1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: episode will be a longer one part of the series 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: where I interview fascinating people about how they take their 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,159 Speaker 1: days from great to awesome and any advice they have 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: for the rest of us. So today I am excited 7 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: to be interviewing Kelly Nolan. Kelly is a time management 8 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: expert and the host of the Bright Method podcast. So, Kelly, 9 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: welcome to the show. 10 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me. It's a joy 11 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 2: to be here. 12 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, excited to have you. So tell our listeners a 13 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: little bit about yourself. 14 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 2: Sure thing, My name's Kelly Nolan. I was a patent 15 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 2: litigator for years and had been decently organized up until 16 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 2: that point of my life, and quickly got overwhelmed when 17 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 2: I became an attorney and I looked for help, didn't 18 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 2: really find anything. That's stuck at the time, and slowly 19 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 2: pieced together my own weird little time management system and 20 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 2: kept practicing law. I thought I was kind of creating 21 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 2: a system to get me where everybody else was, and 22 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 2: it wasn't here till years later that I realized other 23 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 2: people felt the way I felt, And so that's the 24 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 2: time management system I teach now, the Bright Method. In addition, 25 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 2: I'm married to any our physician, so I get very 26 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 2: wacky ever changing schedules. We have two little girls, a 27 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 2: seven year old and a three and a half year old, 28 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 2: and our original baby, our black lab Alice. 29 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: That sounds wonderful, so a full house as well. 30 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 2: Well. 31 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: It's interesting when you say you know you were feeling overwhelmed, 32 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: What was it that made you overwhelmed? I mean, is 33 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: it the volume of incoming stuff, the requests like weird hours? 34 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: I mean, what was it that? Yeah, when people say 35 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: they're overwhelmed, what do they tend to mean? I think 36 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:40,559 Speaker 1: it was the. 37 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 2: First time in my life I just felt like the 38 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: input kind of outstepped what my systems could keep track of. 39 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 2: I love paper planners. I'd loved them all the way 40 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 2: through law school. I had worked before becoming a lawyer, 41 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 2: but usually in a little bit more maybe manageable settings 42 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 2: where people were kind of like looking out for your 43 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 2: work and helping you manage that. And when you become 44 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 2: an attorney, especially in big law, like I worked for 45 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 2: multiple different partners, so no one really had eyes on 46 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 2: everything I was doing. It was up to me to 47 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 2: manage my workload. But I didn't also really realize that. 48 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,359 Speaker 2: It sounds silly, but you're just you're like assuming that 49 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 2: what the work coming at you is reasonable, or else 50 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 2: they wouldn't ask you to do it. And so there 51 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 2: was that the volume of email went up exponentially based 52 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 2: on anything I dealt with. And I'm managing multiple matters 53 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 2: that have no relation to each other, so you know, 54 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 2: deadlines are set without worrying about what's going on in 55 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 2: my other matters. And it's just a sheer amount of 56 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 2: volume of managing clients and you know, documents and information 57 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 2: and all this kind of stuff. And then the expectation 58 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 2: that you know you're really supposed to be on. You know, 59 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 2: as a junior associate in big law firm, your job 60 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 2: is make everybody else's life easier. And so there was 61 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 2: just a lot of demand. And I will say that 62 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 2: when I say overwhelmed, I looked like I had it together. 63 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 2: I hit deadlines. You know, it wasn't like I was 64 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 2: a mess, but inside it's how I felt. I just 65 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 2: felt stretched, way too thin, anxious I was going to 66 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 2: drop a ball. I'd be like out with friends and 67 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 2: not able to focus on their stories because I'd be 68 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 2: worrying about work and I just was like, this cannot be. 69 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 2: I reject that this is what adult life feels like. 70 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: Well, what do most people get wrong? Like when they 71 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: have a high volume of work? What are they doing 72 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: wrong as they're managing it? 73 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 2: You know that took me a while. I mean for 74 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 2: a long time, I really blamed myself. I'd had these 75 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 2: systems that got me far, and I was kind of like, well, 76 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 2: these systems work, so it must be me, and I 77 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 2: think what I So for a long time I beat 78 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 2: up myself. I was like a character flaw in my head, 79 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 2: where in reality it was just a system failure that 80 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 2: couldn't keep up anymore. And I