Peace & Prosperity Podcast
In the Peace & Prosperity Podcast, Jason Phillips, licensed therapist and life coach, shares personal experiences that force you to think deeply about your values, beliefs, and behaviors to ensure you achieve peace, happiness, and success in your life.
Peace & Prosperity Podcast
Uncover the Secrets to Mastering Your Time - Episode #67
The Peace & Prosperity Podcast is a bi-weekly conversation with Jason Phillips, LCSW, licensed therapist and confidence expert in Raleigh, NC, discussing all things related to self-love and self-confidence, and how we can improve ourselves personally and professionally.
Can better time management really lead to a less stressful life? Tune in as Dr. RJ and Jason Phillips uncover the secrets to mastering your minutes and make every second count. In this episode, we break down the true cost of poor time management, sharing personal stories of multitasking disasters and the stress of double-booking. Learn how distractions and lack of focus can derail your day and elevate your anxiety, and discover actionable strategies to take control of your schedule and live a more balanced life.
We explore the often-overlooked impact of social media on your productivity and motivation, emphasizing the need for self-awareness in your daily routine. By incorporating discipline, automation, and delegation, you can elevate your efficiency and focus on what truly matters. We also dive into two transformative books, "Who Not How" and "Free to Focus," that promise to revolutionize how you manage your time. Get ready to integrate these powerful tips into your life, helping you achieve your goals with less stress and more satisfaction.
Discover the Eisenhower Matrix, an invaluable tool for prioritizing tasks and avoiding time snatchers, allowing you to stay in your "zone of genius." Hear how Michael Jordan's focused excellence compares to LeBron James' versatility and why sticking to what you're best at can dramatically improve your productivity. Lastly, we address high functioning anxiety, offering practical advice and encouragement to help you cope. Don't miss this episode filled with insights that will help you work smarter, stay sane, and maintain balance in both your professional and personal life. Plus, remember to join our podcast community—like, share, subscribe, and let us know what topics you want us to cover next. Engage with us, send a DM, or leave a review. Let's continue this journey towards peace and prosperity together.
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Website -https://www.jasonlphillips.com
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https://peaceprosperitycoaching.hbportal.co/public/660d8068c9d2d600253b215b/1-Inquiry
Welcome, welcome, welcome everybody. If you don't already know, I'm Dr RAJ, licensed clinical psychologist, and I help busy executives optimize their mental health so that they can eliminate burnout, reduce stress, anxiety all that good stuff so you can actually live and enjoy the life that you worked so hard for. So hey, hey, hey.
Speaker 2:Hey, and I'm Jason Phillips, licensed therapist, confidence expert, and I help professionals improve their self-confidence and eliminate self-doubt.
Speaker 1:Yes, that is super, super important. I work with so many people who are absolutely capable and they have the imposter syndrome and all these things going on, and I'm like you know, like you're popping, why you don't know that? Why am I the only one who knows that? So I love that. That's one of your areas of expertise. Today, we will be talking about how to master your minutes, work smart and stay sane. So, listen, I don't like my time to be wasted, like if you want to get on my bad side and I don't really have a whole lot of bad sides but if you want to get on my bad side, it's like waste my time, like it's like the craziest thing. How do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:Well, you know what Someone told me this last week? We were talking about money and like what's important to them, and he said, no, money's not that important, like I'll make money, that's fine. But he said my time and my health are two things that I really value. And I thought about that because, one, if you're not healthy, you can have all the money but it doesn't matter. And then time is something that you cannot get back. So I'm in agreement with that, with you on that one. Time is big.
Speaker 1:I'm big on my time. I see these quotes all the time that say you have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyonce, but the truth is Beyonce has more hours in a day because she delegates her time. I'm sure she's not doing all these things that some busy executives are trying to do on their own, so you got to keep that in mind. Like there is a way to buy back your time and have more time. But even when we do have more time, sometimes we waste it. So that's what we're going to be talking about today. So so, Jason, what just in your experience, what are some ways that you have wasted time? I'm getting all in your business today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's all good. Oh, there's so many One. I've wasted time trying to do too many things, like try to be two places at once. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I didn't realize it.
