Ep #10: My System For Astounding Productivity And Time Management
Welcome to the Make Money Living Your Purpose Podcast. I'm Prosperity Coach Karen Powell and this is the podcast for heart-centered leaders, innovators and creatives who dream of leaving their nine-to-five to pursue their passion project but don't know where to start. I'm sharing my proven process that will help you heal your money mindset and figure out your own unique purpose in life. Let's go!
Hey there, welcome to episode 10. We are in double digits. I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of myself. It's actually more work than you'd think creating a podcast, but I'm doing it. With a lot of help. And I've been using my productivity and time management system to get this done. And that's what I'm going to share with you today.
How to get your goals, your projects, your dreams across the finish line. How to not just start them. That's easy. We all know how to start stuff, but get them done. How do you get stuff done without stressing yourself out? How do you manage your time so that you're not just slogging away for hours upon hours, but you're productively making progress and building momentum on your projects?
How do you complete your passion projects, the ones that always seem to take a backseat to everything else that's going on? That's what I want to share with you today. So let me ask you this. What do you dream of creating this year? If you could wave a magic wand and get all your projects done this year, what would they be?
Just start jotting them down as you think of them. Maybe you've been dreaming of writing a book, or starting your own business, or starting a podcast or a YouTube channel. Maybe there's somewhere you've been dreaming of traveling. Or maybe this is the year you finally do your art exhibition.
When you think about these goals and wishes, what kinds of feelings do you start feeling? Do you feel excitement and hope, or do you start to feel stressed and overwhelmed and wonder how you'd ever get those things done? Do you feel frustrated at how many times you've tried to get these things done, but all the demands of other people, all the interruptions from other people and all the other things going on in your life just keep derailing any progress you make.
It can be so exhausting starting and stopping projects. It can feel so defeating and embarrassing to keep saying you're going to do something, but then it just doesn't get done. So what I want to share with you today is a way to take your power back. Because the real issue isn't other people stopping you or too many other commitments stopping you.
The real issue is a lack of a system that actually supports you, your goals and your big dreams. Not just stuff you have to do, but stuff you want to do, you dream of doing. You might be like, Oh I've tried systems, Karen. I've tried the Pomodoro method, the Eat The Frog method, time blocking, bullet journaling.
But what's really going to help you get things done is a system that takes your whole life into consideration. Not just your to do list, but your dream list. Something that helps you move forward into creating your dream lifestyle. Not just daily getting stuff done, but really moving you ever so firmly and focused into your dream lifestyle.
A system that inspires you, that excites you, that feels like your best friend cheering you on. I call this my System For Astounding Productivity and Time Management. It's a system to use for an entire calendar year, but you can start at any time. It doesn't have to be at the beginning of the year. So wherever you are right now, you just plug it in and go.
There are four main components and they all work together to create a feeling of ease and flow and inspiration and even a sense of freedom. The first component is to identify one to three words or so that describe what kind of overall energy you want to bring to this year. What kind of theme is emerging for you this year?
What kind of feeling do you sense is bubbling up for you? What kind of feeling would you like to bubble up for you this year? I call these feeling words, essence words. So let me give you an example. This year, I feel a sense of expansion for me and my business. I've launched my podcast in the first quarter and I'm excited for the energy that I'm putting out into the world and it feels very expansive.
It feels like I'm expanding my reach. I'm expanding my impact. So expansion is one of my essence words for this year. Another energy that I would like to create more of this year is fun. I want to intentionally create fun experiences for myself and my family. I want to have fun producing this podcast. It's a lot of work, but it can also be really fun.
And I want to be sure that I'm intentionally injecting fun into the work I'm doing this year. With my podcast, with my programs, with my coaching, I'm intentionally generating the energy of fun in my life this year. And that energy is for my whole lifestyle, not just the normal things you think of as fun, but also the things that can be demanding and challenging.
And maybe even things that you'd think of as boring or mundane, like doing the dishes or going to the gym or folding the laundry. I will be injecting the energy of fun into all areas of my life this year. Another example is last year we planned a big renovation project for our house. It's a lot of work. We had to move out of the house for four, for five months. And instead of looking at that project only as a challenge, I embraced the essence word, Transformation.
And I infused that word into the energy of the year. My house would be transformed for sure, but when I was packing up the house, I used the energy of that word, transformation, to help me declutter and get rid of stuff that wouldn't really be a good fit in the new house.
So the task of packing up and unpacking turned into transformation projects as well.
I used the energy of transformation to fuel me with all of the things that I would need to do. And then it turns out I had some health challenges last year and I turned those into opportunities for transformation. So you can use your essence words to help you through some of the more sloggy kinds of bits like packing up your whole house, and for stuff that comes up unexpectedly like health issues.
And look, the internal and the external are connected. Our inner world reflects our outer world and our outer world reflects our inner world. I'll do an entire episode about this concept, but for now what's helpful to know is that when you have your essence word, and something unexpected or unwelcome surprises you, you can use that as an opportunity to go deeper into your own personal growth.
Okay, so what kind of energy are you calling forth this year? Is it transformation? Is it creativity? Is it purpose? Do you want peace this year? Ease, flow, love? This is my year for what? Fill in the blank. My second component in my system for astounding productivity and time management is dividing the year into four quarters.
Now I'm also going to say there are some seasons in our lives that really lend to dividing the year into thirds. rather than quarters. So with quarters, you've got three-month chunks, your 90-day container, which I love. If you feel like it makes more sense to divide your year into thirds, then do that. So that would be three, four-month chunks. So more like 120 days each.