think that the biggest 81 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 2: thing we get wrong on time management is assuming we 82 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 2: should know how to do it naturally, and so when 83 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 2: we struggle, we blame ourselves and in reality we just 84 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 2: need to change some things up. In terms of what 85 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 2: to change up, I just think that the amount that 86 00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 2: we juggle in our heads is amazing but also weighs 87 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 2: down our brain from the stuff that we should be 88 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 2: doing with it. And so a starting point that I 89 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 2: like to work on with clients. That I had to 90 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 2: do myself is just get it all out of your 91 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 2: head and into a tool that helps you manage time, 92 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 2: because all of these things come back to time, and 93 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 2: for me, that's I really lean on a digital calendar now, 94 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 2: despite being a paper lover. I just think that it 95 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 2: really helps with that organization in an efficient way, and 96 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 2: it's really getting everything out of your head into the calendar, 97 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 2: so you know down to yes, the tasks that we 98 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,159 Speaker 2: do at work, but also when do you shower and 99 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 2: get ready? When do you cook meals? When if you 100 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 2: have little kids, do you do bed and bath time 101 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 2: with kids? If you have older kids, when do you 102 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 2: do homework? What are all the activities when you drive? 103 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 2: Between all the activities? Like lay it all out, because 104 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 2: I think that that gives you a better sense of 105 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,039 Speaker 2: what your actual capacity is to take on anything else. 106 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 2: And I think that's the tricky part is when I 107 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 2: was drowning at work, I knew I was drowning. I 108 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 2: knew that I was overwhelmed, but I didn't know if 109 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 2: it was reasonable for me to feel that way given 110 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 2: my workload. And it wasn't until I made everything in 111 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 2: my life and everything in work visual that I had 112 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 2: a more objective understanding of what my workload was in 113 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:15,160 Speaker 2: relation to my capacity, which helped me manage my workload 114 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 2: and also helped me feel far more confident in drawing 115 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 2: workload boundaries at work and dealing with the pushback and 116 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 2: managing that. 117 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 1: Well, what is it about a digital calendar that makes 118 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: that more effective? I mean, I can tell you I 119 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,160 Speaker 1: use a paper calendar, and I know I'm a bit 120 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: of a dinosaur that way. I mean, people send me 121 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: invites like calendar invites. I'm like, they go somewhere. 122 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 2: I don't know. 123 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: I just but you know, I tend to manage my 124 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:41,679 Speaker 1: life on paper and that has worked for me. But honestly, 125 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: I know if I were in a big corporation that 126 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: would just be a no go. But what is it 127 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: about the digital part, as opposed to it being a 128 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: necessary evil being in an organization that you think helps 129 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: make it easier to organize yourself? 130 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 2: Well, first things first, I never my position is not 131 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 2: everybody should be using my method. So paper is working 132 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 2: for you know, obviously you and anyone listening stick with it. 133 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 2: You know, I'm not saying no, you should use mine 134 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,599 Speaker 2: if you have struggled with it, and you were like 135 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 2: me who had used paper and it just couldn't keep up. 136 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 2: To your point, I mean, half of my work was 137 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 2: on already in an outlook calendar being scheduled for me 138 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 2: and moved around, and it just became inefficient to also 139 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 2: write it on paper and keep up with it. There. 140 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 2: There are a couple of reasons. One, the communication factor 141 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 2: is awesome. So you know, obviously in a work environment, 142 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: digital allows you to send calendar invites, share calendars, all 143 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 2: that kind of stuff, and you can do that at 144 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 2: home as well. So I particularly work with women, and 145 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 2: that helps a lot with sharing the mental load is 146 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 2: having these calendars that partners also see, so you're not 147 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 2: like the house I think a lot of women tend 148 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 2: to still be very generally speaking in heterosexual couples, tend 149 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 2: to be the quarterbacks of the calendar and the house management. 