Speaker 2:Like I remember when I was like in college I was doing this. So it was way back then, like somebody called me we were on our way to a barbecue and somebody else called me and my friend while we were on our way and I said, yeah, we'll be there, just give us, like you know, an hour or whatever. And she was like Jason, she was like you just double booked.
Speaker 2:And I was like what are you talking about? I do that all the time. And she was like we're about to go to this barbecue and get together, so how are we going to be here? Oh, snaps, like when she said it it was a big eye-opener. Yep, but that it wastes time because you can't be present and you're like you're scrambling that, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1:I love that example when I don't focus, I waste a lot of time. I can be easily distracted, believe it or not.
Speaker 1:I'm super disciplined, so that's why I'm not easily distracted. But if I'm not on my game, I can be easily distracted. The other day I got an Amazon package. And what was that Amazon package? It was something I needed. Anyhow, it was something I needed. I think it's like a something to measure the moisture in my plants, or whatever. I ordered a new one and I went to the front door, grabbed the package and then started talking to my mom about something else and my son about something else, put the package down and had no idea where I put it.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you I look for that package for 40 minutes, four and zero 40 minutes of my time wasted because if I would have just stayed focused and did what I needed to do and then came back down and talk and all that stuff, then I would have saved 40 minutes. So when I'm distracted and trying to multitask, I waste a lot of time. That's why I am anti multitask against multitasking because it feels like we're we're saving time, but most of the time we're not. Our brains can't do all of those things at once. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the worst when you misplay something and you know it's there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it happened to me not too long ago.
Speaker 1:I'm like I just had it in my hand. I'm looking around, let me retrace my steps. Let me retrace my steps and still couldn't find it. It took forever. So time wasters. Some of the costs of wasting time poor time management. One is being disorganized, and when you're disorganized, you're scattered, you can have increased anxiety, you won't get as much done, you'll feel ineffective and as a result of that, then your to-do list just gets longer. So what happens when we don't master our minutes? Then we're wasting time and we end up really not getting anything done at all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was going to add to that too. Like our mood shifts when you waste time, because now you're thinking, okay, I got to hurry up and then, depending on where you're going, whenever you get to where you're going, whenever you get to where you're going, you're not the same person, you don't have the same great energy, and people are like what's wrong and you're thinking like how long do I have to be here? So it just throws so many things off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just just by mismanagement of time, and so we have, like, the poor time management and we also have time wasters, social media and this is ironic because we're on social media right, but social media can be a huge time waster. As much as I love it, I challenge everyone out there to really look at how much time you spend on social media. I don't mean working, I don't mean like really connecting with people, I mean just mindlessly scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. Like be honest with yourself and do a time tracker, so write down every single time you scroll and for how long you scroll, and do that for two or three days and see what you come up with. I've done it before, by the way, and as a result, I started putting in blockers so my social media does not pop up. I can't access it for several hours during the day, unless I'm working, and if I'm working, I'll go to my MacBook and do it.
Speaker 2:I like that and I will also say you know, notice how you feel after you engage in all the scrolling, because sometimes you know if I'm scrolling and maybe I'm looking at something, I'm like, oh, I wish I had that, I wish I was there. I don't get done scrolling feeling energized all of the time.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's, a good point yeah.
Speaker 2:So kind of pay attention to like after you know, after you're looking at whatever, how are you feeling? Are you feeling more motivated or are you now feeling like you need a nap? Are you feeling like you've been comparing yourself, Kind of checking in, so that way you know, like with real evidence in time, is this helpful or not?
Speaker 1:And a lot of times, after all that scrolling, you feel exhausted and aggravated about people you don't even know. So it happens. It happens to the best of us. And so we're talking about this because time is our most precious commodity and Jason and I want to make sure that we're sharing real life strategies and tips with you all so that you won't waste your time and that you can master your minutes and be more productive and get to live in the life that you've worked so hard to live.
