An image of guest Anna Dearmon Kornick sitting at a desk smiling into camera

Episode 364 – 5 things to do every day to boost your productivity with Anna Dearmon Kornick

In this podcast we’re talking about how we can use our time more intentionally, more productively, and in a way that supports the kind of home and life we want.
Because let’s be honest, when you’re surrounded by clutter, it’s not just your space that feels chaotic, it’s your mind and your calendar too. That’s why we’re so excited to be joined by Anna Dearmon Kornick. Anna is a total expert when it comes to helping busy people take back control of their time. She’s worked with professionals, business owners, overwhelmed parents and even politicians to bring more structure into their day-to-day lives — and she’s here today to help us do the same.

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Transcript of this podcast episode

Speaker 1  00:00
Today, we're talking about how we can use our time more intentionally, more productively, and in a way that supports the kind of home and life we want. Because let's be honest, when you're surrounded by clutter, it's not just your space that feels chaotic, it's your mind and probably your calendar too. That's why we're so excited today to be joined by Anna Dearmon Kornick, Anna is a total, total expert when it comes to helping busy people take back control of their time. She's worked with professionals, business owners, overwhelmed parents and even politicians to bring some structure into their day to day lives, and she's here today to help us do the same. You

Speaker 2  00:46
You're listening to the declutter hub podcast bringing you tried and tested no nonsense tips and advice from the leading experts in decluttering and organizing your home. Now here's your host, Lesley Spellman

Speaker 3  01:02
and Hello

Speaker 1  01:07
and welcome listeners. I'm Lesley. We're delighted you're here to join us as part of your decluttering journey. So whether you're brand new today or have been listening for ages, we want to say thank you so much for being here. It means so much to Ingrid and I that you turn up every week to listen to and support us while we talk all things decluttering and organizing. We'd love to help more people with their quest for a clutter free home. And our podcast is a fantastic way for people to be inspired to take action. We have a favor to ask. If you like what you hear, be sure to hit the follow, subscribe or like button on your podcast player, share us with your friends, or share your thoughts on the podcast by leaving a review. Welcome Anna, how are you?

Speaker 4  01:51
I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me. So I mean,

Speaker 1  01:55
we're going to have to dig deep. We have to go straight in and go politicians tell us a little bit about your background, Anna, and how you came to be working with politicians. Oh,

Speaker 4  02:07
my goodness. Well, I will say it's been a while, but I actually started my career on Capitol Hill in the US, in Washington, DC, where my very first job, right out of college was as a scheduler to a United States Congressman. So it was my job to plan every single minute of his day, from the moment he woke up in the morning until he went to bed at night. Every single moment was planned and accounted for. But as you can imagine, life throws curveballs, whether you are a politician or just a you know, regular person. And so in addition to creating carefully orchestrated calendars, I was also responsible for managing the crisis of things that would pop up and when events would fall through, or when we would have an entire day full of meetings planned, and then the vote bells would ring, and then all of the day's plans would go up in smoke. So it was a really interesting first step into my professional life, because not only was I trying to figure out time management for myself a brand new young professional, but I was in charge of one of the most hectic calendars in the entire country.

Speaker 1  03:23
Yeah, exactly. Interesting start, though, really, you know, that really is a baptism of fire there, isn't it straight in, right into the scheduling. So what did you learn from that? Then that then took you forward into deciding to take that further as a career,

Speaker 4  03:41
you know, I learned a lot of the basics of time management. Of course, things like time blocking, things like task matching, things that I consider to be the OGS, the original, the foundations of time management. But one of the most important lessons that I learned Lesley was that we are all human. We are all human. My very first week on the job, I put together what I thought was the most beautiful schedule for the boss. We were able to have him meet with every constituent that requested a meeting. He had time to make it to fundraising calls and receptions and committee meetings. And I remember showing I remember on on Monday morning that that first week after creating my the schedule our Chief of Staff, his name was Clayton, he walked into my walked over to my desk, and he said, Anna, we have a problem. And my heart absolutely sank, because I had no idea what he was about to say, yet, I thought maybe I missed a meeting with the Speaker of the House, or that maybe the White House had called and he said, Anna, there are there is no space for the boss to take a bathroom break the entire day. I had planned this perfect all. On paper schedule that enabled him to do everything he needed to do except be a human. And so I had to go back to the drawing board and completely revamp the entire week with actual real life in mind. And you know, how often Lesley, do we create this picture perfect plan for our day, but we forget about the things that make us human, whether it's the transitions or the messes or the unexpected toddler meltdowns that we can't account for. Life is real. Life is messy, and you can have the most beautiful planner in the world, but unless you're able to pivot based on what matters most to you, not what matters Exactly.