150 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 2: But they're also not the secretaries and the keeper, like 151 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 2: the only person who has the information when you'd use digital, 152 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 2: you know, going to the calendaring, like the invisible to 153 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 2: do list stuff. I was talking about something that you can, 154 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 2: you know, schedule repetitively every workday or every Monday Wednesday, 155 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 2: Thursday or all that kind of stuff, and then drag 156 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 2: them around and move them around as you need. I'm 157 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 2: a very firm proponent of flexible time blocking and moving 158 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 2: things around. But I just find that if you were 159 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,239 Speaker 2: going to write out, let's say, shower and get ready 160 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 2: every day when you're gonna do it, that would get 161 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 2: really tedious at a calendar, in a paper calendar, and 162 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 2: I would not judge you for being like, this is 163 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 2: a waste of my time. But you can do that 164 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 2: easily in a digital one and then move it around 165 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 2: other things like backups is one thing. I've had a 166 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 2: client who lost a paper planner and that stinks, you know, 167 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 2: And there are just some other reasons like that, But 168 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 2: on the whole, it's just that, like, for me, that 169 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 2: efficiency of calendaring everything and being able to move it 170 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 2: around quickly into new plans is really where a digital 171 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:47,239 Speaker 2: calendar really shines. 172 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it's getting at this idea that all tasks 173 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: take time, and so you have to give them a time. 174 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: And if there isn't a time within your twenty four 175 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: hour day and one hundred and sixty eight hour week, 176 00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: well we have a problem. 177 00:07:58,560 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 2: Yep. 178 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: So we're gonna take a quick ad break, and then 179 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: I will be back with more from Kelly Nolan. Well, 180 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 1: I am back talking with Kelly Nolan, who is a 181 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,119 Speaker 1: time management expert. She's the founder of the Bright Method, 182 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: which we are now going to talk about. We've been 183 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: learning about, you know, calendaring all our stuff, and I 184 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: know that that is a important first step in this, 185 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: but why don't you talk about what the Bright method 186 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: is so people have a sense of what you're talking 187 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: about here? 188 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 2: Sure thing? So I think that a tricky part with 189 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 2: time management that I know you know, Laura, is I 190 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 2: think a lot of these concepts are talked about as 191 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 2: if they're relatively easy, and then you go to implement 192 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 2: it can be kind of challenging. And so really what 193 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 2: the Bright Method is is walking people through how to 194 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:45,839 Speaker 2: use a lot of these tools at our disposal. You know, 195 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 2: I'm a tennis player. I wouldn't give you a top 196 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 2: of the line tennis racket and be like now you're set, 197 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 2: Like you have to learn the strategy and like how 198 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,439 Speaker 2: you will employ it to have success. And so basically 199 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 2: what we do is we leverage digital calendars, whether it's Outlook, Google, Apple, 200 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 2: some combination of them, and then walk through kind of 201 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 2: four pillars. The first pillar is getting clear on that 202 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 2: invisible to do list. I already talked about calendaring that 203 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,200 Speaker 2: out and also setting up the calendar to be able 204 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 2: to do that. That can be its own headache and 205 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 2: my least favorite part of it, but it is what 206 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 2: it is. So we tackle it at the outset and 207 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 2: then really get clear on those invisible to dos and 208 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 2: make sure your baseline works, and also issue spot challenges 209 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 2: and adapt those so you might You know, it could 210 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 2: be something as simple as, oh, I'm trying to squeeze 211 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 2: an hour and a half of stuff into an hour 212 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 2: every morning, and that's why every morning feels the way 213 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 2: it does. And if I showered the night before four 214 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 2: times a week, that would be great, and then it 215 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 2: just kind of frees up space. The next step is 216 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 2: doing somewhat the same in the work environment, so figuring 217 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 2: out email, when you hold meetings, the repetitive work things 218 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 2: you do, like if you know, set up for board 219 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 2: meetings or you know, do financial reviews at times, like 220 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,199 Speaker 2: building out those repetitive work tasks, and then again that 221 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 2: then shows you the white space of what actual time 222 00:09:57,880 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 2: you have to give to the more one off stuff, 223 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 2: assuming you have white space. I know a lot of 224 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 2: people in corporate America are like, it's like a whole 225 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 2: day of meetings. I don't have any white space. But 226 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 2: then we can work on blocking availability to give you 227 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 2: that white space in there. That then in the third 228 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 2: pillar we turn to the one off to dos and 229 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 2: start filling in that white space with the plans of 230 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 2: what you're going to do. And I'll just note here 231 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 2: that when people talk time blocking, this is often where 232 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 