The Productive Woman

In episode 14 we started a conversation about decluttering. This week we look at it again, talking about a step-by-step process for decluttering and organizing our homes (or workspace) one room at a time.

We'll pick up in a future episode on our mini-series on decluttering, but this week I thought I'd share a little of my heart on something I've been dealing with lately--discouragement. It can interfere with our productivity and our quality of life in general, but there are some things we can do to disable its power over us.

How do you feel about the stuff you own? Is every possession in your life something meaningful to you, or is your space overwhelmed with too much stuff? If you're like most people, it's likely the latter. In this episode we begin looking at the clutter of possessions in our lives, what it does to us, and what we can do about it.

As we enter the last quarter of the year, it seems like a good time to pause, consider what we've accomplished so far this year, re-evaluate what we want to do in the time that's left, and set ourselves up for success in the remaining months of this year.

Every woman is unique, and her life and schedule and style are unique. So there's no such thing as one right way to manage your life or time, and there are no tools that work for everyone. Every woman develops the system that works for her, and we can learn from each other by sharing what works (and what doesn't).

Sometimes, no matter how organized we are or how carefully we plan, life just takes over and throws way too much at us. When there's too much to do and not enough time to get it done, we can feel panicky, stressed, and overwhelmed. I've developed a simple 15-minute process that can help bring me back from the brink, calm me down, and get me through these crisis moments.

Travel can be stressful, but there are lots of things we can do to make it less so. I asked my connections on Facebook to share some of their favorite tips for productive and stress-free travel, and in this episode I share their tips, as well as some of my own.

Tons of studies show that healthier people are more productive, but modern life makes staying healthy and fit a challenge for all of us. How does health impact our productivity, what are the basics that contribute to good health, and how can we get healthier without spending all our time thinking about it?

Do you find it difficult to say no? I do. The desire to be liked or the sincere desire to help makes it easy to say yes, and sometimes we end up regretting it.

Having high standards is a good thing. Striving for excellence is a good thing. But taken to extremes, these can become perfectionism, which can paralyze us and prevent us from accomplishing the things that matter to us. The key is to find that balance that lets us enjoy the process and the results of our efforts.

Even if we go through an intentional process of setting our goals, we might face obstacles in our efforts to actually achieve them. Being prepared for those obstacles helps us overcome them. In this episode we continue our discussion of goal-setting, looking at some of the obstacles that may interfere and some of the things we can do to overcome those obstacles.

Continuing our series on goal-setting, this week we talk about a step-by-step process for setting goals.

Following up on our look at the big picture in episode 2, this week we begin a short series on goal-setting. This episode looks at what a goal is, and how it differs from a dream or an objective, and suggest some ways to set yourself up for success.

Little things can make a big difference in managing the demands on our time. This episode is a quick flyover of the things that help me on a daily basis.

When people think about productivity, they often think about calendars and to-do lists and project management, and all of those things are a big part of what we will discuss in coming episodes. But there's a big difference between being busy and being productive. True productivity requires a purpose to guide the activity. In this episode we talk about a process for coming up with principles to guide our decisions in such a way that our activity is consistent with our true values.

Welcome to the first official episode of The Productive Woman. In this episode I share a little about who this podcast is for, why I created it, what I'll be covering, and what the format will be. I also offer a little information about myself, so you can decide whether you think I'm someone you want to spend half an hour or so with each week.

It's been six months in the making, but with much fear and trepidation, I share here my first, very short, very rough "pre-episode" of The Productive Woman, a podcast created to help busy women find tools and encouragement for managing their lives, their time, and their stuff.