Decluttering to Make Space with Rachael Davila

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Hi, welcome to the podcast that explores what

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virtual assistants want business owners to know

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when they start asking themselves the question,

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hey, do I need a VA? I'm Rachel Davila. And after

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18 years as a virtual assistant going it alone,

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I experienced the steep learning curve from the

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other side of the VA client relationship when

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I hired my own VA. Joining me on this podcast

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is a group of friends and colleagues. who all

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have their own take on what busy entrepreneurs

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need to know to find, hire, and work with a virtual

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assistant, and mindfully answer the question,

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hey, do I need a VA? Let's get this episode started.

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Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Hey,

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Do I Need a VA? podcast where we help business

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owners find, hire, and work successfully with

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virtual assistants and other support professionals.

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Now, you might have noticed that this is a new

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voice. It's because today me, Quinn Hubbard,

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is going to be hosting because our special guest

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today is Rachel Davila. And as always, we are

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also joined by Bree BV and Leanne Arimley. Today,

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we're diving into decluttering organization,

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the things that clients need to do before they

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hire a VA. And it isn't necessarily just a handoff

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list. So Rachel, why don't you get into it? Tell

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us something that people wouldn't necessarily

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think about before hiring a VA. Yeah. So it was

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actually a potential client. We were talking

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about what she needed within a virtual assistant.

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And as the conversation progressed, all the blocks

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she had had nothing to do with her business,

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had nothing to do even with her handoff list.

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It had everything to do with how cluttered her

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physical space was and all of the different things

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that she had going in addition to her business.

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And so it turned more into a conversation on

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organizing and decluttering to clear space to

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bring in a team member. Because I like to say

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the universe likes to fill a void. And for me,

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whenever I'm the most cluttered, stuck, bottlenecked,

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I clear a drawer, or I declutter my closet, or,

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right, I find some place to just purge something,

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right? And it doesn't even have to be a lot.

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It can be the junk drawer, or my pen cup that

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always seems to collect all kinds of stuff, because

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I'm like, I don't, I just pull out pens randomly.

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And it happens, right? Clutter isn't just physical

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stuff. We put too many things on our calendar.

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We put too many things on our to -do list. We

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take on too many obligations or, you know, where

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it's like, well, I have this goal, but the mindset

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piece is I can't do the goal if I've got all

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this other stuff to do. So sometimes we overload

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on the things that allow us to procrastinate.

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our goals and so Sometimes before you're ready

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to hire a VA you need to declutter those mindset

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thoughts the procrastination things Set up your

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environment to allow you this space to expand

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and allow room for somebody to come in So that's

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that's what I have found can be a deterrent to

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even asking, hey, do I need a VA? Because they're

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just like, I'm not ready. So you're talking about

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physical clutter. How can a virtual support professional

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help someone declutter their physical space?

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It's a good question. So in 2020, or during COVID,

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there was a show on HGTV called Hot Mess House

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with Cassandra Arson. I fell down that rabbit

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hole so freaking hard. that's a clutter bug.

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But she would do these virtual organizing sessions

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where she would take people kind of through her

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quiz, figure out what kind of clutter bug they

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were, and then give them the tools to kind of

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do the work for themselves. But like we do zoom

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calls with people she would be on zoom and it

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would be almost a co -working session a body

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doubling session where she would show me the

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space show me what's working show me what's not

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working and let's start there and what i have

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found with a lot of people isn't that they can't

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do the work they just they psych themselves out

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from doing it, they make excuses, it's gonna

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take too long, it's gonna be too hard, but doing

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that body doubling, being on a virtual call with

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somebody and it's like, no, no, come back, finish

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that pile, right, can go a long way. So even

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as a virtual assistant, it can be, you wanna

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get that newsletter out, sit on the call with

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me. I'm going to be scheduling your social media

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while you're writing that newsletter paragraph

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or whatever. And sometimes they just need that

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person there to go. Don't stand up. You have

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nowhere to go. This is where you're supposed

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to be and do it. And it may not take the fear

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of doing it away, but having that accountability

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piece, having that somebody on camera or off

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camera knowing that 25 minutes, you're gonna

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have to come back and be like, you know, I got

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swirled away. I do this a lot with my accountability

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days group, which is now just make a plan Monday.

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But there is that element of you said you wanted

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to do this and that could be anything organizing

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your space, your calendar, decluttering your

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email inbox, whatever it is. But if it's an intention

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that you set and you say it out loud to somebody,

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it creates that accountability to then go. I

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don't want to have to tell Rachel that I didn't

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do this, right? I mean, I know we all have stories

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from clients that said, I got it done because

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I was meeting with you. I said that to Quinn

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all the time. I got this done because I was meeting

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with you or I had to get it to you. And so I

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found the value of it for myself and I offer

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it to clients. And there really is that it can

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be virtual, it can be phone, it can be in person.

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Right? They always say, like, if your house is

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a mess and you want to clean, invite people over

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for dinner. Right? Fly to the bumblebee happens.

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Right? So did that answer your question? Yeah,

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yeah, that was great. That was perfect. It sounds

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like a big part of it is just providing the accountability

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to make stuff happen. And encouragement, right?

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Like that walking with them in some way is also

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really powerful. But accountability is huge.