Speaker 1:A lot of times when I talk to executives or leaders or high performers, they have a lot of guilt about wasting time and something that I share like, don't feel bad about it, just get disciplined. And so often high performers feel like they have to be motivated and do things naturally and I'm like no, there's a lot of things I do I'm not motivated to do, right. And so I just want to tell everyone out there don't rely on motivation, you want to rely on discipline, automations and routine, right? So you master your minutes by relying on discipline, automation and routine, because your feelings are going to go up and down. They're like waves in the sea they come and they go. I'm a July cancer. I have 89 feelings per day. They're all over the place, they range from whatever to whatever, and if I relied on my feelings to manage my time and master my minutes, I wouldn't get anything done. Nothing. So discipline, automation. And what was the other thing I said?
Speaker 2:Discipline automation and it was not delegation. I was going to add delegation. Okay, go ahead and talk to us about delegation.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So discipline, automation, delegation, because we often or high achievers, can feel like I have to do everything because I can and Dr RJ, you say this all the time just because you can does not mean you should. So what I find that comes up is people say, well, yes, I mow my grass, or yes, I do all of my house chores, and no, I don't have any help because I can do it. But then when we look at the cost of that, how much time do you take away from your family, your personal needs, your own health, because you're trying to do everything? So let's add delegation in that too.
Speaker 1:Okay, so tell me the three again real quick. I'm going to post it for us. What did we?
Speaker 2:say so. We got automation, discipline, discipline and delegation.
Speaker 1:Look at us, we're a good team. All right, I'm gonna put it up here. You keep talking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we got to delegate and we have to delegate and be OK with it, because things like what you're doing now, if we don't delegate some of the tasks I love your assistant, they're great reaching out and vice versa, because if we try to do everything, we will overwhelm ourselves.
Speaker 1:And the book.
Speaker 2:I'll give y'all a book to read too. That really helped drive this all the way home. For me was who, not how?
Speaker 1:Oh yes, that's a good one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm sure you've read that one and he breaks it down as such an easy but powerful way of how you should not be doing everything, but find out who can do it for you so you can do the things that you want to do at the highest level possible.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. There are a lot of great, great books on on time management. My favorite is Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt. I swear by Free to Focus and it is definitely a great book, so check it out for sure. I listened to it on audio and it was so good I had to actually buy the physical copy so I could go and take notes and highlight and that sort of thing. So who, not how, and Free to Focus are two books that we both read, we both enjoy. We recommend to help you with time management and mastering your minutes and again, it's not about motivation, it's about automation, discipline and delegation. So some of the we're going to give you all some strategies on exactly what you can do. Some of these strategies will work for you.
Speaker 2:Some of them won't, but try them all and find what works into your flow of life. Is stress and burnout taking a toll on your company's productivity and morale? Are you looking for ways to improve your employees' mental health and wellness? If so, it's time to invest in mental health support for your workplace. As a mental health expert and speaker, I provide solutions for creating a happier, healthier and more productive workplace. This includes a range of services to help your employees cope with stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges. I facilitate workshops and presentations designed specifically to help your employees develop resiliency, manage stress and reduce burnout. So, while wait, make mental health and wellness a priority in your workplace today and contact us so we can support you all. All right, let's get back to the episode.
Speaker 1:So I often talk about the art of balance. So I've created a framework called the art of balance. If you would like like the summary of the art of balance and you don't have to take a gazillion notes right now as I go over it briefly just text art of balance to 833-451-4258 for your free art of balance guide. So the art of Balance is authenticity, relentless rest and time consciousness. So today, obviously, we're just going to talk about time consciousness, because we're speaking on mastering your minutes. Part of time consciousness is just being aware of what you're doing. Often we do things on autopilot and not in a good way, right? I don't mean like automation, but I mean autopilot where we're not present or mindful of what we're doing. So it's kind of like you're driving home and thinking about something else, not paying attention. Pass your exit. Actually. Let me give you a real example. I'll give you a real example. I was on the highway the other day and I live in Atlanta, right?
