WEBVTT - Waste less time, with Megan Sumrell

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is going to be a longer one part of

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<v Speaker 1>the series where I interview fascinating people about how they

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<v Speaker 1>take their days from great to awesome and any advice

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<v Speaker 1>they have for the rest of us. So today I

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<v Speaker 1>am delighted to welcome Megan SUMMRL to the Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>Megan is a time management and productivity expert. She is

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<v Speaker 1>the founder of the Pink b and the host of

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<v Speaker 1>the Work Life Harmony podcast, among many other things. So, Megan,

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<v Speaker 1>welcome to the show. Thank you so much.

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, ooh, that sounds like a better show

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<v Speaker 2>up strong here today.

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<v Speaker 1>I know all that people are expecting a lot, but

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<v Speaker 1>I know you're going to give us a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>wisdom over the next twenty five minutes. So why don't

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<v Speaker 1>you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, so again, I'm the founder of the Pink Bee.

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<v Speaker 2>I am a time management and productivity expert for women, specifically.

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<v Speaker 2>My background was actually in corporate IT. I spent over

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<v Speaker 2>twenty years in the software and IT space, where actually

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<v Speaker 2>towards the end of my career. I would go in

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<v Speaker 2>and basically rebuild software teams from the ground up, optimizing

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<v Speaker 2>their processes, systems, procedures, et cetera. Found myself at a

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<v Speaker 2>place where I got married later in life, started a

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<v Speaker 2>family later and had a very pivotal day when my

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<v Speaker 2>daughter was about two, where I was still in the

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<v Speaker 2>thick of trying to juggle corporate life and motherhood and

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<v Speaker 2>all of that, and a complete stranger asked me, what

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<v Speaker 2>do you do for fun? And I realized I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>have an answer. I couldn't remember the last time I

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<v Speaker 2>had done anything for myself. My life was in service

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<v Speaker 2>to work, family, all of that, and long story short,

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<v Speaker 2>it led me on a path to completely rebuild how

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<v Speaker 2>I plan and manage my time juggling all the roles

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<v Speaker 2>and responsibilities. And now fast forward to today. Through a

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<v Speaker 2>couple of pivotal moments from then to now, I left

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<v Speaker 2>my corporate career, founded the Pink Bee, and we are

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<v Speaker 2>on a mission to bring work life harmony and harmony

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<v Speaker 2>into homes all over the world through this proprietary planning

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<v Speaker 2>framework built specifically for women. The realities of our lives

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<v Speaker 2>and how our brains work.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, although I'm sure there's a lot that men could

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<v Speaker 1>learn from it too. So, honey, men are listening to this,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't need to turn off the podcast because everything

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to talk about today is going to be

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<v Speaker 1>relevant for you as well, because there is a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of overlaps between how we manage like our home systems

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<v Speaker 1>and the corporate work systems you were doing right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, there absolutely is the couple shifts that I highlight

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<v Speaker 2>specifically for like the framework works for men and women.

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<v Speaker 2>I have a lot of women go through the program

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<v Speaker 2>and then they're like, and I made my husband come

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<v Speaker 2>sit down and watch it with me, and now we're

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<v Speaker 2>running our household this way is really acknowledging. Women tend

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<v Speaker 2>to absorb a lot of the uncertainty and the mental

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<v Speaker 2>load of the household. And the way our brains are

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<v Speaker 2>wired is we actually multitask more than our male counterpart

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<v Speaker 2>to do, and so we have to have systems that

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<v Speaker 2>understand that and acknowledge it and have a path forward

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<v Speaker 2>for it.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, we're going to talk a lot about systems over

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<v Speaker 1>the next few minutes, but one thing I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>talk with you about first this is we're coming toward

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the year when this episode is airing,

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<v Speaker 1>and I know that you have something I believe it's

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<v Speaker 1>called plan a Palooza that is an annual planning workshop

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<v Speaker 1>that you run around this time as people look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to their next year. And I'm I'm a big fan

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<v Speaker 1>of doing this in like November, you know, and we

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<v Speaker 1>got to really build up to the end of the year.

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<v Speaker 1>But I wonder, how do you have people think through

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<v Speaker 1>the upcoming year? Any fun tips for our listeners. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so are embarking on.

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<v Speaker 2>This the big fundamental shift that I teach in the

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<v Speaker 2>annual planning process? And why I do it so early?

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<v Speaker 2>You know what's considered early. I'm not doing it the

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<v Speaker 2>week before January is man Q four is a doozy

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<v Speaker 2>November December. There's so much going on, and that's why

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<v Speaker 2>I like to intentionally do this work early so that

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<v Speaker 2>when January hits, I'm not now stuck going what am

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<v Speaker 2>I going to? What am I gonna do this year?