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And I do that with myself, too. Like if I if

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I know, like I've been dragon butt on doing updates

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on my website or whatever, because you know,

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we're always our own worst client. I'll get a

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team member and be like, you need to pick at

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me. I need you to do this because I'm being the

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bottleneck or whatever else. So I think that

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awareness and having somebody reflect that back

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to you is really great. And I love how you talk

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about like clearing the physical space. And I've

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been on some of your stuff like where you had

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like a challenge or something and it was like

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set a timer for 10 minutes and do as much as

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you could. And I felt like an addict because

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then I would like go to the 10 minutes and then

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I was like, but I want to do more now. Like how

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much more? And like it was amazing. Like I did

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so much more in 10 minutes. I probably would

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have in an hour if it wasn't like on a timer

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and like almost like a game to be like, how much

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could I do in 10 minutes? And I totally know

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the power of doing it in your physical space.

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Well, what kinds of tips and tricks do you have

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for like your mental declutter? Like I know sometimes

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I'll brain dump and stuff, but like, do you have

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tips around that? Like, is there more than just

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brain dumping or how do you help with the mental

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clutter? So a lot of times it starts with the

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brain dump. What's even in your head? Like, what

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is that? Mental clutter yeah, I saw the visual

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of it being like a mental barn right or mental

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office, and it's full You can't work in that

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right, but we are accustomed to thinking in physical

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space not mental space There is a journey of

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being able to consistently declutter your mind

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with a brain dump, but then looking at those

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tasks with realism, with curiosity. Why is this

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still here? I did this already. Okay, delete

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it. Why is this still here? I'm not even on that

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same path, that same journey. I can delete it.

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I know, my thoughts swirl all the time about

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all the things. I mean, I needed somebody to

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talk me off the ledge. Thank you, Leanne. From

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like thinking too far ahead, right? There's a

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lot of things that we hold in our brains that

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it's not the right time. We're not the right

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person. It's too big. We need to break it down

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or it's not ours to do, right? We need to hand

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it off to somebody. But when we just hold it

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up here, we can't... even identify, look at it

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with curiosity. It's just judgment. It's just,

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well, I'm not getting it done. Okay, but why?

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And I think some of that is I got to do it all

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myself, right? Everything that's in my head is

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mine to do. No, that's not always the case. But

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that's part of that mental declutter is being

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able to look at it and go, Am I holding onto

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this for all the right reasons or am I just being

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stubborn? Am I just holding onto my perfectionism?

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Am I just holding onto my control issues? I can

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hand dinner off to my husband because he likes

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to cook and I don't care what we eat, right?

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But then there's also the mental load of, okay,

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I also have to hand off grocery shopping. I also

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have to hand off meal. planning I have to hand

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off or release my expectation of how it's done

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when it's done and all of that and those are

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like those mental declutter pieces that it's

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mindset it's growth it's healing it's it's all

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of those pieces that like you could hold up a

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shirt and go yeah it doesn't spark joy and you

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can let it go and then it's gone but A lot of

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those mental pieces that we want to hand off

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come with a whole slew of hidden expenditures

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and silent to -dos that you might take it off

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your list. You might hand it off to someone,

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but then you still have to do that work to go,

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I can trust them to do that. I'm okay. I'm okay.

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Having to like calm your nervous system of releasing

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some of that is as much mental declutter as letting

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the task itself go. Yeah. So question for you.

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So we know we have all this clutter, physical,

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mental, all these places. How do we get started?

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Like is there a hack or something to like get

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off our butts and do something like right now?

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Is there like a five minute hack? Is there a,

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you know, 30 second hack. Is there something

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to get going? I would say pick something. Some

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people start with their physical stuff. Some

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people start with their mental stuff. Some people,

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you know, look at their calendar and go, you

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know, that networking group that's been on my

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thing that I RSVP for every month, but don't

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actually go to. I'm just going to take that off.

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Like it doesn't even need to be on there anymore.

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Pick one place to start, right? If your physical

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space is knocking louder, then start with the

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areas that you control. I live with five people.

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There's five of us in our house plus six cats,

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right? There's a whole lot of clutter that is

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not mine. And I can't do anything about it. I

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can. I can shuffle it, I can throw it in bedrooms,

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but it creeps back out. So when I was starting,

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I had to start with my stuff, the stuff that

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I can control, the rooms I could control, right?

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My closet, my drawers, my drawers in the bathroom,

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right? Those kinds of things. And then I could

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branch out into, we don't need 47 towels. I can

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declutter down to what fits the space, right?

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But part of that, also then became a mental shift

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for me of I Can't throw my son's stuff away.

