alignment before, but rather it's that it was time to change the task at hand. I had this arbitrary three people a day goal that no longer was necessary. & so, for you, if what you're planning & what you're scheduling isn't in alignment, then go on to hold that as your measuring stick. As you implement your plan, as you take action, your measuring stick to whether or not that continues to remain in alignment & also to check in with if what you plan, what you predicted, turns out to have the results that you thought it would. Or is it different & therefore we just need to recalibrate. 

So, all of this said, the big summary is the plan, is the pause. Yes, it's the plan, it's the pause before you plan, & it's ask yourself whyon all the levels. Why this task, why this business, why this lifestyle? & is it aligning at all levels, at least for the time being & then giving ourselves permission to recalibrate or to defer to another week, to another timeline, to another idea, to another idea of how to enact that, & to use it as your measuring stick to continuously circle back to & saying “Okay, is it still aligning with my why, is it still aligning with my why?” 

This is exactly what I'm doing in just under a week on next Monday, the 30th at 10:30am. I'm hosting a free Confidence & Clarity workshop where we are asking ourselves this important question, this why in preparation for 2021. So, as we end the old year & go toward the new year, we're creating a plan, but before creating that plan for the new year & setting those goals & being ambitious & getting excited, we are pausing to ask why.

I'm going to guide you through a centering exercise, I'm going to guide you through a brief meditation, & we're going to pinpoint these why’s so that you have your measuring stick already & so that you have a plan that aligns with that, again, taking your best guess right now, & then using that to have a foundation as you walk into 2021 so even if the plan changes, (which it probably will), you still won't feel lost or without direction or overwhelmed or suddenly & in emotive reactivity, because you have a foundation upon which to stand & upon which to return to as you continue to plan & adjust your plans & reflect on how your plans are going. 

So, if you're interested in that, then go to yesandbymarin.com/confident that is my Confidence & Clarity Workshop happening on Cyber Monday, I'm also hosting some amazing deals. & this, again, is taking into action what I talked about all today, which is determining the why & getting to the root of things to ensure that everything that you're planning is in alignment for 2021, rather than feeling overwhelmed, chaotic, & in disarray because we don't have a foundation to stand upon, because we don't have these justifications & reasons that are not in alignment with our greatest self & our ideal future as we create plans. That is all for today our Weekly Spark on Tuesday, November 24 again yesandbymarin.com/confident if you want to plan & create a why for that plan, for 2021 & I will see you next Tuesday.