Speaker 1: You're listening to a Mom with Me podcast.
Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to biz your work life Sorted. I'm
Speaker 2: m Burnham and yes, somehow we are halfway through twenty
Speaker 2: twenty five. I have no idea how that happened either,
Speaker 2: so now feels like the perfect moment for a little
Speaker 2: midyear glow up. We are doing the best of a
Speaker 2: roundup of the most helpful, actually usable hacks from the
Speaker 2: pod so far to help you reset, refocus, and get
Speaker 2: through the rest of the year without turning into dust.
Speaker 2: This episode's full of stuff I wish someone had told
Speaker 2: me earlier, like how to stay motivated when you're completely
Speaker 2: over it, how to ask one more money without spiraling,
Speaker 2: what to say in a meeting when your voice wants
Speaker 2: to disappear, and why your to do list might be
Speaker 2: wrecking your productivity. But first, we're kicking off with the
Speaker 2: absolute basics being productive without exhausting itself. So this hack
Speaker 2: is honestly a game changer for your to do list,
Speaker 2: transforming it from a source of overwhelmed to your secret weapon,
Speaker 2: saving you from spending a day on busy work rather
Speaker 2: than meaningful progress.
Speaker 3: So step one of nailing your to do list is
Speaker 3: actually figuring out what the most important thing is. And
Speaker 3: I think as humans we can struggle to achieve this
Speaker 3: sometimes because we get decision paralysis. Apparently psychologically we're not
Speaker 3: even meant to be that good at knowing how to
Speaker 3: pick the number one thing.
Speaker 4: So ask yourself this question and.
Speaker 3: It will figure it out for you. So the question
Speaker 3: is what is making me feel most uncomfortable? What have
Speaker 3: I procrastinated on for quite a while? I'm sure we've
Speaker 3: all got the answer to that question, And that's what
Speaker 3: you're going to start with. That is the most important thing.
Speaker 3: And the follow up question to that is, and this
Speaker 3: is what changed my life as a mom, really is
Speaker 3: if this were the only thing I accomplished today, would
Speaker 3: I be satisfied with my day? And will moving this
Speaker 3: forward make all the other to dos seem unimportant?
Speaker 4: Ah?
Speaker 5: So good?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 3: And I used to be the kind of person that
Speaker 3: just I love ticking it off, you know. It was
Speaker 3: so much more quantity over quality. And then I became
Speaker 3: a mum and realized I just wasn't really getting anything done,
Speaker 3: to be honest, I was stumbling. And this question of
Speaker 3: if this is the only thing I got done today,
Speaker 3: will I feel good? Is such a game changer because
Speaker 3: you just feel so accomplished, and most uncomfortable ends up
Speaker 3: being most important, and you're actually getting through the tougher
Speaker 3: shit that you'd be procrastinating on. The kind of follow
Speaker 3: up step to this is make sure you're writing it down.
Speaker 3: You know, write your to do list and rank it
Speaker 3: based on those questions. But never give your self more
Speaker 3: than three to five things to get done in a day.
Speaker 3: It's just not gonna happen. But you know, even if
Speaker 3: you just get that one thing done, the next day,
Speaker 3: you're just on to number two and you're still feeling great.
Speaker 2: This is one of my favorite hacks because it's honestly
Speaker 2: so doable. In a world where everything is urgent and
Speaker 2: you're applying to twelve things at once, Narrowing your focus
Speaker 2: is a lifesaver. Three to five things a day, that's it.
Speaker 2: It's manageable, effective, and gives you that sweet dopamine hit
Speaker 2: when you actually finish them. I'm in love with this hack.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about work meetings aka the perfect seating to
Speaker 2: forget how to speak. You've got a brilliant idea, your
Speaker 2: heart's racing and instead of saying it, you're staring at
Speaker 2: the coffee ring on the table like it's got the answers.
Speaker 2: We've all been there, which is exactly why this next
Speaker 2: one is about speaking up so people actually listen without
Speaker 2: needing to become a different person.