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<v Speaker 2>Like how are we operating? A lot of people when

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<v Speaker 2>they go to annual planning workshops or events, it's always

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<v Speaker 2>kind of this dreamcasting or visioning kind of workshop, right

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<v Speaker 2>where we get really excited about all the things that

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<v Speaker 2>we want to do next year, we break them down

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<v Speaker 2>into milestones. Then we get back into our real life

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<v Speaker 2>and the real world smacks us upside the head with

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<v Speaker 2>the sick kid and the flu season and then the

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<v Speaker 2>big event at work and all of that, and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>six months later we find that worksheet or workbook from

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<v Speaker 2>the event and we're like, oh, yeah, I forgot all

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<v Speaker 2>about that. I haven't done anything. So what's fundamentally different

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<v Speaker 2>with the way I really like to teach annual planning

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<v Speaker 2>is we do some of that dream work, but then

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<v Speaker 2>we start our plan with what's your reality for next year? Right,

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<v Speaker 2>so actually understanding do you already have commitments and in

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<v Speaker 2>what months? And when are there seasonality of when you

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<v Speaker 2>know it's like is May usually a crazy month for you?

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<v Speaker 2>Or December? And we build all of that in f

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<v Speaker 2>think of it kind of like financing, like what time

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<v Speaker 2>is already spoken for? So that now we're working realistically

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<v Speaker 2>with hey, what kind of time do I have? That

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<v Speaker 2>then supports our core values, our boundaries, and our priorities

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<v Speaker 2>with those extra things that we want to layer in.

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<v Speaker 1>I love that. I Mean, one of the things I'm

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<v Speaker 1>always doing with people is having them track their time,

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<v Speaker 1>so we know what a week really looks like. And

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<v Speaker 1>then when you're setting goals, Yeah, you're setting goals, it's like, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is what a week really looks like. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's fine to say, you know, I want to run

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<v Speaker 1>four times a week, but that means we need to

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<v Speaker 1>look at where those are going to be saying, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the big goal is, yeah, I'm want to run a marathon. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>where are the four runs a week going to happen

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<v Speaker 1>in your life exactly?

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<v Speaker 2>And when is the marathons? And now you're building out

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<v Speaker 2>what do you have time a month before to do

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<v Speaker 2>an eighteen mile run? Or are you traveling every weekend?

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<v Speaker 2>And yeah, so we've got to really marry and integrate

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<v Speaker 2>your reality with your want tos, if you will, and

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<v Speaker 2>make sure that there's a cohesive plan and construct it

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<v Speaker 2>in a way that sets you up for success instead

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<v Speaker 2>of for feeling like a failure of four months into

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<v Speaker 2>the year.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and I love this idea of planning ahead. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're saying we're getting started on it in November because

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<v Speaker 1>December is so crazy. And one of your recent podcast

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<v Speaker 1>episodes what was like a while ago now, but it

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<v Speaker 1>caught my eye because you have Christmas in July. Every

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<v Speaker 1>year that you do, you do some of your holiday

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<v Speaker 1>planning in July. Can you talk about that?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So it kind of came. It stemmed from a

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<v Speaker 2>need for myself. Of I remember one particularly rough holiday

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<v Speaker 2>season and it was like the morning after Christmas, it

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<v Speaker 2>was like holiday hangover, you know, just wrapping paper, stuff,

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<v Speaker 2>crum just I remember sitting there like, this was not

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<v Speaker 2>a fun holiday for me. I gave a great one

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<v Speaker 2>for everybody else. And so that year I started thinking, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>what could I do to lighten the load in December?

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<v Speaker 2>Are there things I could do earlier? Are there things

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<v Speaker 2>I could stop doing, et cetera. And one of the

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<v Speaker 2>things I landed on is I always loved holiday baking

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<v Speaker 2>with my mom as a kid, and I always thought

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<v Speaker 2>it would be this magical moment with my daughter. And

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, that really wasn't magical. It's just one

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<v Speaker 2>more have to like, one more to do, which just

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<v Speaker 2>takes the fun out of it. So I thought, well,

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of the stuff that we make is stuff

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<v Speaker 2>that freezes really really well, and we're always looking for

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<v Speaker 2>stuff to do Midsummer when you're so sick of going

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<v Speaker 2>to the pool and it's literally one hundred degrees. So

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<v Speaker 2>it's now come to two days long for us, where

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<v Speaker 2>my daughter and I we put on Christmas music, we

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<v Speaker 2>put on Christmas t shirts, and we actually bake a

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<v Speaker 2>ton of holiday stuff over the course of two days,

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<v Speaker 2>all stuff that freezes well. So then when December hits,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we might be making one or two things

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<v Speaker 2>that don't freeze well, but we can really enjoy like

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<v Speaker 2>we enjoy our gingerbread house making day because it's not

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<v Speaker 2>packed on top of six other days of things that

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<v Speaker 2>we're trying to get done, along with some crafting. So

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<v Speaker 2>we do a lot of baking and we do some

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<v Speaker 2>holiday handcrafting in the middle of July, and it makes

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<v Speaker 2>just breaks up for a really fun, fun time in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle of the summer. And now I have a

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<v Speaker 2>freezer full of stuff ready to roll.