Speaker 1  05:47
And it's finding it, you know, it's quite interesting actually, because last week's podcast that we recorded was all about the 10 things that you might be doing that might be kind of making your hemorrhage time and not allowed to declutter, basically. So it had the classic things in it. Lots of people have listened to it now, the kind of social media scrolling and actually making detailed to do lists and everything was in there as well, you know? And of course, it's all about and the message of that podcast really is, it's not a problem to scroll on social media. We're all doing it. It's a problem to watch TV, all of those things. We need to find balance, and we need to see where our productivity is lacking because we're spending too much time doing things that are not helping us in life. So let's get back to basics, then Anna and talk about what actually is productivity? It's a term that's banded around all the time, yeah, you need to be more productive. Productivity. Productivity coaches, productivity goal, what is it like? What is it? Why do we need it in our lives?

Speaker 4  06:45
I love it. Such a good question. I'm going to be honest. I'm not a big fan of the word productivity, right? Because product productivity, on its own, just means getting stuff done getting as much done as possible in as little time as possible, but productivity itself does not incorporate purpose, because if you are getting a lot of things done, but those things that you are getting done don't tie to a mission, don't tie to a purpose, don't tie to your goals. That is pointless productivity. Yeah, that's pointless productivity. And so I tend to approach productivity and time management in a very purpose and personality driven way. How can you not just be productive, but how can you be purposeful in the way that you're spending your time, and how can you do that in a way that honors your current season, that enables you to rest and recharge and still connect with others and show up as your best self, rather than just go, go, go, do, do? Do? Because all action without rest. That's, that's just how you get to burnout.

Speaker 1  08:07
Yeah, definitely. So give me a, give me an example of that then, because it, you know, just so What? What? Give me an example of a person that might be like, right? Okay, I can be productive, or manage my time, or whatever we're going to call that, and have purpose. Give me a tangible example of it, please. Anna,

Speaker 4  08:22
oh, sure. First, I'll give you the opposite. Yeah. So the example of someone who is just operating based on productivity, getting things done for the sake of getting things done. When you get to the end of your day and you think to yourself, Wow, I was busy all day, but what did I actually do? Do you ever can you? Can you think of a day when you felt like that? I was busy, I was frantic, but what did I actually accomplish? And chances are, it's because, it's not because you didn't accomplish anything. You were doing a lot of things, but they weren't the right things that moved the needle on whatever products or goals that you have. So the flip side of that someone who is operating with purposeful productivity, they start their day very clear on what their top three priorities are for the day, because they have taken time to identify their top priorities for the week ahead that then feed into the month or the quarter or the year or whatever it is. And even if you're not being, that I don't know, diligent with your with your regular planning, you're still starting the day with a clear picture of what you want the end of the day to look or feel like you've got a clear picture of what success means or what done looks like, because when you start the day with that vision of success, every single action then becomes attuned to making that vision a reality, and it starts with you. Creating that with identifying and articulating, okay, what are my top priorities for the day, and how can I arrange my day in order to complete those priorities?

Speaker 1  10:10
Absolutely, I think that's so important, isn't it? Well, isn't it to sort of look at that and prioritize and think about that, think about what your goals are going to be and where you want to get to. So that's when you feel real achievement, isn't it? Because you know that it's moved that needle towards almost like a higher kind of purpose. You know, really where you want to get to, whether that's in line with your ethics, your mission, whatever that might be. And it can be the same from a in a work context or, obviously, in a personal context as well. And so we we will, of course, have different to do lists. Sometimes it gets all muddled up together in the middle of a day, doesn't it, in terms of what we want to achieve with work and what we want to achieve personally. So absolutely love that. So talk to me a little bit about the types of things that you feel that people need to achieve, the types of things that you're talking about,