I remember when my daughter was in grade school, the four-month chunk felt more supportive with our schedules at that time. So choose one of those. But please don't choose a six-month chunk. That's too long for the kind of focus we're going to be employing here. The idea is to make things feel easier, not overwhelming. And focusing on six months at a time is going to feel overwhelming.
Okay, so you've got your year in four three-month sections, four 90-day containers. You're going to take a piece of paper and divide it into four squares and label them each square. So January, February, March is your first one. April, May, June is your second one. July, August, September is your third one. And October, November, December is your fourth one.
Can you already feel a sense of spaciousness? Or maybe even relief when you're not just staring into an entire year of 365 days ahead of you? You're actually looking at four very tidy 90-day containers. And by the way, if you didn't catch the last episode, it was all about the magical 90-day container. I call it magical because so much can get done in that amount of time. And so much transformation and healing and growth and creation can happen in that kind of focus container.
So the next step is to take another piece of paper and write out all of the things that you know are happening this year. Like maybe you've got a trip planned, or maybe there's a course you're planning on taking, or maybe there's a big birthday celebration happening, or your kid is starting school. All the things that you know are already happening. Next, you want to write out on the piece of paper all the things that you would love to happen this year, all the things you would like to accomplish this year.
Don't prioritize them just yet. Don't worry if they're doable or not. Brainstorm everything you can think of and put it onto that piece of paper. Then you're going to read through the paper and circle those things that feel like priorities, those things that feel like a full-body, yes, this is the year for this project.
Next, go ahead and write into the squares all the things that you know are happening this year. Put them into the square where they're happening. Yes, some might overlap and that's fine. Then look at the things you've circled and see where it feels good to insert them into a specific quarter, a specific 90-day container.
And it's fine if you've got something that's going from like September to November, for example, spanning over two sections. Please don't get hung up on perfection here. Life is not perfect. So don't expect everything to fit perfectly into a specific quarter. But those things that can, then give them that place.
Okay, the next step is to only focus on the quarter that you are in, and you're going to reverse engineer each of those projects inside of the three months. So what I do is have a monthly calendar where I can see the whole overview of the month on one page, and I have three of those, one for each month of the 90 day container. And I'll fill in one month at a time with due dates for specific tasks that will move me forward, forward into completion of the overall project.
And I also write my essence words at the top of the year divided into four quarters sheet, as well as on each month's calendar, so I can be reminded that this is the energy supporting me this month. This is the energy I'm bringing to these projects. This is the energy that we are creating by engaging in these projects. This essence energy fuels you and inspires you and keeps you moving forward.
Okay, the next component is the beloved daily checklist. But not just any old checklist. Get yourself a medium-sized spiral notebook. Not a big one. Not A4 size. Or 8 ½ x 11 size. Not printer sized paper. And also not teeny tiny. So, medium sized, like the size of your hand, let's say. And at the end of the day, you're going to write out three to five small, individual tasks to complete the next day. And when I say small, individual tasks, I don't mean something like, write book, or do taxes.
I mean small, individual tasks like, write 1,500 words. or gather up receipts for business expenses. It's really important to keep the things you put on your checklist small and doable. It's also really important to not overload your daily checklist because you won't be able to finish it. But you'll beat yourself up for not finishing it and you'll be fueling feelings of shame and defeat and overwhelm.
And those feelings are not going to propel you forward. They're going to help you sabotage yourself. So let's not do that. I have this tool that I teach in my Money on Purpose program called the OSSAAT Wheel, and this really keeps you focused and out of overwhelm. It's a wheel that literally keeps you moving forward one small step at a time.
And my System for Astounding Productivity and Time Management is also a bonus training in the Money on Purpose program with the four-quarter worksheet and the 90-day calendars. And speaking of Money On Purpose, the next journey starts in April. So I hope you'll put that in your second quarter and join us.
April, May, June, the Money On Purpose Journey will help you heal your money blocks and clarify your purpose and guide you through the life projects that you want to create. And that 90-day container will set you up for even more success for the rest of the year and for the rest of your life, quite frankly. You can hop onto the wait list at moneyonpurpose.com.
All right, so you've got your Essence word or words for the year. You've got your year divided into four quarters. You've got the present quarter mapped out onto three monthly calendars. And you've got your daily checklist with three to five doable tasks that are going to step by step move you forward every day.
Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you the most important part. At the end of each day, give yourself a star on your daily checklist. I actually buy gold stars and stick them on my checklist every day. But you could also just draw a star on the page too. But the stickers just feel really fun. This little gesture actually goes a long way. It gives you a little boost. A little feeling of praise and acknowledgment, and that is encouraging when we're working away, doing our best and making progress on things that are important to us.
All right, this is the year you get your important projects done. This is the year you get supported by 90-day containers that help you have fun while you're being productive. That help you manage your time in a way that feels really good and aligned with who you are and also who you're becoming.
Thank you so much for joining me today on the Make Money Living Your Purpose Podcast. Subscribe to the show by clicking the Follow button and let's continue this journey together. We're releasing old, limited ways of thinking and we're connecting with our purpose and expanding our impact into the world.
When you heal your money blocks and step into your life's purpose, you become a force for good in the world. I'll see you next time.
If you're ready to start creating the lifestyle of your dreams, I want to invite you to join GPS, my Gratitude Practice for Success program, where you'll learn my unique and proven manifesting process. It's simple, it's powerful, and it's already helping hundreds of people go from thinking their dreams were impossible, to making them happen quickly. Whether you want to manifest your dream home, your soulmate, a brand new career living your life's purpose, or even financial freedom, it's yours to claim now. Just head over to kcpowell.com/gps and I will show you how.