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<v Speaker 1>I would say that's actually showing a lot of discipline

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<v Speaker 1>on your part, because I'm pretty sure the Christmas cookies

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<v Speaker 1>would be eaten in July.

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<v Speaker 2>Talk them way back and garage, do we believe you

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<v Speaker 2>out that we get to enjoys get put back in

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<v Speaker 2>there and it's like out of sight, out of mind.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, good for you guys. We might we might have

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<v Speaker 1>eaten that gingerbread. Well, we're going to take a quick

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<v Speaker 1>ad break and then i'll be back with more from

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<v Speaker 1>Meghan Sumrow. Well, I am back talking with Megan Sumrell,

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<v Speaker 1>who owns the Queen sorry, not the Queen Bee, the

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<v Speaker 1>pig Bee. I've been listening to all that recently and

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<v Speaker 1>she's the host of the Work Life Harmony podcast, among

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<v Speaker 1>other things. So you know, we've been talking about doing

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<v Speaker 1>things ahead of time. Now we're going to talk a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit about planning and work and other systems. You

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<v Speaker 1>recently had a podcast episode about making sure that meetings

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<v Speaker 1>do not take over your life. And one of my

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<v Speaker 1>favorite rules that you shared was not to schedule meetings

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<v Speaker 1>on Monday mornings. And I know a lot of my

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<v Speaker 1>listeners have probably sat through endless Monday morning staff meetings,

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<v Speaker 1>So tell us why they should rethink that.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, so most people, there's always exceptions to the rule.

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<v Speaker 2>Most people fall in one of two buckets on a

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<v Speaker 2>Monday morning. Person A is the kind of person that

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<v Speaker 2>is so rest and refueled over the weekend and like

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<v Speaker 2>they come in Monday morning hot, ready to roll, highest

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<v Speaker 2>energy levels, ready for the week super productive, and if

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<v Speaker 2>you throw that person right into a meeting at the

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<v Speaker 2>start of Monday, you are missing out on capitalizing on

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<v Speaker 2>potentially their most productive time all week. So if they

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<v Speaker 2>spend their first because I mean, let's say it's even

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<v Speaker 2>only an hour meeting, that's gonna be an hour and

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<v Speaker 2>a half minimum, right, because then there's the after the meeting,

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<v Speaker 2>then getting the coffee, Like they haven't had a minute

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<v Speaker 2>to think. And now you've taken that energy level, you've

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<v Speaker 2>thrown it into a meeting, and now like that window's

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<v Speaker 2>kind of gone. You don't recapture that person. B might

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<v Speaker 2>be the person who comes in is like, I'm a

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<v Speaker 2>slow roll. I need a little time, I need to

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<v Speaker 2>reorient myself. I need to kind of get settled at

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<v Speaker 2>my desk, I need to kind of gear up for

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<v Speaker 2>the week. And so that person sitting in a meeting

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<v Speaker 2>on Monday morning is probably only fifty percent present and

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<v Speaker 2>could be missing out on really important stuff, key things.

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<v Speaker 2>Their energy is not quite aligned well, and then those

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<v Speaker 2>two personalities in a meeting tend to butt heads as well. Right,

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<v Speaker 2>You've got the we're going to conquer world hunger, and

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<v Speaker 2>you've got that I'm gonna need another cup of coffee

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<v Speaker 2>before I can talk about this. And so oftentimes those

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<v Speaker 2>Monday morning meetings end up not producing the desired output

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<v Speaker 2>that you really wanted. If maybe you had just shifted

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<v Speaker 2>that to like an eleven am or a one pm

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<v Speaker 2>meeting on Monday instead of taking that prime real estate

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<v Speaker 2>to start the week and not allowing everybody to settle

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<v Speaker 2>into their their work rhythm in a way that supports them.

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<v Speaker 1>I love that. I love that for sure. And another

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<v Speaker 1>way you have people reframing meetings is that I think

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<v Speaker 1>this is a quote. I've wrote this down because I

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<v Speaker 1>loved it so much, that being excluded from a meeting

0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:22.760
<v Speaker 1>is a gift to your time.

