Episode 71: Too much to do? Try doing it the other way round

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 When I was getting ready to record an episode of the Brand Therapy podcast with Phil and Lauren, I had no idea what was about to unfold. There I was with my notes ready to talk about my approach to compassionate sustainable productivity ready to give the listeners a new empowering way of thinking about planning and getting stuff done but what actually happened was way more powerful It turned out that Lauren and Phil were both drowning in overwhelm. They had way too much to do, and they were open and honest enough to share their struggles with me. Now Lauren in particular had found herself in a really difficult situation fighting to catch up after a period of illness during what was already a busy time so here's what she said She said,

02:31 So as you hear that, does any of that sound familiar to you? It's quite common isn't it for us to feel that way sometimes and the fact they were feeling this way when we sat down to do this podcast interview meant instead of talking in hypotheticals I got to apply my knowledge and expertise to what was actually going on in their world during the podcast recording. So if you'd like to listen to the full episode, I will pop a link to that in the show notes. But there was one particular piece of advice i shared that really hit home for Lauren so I would love to share it with you too She told me her usual way of navigating her overwhelm is to look at her list of 72 things figure out what's most important and start there That sounds sensible doesn't it? Sounds like the right way to do things but I also suggested to her that it can be helpful to view it the other way round

03:21 So instead of looking at what's most important, actually thinking about what is the least important. And that suggestion blew Lauren's mind because it shifts the focus from what still needs to be done to what you can let go off It gives you permission to put things down To let go off anything thats no longer relevant That is no longer in alignment with the direction your heading in Or thats not longer important enough to warrant your attention right now So it's about picking up that list of 72 things and looking for tasks you might outsource, tasks you might ask for help with. Tasks she might put safely in a not now holding zone and when you start doing that the sense of relief is palpable as you're actually taking something off your plate You're setting down a few of the plates that you're spinning

04:06 And lightening the load in that way, even just a little bit can help things to feel way more manageable so that when you do return to the important things on your list you're much more able to focus. So it's clever isn't it? Right looking at it the other way around! So give that a go next time you're drowning and too much to do and see what difference it makes. As always I hope this helps and look forward to seeing again soon Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend who needs a dose of calm productivity in their life and I'd love it if you could leave me a rating and review as that will help more people discover this podcast. If you would like to hear more from me to help stop faffing and take back control of your time, you'll find the link to join my mailing list in the show notes and I would really love for you to join us! So thanks so much for your support and I look forward to seeing you next time