Speaker 1: Let's take the premise that we're in meetings, right, because
Speaker 1: I think that's one of the most commonplaces that were are,
Speaker 1: whether it's a one or a group meeting. I think
Speaker 1: that's often where I hear from people I work with.
Speaker 1: Is the center of a lot of anxiety or just
Speaker 1: a lot of overthinking, over preparing beforehand. A couple of
Speaker 1: things you can do that I think are really straightforward
Speaker 1: and easy to do that will help make that feel
Speaker 1: a little bit better. One of them is just to
Speaker 1: speak early. So research shows that if you speak early
Speaker 1: in a meeting, you're more likely to speak again. And
Speaker 1: it doesn't even matter if it's small talk or just
Speaker 1: chatting to someone on the way into the meeting. There's
Speaker 1: something psychological about hearing your voice in that space that
Speaker 1: you then will speak again. So it's a good way
Speaker 1: to break the ice, if you like. But once that
Speaker 1: voice has been heard, you're automatically a lot more comfortable
Speaker 1: to speak again. I can't tell you exactly why. But
Speaker 1: I see it work time and again, a really easy win.
Speaker 1: Some people think that questions are deferential to your point
Speaker 1: about being told you're differential, so we think if I'm
Speaker 1: asking questions, it must mean that I'm sort of on
Speaker 1: this lower position. I actually think powerful questions are really
Speaker 1: good to realign or put some more energy into a meeting.
Speaker 1: So you could ask a question like can I just
Speaker 1: replay what we've discussed here to make sure everyone's on
Speaker 1: the same page? Or am I right in thinking that
Speaker 1: if X, then why? And then you're actively showing that
Speaker 1: you're invested and following along, which is something that I
Speaker 1: know a lot of junior people struggle to find opportunities
Speaker 1: to do, because often you are a receiver of information
Speaker 1: rather than a giver, so you're naturally a bit quieter.
Speaker 1: But asking for clarification or to interject like that is
Speaker 1: really appreciated by other people, because even very senior folks
Speaker 1: are like, oh my gosh, yes, I haven't given this
Speaker 1: integral piece of information you know that makes everything else
Speaker 1: make sense.
Speaker 4: I absolutely love that.
Speaker 5: I think as well, because a lot of us have
Speaker 5: this behavior where we think in a meeting you need
Speaker 5: to be putting forward opinions to contributing information, adding, adding, adding,
Speaker 5: But actually you do need people in the room that
Speaker 5: are testing, understanding, clarifying. So I think, especially for someone
Speaker 5: who's sort of like I don't feel like an expert
Speaker 5: on the topic, you don't have to be. You can
Speaker 5: just ask a really helpful question that's going to help
Speaker 5: the whole group come to a better Absolutely.
Speaker 2: So building confidence in meetings doesn't need some dramatic personality
Speaker 2: makeover or executive coaching package. It's not about being the
Speaker 2: loudest or talking the most. It's about creating impact with
Speaker 2: what you say. What actually works are these tiny strategic
Speaker 2: tweaks that nobody tells you about. So you're stuck in
Speaker 2: a job that doesn't exactly light your fire, we have
Speaker 2: all been there, checking the clock every twenty minutes, living
Speaker 2: for lunch breaks, and wondering if this is really what
Speaker 2: adulting is all about. But here's the thing. Even the
Speaker 2: most boring job can be strategic for your career if
Speaker 2: you approach it right. Here's how to get your glimmer
Speaker 2: back at work.
Speaker 6: So what I would do is I would pick one
Speaker 6: person in the company or one skill. So for a person,
Speaker 6: try and find one person in the company who's like
Speaker 6: a high quality person that you might want to learn
Speaker 6: from or like get closer to start by just kind
Speaker 6: of learning more about them, knowing what they're up to,
Speaker 6: you kind of thing, try and take them for coffee
Speaker 6: if you can, and just figure out a way, like
Speaker 6: is there a way that you can work on something
Speaker 6: with this person? Like Google, we had things like twenty
Speaker 6: percent projects and job shadowing and things like that. But
Speaker 6: you can just figure out, like, is there sort of
Speaker 6: something that you could work on with this person so
Speaker 6: you can learn from them and create a relationship.