0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:29.720
<v Speaker 2>People feel like the more meetings they're in, it validates

0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:32.840
<v Speaker 2>their importance. Right, And so if they see if they're

0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.480
<v Speaker 2>walking by a conference room, you know, I used to

0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:37.640
<v Speaker 2>work in a conference room. Now we're more zoom style,

0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:39.960
<v Speaker 2>But they see a group of people around a table,

0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:43.120
<v Speaker 2>They're instantly wondering like, why was I not invited?

0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:43.400
<v Speaker 1>Right?

0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.079
<v Speaker 2>Do they not value my mind? Do they not think

0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.800
<v Speaker 2>I'm important? And so suddenly someone's like, oh, hey, could

0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:51.560
<v Speaker 2>I come to that next meeting? And we start to

0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:55.640
<v Speaker 2>feel like our worth in the workplace is kind of

0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:58.280
<v Speaker 2>defined by the number of meetings we're in, Right, they

0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.240
<v Speaker 2>value my opinion, They want me sitting in there instead

0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:05.080
<v Speaker 2>of recognizing ninety nine percent of the time when I

0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.320
<v Speaker 2>work with companies, we recognize that half the people in

0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:12.400
<v Speaker 2>the meeting don't need to be there. They're consumers of

0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:15.200
<v Speaker 2>what the decisions are made in the meeting, but they're

0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.640
<v Speaker 2>not actually a key decision makers. And so I always

0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.920
<v Speaker 2>love to encourage people to say, hey, realize, not being

0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:25.240
<v Speaker 2>in a meeting is the biggest gift you can have

0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.400
<v Speaker 2>because now, guess what, you have an hour to sit

0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:31.480
<v Speaker 2>and work instead of an hour to sit and talk

0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:35.920
<v Speaker 2>about work. That the decisions maybe you didn't need to

0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:37.720
<v Speaker 2>be a part of. You just needed to know what

0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:41.360
<v Speaker 2>the output was. And so it can be a real

0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:47.000
<v Speaker 2>It can ruffle some feathers first when people start being excluded,

0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:48.640
<v Speaker 2>but this is why I will tell people, when you're

0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:52.599
<v Speaker 2>building the agenda, the agenda can be visible. Here's the

0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:54.960
<v Speaker 2>purpose of the meeting, here's how we're planning on getting

0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:56.840
<v Speaker 2>from point A to point B, and here are the

0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.600
<v Speaker 2>people that have the knowledge and the ability to make

0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.760
<v Speaker 2>the decision. That's why they're in the meeting. Everybody who

0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.800
<v Speaker 2>needs to know the output of it, here's where those

0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.280
<v Speaker 2>decisions will be, so that you can go have the

0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:10.920
<v Speaker 2>info you need to carry on with your work. And

0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:13.240
<v Speaker 2>that kind of helps to reframe it a little bit

0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:15.080
<v Speaker 2>for people of like, oh, yeah, I need to know

0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:16.920
<v Speaker 2>the output, I just don't have to watch them come

0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:18.040
<v Speaker 2>up with a plan to get there.

0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:20.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, sort of frame it is like, well, John will

0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.439
<v Speaker 1>report back to Bob. That's how important Bob is he

0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:24.880
<v Speaker 1>gets a report on this meeting.

0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:31.000
<v Speaker 2>Because people complain about meetings, yet then they complain when

0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:34.160
<v Speaker 2>they're not in the meeting because oh, we're all.

0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.200
<v Speaker 1>In the middle school cafees here. I mean, this is

0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:39.280
<v Speaker 1>it's honestly what it is. It's the same social fear

0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.920
<v Speaker 1>of being excluded from something. So you spent years and

0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:45.840
<v Speaker 1>in corporate logistics and systems. I wonder you know maybe

0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:49.559
<v Speaker 1>one or two of your favorite sort of transferable systems

0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.160
<v Speaker 1>things you learn from that that people could put to

0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:54.320
<v Speaker 1>work in their own lives.

0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:56.200
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean I think a lot and a lot

0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:59.440
<v Speaker 2>of where I pull from with the time management framework

0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:01.920
<v Speaker 2>that I teach. I'm a really big fan of Lean

0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:04.720
<v Speaker 2>six sigma and I went through all those belt trainings,

0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:10.520
<v Speaker 2>there is really looking at everything you do, everything you

0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.320
<v Speaker 2>spend time on with the lens of where is their

0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.839
<v Speaker 2>waste and what can I get rid of? Is it

0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:22.080
<v Speaker 2>that the waste is that I'm rewriting every morning half

0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:25.280
<v Speaker 2>of yesterday's to do list onto today's and then adding

0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:28.280
<v Speaker 2>to it and then tomorrow rints and repeating like that's waste.