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I can't throw my daughter's stuff away. I can't

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throw my husband's stuff away I can only do my

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stuff and what's mine to control and so in working

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on the physical space it also opened up mental

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space that I had to work through and declutter

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and thoughts and things and then in the doing

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that then I'm in my office going, you know, I

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am decluttering clients inboxes. I probably don't

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need a thousand emails in this email inbox. And

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so it just, right, it kind of snowballs and you

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clear some space, some levels and the next step

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rises to the surface. And you're like, Oh, I

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see that. And then you're like, creative download,

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I need to create time to do that. So what do

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I need to do to make space for that? Right? Like,

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when the book came, I had to clear all kinds

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of space so that I could write it and edit it

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and go through that whole process. It was like,

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well, I'm not going to have time to approve social

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media and I'm not all my creative energy is going

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to go into the book. I don't have creative energy

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for all the other things so making sure the podcast

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episodes were Structured structured out so that

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I didn't have to use brain power for that Handing

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off my social media to my VA so that I could

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focus on that Having my husband do dinner so

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that I didn't have to worry if I was coming in

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late or not. Like all of those things is that

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creatives creating space for the goals, the ideas,

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the things that you want to focus on. And it

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can start with, I just clean an email inbox or

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a clear to draw in the kitchen, right? It can

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start really, really small. And a five minute

00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:40.129
tidy can go a long way. So like you can gamify

00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:43.840
anything if that's how your brain works or having

00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:46.899
an accountability partner who's like, let's get

00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:49.519
on a call for one hour and we'll check in at

00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:51.559
the beginning and the end. How does your brain

00:15:51.559 --> 00:15:56.019
work? What do you need? What is the gap to keep

00:15:56.019 --> 00:16:00.740
you going? Right? Like for you said that setting

00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:04.080
the timer made it. I'm going to get this done

00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:07.559
and oh, I can keep going. Right. Sometimes that's

00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:10.809
what you need just to get started. I will never

00:16:10.809 --> 00:16:15.950
say, only spend 10 minutes doing it. But if 10

00:16:15.950 --> 00:16:18.090
minutes is like, no, that's too long, I can't

00:16:18.090 --> 00:16:20.870
do it, do five. You can do anything for five

00:16:20.870 --> 00:16:23.570
minutes. And at the end of five minutes, if you're

00:16:23.570 --> 00:16:27.230
in the flow, you're just gonna keep going. But

00:16:27.230 --> 00:16:29.649
if you're like, okay, five minutes, she said

00:16:29.649 --> 00:16:33.149
five minutes is all I gotta do, done. Be okay

00:16:33.149 --> 00:16:36.129
with that. It could be like, I'm gonna delete

00:16:36.129 --> 00:16:39.059
five emails. instead of a thousand, right? It

00:16:39.059 --> 00:16:44.500
can be like the smallest little tiniest, right?

00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:46.679
I want to start working out. Okay, I'm going

00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.480
to do two wall pushups every time I use the restroom,

00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:52.360
right? I don't have to go to the gym. I don't

00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:56.379
have to find an hour to do a whole workout. I

00:16:56.379 --> 00:16:58.940
just got two wall pushups, right? That's super

00:16:58.940 --> 00:17:02.019
tiny. It's super easy. And it gets you going,

00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:04.220
right? Because eventually those two wall pushups

00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:07.819
become four, become 10. unless you hurt your

00:17:07.819 --> 00:17:09.440
shoulder, in which case then you have to stop

00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:13.380
and find another thing to do, but that's a tangent.

00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:16.660
But it could be the same thing in an episode

00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:20.079
we have with networking, right? Carrie said just

00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:23.059
start with 10 people a week, right? If that's

00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:27.319
too much, five people, two people, right? And

00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:31.380
it's just figuring out like what the goal is

00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:33.960
and what the smallest thing to get you started

00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:36.819
can be. I love that. For me, sometimes when I'm

00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:38.839
when I remember and I do things because I think

00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:41.319
we all get on things and fall off things. But

00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:43.920
like if I set myself up for my day and I do like

00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:47.599
pomodoro's right and so like I'll do like and

00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:48.940
some people laugh at me because I'm like okay

00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:51.660
I'll have my work list in this 25 minute chunk

00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:53.900
I want to get these three things done and then

00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:55.460
on the five minute chunk it's like I want to

00:17:55.460 --> 00:17:57.279
do something around my house like empty my dishwasher

00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:59.519
put away my laundry or whatever and that's even

00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:00.980
like fun to try and do in the five minutes and

00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:03.779
then I go back into a work mind. but I feel like

00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:05.859
people are like that but that's not a break and

00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:08.539
I'm like but it is because I get a personal thing

00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:10.160
like it's like a win -win -win and it's a different

00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:11.759
mindset I'm doing something different I'm not

00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:13.900
looking at a screen and then at the end of the

00:18:13.900 --> 00:18:16.400
day I feel like a rock star right and I feel

00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.660
energized because I got to do like those decluttery

00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:20.980
things in between which also made space I think

00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:24.230
for me like Part of where I struggle is that

00:18:24.230 --> 00:18:27.029
realism. Like I feel like I sit down at the beginning

00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:29.130
of the day and I make my list and if I'm being

00:18:29.130 --> 00:18:31.190
realistic it's like if I did that all in a week

00:18:31.190 --> 00:18:33.009
it was a good week and I'm like I'm gonna do

00:18:33.009 --> 00:18:35.349
this today. Do you have any tips on like how

00:18:35.349 --> 00:18:38.430
to be realistic on our expectations and our lists

00:18:38.430 --> 00:18:40.369
that we're making for ourselves or things like

00:18:40.369 --> 00:18:44.970
that? Also, before you answer that, what's the

00:18:44.970 --> 00:18:47.109
title of your book and where can we find it?

