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In this episode of the podcast, Carol and Katie discuss ten productivity tips for leaders…

Our friend Meggin McIntosh was our initial inspiration for these! And we love them.

If we were to put a simple list of the best 10 ways to be productive, what would they be? Here’s out list!

 

1. Take the Hike – Maybe not a full-scale hike, but periodically walking away from the mental engagement you are tied up in releases the grip and allows perspective. Ahh.
2. Quell the Noise – Learn to turn off the outside interruptions. Mindfulness exercises like meditating works well. Just because the world around you seems like a frenzy does not mean it is required of you. Resist the urge to spin-up.
3. Read the Book – Set aside 1 hour each day to read. At least 30 minutes must be dedicated to a business book.
4. Map the Mind – Use mind mapping as an organizational tool. Even if the map changes quickly, use it as a focus tool.
5. Work the Body – And you know what … whatever you define as “fit” is fine.
6. Allow the Mistakes – It’s okay to be a little imperfect.
7. Define the Person – Know who you are, including which traits are developing and which are just you. Articulate your leadership style, your boundaries of tolerance, and your values.
8. Stretch the Imagination – Identify one creativity project each week. Using different parts of your brain brings a sense of whole-life living and encourages problem solving in all areas.
9. Drink the Wine – Use your social network. Indulge in relaxation. Keep up with your friends.
10. Embrace the You – Like your mom used to say, just be yourself.

 

 

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

 

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Hello and welcome to the Skirt Strategies podcast! The podcast to help you get the support, validation and skills you need to accomplish your goals and really succeed in a male-dominated world – all without having to give up your incredible female strengths.

 

Carol: Today’s podcast is about 10 productivity tips for female leaders.

Katie: Let’s talk about that – because if you could share with me something to do to make me more productive and sane… (alright, I’m going to give you that qualification) productive, yet staying sane as a female leader, then I’d love you forever.

Carol: I do love that! Because here’s the thing – I think I’m terribly productive and I think I work like mad all day. But I’m going to tell you, some of these tips will absolutely change your life.

Katie: Okay. Good. Now, not all 10 fit. Let’s kind of give an understanding that they don’t all fit for everyone.

Productivity is a personal thing. I – myself have certain times in the day where I’m super productive. And when I have that productivity sense, I love it because I feel like I can kind of conquer the world.

Carol: It’s like that focus – just total focus on what you’re doing.

Katie: Yes. And I get things done – the other times of day or week I am not in the right mind for. I can’t make myself do it.

Carol: Right.

Katie: Okay. So there’s 10 of them.

Carol: And the first one is?

Katie: “Take a hike.”

Carol: No. You take a hike.

Katie: What do we mean by that? Maybe a mental hike – That’s what we mean by that.

Carol: You know, I do this quite often – is I just walk away from my desk.

Katie: Yes.

Carol: I walk away from my desk because I’m not accomplishing what I need to. I don’t have the focus. I need to get away. So I may walk around the building – depending on the weather. I’ve got to get mentally out of whatever I’m in.

Katie: Yes.

Carol: I know that I’m agitated for some reason, so I don’t take a full scale hike, but I take a hike.

Katie: I use the term a lot, “Getting down in the weeds.” – which happens in group settings as well. And if I’m at my desk, I’m in a project where… if it takes any level of creativity, I can get down in the weeds.

Once I step away from it, I’ll go… (I have a home office so I’ll go make a cup of coffee in the kitchen.) And I’ve noticed that it’s like something has been lifted off of my shoulders mentally.

I feel like, “Wow! I was really caught up in that task.” But now that I’ve stepped away from it and looked at it from a different perspective, it’s not as big a deal as it seemed. I’m ready to go back with a fresh perspective. So take a hike!

Carol: Alright! And number two is…

Katie: “Quell the noise.”

Carol: Stop it!

Katie: Learn to turn off outside interruptions. This is for productiveness purposes. And I know this isn’t always possible with interrupt driven jobs like many of us have.