0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:31.120
<v Speaker 2>If you are it's suddenly Friday and you've rewritten half

0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.520
<v Speaker 2>of the same list Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, right now,

0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:36.200
<v Speaker 2>we can look at it as this is a waste

0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:38.600
<v Speaker 2>of time, it's a waste of paper. What can I

0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:42.160
<v Speaker 2>do to eliminate that waste? And then even in your

0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:45.080
<v Speaker 2>personal life, same thing. Right do you find that you

0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:48.320
<v Speaker 2>are stopping by the grocery store every night on the

0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:51.600
<v Speaker 2>way home to pick up something for dinner? Like think

0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:54.440
<v Speaker 2>through the amount of time that is being spent as

0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.840
<v Speaker 2>opposed to what if I just sat down on Sunday

0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:00.760
<v Speaker 2>for ten minutes and said, all right, or as a family,

0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:03.080
<v Speaker 2>what are we having for dinners this week? Make the

0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:05.560
<v Speaker 2>decision once in one sitting, go to the store once

0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:09.320
<v Speaker 2>and then everything's there. But because we live in such

0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:13.120
<v Speaker 2>a fast paced you know Amazon Prime everything right now,

0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:17.600
<v Speaker 2>We often just keep rinsing and repeating without taking a

0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:23.400
<v Speaker 2>pause to say where am I wasting either time resources,

0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:27.640
<v Speaker 2>my own energy levels from decision making to then say

0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:31.720
<v Speaker 2>what can I shift to be able to eliminate that waste? Yeah,

0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:34.320
<v Speaker 2>and it doesn't have to be even all or nothing.

0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.400
<v Speaker 1>Somebody who is going to the Absimos store every night

0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.200
<v Speaker 1>could go twice, go three times, but just not every

0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:41.000
<v Speaker 1>day exactly.

0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:41.560
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:43.560
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I can't plan a week, but I could plan

0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.560
<v Speaker 1>Monday Tuesday, maybe you know, and then yeah it would

0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:46.840
<v Speaker 1>be better.

0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:47.240
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:50.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Are there any other examples of sort of common

0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:52.200
<v Speaker 1>waste that people have in their schedules?

0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:56.680
<v Speaker 2>I do see a lot of common waste with emails.

0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:02.120
<v Speaker 2>So the people that leave emails open or email notifications

0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:06.680
<v Speaker 2>on are wasting so much mental capacity and time jumping

0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:09.800
<v Speaker 2>in and out of email all day long, and we

0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.680
<v Speaker 2>think we have to, but very few of us are

0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:17.760
<v Speaker 2>actually saving lives in our email right, Like, nobody is

0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:22.080
<v Speaker 2>going to likely die because thirty minutes went by before

0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.720
<v Speaker 2>you got the email. And so one of the biggest

0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:28.400
<v Speaker 2>shifts I always encourage people to do is have set

0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:31.600
<v Speaker 2>times of your day you can even I have it

0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:35.840
<v Speaker 2>blocked on my calendar and appointment with myself for this

0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.760
<v Speaker 2>is when I'm sitting down to actually go in and

0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:42.000
<v Speaker 2>process my email, meaning I go through them all. If

0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:43.840
<v Speaker 2>it's something I can do in two minutes or less,

0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:47.000
<v Speaker 2>it gets handled. If it's something that needs a significant

0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:50.320
<v Speaker 2>amount of time, it then goes into my calendar with

0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:53.880
<v Speaker 2>specificity of when am I working on this, and then

0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.200
<v Speaker 2>when the email processing is done, it is closed out.

0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:01.600
<v Speaker 2>Email is not open. I usually do mine three times

0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.720
<v Speaker 2>a day. Some people are like, there's no way I

0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:05.479
<v Speaker 2>could do that. So I start off and say, how

0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:07.399
<v Speaker 2>about we just start at the top of the hour,

0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.720
<v Speaker 2>You go in for ten minutes, you check your email,

0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:12.639
<v Speaker 2>and then you shut it down, and then at the

0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:14.879
<v Speaker 2>top of the next hour you can do that. And

0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.960
<v Speaker 2>usually when people start that way, three weeks later they're like,

0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:19.840
<v Speaker 2>I'm only checking it twice a day now, Megan, this

0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:23.320
<v Speaker 2>is magical, But I think from a work perspective, email

0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:25.200
<v Speaker 2>is the biggest waste of time.

0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:28.800
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely agreed. All right, We're going to take one more

0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:30.359
<v Speaker 1>quick ad break and then I will be back with

0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:40.320
<v Speaker 1>more from Megan Summrew. Well, I am back talking with

0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:44.280
<v Speaker 1>Megan Sumrel who is a time management expert host of

0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:47.720
<v Speaker 1>the Work Life Harmony podcast. So I'm curious. This is

0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.159
<v Speaker 1>a show called Before Breakfast. Do you have a morning

0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.320
<v Speaker 1>routine or something you do most mornings at least I do.