2: people start. They take their to do list and very 233 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 2: understandably start time blocking. But if you have an accountant 234 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 2: for all the things that we talked about before, that 235 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 2: can lead to a lot of frustration because you calendar 236 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 2: eight hours of beautiful things to do, but you never 237 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 2: had eight hours to begin with to do it. And 238 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 2: so that helps with that element of it. And then 239 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 2: the final component is planning. I teach a couple different 240 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 2: planning sessions. The main one is a weekly planning session, 241 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 2: where essentially you take all the inputs that have flown 242 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 2: at you over the course of a week, calendar them out, 243 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,720 Speaker 2: and then review the next two weeks. And it's also 244 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:56,760 Speaker 2: in that first step you know time to check in 245 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 2: on all your major projects, look ahead at major deadlines, 246 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 2: make sure you've act everything out so you have game 247 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 2: plans laid out in your calendar to hit those, and 248 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,160 Speaker 2: then really I like smoothing out the next two weeks 249 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 2: at a time, just so that you know you're looking 250 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 2: ahead a little bit farther than just the next week. 251 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,079 Speaker 1: Yeah, So let's talk about a couple of things with here. 252 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,320 Speaker 1: I mean, one is, we're trying to calendar everything, and 253 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,559 Speaker 1: as we all know, life changes and and you know, 254 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: we had white space from two to four in the afternoon, 255 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: and then the magic happens and there's no white space 256 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: between two and four beca something you know, urgent came 257 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: up that we have to deal with. So how do 258 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: how often do we need to recalibrate? Like how far 259 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: can we plan out with these things? I mean, what 260 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: what do we do to make sure that we are 261 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: giving tasks time but acknowledging that we cannot one hundred 262 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,079 Speaker 1: percent control what time will be available. 263 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, So one of the big things I would 264 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 2: say is just like take a step, and this is 265 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 2: not perfect. It's not going to like solve all the issues. 266 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 2: You know, a sick kid home for or five days 267 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 2: is going to derail the best of plans, but we 268 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 2: do what we can. And in a lot of work environments, 269 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 2: a lot of people spend their day dealing with the curveballs, 270 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 2: the fires, the reactive stuff, and there are different ways 271 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 2: we can get at that. I really like thinking about, 272 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 2: especially for people managers, that might be where your value is. 273 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,839 Speaker 2: Your company wants you in that firefighting role versus the 274 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 2: headstone work, and so we just need to acknowledge where 275 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 2: our value is. First of all, we can work to 276 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 2: eliminate some of the curve balls, but it's not realistic 277 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 2: to eliminate all of them. So what I like doing 278 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:38,959 Speaker 2: is thinking about even though the curveballs are unpredictable in substance, 279 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 2: they are predictable and that we know they're coming usually 280 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 2: not Again, it's harder in the personal life, but in 281 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 2: our work life. Most people will say I deal with 282 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 2: thirty minutes of curveballs a day. I deal with five 283 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,680 Speaker 2: hours of curveballs a day. But there's some sort of 284 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 2: awareness of how many curveballs hours of curveballs you might 285 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 2: deal with, and so we just plot those into the calendar. 286 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 2: And I know that sounds weird, but essentially what I 287 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 2: like doing is making visual your curve balls three hours, 288 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 2: five hours, two hours, half an hour, whatever it is, 289 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 2: and kind of putting it towards the end of your day. 290 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 2: And you can move them around as those blocks, as 291 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 2: like meetings get booked or things like that. But it's 292 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 2: a visual reminder to you that about that much time 293 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 2: of curveballs is coming, and do not fill up the 294 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 2: rest of the day or else this plan, you know, 295 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 2: isn't going to work. And if you don't have it 296 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,199 Speaker 2: every day, some people more like you know, it's more 297 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,760 Speaker 2: like three to four hours a week, and so maybe 298 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 2: block a Thursday afternoon and all this curveball is is 299 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,320 Speaker 2: obviously you're not only dealing with curve balls at the 300 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 2: end of your day or on Thursday afternoons, but you're 301 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 2: building in the cushion in the rest of your schedule 302 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 2: for everything else to get pushed into as they go. 303 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 2: So again, it's just in one of those things we're 304 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 2: making visual that we usually are trying to juggle in 305 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:52,559 Speaker 2: our head that kind of trips us up when we're 306 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:53,680 Speaker 2: planning well. 307 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: And of course the million dollar question there is how 308 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 1: do I create open space for this this buffer. I 309 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: mean a lot of people are very booked. As you said, 310 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: you get everything out of your head, you may realize 311 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: that you're dealing with many tasks that could occupy all 312 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: eight or more hours of the day. So what should 313 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: we do to set boundaries or to get more open 314 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: space in our schedules. 