00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:51.660
Hey, do I need a VA? The book and it's... The

00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:54.160
paperback's on all the major platforms. The ebook

00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:57.000
is on Amazon. But to answer your point, Bri,

00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:01.720
another great book, Quinn's mother wrote the

00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:07.099
book, Chasing Squirrels, and sorry, Barb, and

00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:08.920
Following Your Dream. Quit chasing, yeah. Quit

00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:11.500
chasing squirrels and start chasing your dreams.

00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:17.500
Yes. She gives a lot of hacks in there that I've

00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:21.259
utilized and I've shared. So here's the thing

00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:26.839
knowing yourself knowing When is your energy

00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.920
the highest when is it the lowest? It's time

00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:32.700
of day. Are you a morning person? Are you a midday

00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:35.559
pigeon? Are you a night owl? When are you when

00:19:35.559 --> 00:19:37.539
do you have the most amount of energy the things

00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:41.019
that require? That energy should go where you

00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:45.700
have that energy. So that's one piece During

00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:48.819
the week. I am super productive Monday through

00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:52.160
Wednesday Thursday I'm like, let's talk like

00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:55.539
I can fill it in with with calls because I don't

00:19:55.539 --> 00:19:58.799
necessarily have the creative energy but by Friday,

00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.380
I'm like This is what I'm meeting my friends

00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:06.740
because I got nothing left Right, but Sunday

00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:10.640
is is a quiet day. There's nobody around There's

00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:14.319
no emails coming in and so I can be like this

00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:17.559
is my time to do my thing so there's it's kind

00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:21.349
of paying attention to your tendencies, your

00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:27.589
energy, but knowing yourself and allowing that

00:20:27.589 --> 00:20:32.250
to guide you a bit. But to your point about putting

00:20:32.250 --> 00:20:35.009
a whole bunch of things onto your to -do list

00:20:35.009 --> 00:20:37.349
and trying to get it all, the average person

00:20:37.349 --> 00:20:41.589
can only get three things done in a day. And

00:20:41.589 --> 00:20:45.089
if your day is full of meetings, that might be

00:20:45.089 --> 00:20:50.329
your three things, right? Yeah. I mean, yes,

00:20:50.609 --> 00:20:53.970
those of us who do things can get a lot more

00:20:53.970 --> 00:20:58.809
done in those interim things, but it's also looking

00:20:58.809 --> 00:21:02.329
at those tasks, right? You said three things

00:21:02.329 --> 00:21:05.809
in 25 minutes. If they're five minute things,

00:21:05.990 --> 00:21:08.589
then that makes sense. But if you're looking

00:21:08.589 --> 00:21:11.910
at... I'm going to write my newsletter and I'm

00:21:11.910 --> 00:21:14.390
going to do this and I'm going to do this. There

00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:17.250
is no way in heck you're getting that done in

00:21:17.250 --> 00:21:19.849
25 minutes because just thinking of the topic

00:21:19.849 --> 00:21:23.069
alone in a newsletter could take 25 minutes,

00:21:23.369 --> 00:21:27.490
right? So it's also looking at the tasks on your

00:21:27.490 --> 00:21:31.569
list and are they single action or are they like

00:21:31.569 --> 00:21:34.529
a newsletter that have like 19 things to do in

00:21:34.529 --> 00:21:38.640
it and then being realistic of okay well maybe

00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:41.920
in this 25 minutes I'll brainstorm three topics

00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:47.619
for my newsletter and so a lot of times and I

00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:50.099
shared about this in the book when it's breaking

00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:55.019
down the goals right a lot of times we put on

00:21:55.019 --> 00:22:01.539
a single line a stone which is a multi -step

00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:07.079
project when really there's a number of pebbles

00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:10.410
Underneath it right we put a one -liner. We're

00:22:10.410 --> 00:22:12.470
like why didn't I get to it well because it was

00:22:12.470 --> 00:22:17.190
14 steps long and You can't do that in the allotted

00:22:17.190 --> 00:22:23.509
time right so I think it's breaking those things

00:22:23.509 --> 00:22:27.549
down and being realistic and saying is a single

00:22:27.549 --> 00:22:31.950
action or Do I need to give myself more time

00:22:31.950 --> 00:22:35.730
and? Like how does your brain work like on big

00:22:35.730 --> 00:22:38.920
projects? I have to fall into it like I hyper

00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:41.160
focus like no one's business and I'm like I need

00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:45.339
to wait until all my calls are done because this

00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:48.180
requires more brain power than just trying to

00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:51.880
fit it in between calls and stuff like I need

00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:55.799
to hyper focus I need to fall into it and then

00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:58.559
there's some things or it's like I can send debit

00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:00.880
cards in between calls because that's a five

00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:05.039
minute task so it's the realism comes I think

00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:11.480
with looking at it realistically, like, is that

00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:14.240
really a five -minute thing? Am I giving myself

00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:17.740
enough time to do this? Is it gonna take me longer?

