Have you ever done the following…

 

…you sit down to work. You’ve got a freshly brewed cup of steaming coffee, you’re logged into your laptop, your to-do list is by your side…

and you are ready to work!

But then suddenly, something happens. You get an overwhelming urge to quickly check Facebook. Or Instagram. Or your phone messages. Or…

anything else that isn’t the task at hand!

 

How often do you find this happening to you, and more importantly – how often do you find yourself succumbing to the temptation?

You think, “if only I had more hours in the day!”

 

So you ask Dr. Google, “How do I get myself to stop watching cute puppy videos?”

 

And you find tips like…

-Do the important things first (But everything seems important!)

-Focus on your goals (Which goal should you focus on?)

-Turn off notifications (What about my kids/spouse/fish? How do I turn them off?)

-Just do it! (Gosh, if you could do that you wouldn’t be on Google right now looking for advice!)

 

The problem with these generic tips…

they are like only taking pain killers for a broken arm.

Sure, you may not feel your broken arm for a while…

you may even be able to shoot some hoops with it…

but eventually you are going to have to face facts and get your broken arm fixed.

 

Along with those painkillers, you need to set the bone first, then you need a cast and sling (and probably some other things that I don’t know about since I’m not a medical doctor).

If you don’t actually fix your broken arm and continue to just overcome the immediate pain, you may wind up with your arm jutting out at a 45 degree angle and friends mistaking you for a zombie in an apocalypse movie.

 

Taking this one size fits all advice on how to be productive can leave you feeling more confused and overwhelmed.

Now, this isn’t to say that these things don’t have their place, but they only tell a small part of the story.

The real issue is…

You are not using your given superpowers to set and reach your goals, manage your time or design your working day.

You taking pain killers when what you really need is a personally designed (do you prefer pink, green or blue) cast to actually fix what is broken.

What I have found is we all have different ways of how we work best.

The best way to finally stop doing those things we know that we shouldn’t (like letting distractions highjack us, not being focused on the task at hand, and on and on)

And start doing the things that we should (achieving our goals, having time to enjoy life, and on and on)

is to understand our beliefs, thoughts and actions so we can use them to propel us to have more time, freedom and happiness.

Hi! I’m Jac. I’m a reformed “organized mess”, only getting things done if there was a strict deadline. But, when I started as an entrepreneur I realized that I had to be in control of my time and productivity.

But the time-management techniques weren’t working for me (hello, I’m still not a morning person). I felt even more overwhelmed and overworked because I was following tips and tricks that were just making me miserable. Working way too much wasn’t the dream I had when I started my business.

I went back to my roots in clinical psychology to understand why in the world I couldn’t make these tips work for me. What I realized was, I wasn’t using my talents in a way that helped me get things done. I was really trying to imitate other people. While that may be the sincerest form of flattery, it wasn’t very flattering on me.

I started focusing on how I work best as an individual. How I could use my strengths and values to keep me on track to accomplish my tasks and goals. I also looked at the personal obstacles that I needed to maneuver around to reach my success.

The realization that I’m unique (just like everyone else) is the basis of my coaching today. I help other professionals find their superpowers to be productive in their work and life.

On the personal side, I enjoy anything chocolate and caramel, raising two young humans (most days I enjoy them) and having conversations on the patio with my husband along with a glass of red wine.