315 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 2: Well, one is just to start blocking it now and 316 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 2: know that if you block it now and repeat it 317 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 2: on a weekly basis over time, hopefully it shakes out. 318 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 2: I will say it depends on the culture. I have 319 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 2: had clients who've had to instead of blocking like a 320 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 2: two hour block for focused heads down work, they'll block 321 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 2: four half hour blocks, so they look like meetings and 322 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 2: are a little bit more camouflaged and less people are 323 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 2: apt to take it over. I wish that weren't the case, 324 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,000 Speaker 2: but you know, we work with reality here and so 325 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 2: there's that I will. But you know, a lot of 326 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 2: people I work with realize, whether it's meetings taking up 327 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 2: your time or just sheer workload volume, that they have 328 00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 2: too much on their plate, and it's the first time. 329 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 2: I mean that is the simple elegance of any calendar 330 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 2: you use, paper or digital. If those boxes don't fit 331 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 2: in a day, you're objectively trying to do too much 332 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,120 Speaker 2: and so making it all visual can flag that for you. 333 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 2: When that happens, I like people starting to think about 334 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 2: the conversation. I mean, if you can make the decisions 335 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 2: you know, to latter like go for it. A lot 336 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 2: of people have to have conversations with leadership around workload 337 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 2: and really getting clear on you know, as I sit 338 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 2: here today, this is what I view as like our 339 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 2: departments or our companies or whatever's top priority, these are 340 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 2: the three projects that will serve that I therefore recommend 341 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 2: we you know, work on these. We table these for 342 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 2: you know, next quarter, six months from now, whatever it is. 343 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 2: This will free up you know, ten hours a day 344 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 2: for me, for my team whatever to really ensure that 345 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 2: we hit the you know, knock these projects out of 346 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 2: the park and see what they say. You know, I've 347 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 2: had I've been pleasantly surprised at how many clients go 348 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 2: to their bosses and have those conversations and the bosses 349 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 2: are like, I had no idea you were in this 350 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 2: many meetings every day, or I didn't know you had 351 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 2: twelve priorities set across four departments that are pulling on 352 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 2: our department and help them prioritize I've also had clients 353 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 2: and I've been in it myself where they're like, figure 354 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 2: it out, and that answer, while very frustrating to hear, 355 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 2: it does something to your brain. You stop, you know, selling, 356 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 2: like putting work as your number one when you're like, 357 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 2: these people are not going to work. Look out for me. 358 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 2: I gotta start redefining what success looks like for me. 359 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 2: I'm not saying you have to leave. I know in 360 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 2: this work environment it's totally wacky, but there are It 361 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 2: just does something to you in terms of what you 362 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,200 Speaker 2: are willing to do for a company that's not if 363 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 2: you know that you cannot you literally cannot win by 364 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 2: their rules. So you define your own rules of what 365 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 2: winning looks like. 366 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: Absolutely, well, we should always be defining our own rules 367 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: of what wedding looks like. Big fan of that around here. 368 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: All right, We're going to take one more quick ad 369 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 1: break and then I will be back with more from 370 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 1: Kelly Nolan. Well, I am back with Kelly Nolan, who 371 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: is the time management expert and the founder of the 372 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:04,159 Speaker 1: Bright Method. So Kelly, let's pivot to you and your 373 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 1: own personal productivity practices. I'm curious if you have any 374 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: routines that help make you more productive. 375 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 2: You know, I think about routines. A lot of mine 376 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 2: are born out of the principle of just like embracing 377 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 2: reality and the reality of my own brain myself. I 378 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:22,439 Speaker 2: think a lot of times we demand that we change 379 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 2: and you know, get more discipline and all that kind 380 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,400 Speaker 2: of stuff, and for me, that's never been very effective, 381 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,040 Speaker 2: and so it's more like, Okay, my brain is not 382 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 2: going to remember all this stuff on my own. And 383 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 2: that's where the bright method came out of. Another one is, 384 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 2: you know, social media and phones are highly addictive, and 385 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 2: they're designed to be by a lot of very smart people. 