0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.720
<v Speaker 2>And you know, I talk a lot about the importance

0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:00.879
<v Speaker 2>of morning routines. I do differentiate a morning routine versus

0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.160
<v Speaker 2>a morning task list. So for me, when I talk

0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.480
<v Speaker 2>about a morning routine, I'm talking about the things I

0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:10.240
<v Speaker 2>do just for myself that fuel me, that fill me

0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:12.760
<v Speaker 2>up for the day, that allow me to wake up,

0:18:13.280 --> 0:18:15.800
<v Speaker 2>you know, interact with my family in a way where

0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:19.000
<v Speaker 2>I'm coming and I'm pleasant as opposed to like, you know,

0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:23.320
<v Speaker 2>kind of gritchy mode. So my morning routine is not

0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.520
<v Speaker 2>what you'd hear from a typical productivity expert. I don't meditate,

0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:28.720
<v Speaker 2>I don't journal, I don't do yoga, I don't drink

0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:31.159
<v Speaker 2>lemon water. I do what works for me. So I

0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:33.840
<v Speaker 2>get up before my family. I come downstairs, I make

0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:36.840
<v Speaker 2>a cup of coffee, I let my dogs out, and

0:18:36.880 --> 0:18:38.760
<v Speaker 2>I take my warm cup of coffee and I do

0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:41.840
<v Speaker 2>four games in the New York Times Games app every

0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:47.119
<v Speaker 2>morning first thing, and then I actually review my plan

0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.359
<v Speaker 2>for the day that that reduces my overwhelming anxiety, so

0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:52.320
<v Speaker 2>I can kind of like, see, Okay, here's what's coming

0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.399
<v Speaker 2>for the day, so I'm i am level set for that.

0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:58.080
<v Speaker 2>And then, depending upon the day of the week, if

0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:01.199
<v Speaker 2>I'm driving or if my husband's driving our daughter to school,

0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:03.680
<v Speaker 2>some days, I go in and actually do my first

0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:07.080
<v Speaker 2>email process after I've done that, because that quiets my

0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:10.600
<v Speaker 2>anxiety of knowing is there anything out there looming that

0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.720
<v Speaker 2>I need to adjust for for the day. So if

0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:15.600
<v Speaker 2>I'm driving her to school, I do plan in that

0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:18.280
<v Speaker 2>quick little email check before then, and if not, once

0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.480
<v Speaker 2>that's done, then I shift into kind of morning taskless

0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:24.080
<v Speaker 2>mode of you know, being with the family, making breakfast,

0:19:24.119 --> 0:19:27.120
<v Speaker 2>packing lunches, walking dogs, all of that, and then it's

0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.359
<v Speaker 2>hit the showers and ready to roll for work.

0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:32.480
<v Speaker 1>Ready to roll. Yeah, I love the games. It's always

0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:34.680
<v Speaker 1>a good way wake up your brain as well. I've

0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:37.840
<v Speaker 1>always loved logic puzzle all of that. So that's like

0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:40.399
<v Speaker 1>my warm cup of coffee and my New York Times

0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.639
<v Speaker 1>games app is how I start every day. I love it.

0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:46.960
<v Speaker 1>I love it. So a question I ask every guest

0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.920
<v Speaker 1>on this show is what is something you have done

0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.920
<v Speaker 1>recently to take a day from great to awesome.

0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:03.600
<v Speaker 2>The I've done this a few times recently. It is

0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:08.320
<v Speaker 2>I think the biggest challenge that everyone has is honoring

0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:12.800
<v Speaker 2>and protecting time for themselves when things start getting crazy.

0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:15.960
<v Speaker 2>The first thing we let go of is that time

0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.679
<v Speaker 2>that you had blocked for yourself, whether it was to

0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:20.960
<v Speaker 2>go for that you know, squeeze in a workout over

0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:23.959
<v Speaker 2>lunch that you know is great for you, or have

0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:25.680
<v Speaker 2>dinner with that friend. And then all of a sudden

0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:28.240
<v Speaker 2>things work starts getting crazy, everything's to get crazy. We

0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:31.240
<v Speaker 2>start canceling those and double down on work in an

0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:33.840
<v Speaker 2>effort to think that that's actually going to get us

0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:36.520
<v Speaker 2>on top of things and feel better. And I recently

0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:39.320
<v Speaker 2>just went through our busiest season here for you know,

0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:41.440
<v Speaker 2>over the entire year during.

0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:43.840
<v Speaker 1>For the pink Bee.

