1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 1: used by leading innovators to get so much out of 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm an 4 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: organizational psychologist, the CEO of Inventium, and I'm obsessed with 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: finding ways to optimize my work day. This episode is 6 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,440 Speaker 1: another my favorite Tip episode. The title is probably pretty 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,159 Speaker 1: self explanatory. It's about my favorite tip from each of 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: the interviews I conduct. I use this format because I 9 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: often feel as a podcast listener, I just want to 10 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: get in, get the most amount of value as possible, 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: and then get out, So in this format I try 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: to do just that. My guest today is Janine Ellis. 13 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: Janine is the founder of Boost Juice, which now has 14 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 1: over five hundred stores globally. You might also know Janine 15 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: as an investor on the TV show Shark Tank. Janine 16 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: has received a ton of awards, including the Telstrip Business 17 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: Women of the Year, and is also a mother of 18 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: four kids. Needless to say, she's a very busy person. 19 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: In this excerpt, we get to hear about how Janine 20 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: structures her working week. I'm personally fascinated by this kind 21 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: of thing and understanding how an insanely busy person squeezes 22 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 1: everything in. What you'll hear in this clip is that 23 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: Janine has some really clear rules for herself about how 24 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: she thinks about and structures her week. So on that note, 25 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: let's hear from Janine about what a typical working week 26 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: looks like. 27 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 2: So I'm a busy mind, so I enjoy getting on 28 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 2: my phone or my computer on the weekend having a 29 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 2: bit of a look. But because on that way, I 30 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 2: need to put rules around that so I can actually 31 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 2: be as effective as I can. So my diary is 32 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 2: a really important tool. 33 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: You know. 34 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 2: What's in the diary gets done, you know. And the 35 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 2: diary is a way for you to manage your time, 36 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 2: you know. So if I have a meeting, I want 37 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 2: thirty minutes before the meeting, so I've got time to prep. 38 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 2: I want thirty minutes after the meeting, so I've got 39 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 2: time to do minutes or reflect. So there's those rules. 40 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 2: I don't work until eleven o'clock, so you know, does 41 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 2: that mean that I get up at six o'clock and 42 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 2: do work. Of course it does, But I don't actually 43 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 2: come into work till eleven o'clock. So that means I 44 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 2: can walk my daughter to school, take the dogs to 45 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 2: a park, and make sure I do my yoga. So 46 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 2: that is my rules. My rules are not having your 47 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 2: phone on when yoga is actually happening as well, So 48 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 2: things like you know, set up sitting your diary. Going 49 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 2: back to your diary, is you know, having your diary 50 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 2: block a time where you only do emails, and then 51 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,639 Speaker 2: you have block your time when you only do meetings. 52 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 2: And you know, for me, I always work Sunday nights. 53 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 2: So for me, I make sure that I start my 54 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 2: week all nice and clear on a Sunday night, and 55 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 2: I try not to have meetings on a Monday and Friday. 56 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 2: So I set myself up for Sunday night and then 57 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 2: Mondays my setup week and Friday is my wine down week. 58 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 2: What have I not got to that I can get 59 00:02:57,960 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 2: to on a Friday and if I keep those clear 60 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 2: of time to do that. So that's kind of my structure. 61 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: And how long have you had that structure? 62 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 2: For look, I've learned that early. And just so you know, 63 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 2: whenever you create a structure, it gets thrown out the 64 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 2: window a lot of the times, Like that time I 65 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 2: said that I was in twenty five states in the 66 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 2: three in three weeks. So you so, but if you 67 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 2: mostly get that, it's right now. I've had that for decades, 68 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 2: so I've probably not decades, probably a decade, probably ten years. 69 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 2: That's sort of worked for me. Probably not the starting 70 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 2: at eleven o'clock. That's probably been more of a recent thing, 71 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 2: say the last five years, but certainly before then, certainly 72 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 2: the diary is really I manage my diary. I don't 73 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 2: think my diary manage me. 74 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's nice. I'm curious like with the not coming 75 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: into work before eleven am, which I'm sure that some 76 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: people would be like, well that's very extreme, like what 77 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: was it five years ago that led you to do that? 78 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: Do you remember? Well? 79 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 2: I think what happens is you find that in actual fact, 80 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 2: quite often people get stressed when they think the router 81 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 2: can but if you actually stop and actually look at 82 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 2: what you've got on and actually do a list, you 83 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 2: actually go, ah, actually I'm good, I know where everything is. 84 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 2: And that's where people get stressed. Is they get stressed 85 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 2: if they're going to forget something. So live with a pattern. 