00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:20.559
And asking yourself those questions as you're

00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:24.700
going, or at least looking back with curiosity,

00:23:24.900 --> 00:23:27.259
like, why didn't I get all of those three things

00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:32.319
done in 25? Oh, because like one step of one

00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:37.670
line item was 25 minutes. that derailed me or

00:23:37.670 --> 00:23:40.910
a call came in that took precedence, right? Like

00:23:40.910 --> 00:23:43.549
those kinds of things that I know we as women,

00:23:43.549 --> 00:23:45.910
we tend to just go, well, I didn't get it done.

00:23:47.269 --> 00:23:51.789
It's a personal statement versus no, life happened,

00:23:52.390 --> 00:23:56.029
things, right? I got time blindness. It took

00:23:56.029 --> 00:23:58.170
me longer than I thought to do this one element.

00:23:58.349 --> 00:24:00.769
I ran out of time. Okay, that happens to all

00:24:00.769 --> 00:24:05.329
of us, right? My kid decided he needed my time

00:24:05.329 --> 00:24:07.490
and attention and we talked for two hours and

00:24:07.490 --> 00:24:12.369
there, that was my whole work block gone. But

00:24:12.369 --> 00:24:15.250
it was still important. So it also kind of goes

00:24:15.250 --> 00:24:18.329
to like priorities and things like that. Like,

00:24:18.950 --> 00:24:21.450
are you putting the right focus on the right

00:24:21.450 --> 00:24:24.690
things? I'm still caught up on how you said the

00:24:24.690 --> 00:24:28.029
average person gets three things done a day.

00:24:28.450 --> 00:24:34.480
That kind of shook my world. And what else came

00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:36.500
up for me too is what can you do well? Cause

00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:38.599
as you were saying it, I was like, oh, I could

00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:40.200
get something done in five minutes and rush it

00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:42.640
and just phone it in, or it might take 15 minutes

00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:45.180
if I want to do it well. So that kind of came

00:24:45.180 --> 00:24:46.680
up for me as you were explaining that too. And

00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:50.380
I was like, oh, and that also curious is anybody

00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:52.400
else like me. And if I'm like stray and I get

00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:54.220
a squirrel and I do something else, I add it

00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:55.940
to the list just so I can scratch it off and

00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:59.460
be like, yes, got that done too. I call it the

00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:02.559
to done list. I call it the to done list. Or

00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:05.720
ta -da, I have a ta -da list. Yeah, I add to

00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:12.480
the list just so I can cross it off. And I have

00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:16.779
my calendar list, I have a paper list, I have

00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:19.920
a tiny whiteboard list, and I have a big whiteboard

00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:22.500
list. It's all the same things, but you know

00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:24.559
what? It feels really good to cross it off in

00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:30.900
all the places and highlight it. So yes, you

00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:35.849
know, our brains are magnificent in their uniqueness.

00:25:36.190 --> 00:25:40.890
I know I got caught up in the achiever mode.

00:25:41.210 --> 00:25:45.589
I got caught up in everyone else does it, right?

00:25:45.589 --> 00:25:51.269
I can do it too, or, right? And so I think a

00:25:51.269 --> 00:25:55.509
lot of the decluttering for me came from being

00:25:55.509 --> 00:26:01.819
able to do that curiosity look. and scaling back

00:26:01.819 --> 00:26:07.440
the expectations I held for myself, right? And

00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:11.660
understanding that my time is finite, my energy

00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:15.440
is finite, and the more I learned about myself

00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:19.539
and could, I didn't know I hyper focused until

00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:24.519
I learned I hyper focus, right? And I didn't

00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:28.180
know I needed accountability until I knew I needed

00:26:28.180 --> 00:26:31.519
accountability and I created those opportunities

00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:36.220
for those things, right? I time block. I don't

00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:38.740
take calls after three o 'clock because I know

00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:40.980
I need at least two hours at the end of my day

00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:46.619
to just fall into a task to get it done. I keep

00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:50.400
Wednesday almost completely open so that I can,

00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:55.059
if Tuesday and Thursday are back to back calls,

00:26:55.759 --> 00:27:00.579
I need a did to just do right to not be on the

00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:05.880
phone to not be in that Headspace but in the

00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:10.940
I'm just gonna knock everything out because because

00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:13.839
I've learned my tendencies I've learned those

00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:19.789
things and It's shifted. It's changed like 20

00:27:19.789 --> 00:27:22.490
year old me could do a whole heck of a lot more

00:27:22.490 --> 00:27:28.809
than 49 year old me can, right? But I also learned

00:27:28.809 --> 00:27:32.269
seasonally, winter, I gotta get stuff done by

00:27:32.269 --> 00:27:34.150
four o 'clock because as soon as the sun goes

00:27:34.150 --> 00:27:38.509
down, I'm done unless I'm in a project already.

00:27:40.170 --> 00:27:42.930
Can fall into a project when it's light out and

00:27:42.930 --> 00:27:45.829
I can emerge when it's dark and that's okay But

00:27:45.829 --> 00:27:50.509
I can't start something in the dark Right, but

00:27:50.509 --> 00:27:53.130
I can go and empty the dishwasher and I can do

00:27:53.130 --> 00:27:55.829
manual things because it's a different part of

00:27:55.829 --> 00:28:00.869
my brain and I love that you use those five minutes

00:28:00.869 --> 00:28:03.410
for that because it's like those those hit that

00:28:03.410 --> 00:28:05.769
those hidden times, right? You're waiting for

00:28:05.769 --> 00:28:08.309
the microwave to go off with lunch. It's like,

00:28:08.410 --> 00:28:10.509
okay, that's Two minutes. What can I do in two

00:28:10.509 --> 00:28:14.230
minutes? Right. It's those hidden pockets of

00:28:14.230 --> 00:28:17.569
time to get those like little things. And a trick

00:28:17.569 --> 00:28:21.049
is when you're kind of planning out your week,

00:28:21.089 --> 00:28:23.109
because I know we all do that to a certain degree.