Speaker 4: So that's the person.
Speaker 6: One or I would pick one skill, So what is
Speaker 6: one skill that you can totally master in the next
Speaker 6: twelve months or the next six months is going to
Speaker 6: be a skill that you're then going to take with
Speaker 6: you for the rest of your career and then talk
Speaker 6: to your manager and really say, like I really want
Speaker 6: to work on this skill, make it your focus, and
Speaker 6: see how they can support you in that. So, whether
Speaker 6: that's doing a course, whether that's getting yourself onto a
Speaker 6: different project where you're.
Speaker 4: Able to develop that skill.
Speaker 6: And what you're going to find is because you've set
Speaker 6: yourself this goal of like either developing a relationship with
Speaker 6: that person or that skill, You're going to take that
Speaker 6: with you when you leave that job, Like that goes
Speaker 6: with you for the rest of your career. Instead of
Speaker 6: this being, you know, twelve months wasted in a job
Speaker 6: you're not motivated about, you're actually flipping it and you're like,
Speaker 6: I'm gaining this and that's gonna come with me in
Speaker 6: my next role.
Speaker 2: So I love this approach. Instead of seeing a boring
Speaker 2: job as wasted time, you're deliberately extracting value that follows
Speaker 2: you forever. Remember you're not stuck, You're strategically gathering what
Speaker 2: you need for your next move. That mindset shift changes everything. Now,
Speaker 2: another great motivation is a promotion or raise. So next
Speaker 2: up we are talking about how to ask for more money. Okay,
Speaker 2: let's talk about money, specifically, how to ask for more
Speaker 2: of it without breaking into a cold sweat. I know
Speaker 2: these conversations feel awkward, but they're absolutely critical to your
Speaker 2: career progression, and it's about focusing on the right things
Speaker 2: when convincing decision makers to open the company wallet.
Speaker 4: So how do you actually ask for a pay rise?
Speaker 4: Remember your mindset, get inside your boss's head. Frame it
Speaker 4: in terms of the value actually bringing for the company.
Speaker 4: Don't make it about you and your personal financial situation
Speaker 4: for example, don't mention the saving for a house deposit
Speaker 4: or you know mentioned cost of living. We're going to
Speaker 4: make it all about the company and the value you're delivering.
Speaker 4: Don't be scared. You have the right to ask, and
Speaker 4: it is showing good leadership.
Speaker 3: This is a very simple framework. Or you can think
Speaker 3: about it just like three prompts, and this is what
Speaker 3: you're going to sit down at your desk and think
Speaker 3: about before you go into these conversations. And the prompts
Speaker 3: are experience, role, and output. So when you think about
Speaker 3: your experience, you're obviously thinking about how many years you've
Speaker 3: been doing the job. What unique insights do you also
Speaker 3: bring based on that experience. But I think when it
Speaker 3: comes to advocating for a pay rise, when you've been
Speaker 3: at the company for a few years, for example, it's
Speaker 3: how has your experience grown? Have you done courses leadership,
Speaker 3: have you been on training camps, have you you know,
Speaker 3: gone to conferences around the world, whatever it is, you're
Speaker 3: really thinking about how you've grown your skill set and
Speaker 3: your knowledge.
Speaker 4: I love that. So it's not just experience in terms
Speaker 4: of I've been here two years, it's actually how have
Speaker 4: you invested in improving your experience and the experience that
Speaker 4: you have in doing that role is like expertise.
Speaker 3: And I know we'll get to this, but that's also
Speaker 3: something that you can also be asking for in these
Speaker 3: performance conversations, like I want to do a training course
Speaker 3: on X, I want to do this online course. Really
Speaker 3: simple things people can do that I just think make
Speaker 3: them sound and seem a bit smarter. Is got a
Speaker 3: bit bored over the break? Did these three online Harvard courses?
Speaker 1: You know?
Speaker 3: They're just really easy little wins that just make you
Speaker 3: seem like you care. The second thing is role, So
Speaker 3: how has your role evolved? Did someone go and leave
Speaker 3: and you took on their responsibilities? Are you managing more people?