0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:47.359
<v Speaker 2>And the first thing I always block off thirty minutes

0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:49.359
<v Speaker 2>every day on my calendar to practice my cello, and

0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:51.440
<v Speaker 2>I usually do that kind of after lunch, and that's

0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:53.480
<v Speaker 2>my me time. It resets me for the rest of

0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:57.199
<v Speaker 2>the day. And I started finding myself letting that go

0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:00.560
<v Speaker 2>because I was like, well, I'll just get it thirty

0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:04.119
<v Speaker 2>minutes in for work, and so I reset it for

0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:07.080
<v Speaker 2>a week and said, no matter what, no matter how

0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:11.679
<v Speaker 2>busy things are, I'm honoring that. And those five days

0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:18.160
<v Speaker 2>were the most productive, the most calming, the most fulfilling

0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:21.720
<v Speaker 2>for myself in what on paper would have looked like

0:21:21.720 --> 0:21:25.040
<v Speaker 2>a really bad decision right from a work perspective, But

0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:29.680
<v Speaker 2>it's just that that recognition of turning your brain off

0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:32.040
<v Speaker 2>for a little while and doing something for you what

0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:34.200
<v Speaker 2>you're able to then come back and do when you've

0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:37.639
<v Speaker 2>had that break is kind of ten X level, And

0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:41.040
<v Speaker 2>so I would say honoring that for the week changed

0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:43.479
<v Speaker 2>the entire week from one that was going to be

0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:48.920
<v Speaker 2>good to begin with and productive to amazing and hyper productive.

0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:56.719
<v Speaker 1>Playing music is such a soothing, calming, enjoyable activity. Do

0:21:56.760 --> 0:21:59.080
<v Speaker 1>you do this more for yourself?

0:21:59.080 --> 0:21:59.240
<v Speaker 2>For you?

0:21:59.320 --> 0:21:59.960
<v Speaker 1>An ensemble?

0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.280
<v Speaker 2>Someone I don't know, God, no, I don't let anyone listen.

0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:05.280
<v Speaker 2>So it's just it's a goal I'd had for years.

0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:07.160
<v Speaker 2>Was I always wanted to learn how to play the cello.

0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:09.000
<v Speaker 2>I do not have a background in and I played

0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:11.480
<v Speaker 2>other instruments as a child, but never a stringed instrument.

0:22:12.400 --> 0:22:14.640
<v Speaker 2>And so it's been about two and a half years

0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:17.359
<v Speaker 2>now I finally said I'm gonna do this, So I

0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:20.560
<v Speaker 2>found a cello rental place and found a teacher that

0:22:20.680 --> 0:22:23.320
<v Speaker 2>was willing to teach an adult nubie and I do

0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:25.640
<v Speaker 2>this just one hundred percent for myself.

0:22:26.400 --> 0:22:29.440
<v Speaker 1>I love that because yes, you can rent any instrument.

0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:32.680
<v Speaker 1>I have multiple children who have all rented every instrument

0:22:32.760 --> 0:22:35.879
<v Speaker 1>under the sun for school band. And you know, you

0:22:35.880 --> 0:22:38.120
<v Speaker 1>don't think about doing it for yourself. But they don't

0:22:38.160 --> 0:22:39.439
<v Speaker 1>only rent to school children.

0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:43.639
<v Speaker 2>And I if for myself last month was I actually

0:22:43.680 --> 0:22:46.359
<v Speaker 2>just went and bought my very own cello. Now now

0:22:46.400 --> 0:22:50.320
<v Speaker 2>that I know, I love this and I'm enjoying enjoying

0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:53.760
<v Speaker 2>learning it, and it's just it's fun time for me,

0:22:53.960 --> 0:22:57.119
<v Speaker 2>and it feels it just fills a void that was

0:22:57.160 --> 0:22:59.760
<v Speaker 2>missing in my life of something I really love in.

0:23:00.640 --> 0:23:02.280
<v Speaker 2>But it's interesting when you're like, do you do this

0:23:02.320 --> 0:23:05.720
<v Speaker 2>for an ensemble or not? I see so many adults

0:23:06.359 --> 0:23:09.520
<v Speaker 2>we feel like we're not allowed to do something just

0:23:09.720 --> 0:23:13.639
<v Speaker 2>for a hobby, and we fall in this trap of like,

0:23:13.680 --> 0:23:15.280
<v Speaker 2>I'll see it with women all the time. Oh, I

0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:18.320
<v Speaker 2>picked back up knitting or crochet and I started making hats.