00:28:23.170 --> 00:28:25.410
I do mine on Mondays. I think for you do yours

00:28:25.410 --> 00:28:28.670
on Fridays. But when you're looking at all of

00:28:28.670 --> 00:28:31.849
that, if you can get it down to those little

00:28:31.849 --> 00:28:35.849
hidden pockets of time, keep a list. of those

00:28:35.849 --> 00:28:38.049
kinds of tasks where you're like, this is a two

00:28:38.049 --> 00:28:40.069
minute task. This is a five minute task. This

00:28:40.069 --> 00:28:44.809
is something that a call ends early and I've

00:28:44.809 --> 00:28:49.490
already sent my follow up. I can run to get lunch

00:28:49.490 --> 00:28:51.910
or I can use the bathroom or I could do this

00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:55.349
two minute thing and clear it off that list,

00:28:55.349 --> 00:28:59.470
right? You start to pick up on how it works for

00:28:59.470 --> 00:29:02.750
you and where that time can go. And you'll be

00:29:02.750 --> 00:29:06.039
like, oh, I did get a lot more done because I

00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:10.059
was realistic about. Now, if that two minute

00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:14.420
task is really a ten minute task. Right. But

00:29:14.420 --> 00:29:17.559
you know, you start to time yourself on things

00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:21.200
and you go, oh, it doesn't take me ten minutes

00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:23.799
to empty the dishwasher. It takes me two and

00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:26.200
a half minutes. All right. I can do that while

00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:30.319
my oatmeal is cooking and have it be done first

00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:32.859
thing in the morning. Right. Like you start to.

00:29:33.690 --> 00:29:35.769
assign things where it makes sense for them to

00:29:35.769 --> 00:29:39.069
go. That's another part of rooms. I know sometimes

00:29:39.069 --> 00:29:41.190
what I'll do too is when I'm like going over

00:29:41.190 --> 00:29:44.089
what my planner part for the day is, I'll actually

00:29:44.089 --> 00:29:46.289
in the morning also make a list of the things

00:29:46.289 --> 00:29:48.630
that I could do in those break times too. And

00:29:48.630 --> 00:29:50.549
sometimes I'll even do them on like different

00:29:50.549 --> 00:29:52.470
size post -it notes so that when I get them done,

00:29:52.569 --> 00:29:54.269
I can take them off and throw them away, which

00:29:54.269 --> 00:29:56.750
is also what I do when I am. like mentally decluttered.

00:29:56.809 --> 00:29:58.609
I'm like, only what gets to fit on this is what

00:29:58.609 --> 00:30:00.650
you get to do today. And if that's too much,

00:30:00.690 --> 00:30:03.089
then I have different sizes. But there's also

00:30:03.089 --> 00:30:04.990
a different satisfaction and being able to like

00:30:04.990 --> 00:30:07.069
throw it off and then start a new one. Right.

00:30:07.210 --> 00:30:09.009
So I like Post -it notes and stuff for that,

00:30:09.009 --> 00:30:11.769
too. But I like also having that this is my break

00:30:11.769 --> 00:30:13.609
idea list, and it doesn't all have to get done.

00:30:13.650 --> 00:30:16.150
But at least I have planted seeds of what I could

00:30:16.150 --> 00:30:17.630
get done that would help me feel better that

00:30:17.630 --> 00:30:22.049
day, as well as my planner list. But I think

00:30:22.049 --> 00:30:24.960
another part of it is at the end of the day,

00:30:25.180 --> 00:30:28.700
giving yourself grace for what didn't get done,

00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:33.819
right? Because as evidenced by the to -duh, the

00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:36.420
to -done list, right? All of the things, right?

00:30:36.420 --> 00:30:38.579
There's so many hidden things that never got

00:30:38.579 --> 00:30:42.339
put on there, but that we did, right? We took

00:30:42.339 --> 00:30:45.799
that call. We answered that text. We did any

00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:50.039
number of things that were so small and so minute

00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:54.680
that it adds up in time. but it doesn't ever

00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:58.500
register like, oh, not only did I have to get

00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:01.380
out of this mindset and into this mindset, even

00:31:01.380 --> 00:31:04.720
if it was only for 30 seconds or a minute, but

00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:08.380
then I had to get back into that mindset. And

00:31:08.380 --> 00:31:12.660
there's that energy shift too that we don't take

00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:16.000
into account a lot of times. And I have started

00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:19.430
with clients to say, I'm seeing that you have

00:31:19.430 --> 00:31:22.349
a lot of calls back to back to back. Do we need

00:31:22.349 --> 00:31:25.170
to extend your buffer so that you have time?