But there are times when… What if you are at a dentist appointment? No one would be bugging you. So what if you’re between 9:00 and 10:00 – it’s your productivity time and you can’t be interrupted or what if it were an hour of turning off your mail and turning off your phone and you let people know “I’m unavailable” for the next hour?

You can do that. You can absolutely do that. Many woman will say, “Oh my God! There’s just no way I can do that.” But you do. You do, do it. You do it if you’re in a meeting that…

Carol: Well, yes and you should. That’s right. I mean, you’re not always available even when you’re sitting at your desk. Don’t make yourself always available. That’s where you lose balance.

Katie: It is.

Carol: And the other thing is quelling the noise. If you can do this meditating every morning, it’s amazing what it can do for your focus and just keeping the noise at bay and not feeling frenzied.

Katie: It is. I think it’s proven.

Carol: So if you can do it – even 15 minutes is mind changing, mind blowing.

Katie: The other point with the “quell the noise” – is for you to take a look at what happens in your own head when you’re in a frenzied environment. Okay? Are you affected by that and do you have to be?

So if you’re in a frantic frenzied environment where there’s a lot going on and people are like – “Oh my God! We got to…” The natural reaction to us is like – “Okay! We have the sense of urgency back.”

You don’t always have to spin yourself up – as a result of what’s happening around you. This might take medication – I understand.

Carol: Right. Your breathing deeply is also quelling the noise.

Katie: Yeah. Resist the urge to spin up.

Carol: Alright. So Number 3…

Katie: Number 3 is one that gives your life balance. It gives your 24 hour day balance and that is – “Read the book.” Read – it means read a book.

Carol: Right.

Katie: Set aside an hour each day. Set aside a half an hour each day to a business book. I would even say it could be something outside of business if you want to kind of let your mind go because it’s like walking away from an issue.

But if you can set aside a little bit of time each day, it changes the tempo of your frantic day, it puts your mind in read, grow mode – instead of work, grudge mode – which… don’t look at your work as grudge. Anyway, but…

Carol: And if any of you who have long commutes or even medium commutes, get a book on tape and listen to it. It really does help your mind.

Katie: I am the foster child for that. I should be the foster child for audible because I’ve never been a great reader and it did not occur to me until I was probably 48 years old – that I learned completely differently through audibles.

Carol: Interesting!

Katie: I never knew that. And I am blowing through books left and right. So I allow myself to read two non-fiction books and then I’ll toss in a fiction book or a drive or a Daniel Pink book or a Malcolm Gladwell book or something that’s really still engaging anyway, but it’s a work book.

And I’ll tell you, it has changed my life of reading and listening on tape. But that’s just one “Aha!” You might try it if you find that you…

Carol: And I find myself – I buy the audible book, listen to it.

Katie: Go buy it.

Carol: Then I need the real book to underline and do other things…

Katie: Yes.

Carol: And you know? You and I should probably put together a book list for people.

Katie: I think we should do a book club where we talk about the tips that we’ve learned in a book and share them audibly.

Carol: Right. Well, we did the Charisma Myth and we’ve done a couple of others. But it just gets you out there. It gets you learning. It gets you thinking in different ways. So read a book!

Katie: Number 4 – “Map the mind.” What do we mean by that? Do you know what mind mapping is?

Carol: I do.

Katie: Say a little bit about it.

Carol: Well, I have one on my… I’ve had…

Katie: We can’t show it on the podcast.

Carol: No. I have something on my iPad that allows you just to kind of create circles and connections between those circles.

Katie: Relationships of things.

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: Especially complex issues.

Carol: Right.

Katie: It’s nice and you can use pretty colors. So map the mind. Use a mind mapping tool as an organizational tool. This is great for productivity.

The most recently, I used it on a project with a client where for some reason, we were trying to do things in a linear fashion and it was much more complex and that was more like a 3D. And a mind mapping tool did that for us. So map the mind. Use the mind map.

Carol: Nice.

Katie: Number 5.

Carol: “Work the body.”

Katie: Whatever you define fit to be.

Carol: No, no.

Katie: What?