386 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 2: And so instead of just demanding I have more discipline 387 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 2: and failing at that every day and beating myself up, 388 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 2: it's using also other apps that are designed to help. 389 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 2: So I personally love opal Opa l it blocks me 390 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 2: out of social media. I have it blocked me out 391 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 2: of Instagram, Facebook, and I also Safari browser every day 392 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,159 Speaker 2: from four fifteen I think to five thirty when I 393 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 2: want to be really focused on my kids, and eight 394 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,679 Speaker 2: pm to five am to protect my sleep. And so 395 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 2: it's just you know, acknowledging I don't do this on 396 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,439 Speaker 2: my own, so let me help myself out doing it. 397 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 2: And the last thing that came to mind is I 398 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 2: was thinking about this was you know, in terms of 399 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 2: just building these routines and figuring out what fits in 400 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 2: your life, is just really acknowledging what phase of life 401 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:25,920 Speaker 2: you're in. You know, For me, working out has always 402 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 2: been the first thing to go when life gets busy. 403 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 2: I think part of it's because I hold myself to 404 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 2: the standard of working out when I was in my 405 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 2: twenties of you know, working out at five am and 406 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,919 Speaker 2: doing Class Pass in Boston, and so just switching up 407 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 2: to like fifteen minute at home workouts, it's not, you know, 408 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,159 Speaker 2: the gold star that I wanted in my twenties, but 409 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 2: there are a lot of fifteen minute workouts that can 410 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 2: kick your tush in that time and it's really effective. 411 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:50,360 Speaker 2: And so a lot of my routines are just building 412 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,399 Speaker 2: around embracing reality and then getting creative about where I 413 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 2: still want to go. 414 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: Well, you mentioned that your blackout time on your device 415 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,880 Speaker 1: as it's eight to five am, which sounds like an 416 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,360 Speaker 1: early start. Do you do you have a morning routine 417 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:05,920 Speaker 1: that's that's part of your schedule. 418 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 2: You know, I have always been and I always don't 419 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:11,360 Speaker 2: like this as someone works in time management, because it's 420 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 2: so cliche, as like, I've always been such a morning person. 421 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:16,639 Speaker 2: I've also been a very early to bed person. I 422 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 2: remember my mom in high school looking at me in 423 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 2: bed at like eight or eight thirty. I was already asleep, 424 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 2: and she's like, how are you going to go to college? 425 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 2: I'm like, I don't know. I just like going to bed, 426 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 2: and so I do wake up very early. I don't 427 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 2: my alarm set for like six twenty five because I 428 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 2: do prioritize sleep in this phase of life with little kids, 429 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 2: I just that is my priority is sleep. But I 430 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 2: do tend to naturally wake up around five or so, 431 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 2: and so I kind of follow my energy. I used 432 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:45,720 Speaker 2: to work out then Now I actually do like doing 433 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,160 Speaker 2: the creative fun parts of my job in those early 434 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 2: mornings and just enjoying a hot cup of coffee in 435 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 2: the house is dark, It's like such a dreamy time. 436 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 2: And in terms of morning routine, I don't have a 437 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:59,399 Speaker 2: full routine, but I have those non negotiables, you know, 438 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 2: feed the kids, feed the dog, and do the dishwasher, 439 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,359 Speaker 2: pack up the bags, and then I use alarms to 440 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,679 Speaker 2: hit the school bus. Or now that we're transitioning into summer, 441 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 2: like get us in the car for summer camps and 442 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 2: all that kind of stuff. 443 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,040 Speaker 1: Absolutely, well, I was just curious because, yeah, we with 444 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,119 Speaker 1: a podcast called Before Breakfast. We have a lot of 445 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: people who are definitely into their morning routines and including 446 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: listening to this, which is part of a lot of 447 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,199 Speaker 1: people's morning routines. So I always ask my guests a 448 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: question of what is something you have done recently to 449 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 1: take a day from great to awesome? 