00:31:25.470 --> 00:31:28.049
Because if you know you always go long on a call,

00:31:28.410 --> 00:31:30.890
it might show on your calendar as 45 minutes,

00:31:31.009 --> 00:31:34.470
but you didn't get that 15 minute transition

00:31:34.470 --> 00:31:37.750
time that you buffer because you had a great

00:31:37.750 --> 00:31:39.869
conversation and of course it went long and you're

00:31:39.869 --> 00:31:41.829
like, oh crap, I got another call and you hop

00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:47.119
right in and. Some of us can make that shift

00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:51.599
really easily Sometimes we can't and sometimes

00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:54.960
it right that energy expenditure We don't account

00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:57.019
for it's like by the time you get to the end

00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:00.359
of the day like I don't even have the juice to

00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:05.759
do that work block because It took so much more

00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:10.240
out of me than I thought it would or that I Give

00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:14.589
myself credit for it taking right Didn't eat

00:32:14.589 --> 00:32:16.710
lunch. It's three o 'clock in the afternoon my

00:32:16.710 --> 00:32:19.789
blood sugar is in the red because I was in calls

00:32:19.789 --> 00:32:23.009
all day and I didn't I didn't honor the time

00:32:23.009 --> 00:32:27.089
to get lunch or to have a snack or Stock my desk

00:32:27.089 --> 00:32:29.690
with things right those kinds of things put them

00:32:29.690 --> 00:32:32.529
by the end of the year like Why can't I think?

00:32:32.769 --> 00:32:36.609
Oh, yeah, cuz you haven't fueled your body right

00:32:36.609 --> 00:32:43.440
so a lot of a lot of the decluttering Like in

00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:46.099
preparation is learning those tendencies about

00:32:46.099 --> 00:32:51.380
yourself is Being able to go do I have the time

00:32:51.380 --> 00:32:56.140
to even respond to my VA if they email me Right.

00:32:56.259 --> 00:33:00.099
Do I have the time? If I need to look at social

00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:04.559
media every week Do I have time for that? Am

00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:08.920
I making time for that? How can I create? time

00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:13.160
for that and We talked in other episodes about

00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:19.160
that flow. Let's bulk it and batch it so that

00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:23.019
as VAs, I'm in your social media and I don't

00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:25.559
want to have to do a day at a time or even a

00:33:25.559 --> 00:33:27.720
week at a time. Let's do a whole month at a time.

00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:31.059
And that might work well for somebody who's like,

00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:36.200
I don't have an hour or 30 minutes every week

00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:39.849
to look at that. I might wanna take 30 minutes

00:33:39.849 --> 00:33:42.170
to look at a whole month of that and that I can

00:33:42.170 --> 00:33:49.529
do. And so it is that knowing yourself and what

00:33:49.529 --> 00:33:53.190
you have the time and energy for, and even just

00:33:53.190 --> 00:33:57.750
acknowledging it takes energy to do all of this

00:33:57.750 --> 00:34:03.849
stuff. Like every item of clutter, every mental...

00:34:04.460 --> 00:34:08.139
Thing on your in your mental barn every task

00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:13.940
on your calendar has hidden Expenditures silent