Carol: No, because as long as you’re working your body because you know me – I have been of the philosophy that I didn’t need to work my body just because I’m lazy, basically.

And for the last… how many months? I think it’s been three months now. I have actually worked out just about every day. You know, nothing terribly strenuous, but either a hike or my stationary bike or something else that gets my heart going etc. I’ve lost 13 pounds.

Katie: Yay!

Carol: I know. And it feels really good. And I’m having to confess that in front of a lot of people.

Katie: Well, productivity though is about being connected. Part of it is being connected with that body.

Carol: Yes.

Katie: And being able to do what you need to do and being able to sit in a chair longer and being able to run up the stairs to the next meeting of whatever that is. There is a lot that is tied to our body to actually function and move around and do what we need to get done.

So by saying work the body, I do say that that’s relative. For some of us, you got to be sweating and you have to be sweating for two hours. And for others, maybe it’s a brisk walk for 10 minutes or maybe it’s just lifting some weights while you’re sitting at your desk.

Carol: But being fit is really important and it’s important for women. I cannot stress it enough right now in my life. I feel like I’m 10 years younger than I was three months ago.

Katie: Yeah. Are you more productive?

Carol: Yes I am.

Katie: Okay. Good job. Number 6…

Carol: “Allow the mistakes.”

Katie: Oh, don’t be so tough on yourself.

Carol: Sure.

Katie: If you can do something maybe not quite as perfectly as you did before, then you’re going downhill.

Carol: No. I think that just gives you a big chance to say, “Okay. It’s not perfect, but it is what it is. I’ll do it better next time.”

Katie: Exactly. And some of us that are perfectionist will not let go of that.

My point is that – ladies, if it’s not going to be 100%, it’s okay. It’s okay. It doesn’t mean it’s bad or it’s wrong or you’re not doing your best. It’s okay.

Carol: We beat ourselves up so much and replay things in our mind over and over. “God! I could’ve done that better. Oh my God! Why did I say that?” Stop. Allow the mistakes and just let it be.

Katie: We also know that if you allow those mistakes – that’s what leads to innovation.

Carol: And growth.

Katie: Number 7.

Carol: I don’t know what this means.

Katie: “Define the person.” Well, we talked about this a little bit in a detox for our monthly members.

Carol: Oh!

Katie: Define yourself. Know who you are – including which traits are developing or just you.

Carol: What your leadership style is.

Katie: What are your boundaries for tolerance? What are your values? And this speaks to productivity because if you get off into to something that’s not a strength of yours, you might start spinning your wheels. That can be very non-productive. So know that and let go of it.

I’m trying to think of an example. But I’ve been in a situation before where I was either writing a blog about something that just was not me and it was painful because I’m like – “I don’t know anything about this. I feel like I’m making stuff up.” And so I let go of it. I’m like – “No!”

One of my boundaries is – we’re not going to talk about that at Skirt Strategies or it was an area of expertise that wasn’t ours.

And so, know where you can operate within your leadership skills, within your strengths and know where you can let go. Does that help?

Carol: Interesting. Yeah. Well, and also to be productive with other people, you want to know what their style is so that you’re being productive with them.

Katie: Yes. Exactly!

Carol: Yeah, yeah. Okay.

Katie: I think that as far as what’s just you and what your style is… One of them that I’ve really learned to embrace is my multi-tasking nature. It can be a weakness, but it really can be a great strength to be a multitasker.

So I have learned that the natural ability of multitasking is something I want to keep doing, embrace, but do it in a way that works for me and is productive. And so that’s like a fine line between multi-tasking and scattered brain. And I can jump off into something when I need to be focusing on the previous thing – instead of jumping off.

Carol: Sure, sure.

Katie: Define the person. Number 8…

Carol: Okay. “Stretch the imagination.”

Katie: I love being creative. Creativity should be regular in your workplace, in your products, in your services, where’s your innovation? They say that innovation comes from the fringes. Do you know what that means?

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: Like the non-mainstream weird ideas…

Carol: Well, thinking outside the box is what we used to call it.

Katie: Exactly.