450 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 2: Yeah? I think for me, you know, while I teach 451 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 2: this and I live and breathe it, it's always one 452 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:40,719 Speaker 2: of those things you have to like catch yourself and 453 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 2: iterate on. I think that I can be having a 454 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 2: great day, but what doesn't let it be awesome is 455 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,440 Speaker 2: usually my brain being consumed by a lot of different 456 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 2: things and not being fully present on you know, the 457 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 2: little magics in the day. I don't mean, like, you know, 458 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 2: my day's pretty boring. You know, I'm a mom the 459 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 2: little kids. It's nothing like super exciting. But even like 460 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,199 Speaker 2: a three minute hot shower is pretty glorious, or a 461 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 2: ten minute walk outside with my dog in this weather 462 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 2: is amazing. But I can easily think my way to 463 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 2: not absorbing that. And so I've heard people on your 464 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,640 Speaker 2: podcast talk about that like really absorbing the wonderful parts 465 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 2: of your day, and I fully agree with that. For me, 466 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,120 Speaker 2: in order to be able to do that, though, it 467 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 2: really is taking all those thoughts that are buzzing around 468 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 2: in my head and getting them out. So whether that's 469 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,080 Speaker 2: paper and pen or Siri, if I'm on the go, 470 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 2: I'll use like Apple reminders just to capture ideas and 471 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:38,399 Speaker 2: then know that I have time calendar to go to 472 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 2: all those places and like hunt and gather them and 473 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 2: then bridge them into either my calendar or wherever I 474 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,879 Speaker 2: keep like content ideas or just strategy ideas. And so 475 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 2: I guess my point is whether you use a system 476 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 2: like mine or something else, having a clear system that 477 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 2: you use to get things out of your head, park 478 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 2: them where they need to go, and then ridge them 479 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,639 Speaker 2: into however you manage your task in time is to 480 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 2: me the first that's like the game changing step, so 481 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,159 Speaker 2: that I can let things go and then absorb my 482 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 2: day and make it awesome. Whenever I've tried to be 483 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 2: like stop thinking about that or whatever, it just doesn't work. 484 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 2: I need to be able to get it out of 485 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 2: my head because I don't trust that my brain will 486 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 2: remember it. And I think that's what we do. We 487 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 2: like ruminate on things in the hopes of remembering to 488 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 2: do them. And so if you can help yourself get 489 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 2: there outside of your brain, then that's how to me. 490 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 2: I take a day from great. 491 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 1: To awesome, amazing, amazing, And what's something you are looking 492 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: forward to now? 493 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 2: Candidly, I am in a really good I am not 494 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 2: someone who romanticizes motherhood. I think it's very hard in 495 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 2: a lot of ways. So just know that's the context. 496 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 2: My kids now are seven and three and a half, 497 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 2: and I do feel like we're hitting a really fun 498 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,719 Speaker 2: age where I just have more energy too, and so 499 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 2: this summer I'm really looking forward to that. It's really 500 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:55,720 Speaker 2: fun to hang out with the kids. But I also 501 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,200 Speaker 2: love what I do, and I get to start my 502 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 2: program again in September and work with a lot of 503 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 2: awesome people and you know, nerd out with them on 504 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 2: how to make all of this work in their industries, 505 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,200 Speaker 2: and they're with their families and everybody's life looks different, 506 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 2: and it's really fun for me to like puzzle and 507 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 2: tailor how to make it work for them, so I 508 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 2: look forward to that too. 509 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, totally with you that as kids get older 510 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,160 Speaker 1: they just get more fun. Do you mean babies are adorable? 511 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:21,880 Speaker 1: I love babies. I had five of them, but I 512 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,720 Speaker 1: you know, I love when they become so much their 513 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 1: own people and you can interact with them more and 514 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:31,120 Speaker 1: totally thanks together. Yeah, absolutely so, Kelly. Where can people 515 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 1: find you? 516 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:35,920 Speaker 2: I am most active on Instagram. It's at underscore Kelley 517 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,679 Speaker 2: Nolan Underscore, and my website is Kelleynolan dot com. I have, 518 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:41,600 Speaker 2: you know, a free program there. I also have the 519 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 2: podcast The Bright Method podcast. If people like nerding out 520 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 2: on this, which I imagine if you're here you do. 521 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, we all do. All right, Well, Kelly, thank 522 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: you so much for joining us. Thank you to everyone 523 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: for listening. If you have feedback about this or any 524 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,360 Speaker 1: other episode, you can always reach me at Laura at 525 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura, 526 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,399 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of 527 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've 528 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,360 Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at 529 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a 530 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit 531 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 532 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.