Speaker 4  11:01
definitely. So, you know, I'd say that when it comes to time management, whenever we want to begin improving our time management, we think, oh, I need to get my time management in order. I need to be more productive. What we tend to do is buy a new planner or download an app or look for some type of productivity hack or podcast, maybe it's even been my podcast, which is about time management, but we tend to look for tools or quick fixes. But the truth is is that good time management doesn't start on the pages of a planner or a color coded calendar. Good Time Management starts by getting to the heart of what matters most to you, in the form of your vision and your values. When we don't have a clear understanding of where we're going and what we're want, what we want, this ties back to that top three priorities for the day when we don't know where we're going. Every single decision that we make about how we spend our time doesn't really matter. It's kind of like Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat. When Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, which way should I go? And the Cheshire Cat says, Well, where are you going? And she's like, well, I don't know. Well, then it doesn't matter. That's exactly what life feels like. That's the hamster wheel. That's when we feel like we're just spinning our wheels. And so what then do we need in order to make the most of our time? Well, I like to think in terms of a toolbox. In my in my time management coaching, I teach something called the heart method. And heart stands for habits, energy, attention, recharge and time. And there are very few struggles that we encounter in our life that cannot be solved with one of those five tools, whether it is forming a habit in order to reduce your decision fatigue, creating a new routine which goes alongside habits in order to create a sustainable rhythm in your life, energy understanding your peak energy times in the day, because you again, you can have the most beautifully designed calendar, but if you don't have the energy to follow through, you're not going to have the motivation to work through the things on your list, and then attention, which we all know at this point, we are living in a world that is absolutely designed to fracture our attention everywhere we turn. And that's our most valuable asset at this point, our attention. And so what can we do to strengthen our attention, to make sure that we're staying recharged with rest, recreation and relationships? There's, it's, it's almost like a spice cabinet, based on what you're cooking, which spice do you pull from the cabinet to make whatever you're doing just a little bit better, just

Speaker 1  13:56
from that I was, I was, I was kind of looking away Anna, because I was just writing them down, because I love them. And I'm sure you're going to talk more about talk more about them. So habit, energy, attention, routine, and

Speaker 4  14:06
what was tea, recharge and time. Oh, recharge. Sorry, recharge. Yes, recharge, one of the most underestimated time management strategies out there.

Speaker 1  14:16
Wow, I love it. So I love that, and it's so simple as well. So, yeah, fantastic. Absolutely love it. And so you're so right. I think what we were talking about last week in the podcast, we were really probably talking more about the attention sappers there when we were talking about the things, but general, generally, when we're talking about decluttering, we certainly talk quite a lot. Obviously, we talk a lot about habits and routines. We talk a lot about energy. So we talk about tuning into your levels of energy, working out what time of day you're most productive. I mean, I was talking last week on the podcast about the fact that towards the end of the day, that's not when I'm going to do my most creative work, so that's when I'll fiddle around with my. A sauna and, you know, like, make it look pretty and reprioritize for the following day, and just do things that probably are a little bit meaningless. Well, they're not meaningless. They're important things, but I'm not going to do that at nine o'clock in the morning, because if I do that, I'll hemorrhage loads of time, you know, by faffing around, because I like it way too much, because it's nice and simple and so, so interesting, so and what sort of, what sort of routines and things do you think that we can incorporate within our day to be more productive?

Speaker 4  15:27
Oh, this is such a fun question, because, you know, when you think about routines, I'm going to bet the first thing that popped in your mind was a morning routine. When we hear the word routine, we tend to think about morning routines, because that's the one that tends to get the most attention. How are you starting your day? There are books written that are devoted specifically to morning routines, and Instagram posts about the billionaires morning routine and all this kind of stuff, but I believe that there are actually five essential routines that help us show up as our best selves. These five essential routines serve as the foundation for everything else that we build our life on, because it creates the routine, the rhythm, and it reduces the decision fatigue that we experience, and it enables us to make better decisions about how we spend our time, where we direct our energy, and what we give our attention to, and all of those things impact how we show up in the world. And so those five routines are, of course, your morning routine, because we can't live without that starting your day your evening routine, transitioning to a good night's sleep. Your Work Day Startup routine, that rhythm that takes you from not work brain to work brain and helps you move into a state of focus. Your workday shutdown routine, which is that bookend of your work day, which helps you transition from work brain to not work brain, one of the most important routines that we could possibly have if we want to feel more present in our downtime. It's your workday shutdown routine. And then finally, that fifth routine is a weekly planning session of some type, and that weekly planning session is going to look different for all of us, but it's a time to get a bird's eye view of your week ahead, to make decisions before they become problems, to spot obstacles before they get in your way, and to essentially get your game plan for Your week. A good coach is never going to head into a game without some kind of a plan or a playbook, and so this is your time to create that playbook for your week ahead. So again, it's morning, evening, work, day, startup, workday, shutdown and weekly planning. Do