0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:20.119
<v Speaker 2>And now all of a sudden they've got an Etsy

0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:22.639
<v Speaker 2>shop and they've turned it into a business or I

0:23:22.680 --> 0:23:25.119
<v Speaker 2>make cookies and now I've got a cookie business, or

0:23:25.160 --> 0:23:27.919
<v Speaker 2>I'm woodworking and now I'm making things, and then they

0:23:28.000 --> 0:23:31.520
<v Speaker 2>end up hating it because they've We feel like, and

0:23:31.560 --> 0:23:33.560
<v Speaker 2>I think it's maybe a gen X thing too as well,

0:23:33.760 --> 0:23:35.520
<v Speaker 2>we feel like we're not allowed to do anything just

0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:37.080
<v Speaker 2>for the sheer joy of doing it. We have to

0:23:37.080 --> 0:23:39.800
<v Speaker 2>find some way to make it quote productive or of value.

0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:42.719
<v Speaker 2>So I had people started asking like, oh, you are

0:23:42.720 --> 0:23:44.639
<v Speaker 2>you going to perform a piece, and I went, nope,

0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:46.560
<v Speaker 2>because it's going to ruin it for me. I'm just

0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:47.399
<v Speaker 2>doing this for me.

0:23:48.200 --> 0:23:50.240
<v Speaker 1>I think, well it could go both ways though, right

0:23:50.280 --> 0:23:52.840
<v Speaker 1>because I think these things we do that we love,

0:23:53.080 --> 0:23:54.920
<v Speaker 1>it's also fun to do it with other people who

0:23:54.960 --> 0:23:57.040
<v Speaker 1>love it too, And so I mean, you know, performing

0:23:57.040 --> 0:23:59.480
<v Speaker 1>with it ensemble could be like, well, yeah, friends who

0:23:59.520 --> 0:24:01.160
<v Speaker 1>play straight and that's even better.

0:24:01.240 --> 0:24:04.560
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's like a hangout jam session. Absolutely. Yeah.

0:24:04.640 --> 0:24:07.840
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. So Megan, what's something that you are looking forward

0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:11.600
<v Speaker 1>to right now? I am looking forward to honestly, the

0:24:11.680 --> 0:24:16.080
<v Speaker 1>month of December. I very intentionally plan for a real

0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:20.440
<v Speaker 1>wind down, and because of the way we do plan

0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:23.040
<v Speaker 1>and manage our time with both the business and personally,

0:24:23.800 --> 0:24:27.359
<v Speaker 1>I am looking forward to closing offices for several days,

0:24:27.400 --> 0:24:29.960
<v Speaker 1>and then I actually pretty much just disappear for the

0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:33.960
<v Speaker 1>last two weeks of the year and just spend time

0:24:34.119 --> 0:24:38.480
<v Speaker 1>with family, friends, let my creative energy rest. And so

0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:41.240
<v Speaker 1>I'm just really looking forward to doing a whole lot

0:24:41.280 --> 0:24:44.920
<v Speaker 1>of nothing for a couple of weeks. Guilt free sounds great,

0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:47.000
<v Speaker 1>sounds great. So, Megan, where can people find you?

0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:50.000
<v Speaker 2>So again, if you're a podcast listener, obviously you can

0:24:50.000 --> 0:24:53.520
<v Speaker 2>come check out the Work Life Harmony podcast. And if

0:24:53.520 --> 0:24:55.520
<v Speaker 2>you're interested in learning a little bit about what this

0:24:55.640 --> 0:24:59.480
<v Speaker 2>planning framework is, I've got an app in both the

0:24:59.520 --> 0:25:02.560
<v Speaker 2>App Store and Google Play. It's totally free. The app

0:25:02.600 --> 0:25:05.359
<v Speaker 2>is just called the pink Bee All one Word, and

0:25:05.400 --> 0:25:08.400
<v Speaker 2>when you download that and log in, there's some free

0:25:08.440 --> 0:25:11.399
<v Speaker 2>training and they're already preloaded. It kind of gives you

0:25:11.440 --> 0:25:14.920
<v Speaker 2>an introduction to what's called the top framework, and it

0:25:15.080 --> 0:25:16.879
<v Speaker 2>just kind of gives you some quick wins that you

0:25:16.880 --> 0:25:18.360
<v Speaker 2>can implement right now, right now.

0:25:18.960 --> 0:25:21.040
<v Speaker 1>I love it. Excellent. Well, Megan, thank you so much

0:25:21.040 --> 0:25:24.080
<v Speaker 1>for joining us. Thank you to everyone for listening. If

0:25:24.080 --> 0:25:26.639
<v Speaker 1>you have feedback on this or any other episode, you

0:25:26.680 --> 0:25:30.040
<v Speaker 1>can always reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

0:25:30.359 --> 0:25:33.760
<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

0:25:33.840 --> 0:25:42.720
<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

0:25:42.800 --> 0:25:47.560
<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

0:25:47.880 --> 0:25:57.200
<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

0:25:57.320 --> 0:26:01.399
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

0:26:01.400 --> 0:26:06.000
<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

0:26:06.040 --> 0:26:07.879
<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.