Speaker 3: Are you actually doing three jobs? Is your job moving
Speaker 3: well beyond what the original job description was. Those are
Speaker 3: things that you can use to advocate for a pay rise.
Speaker 3: The biggest and most important one, though, is obviously your output.
Speaker 3: And this really needs to be evidence and fact based,
Speaker 3: so numbers relating to your KPIs, but always bringing it
Speaker 3: back to the company's objectives as well. Really leading with
Speaker 3: what the business is trying to achieve and then how you,
Speaker 3: as an individual have helped them get there.
Speaker 4: The best hack that I found to doing this is
Speaker 4: actually just too every time that you have an example
Speaker 4: of good work, and that might be results metrics, it
Speaker 4: might be something a client has said about you, it
Speaker 4: might be something a coworkers said about you, and slack.
Speaker 4: Anything that is like you doing good work, You're going
Speaker 4: to screenshot that and just throw it in a folder
Speaker 4: on your desk. Stop I try and save like a
Speaker 4: couple of week, and what you're going to find is
Speaker 4: when you go through that, you're just going to jog
Speaker 4: your memory and going to have all these examples.
Speaker 2: What I love about this approach is Howard flips the
Speaker 2: power dynamic. You're not begging, you're presenting evidence that makes
Speaker 2: your case undeniable. And remember, your boss isn't doing you
Speaker 2: a favor by paying you fairly. They're making smart business
Speaker 2: decisions to keep talent that delivers, so go get that money.
Speaker 2: We're circling back to time management because everyone keeps recommending
Speaker 2: time blocking, but when I tried it, I just felt
Speaker 2: more stressed and restricted. Here's the truth. I was doing
Speaker 2: it completely wrong. The magic isn't about cramming more in
Speaker 2: it's about reducing that constant when will I do this
Speaker 2: anxiety that follows you everywhere? Done right time, blocking actually
Speaker 2: gives you freedom.
Speaker 7: My main tip is too novel one, be very forgiving
Speaker 7: because there'll be a process, and I think it really
Speaker 7: is based on your energy levels, so you would naturally
Speaker 7: do things that are harder at the beginning of the day.
Speaker 7: Like for me, cleaning through my personal email is like
Speaker 7: very very easy, so I tend to do it at
Speaker 7: night when I'm watching TV because I can kind of
Speaker 7: like splice it with like low energy activities. But if
Speaker 7: something takes a little bit more effort, I would push
Speaker 7: it earlier to the morning. I would also consider like
Speaker 7: your work day as well. Like some people can go
Speaker 7: to the gym at like eleven am, which is I
Speaker 7: think crazy because it's in the middle of work day
Speaker 7: and you have like meetings and stuff. But like some
Speaker 7: people really can do like an early lunch and do
Speaker 7: their gym routine then and then go straight into any
Speaker 7: kind of meeting afterwards. So I think it really depends
Speaker 7: on your own temperament and whether or not this is
Speaker 7: something that you can handle. The thing is always just
Speaker 7: start really really easy and slot it in. Try it
Speaker 7: for like a couple of weeks and test it to
Speaker 7: see how viabod is in your life. Just keep adding
Speaker 7: things very slowly. I wouldn't rush into anything that sounds good.
Speaker 4: I remember.
Speaker 5: The big aha for me was when I realized that
Speaker 5: my brain is different in the morning to the evening,
Speaker 5: and I can't actually concentrate on deep work in the afternoon.
Speaker 5: So where I used to put all my meetings in
Speaker 5: the morning and then I'd be kind of left to
Speaker 5: work in the afternoon, I completely flipped it and I
Speaker 5: started blocking out my mornings for actual work and time
Speaker 5: blocking all my meetings in the afternoon. And that kind
Speaker 5: of kept my brain engaged anyway because I was talking
Speaker 5: to someone. So that was a really big Labo move
Speaker 5: for me in terms of planning out those blocks. So
Speaker 5: deb someone who's just getting started, they have an open calendar,
Speaker 5: or maybe they've got a few things that they're already
Speaker 5: in that calendar in terms of assigned work meetings and
Speaker 5: things like that, can you actually break down the step
Speaker 5: by step process someone should go through to time block
Speaker 5: their week.