86 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 2: Pin So, going back to your question though, because I'm 87 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 2: going off in tangents, So going back to your question is, 88 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 2: you know when when do I learn that? It's when 89 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 2: things get out of control that you feel like you 90 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 2: have to put systems in place. And so things did 91 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 2: get out of control. You know when I had little 92 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 2: kids and running boost and running the business. You know, 93 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 2: I was going, God, where was the last time I 94 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 2: had some quality time with them? So, okay, what systems 95 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 2: don't into place? Well, I'll read the whole Harry Potter 96 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 2: series to them. So I used to do that at night, 97 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 2: which forced me to sit and be with them, or 98 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 2: I would make sure that I go okay, after work, 99 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 2: I will go on. So you find your first and foremost, 100 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 2: you find out what the problem is, and then you 101 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,799 Speaker 2: find a solution. So the problem was I wasn't running 102 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 2: my time very effectively, and my solution was to start 103 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 2: running it more effectively. And that's all sorts of tools, 104 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 2: which is ye die, It is making I use tasks 105 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 2: really effectively in the task and outlook, you know, whether 106 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 2: it's notes, whether it's lists, whatever it is for that person. 107 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 2: So what you find though, when you're trying to find 108 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 2: your solution is you'll try a few things and see 109 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 2: if that jacket fits right. So you go Okay, that's 110 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 2: a bit tight. That system doesn't work for me. I'm 111 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 2: going to change the other jacket. All right, this jacket, Okay, 112 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 2: this is work. Actually, this is working for me. I'm 113 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,240 Speaker 2: not losing things. I'm not forgetting things that people say 114 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 2: to me. You're amazing, Jeannie. You never forget anything. It's 115 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 2: not because I don't forget anything because I forget heaps. 116 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,679 Speaker 2: It's because I have a system, so I don't forget. 117 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: Hello, it's Amantha here again. I personally love this idea 118 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: of putting systems in place when you feel like things 119 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: are getting out of control. I feel like it's a 120 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,720 Speaker 1: theme that I've noticed coming up in a few interviews 121 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 1: on this podcast, and I think it's personally a great 122 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,159 Speaker 1: thing to reflect and think about when do you feel 123 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: most out of control and what's the system that you 124 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: can put in place to fix that. So, for me, 125 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: and this might sound a little bit strange, but school 126 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 1: drop offs often make me feel out of control. The 127 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: reason for this is that I've got an almost five 128 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: year old daughter who I drop off to prep class 129 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: a couple of times a week. And if you have 130 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: or have had a little person of this age to 131 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: care for, you will know that unpredictable things can happen 132 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: in the morning, like they might have lost their favorite 133 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,560 Speaker 1: toy that absolutely has to come to school that day, 134 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: or they might be refusing to put sun cream on, 135 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: or maybe a piece of their uniform might have mysteriously disappeared. 136 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: So for me, what I do now is I pretend 137 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: in my mind that school starts ten minutes earlier than 138 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: it actually does. This basically tricks me and Frankie my daughter, 139 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: into having a ten minute buffer. And you know what, 140 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,679 Speaker 1: a lot of mornings we don't need it because things 141 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: actually go smoothly. But more importantly, when things don't go smoothly, 142 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: I feel a lot less out of control because I 143 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: know that we probably won't be late. So that is 144 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: it for today. If you like this excerpt, you might 145 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: want to listen to my full chat with Janine, which 146 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: I linked to in the show notes. And if you're 147 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: enjoying how I work, I'd love it if you could 148 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: take five seconds to leave a review in iTunes or 149 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. So leaving reviews actually makes 150 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: it easier for other people to find this podcast. And 151 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: also thank you to all the amazing people who have 152 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: left five star reviews and written some lovely words. It 153 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: truly does make my day. So thank you so much 154 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: and I will see you next time.