Speaker 1:So y'all know like sometimes, if you miss a certain exit or get off in the wrong place, it's over over for you. So I've lived here for 20 years or 22 years, so I should know to pay attention. I was on the phone with my sister and we were talking about something that was real good and I was like girl, I missed my exit and I lost 12 minutes.
Speaker 2:I was going to say at least 15 minutes If it would have been traffic, that would have been worse.
Speaker 1:There was no traffic 12 minutes, just by not paying attention and being mindful. Now, of course I was paying attention, driving right, but I was on autopilot, like I've been driving since I was 14. And so I'm a pretty good driver and I was paying attention to the road, but really paying more attention to my sister and we would just kiki in or whatever. I'm like girl. I missed the whole exit. So that's an example of when we talk about time consciousness, just being aware of time and space. Be aware of what you're doing. Be mindful of what you're doing in the moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'll jump in. I love that one. Definitely don't want to miss your exit in Atlanta. So mine is doing one thing at a time. What I find is that this is like from a bigger picture. When you're trying to do a lot of things, you're not. You'll be flustered, want to give up, but the reason is because you're doing a lot of things at the same time. If you can just lock in on one particular area or issue, get that one completed and then move on to the next one. It's kind of like when somebody wants to revamp their life and they're like okay, I want to lose weight, I want to go back to school, I want to start a family, start my career. It's like wait, wait, wait, wait, that's a lot, that's a lot. So like, what is the priority? And then have a list for that.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love that you said that. Often when I talk to my clients, I ask them to focus on done what's next, like, do that, get it done now, what's next? I actually, when I was speaking to a client earlier today, I asked her to write on her whiteboard done what's next. She's a creative, she's really talented, she has all these ideas and I'm like girl, you're not about to do all this in one month, right, let's look at the quarter and done what's next. And I know she's going to love that phrase.
Speaker 2:I love that phrase.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it helps you stay focused. I have to tell myself that all the time, but I love that you talked about like prioritizing, and so another strategy or skill or tactic, something to think about is distinguish, distinguishing what's urgent versus what's important. Right, we think and that's the that's part of the eisenhower matrix that I'm going to get into but what's urgent versus important? So I want to talk about that a little bit. There are a lot of different type it. Let me multitask. This is why I don't multitask. There are a lot of different things that are a lot of different concepts or frameworks that discuss urgent versus important. When, when I work with with leaders, sometimes I'll talk about if there is a fire, right, is it really a fire like a red or is it kind of like a yellow, like what is?
Speaker 1:this Because often leaders feel overwhelmed. They're putting out everybody's fires, they're jumping to everyone's rescue and then they can't get their own work done, and so then they end up doing work at home and getting burned out like that. You want to find your own strategy on how to determine urgent versus important. Everything ain't urgent, Like find a maximum of three things that are urgent. Maximum Everything else and we'll talk about this a little bit down the line but everything else can be put into a different category. So distinguish, do one thing at a time and then determine what's urgent versus important.
Speaker 2:That's part of there for a hot second too, Dr RJ. Yeah, Urgent versus important. The book that came to mind I think it's Benjamin Howe. He brings that up in Be your Future Self.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:Right. So that's why I was like hold on, what book is that? The same author, who, not how? Who says what is urgent is likely not always important, and then what is important is not always urgent. So I have to say, be your future self. Who, not how? Urgent versus important Y'all, we're giving y'all a lot of gems right now, so make sure you action these things. Okay, that was it.
Speaker 1:And no, that's perfect. That's another one of my favorites. I have a whole list of books, but I love Be your Future Self now, and I've actually written a letter to myself. I do it year to year and when I make decisions, I make them based upon is this good for my future self? Would the future Dr RJ want you to do this? Would the Dr RJ who wants to be healthy and in shape and able to run around the yard with her son? Would she choose?