Carol: But yes, you’re thinking you’re not… somebody doesn’t have the parameters that we have – can actually be more creative sometimes.

Katie: Right.

Carol: So get outside of your parameters and start thinking creatively. You have a task here – which is to identify one creativity project each week.

Katie: And that didn’t have to look like something huge. But are you doing anything for the creative side of your mind to keep it alive?

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: Like the wine by design that our friend, Kelly Joe does.

Carol: I was just thinking about that. You paint a picture in an evening on a canvas, drinking wine. It’s so fun.

Katie: It’s tons of fun.

Carol: And it really does stretch you because those of us… you know, I don’t have any painterly ability. And it was just fun to do. It was fun to get to that creative side of…

Katie: It ignites an artistic side of your brain and then you walk away feeling like – “I can do that.” – which ignites other parts of your brain and you bring it back to the workplace and you know you can do it.
Carol: So you’re stretching your imagination. You’re taking this to the next step.

And it is so important to be productive because we can get into the same thing every day, doing over and over and over again.

Katie: Yeah.

Carol: And it’s comfortable and we do it because it’s comfortable. But we’re not stretching ourselves or the people around us. So we need to do that.

Katie: Amen. Now, speaking of the people around us… Number 9 – “Drink the wine.”

Carol: That’s not like drinking the Kool-Aid, right?

Katie: No. By that – we mean the social networks.

Networks are strong. They’re strong indicators that you have the capability, the outreach, the impact. You’ve been successful to a certain degree, the more people you know. I mean, you’ve obviously been out there.

So use that social network, but also use it to help yourself be productive because it’s the inner personal side of a woman’s leadership. And occasionally I would say, “Be social with your business friends.”

Carol: Sure. Well, and it always… I mean, tonight I’m going to a dinner. You know, I call them “clapping dinners.” Hopefully it’ll be good. But what a great time to see people I know – to talk to them, to reconnect.

And in that, there’s using your imagination and creativity. “Oh, you know what? I’ve got this project that you would be perfect for.”

Katie: Yeah.

Carol: So I mean, just thinking about people and relationships and networking and all of that. So really – drinking the wine is more about networking and making sure that you’re out there and using your resources.

Katie: I went to a woman’s business breakfast yesterday and I really didn’t think the topic was going to be of interest to me. It had to do with process improvement. But I like the group.

And so I went anyway and ends up, the person that was delivering is an old colleague of mine and we reconnected and she’s doing blah, blah, blah and I’m thinking, ”My gosh! I ought to be talking to you about this other thing.”

That’s what happens when you network. It’s kind of like management by walking around.

Carol: Yeah. And getting out of your business and out of your space can really help.

Katie: Exactly. And the last of our 10 tips for female leaders – “Embrace the You.”

Like your mom used to say – Just be yourself. You are who you are. You’re good at what you do. Know what you do. Know what you’re good at. Be productive.

Carol: Yeah.

Katie: Let’s recap all those.

Carol: Okay.

Katie: Why don’t you read them?

• Number 1: Take a hike.
• Number 2: Quell the noise.
• Number 3: Read the book
• Number 4: Map the mind.
• Number 5: Work the body.
• Number 6: Allow the mistakes.
• Number 7: Define the person.
• Number 8: Stretch the imagination.
• Number 9: Drink the wine.
• Number 10: Embrace the You.

Katie: For those of you that are our followers at Skirt Strategies, you know you have a free leadership tips that come out each month at our skirtstrategies.com website. Please feel free to sign up there.

We also would love it if you left a comment here at skirtstrategies.com. skirtstrategiespodcast.com also has a space for comments. And then if you like regular leadership lessons, we have a subscription service.

Each week we’ll send you an assignment around your women’s leadership skills – a small assignment, a podcast and a one page workbook page. And that’s for you and that’s only $8 a month. It’s at the membership tab at skirtstrategies.com.

 

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That’s it for this episode of Skirt Strategies podcast! Thank you for joining us! And don’t forget to leave a comment at skirtstrategiespodcast.com. Remember that success comes when you lead – using your natural female strengths.

 

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