00:34:13.940 --> 00:34:17.940
to do's right networking call. It's not just

00:34:17.940 --> 00:34:22.219
the one -hour call It's I gotta be I gotta look

00:34:22.219 --> 00:34:24.780
good from here up because I'm gonna be on zoom

00:34:24.780 --> 00:34:28.099
but if I find three people in the group that

00:34:28.099 --> 00:34:30.670
I want to follow up with it's follow -up time,

00:34:31.150 --> 00:34:33.889
it's then those one -on -ones and that follow

00:34:33.889 --> 00:34:38.269
-up time, like everything has these hidden pieces

00:34:38.269 --> 00:34:42.269
that those are the things to just kind of be

00:34:42.269 --> 00:34:45.110
aware of and knowing your tendencies and how

00:34:45.110 --> 00:34:49.449
they show up can really make those. I gotta put

00:34:49.449 --> 00:34:51.789
in an extra buffer, right? I need to block off

00:34:51.789 --> 00:34:54.050
time after networking so that I don't have to

00:34:54.050 --> 00:34:57.570
go right into a call. learned this yesterday

00:34:57.570 --> 00:35:00.670
actually I had amazing calls all day back to

00:35:00.670 --> 00:35:08.550
back to back and I laid in my bed for probably

00:35:08.550 --> 00:35:12.570
45 minutes I didn't do the follow -up why didn't

00:35:12.570 --> 00:35:14.369
you do the follow -up you could have done the

00:35:14.369 --> 00:35:17.110
follow -up well no you did client work because

00:35:17.110 --> 00:35:19.530
you spent all day on the phone you didn't get

00:35:19.530 --> 00:35:23.010
anything done so that time for the follow -up

00:35:23.010 --> 00:35:27.849
was client work like the swirl like right and

00:35:27.849 --> 00:35:30.510
then I woke up I'm like and I don't even know

00:35:30.510 --> 00:35:33.250
if I'll have time tomorrow to do it because of

00:35:33.250 --> 00:35:38.110
the things that are there and talk about mental

00:35:38.110 --> 00:35:42.369
like clutter nobody's waiting for it but it's

00:35:42.369 --> 00:35:46.650
in my head and it's holding real estate in my

00:35:46.650 --> 00:35:50.090
mind I'm not gonna relax until I get those follow

00:35:50.090 --> 00:35:54.349
-ups done And that is something that I hold until

00:35:54.349 --> 00:35:58.590
it's done. But that's, that's like literal mental

00:35:58.590 --> 00:36:01.829
real estate. Like, you know, that mug you never

00:36:01.829 --> 00:36:05.309
drink from is taking physical real estate. But

00:36:05.309 --> 00:36:08.429
all those thoughts and things, I can't shut up

00:36:08.429 --> 00:36:11.949
that brain. I try really hard. Try to breathe

00:36:11.949 --> 00:36:15.030
through it, try to pet a cat. Doesn't work. Like

00:36:15.030 --> 00:36:18.769
it's. It's there until I get it done, until I

00:36:18.769 --> 00:36:21.869
check it off, until I can throw the post -it

00:36:21.869 --> 00:36:26.969
note away. And a lot of that is like the clutter

00:36:26.969 --> 00:36:30.389
piece. Rachel, is there anything we didn't ask

00:36:30.389 --> 00:36:33.250
about that you wanted to share? To Leanne's point

00:36:33.250 --> 00:36:36.510
about getting started, start small and build

00:36:36.510 --> 00:36:39.769
trust. I know I use that for a lot of different

00:36:39.769 --> 00:36:43.369
things, but a lot of it is building trust with

00:36:43.369 --> 00:36:46.989
yourself that you can... Look at things with

00:36:46.989 --> 00:36:49.309
more realism that you can give yourself grace

00:36:49.309 --> 00:36:52.050
that you can look at things with curiosity and

00:36:52.050 --> 00:36:56.170
not judgment so starting small and trying one

00:36:56.170 --> 00:37:01.809
little thing at a time and taking time to reflect

00:37:01.809 --> 00:37:06.329
I Do it weekly. I do it monthly and I do it quarterly

00:37:06.329 --> 00:37:10.900
because all those little tiny baby steps Really

00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:14.119
do add up over time those five minute things

00:37:14.119 --> 00:37:18.179
those two minute things all of those Right, even

00:37:18.179 --> 00:37:20.619
if it's like well, I'm not gonna do this anymore

00:37:20.619 --> 00:37:24.000
after a while, you're like, oh well, I filled

00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:28.199
that in with something really cool that I'm so

00:37:28.199 --> 00:37:32.860
excited about and Being able to look back and

00:37:32.860 --> 00:37:36.260
kind of go. Oh, I see how much growth I've done

00:37:36.260 --> 00:37:41.070
over this week month quarter, year, being able

00:37:41.070 --> 00:37:44.389
to go. That's a win. And Rachel's pom -pom -ing

00:37:44.389 --> 00:37:47.090
me somewhere. It's giving yourself that grace,

00:37:47.130 --> 00:37:50.289
that time to go. I don't have to figure it all

00:37:50.289 --> 00:37:53.090
out now. I can just start with a tiny little

00:37:53.090 --> 00:37:57.269
step. Perfect. So I think that's it for this

00:37:57.269 --> 00:38:00.269
episode. Thank you guys for joining us for another

00:38:00.269 --> 00:38:03.670
episode of Hey, Do I Need to VA the Podcast?

00:38:03.949 --> 00:38:06.690
If you want to check out Rachel's book. The ebook

00:38:06.690 --> 00:38:10.130
is on Amazon and the paperback is on everywhere.

00:38:10.250 --> 00:38:13.090
Every platform. Every platform. And it's called,

00:38:13.130 --> 00:38:15.750
Hey, Do I Need a VA? If you feel so inclined,

00:38:15.949 --> 00:38:20.730
leave a review, leave a like, share it, comment,

00:38:21.070 --> 00:38:23.250
do all the things. All of the links will be in

00:38:23.250 --> 00:38:26.409
the show notes. You can email any of us. If you

00:38:26.409 --> 00:38:30.289
have a question, we have an email. Hey. That's

00:38:30.289 --> 00:38:34.349
going to be paid. HeyVApodcast at Cheatmail .com.

00:38:34.990 --> 00:38:39.449
Perfect. Thank you, Quinn, for hosting this episode.

00:38:39.750 --> 00:38:44.150
You rocked it. Thank you, and thank you for letting

00:38:44.150 --> 00:38:48.429
me host. That'll be it for today. Thank you guys

00:38:48.429 --> 00:38:52.639
for listening. Goodbye. Thank you for joining

00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:56.239
us on this episode of Hey, Do I Need a VA the

00:38:56.239 --> 00:38:59.480
podcast. If you found this episode helpful, please

00:38:59.480 --> 00:39:02.440
leave a like comment or review and feel free

00:39:02.440 --> 00:39:05.699
to join our Facebook group. Find hire and work

00:39:05.699 --> 00:39:08.920
with a VA for more tips and tools. If you have

00:39:08.920 --> 00:39:13.400
any questions, please email them to heyvapodcast

00:39:13.400 --> 00:39:16.579
at gmail .com. Thanks. We'll see you next time.