Speaker 2:Chick-fil-A for breakfast instead of a bowl of oatmeal. That was my decision this morning. Did you go with the oatmeal or Chick-fil-A?
Speaker 1:Oatmeal.
Speaker 2:Okay, I had oatmeal yesterday. I had Chick-fil-A Oatmeal. Okay, I had oatmeal yesterday. I had Chick-fil-A today.
Speaker 1:I'm going to get some Chick-fil-A tomorrow, though, because my future self would want me to have some balance, some balance Right, right.
Speaker 2:So I was going to go to the next one, which is have a simple routine.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:This will help you with time management when you think about bedtime routines, your nightly routines. We have it, but we have it simple and I think that helps. So you know, okay, I'm brushing my teeth, I'm flossing, I'm doing a mouthwash, I'm doing my hair, I'm doing, and it's like you have an order for it. And what helps is now you can stay disciplined. You don't have to delegate because you're doing it yourself, but you can keep up with it, and the more you do it, the more you say you know what I can do these things and sometimes we feel overwhelmed about we feel like you know.
Speaker 1:I got so much to do. I don't feel like getting ready, but keep it simple.
Speaker 2:sweet We've all heard that before and the more simple.
Speaker 1:You can make it. I heard keep it simple, stupid. Oh, that's what. You heard it in a nice way, I don't know, I remixed it. Yeah, well, I went to public school.
Speaker 2:So that's what we used to. The teachers used to tell us in the simple, stupid, yep, simple, stupid, simple, sweet, make it work y'all. Like when we get on here. You have streamlined it with stream yard right, so it's simple and we're alive everywhere, so it's easy for us to keep it going.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, simple routine. There's genius in simplicity. Often make things complex, and when it's unnecessary, there's genius in simplicity and that's how you definitely get things done. So I love the strategy of having a simple routine and it also helps or goes along with the automation piece. And so, as we're talking about a simple routine, some of you may be saying well, my life is complicated, I got a whole lot to do, I have a whole to-do list of things. I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I'm a CEO, I'm running a business, I volunteer for my church and my sorority and the kids' school and all the things right, and then for the men, same thing. If you're saying that, then it may be difficult to think of a simple routine. So I have a strategy for you as well. It's called the Eisenhower Matrix.
Speaker 1:Now, a lot of you may have heard of the Eisenhower Matrix. It's one of my favorites and as I was creating the Art of Balance framework, the Eisenhower Matrix really popped out. I did a lot of reading, a lot of research and studying about it and it really does fit how I do life and how a lot of executives, top performers, leaders can benefit from doing life in this way. So let me give it to you the quick way. So the Eisenhower matrix and you can Google it. There is an app, there's all the things you can do with it, but we're just gonna keep it simple today for the sake of time. So you have four categories. There is your do, delegate, schedule or delete.
Speaker 1:So if you have a long list, most people say I have a laundry list of things to do. My to-do list is a mile long. When I talk about time consciousness, I talk about a to-don't list, but that's another section For the Eisenhower matrix. Have your long to-do list and go through and put it in categories. So what must you do? What must you do first, Then what can you delegate, Then what can you schedule for later and what can you delete. And so, as you were talking about making things simple, a lot of things we can delete because we're making our task, our days, way too complex and it's just not necessary. Just like you don't got to do all that stuff too much, Just delete it so yeah, I love it.
Speaker 1:It's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2:It coincides with what I was going to give for our last one, or my last one was audit your time. But you can leave it up there because, essentially, as you audit your time, that's can leave it up there because, essentially, as you audit your time, that's what you will look at what do I need to do, what do I delegate, what do I schedule and what needs to be deleted. So that's so funny. We were thinking along the same lines.
Speaker 1:Yep and that. So let me tell y'all we didn't prep for this Like. I was like hey, can't wait to see you, and he's like I'll see you later. That's not what happened.