Speaker 7: Generally I would either go digital or paper. I personally
Speaker 7: like writing things down, so I would just take a
Speaker 7: simple piece of paper, blank piece of paper, or you
Speaker 7: can use a diary or anything like that. What I
Speaker 7: would generally do is write major tasks that you want
Speaker 7: to get done during the day all the week as
Speaker 7: a list. So first start with a regular to do list,
Speaker 7: which I think a lot of people have, and then
Speaker 7: kind of consider what your priorities are for the week,
Speaker 7: So generally I pick three maximum. Once you kind of
Speaker 7: consider that, either in your calendar or if you're doing
Speaker 7: the day, you write down time slots from top to bottom,
Speaker 7: so like when your day starts, which some people they
Speaker 7: want to start from nine am, so nine am ten
Speaker 7: am all the way down to whenever you want to
Speaker 7: stop your day, And if it's a week thing, then
Speaker 7: you would just do Monday to Friday across the top.
Speaker 7: At that point, you sort of have like almost like
Speaker 7: a grid of these time slots that you want to
Speaker 7: put tasks into. You just consider how long things will take,
Speaker 7: so like washing the dishes would probably take half an hour,
Speaker 7: so you can give yourself a half an hour time
Speaker 7: slot at like five pm. Then you assign times like
Speaker 7: writing might take and make sure you put breaks in between.
Speaker 5: So if you kind of step back and you look
Speaker 5: at your full day or your full week, should every
Speaker 5: slot of time actually be scheduled?
Speaker 7: I would recommend not to. I would just guarantee like
Speaker 7: certain slots to be put in because you need time
Speaker 7: to be kind of flexy. And then as you move
Speaker 7: through the week or move through the day, you realize
Speaker 7: that things will change, like things will pop up, and
Speaker 7: if everything's like super rigid, you can't really move anything around,
Speaker 7: and I think that causes more stress than what the
Speaker 7: purpose of it is to alleviate anxiety about tasks. You
Speaker 7: actually realize when you time block that there's so much
Speaker 7: time when you're not like stressing about when to do things,
Speaker 7: if you just say you'll do it, there's actually so
Speaker 7: much time to do things.
Speaker 2: Time blocking isn't a bad perfection. It's about intention. That
Speaker 2: point about not forcing activities that don't align with your values.
Speaker 2: Game changer. I wasted years scheduling important meetings after three pm.
Speaker 2: When I know that that is a time that I
Speaker 2: completely shut down. Work with your natural tendencies, not against them,
Speaker 2: And suddenly productivity feels possible and we are done for today.
Speaker 2: Speaking of time, hopefully, these hacks have rescued some of yours.
Speaker 2: Tune in next week, where we cover the workplace skills
Speaker 2: nobody taught you but everyone expects you to know. We'll
Speaker 2: be tackling how to stop over explaining yourself and instantly
Speaker 2: sound more confident. The exact phrase is to shut down
Speaker 2: that patronizing colleague without getting fired. More productivity hacks that
Speaker 2: don't require superhuman discipline, How to nail networking when you'd
Speaker 2: rather literally be anywhere else, and why traditional work mentors
Speaker 2: are overrated, and what you need instead, Same time, same place.
Speaker 2: I'll see you next week. If you enjoy today's biz episode,
Speaker 2: we popped everything you need in our free newsletter, including
Speaker 2: those step by step guides for both productivity game changes
Speaker 2: we talked about today. You can find a link to
Speaker 2: that in our show notes and heads up. Our biz
Speaker 2: Inbox episodes drop this Thursday, where we solve all of
Speaker 2: your career dilemmas. Until then, go forth and do less
Speaker 2: the better. Bye. Mamma Maya acknowledges the traditional owners of
Speaker 2: land and waters at this podcast as is recorded on