Ep137: Getting things done by slowing down - real-life proof it works!

00:51 Welcome to Unfrazzle, a podcast for solo business owners with a big vision who are ready for a kinder more sustainable approach to productivity. I'm Louise Miller and each week i share bite-sized insights to help you step away from the hustle stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world Before we dive into today's episode, if you enjoy what I'm sharing here on Unfrazzle and you'd like to support the podcast. You can buy me a cuppa by going to BuyMeACoffee.com slash Louise Miller and making a one-off donation. I'll pop a link to that in the show notes Okay grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started

01:30 If you've been here a while, you'll know that I'm always talking about why taking calm quiet space to think and make good decisions about where to invest your precious time energy and attention is not just nice-to-have. It's essential if procrastination perfectionism distractions and impulsivity are getting in the way of you getting things done One thing I'm not always so great at though is giving you real life examples of why i know that to be true. So that's what I'm going to do today just in case you are still resisting taking those moments of pause, so you can get your head on straight about what's important and create a plan you will actually follow! So I'm going to tell you about three people in my world who've all experienced the magic in slightly different ways so that you can see what might be possible for you when you make these sorts of changes in your own life. Firstly let's talk about one of my Make It Happen Club members

02:17 Now last year her mum became seriously unwell. Thankfully she pulled through but for my client it was a deeply distressing and difficult time so of course business as usual was not possible, and I had noticed that she hadn't been showing up to our planning sessions but i didn't know why until i received an email from her a few months ago and as well as letting me know what had been going on with her mum she also shared this The last planning session I did with you has been my guide. Time frames shifted but having written things down when i had clarity not chaos, has really helped me prioritise focus and navigate the last couple of months so thanks! I just wanted to share even though I've not been around the work we do really helps when life has other plans So isn't that amazing? It's such a beautiful example of how it is possible for thoughtfully created plans to steady the ship even when the worst possible things are happening

03:08 So next up, let's talk about Teresa Heath-Waring. I know i talk about Teresa a lot – I love that woman! So Teresa has been a client of mine since January 2023 and I know she won't mind me saying this because she said it herself but before we started working together she would often have so much to do that she'd feel totally swamped not know where to start and spend way too much time spinning in her chair those are her words not mine. When we first started working together She was getting ready to run her first ever summit, launch a new podcast and beta test a new group program all at the same time. So she had a lot going on! And you might wonder how someone with such a long to-do list could justify spending two hours a month with me? You might think that she'd have been better off spending that time getting her head down and just getting on with it but the trouble is if she'd done that she would have been giving in to the pitfalls of her hot executive function – the part that steps in when emotions are high and when everything feels important

04:02 Increasing the risk of procrastination, perfectionism and distraction. So listen to last week's episode if you're interested in hot and cold executive function how they affect your productivity there is an episode that came out last week that talks all about that But Teresa recognised that the best way to reduce that risk of her hot executive functions sabotaging her was to step out of the swirl for a few hours, get clarity around what's important. Think about what needs to happen first, what can wait and where she can ask for help so taking the time out to work through all of that with me every month allows her to do her very best thinking and create a plan that makes sure nothing gets missed

04:39 Now because she's a one-to-one client, I go away and create that action plan for her based on the decisions that we've made together so that all she has to do is to follow it. And in the moment where things start to spin, where there's a lot going on, where it's difficult to know where to start, she can just return to that plan and know exactly what to do to get back on track Last but not least, let's talk about Claire. So Claire did go on to become a client eventually but before that she discovered that things finally get done when you take a pause step back and get clarity so she downloaded one of my free resources that guided her through a process that was designed to help her find her focus and then take action and after months of procrastinating

05:18 That was all it took for her to finally get her website finished and out into the world. And she was so excited to share that with me, and that she got that just from a free resource! So those are three very different scenarios but in each case taking time out even when they're busy to think about what they're trying to achieve and the steps they need to take to get there served them well. For Claire it was a straightforward case of just finally getting something done for Teresa is about keeping all of the plates spinning and always knowing what needs to happen next if he's going to keep all of our projects moving forward And for my Make It Happen Club member that I told you about right at the beginning, having a plan to return to helped her know what was most important and what could wait during what was a highly emotional and difficult time. So if you're still feeling like you're too busy to take regular time in the treehouse to pause reflect and choose what gets your focus

06:05 I hope that these real-life examples help you see that it's time well spent. What might become possible for you? How might you experience things differently once you give yourself those purposeful and productive moments of pause? And as always, I hope this helps and look forward to seeing you again soon! Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe and share it with a friend who needs a dose of calm productivity in their life and I'd love if could leave me rating or review as that will help more people discover the podcast And if you're struggling with productivity right now, take my free assessment to find out what's really getting in the way of you getting things done. It takes less than three minutes to complete and I'll send you tailored resources and insights that will help based on your score You'll find that at louisemiller.uk slash quiz and there's a link for that in the show notes So thank you so much for being here and I look forward to seeing you next time