Speaker 2:Right right.
Speaker 1:So we did not prep for this. It's just we do this every day. We've been doing it for years. We're masters at our individual crafts and so I love that when we talk about these topics, we have our own way of doing it, but it's still along the same line, which reaches more of our audience in that way. So, time audit, go ahead and keep talking about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you want to audit your time. You really want to take a look at what are, or where are, your time snatchers. What are the things that you're doing where you, if you take a step back and you look at it, I don't need to do this anymore. I can ask someone else to do it. Maybe it does not need to be done. It's not serving the same purpose, but you may find yourself continuously running into the same problems. So by auditing your time, you can really look at where is your time going, what's keeping you stuck, what's holding you up. And you can't just do that by just thinking about it. Sometimes you literally have to walk through your day and pay attention, be mindful of. Oh wait, I'm spending this much time on social media or I'm spending this much time on housework. Maybe I should really look into asking for help or hiring some help, because I found that that's the biggest one with high achievers. We do things that we know innately. I can ask somebody else to do it, and they can maybe even do it better than you, so you can stay in your zone of genius. It keeps everything you know, everybody, happy.
Speaker 2:I often think about. I'm going to put a basketball analogy on here. You think about Michael Jordan and you think about LeBron James. Often they look at who's the better person. Now LeBron can play five positions, but Jordan was so great at his one position Like he's hands down the greatest shooting guard, and I think when you think about auditing your time and trying to do everything, lebron is still dope. Don't get me wrong, but Jordan just locked in and solidified himself as the greatest hands down because he knew this was his zone of genius.
Speaker 1:I love that. So just because you can do everything doesn't mean that you should, and you can set yourself apart by locking in on one thing, which is why, Jason, I don't do laundry Like that's not my zone of genius. I know how to do it. I know how to get my son's baseball pants white. I don't do all that Like somebody else can do it and they can do it better, and I don't like to.
Speaker 2:And it frees you have to do stuff that you do want to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't go to the grocery store. Food with the grocery store. A lot of people are like, oh, I love the farmer's market, whatever. Well, that's different, because that's self-care. If you love the farmer's market, that doesn't count as a chore, that's like self-care.
Speaker 1:I don't really feel the grocery store, but I can go in the garden section of Home Depot and stay for two hours with no issue. I actually just did that. It's about auditing your time to understand what's valuable to you. That's why it's so important that we talk about this topic of how to master your minutes so that you can work smart and stay sane. You want to really maximize your quality of life by being focused, being present and really thinking about what matters to you. Don't compare yourself to the next person. Don't be like Dr RJ don't do laundry, so I'm not either. If you love folding your clothes, right.
Speaker 1:If you love folding your clothes, then do that.
Speaker 2:So I think we've done so. Know, we've had so many conversations, but I feel like this is one of the most simple, stupid, impactful ones that people will have a lot of gems for a minute to like implement.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. We dropped a lot of things for you all. Share it, watch it over and over, take some notes. I mean, I think that's it. We kept it simple. We have some tangible, easy to implement tasks for all of you, so I implore you to choose one and do that consistently. It's done. What's next?
Speaker 2:Yeah, love. It, all right y'all, thank you.
Speaker 1:We'll see y'all soon, bye.
Speaker 2:Thank you all for listening to another episode of the Peace and Prosperity Podcast. Again, if you are feeling like, hey, I'm experiencing high functioning anxiety, feeling like, hey, I'm experiencing high functioning anxiety, don't beat yourself up about it. It is okay. We all experience anxiety from time to time and I gave you a couple of things that you can do on your own, but don't hesitate to reach out to a professional to better manage what you're going through. Okay, and lastly, make sure, if you have not like share, subscribe to the podcast and send this out to a friend. And if you want to hear a certain episodes or have certain conversations, let me know. You can shoot me a DM or just leave a review and I will definitely follow up. All right, y'all. Be blessed, peace.