Speaker 1  17:59
you know what I love about this, Anna, is it's so closely aligned, of course, all of these things, you know, when we talk about routines, resets, you know, all of the things that we're talking about the moment, it's so closely aligned to what we teach here at the declutter hubs. I hope people are hearing some of the things. Ah, that's what that means in the context of decluttering. But of course, you know, decluttering is all about, you know, productivity and life and getting things together. Once you've got less clutter, you can spend more time doing the things that you want to do. So one of the things that we advocate for, really, is, you know, when we, of course, we advocate a morning reset and an evening reset. And we talk quite a lot about thinking about when the best time is for that for you. And so obviously that's going to be that will be different. You know, if you're a busy mom of three with three kids, and you've got to get them off to school, if you've got the benefit of coming back after the school room, for example, you might decide that that's when you're going to do your kind of morning reset, almost. But other people, if you've not got the beauty of that, and you've got to go straight off to work, then you might have to do get up at six o'clock in the morning and do that. Do you know what I mean? And so it's about thinking where that time is. And I think the other thing that we talk quite a lot about, as well is timing yourself to understand how long these things take, you know? So a lot of people miss that bit out and either overthink it or underthink it. So I think, you know, it's very much like, we're like, time, how long it takes to empty the dishwasher in the morning time, how long it takes for you to do your morning routine, to get yourself in the shower and get yourself ready. And so, you know, once you've got those ideas and examples, and you know, the factual information about how long it was going to take you, then you're not going to run out of time, you know, which is mostly what happens, right? Rather than get more time back. So I'll definitely so closely aligned to what we teach here at the declutter hub. And of course, the planning and the importance of planning is super, super important. So you're an advocate of a weekly planning session. So do you want to give us an idea before we pop to a break about what that weekly planning session should or. Or could look like? Sure,

Speaker 4  20:02
I'll tell you a little bit about mine, just to give you some inspiration. So I tend to begin my weekly planning session by opening up my calendar to get a bird's eye view of the week ahead. And one of the first things that I'll assess is, what is this week going to feel like? Is this kind of a normal week? Is this going to be more hectic than normal, or is this week going to feel more laid back because I have fewer meetings on the calendar, because that then impacts all of the decisions for the rest of the week? Once I kind of understand what the week is going to feel like, then I'll start plugging in time blocks to accomplish my most important priorities for the week ahead, so that I'm consistently moving my goals forward. The next thing that I make sure is set is kid drop offs and pickups. My husband and I, we have two little girls who are in two different schools, who go to different practices and different different things, and they've got to be shuttled around. And so my calendar, our calendar, is a really important communication tool in our family, and so I'll make sure that it is clearly entered into the calendar who is taking which child to school, and I will send my husband calendar invites. And that is just it works for us so well from there, adding in transition time, you know, just like you said, we tend to underestimate how much time things take us, and we also tend to get lost in the transitions. For example, if we're heading to a doctor's appointment, we may allow ourselves the amount of time it takes to get from point A to point B, but we won't incorporate the time it takes to find a parking spot, to walk from the parking lot to the doctor's office to take the elevator up to the fourth floor to check in, and then before you know it, you're 30 minutes late to your appointment. And so really making space for the transition periods throughout the week, make sure that I don't over schedule myself, and when we run late places, it's more than just me who's affected. It affects my girls and the way that they feel, because they pick up on that, that chaotic, frantic energy. And of course, it's not, it's not kind to the people who you are, who you are, making weight, which is, it's just a feeling that we don't, we don't like. And so transitions. And then from there, I have a quick, deceptive discussion with my husband about his week. And he then takes my overview and makes a meal plan and a grocery list for the week. He is sort of our house chef, and so that's something that he handles as we're partners in the household. And then from there, he usually takes the girls to the grocery store, which kind of gives me a quiet house for a bit. I check the weather, and then I pull my girls clothes for the week, because that is one thing that I can do on Sundays that's going to make every single morning for the rest of the week so much smoother, because it's one less decision that I have to make in the morning when I know I'm not going to be my best i It usually takes me about 10am to wake up, let's be honest. And I know that about myself, and so I mean to quick recap. It's an overview of the week ahead, making sure we know who is going where, with logistics, creating transition, time buffers, meal planning, grocery list, weather and kids clothes.

Speaker 1  23:23
I know weather, I think because our weather here is just so we just take it as it comes. I was telling Anna before we came the day we're recording this, it's the day that it's like 32 degrees in England. I said, you know, as opposed to in the States, where everyone's got air con in the house, and 32 degrees is like, quite calm. I'm like, we're all roasting and sweating. We're obsessed with the weather, but we don't, kind of live by it, because we never quite know what it's going to be. Anna, thank you so much. We're going to pop to a break and we're going to come back and talk more about wonderful productivity after the break. Welcome back. I really, really enjoyed talking about the weekly planner and a weekly planning session. I kind of want you to come to my house, I think, and do mine as well. But I think we've all got our own version of that where we think about it, and so yours is obviously very well thought through, very meticulous. You probably do it a similar time each week, and all of those kind of things because you've been working this. And ultimately, this is the job that you do. Now, for me, that kind of planning session, particularly from work, happens on a Friday. So on a Friday afternoon, I look at the week ahead and go, What does next week look like? What can we change? What can we ditch? Normal is things like that. You know, these ideas that you got, like, yeah, we do that in that week. We're going to do that. And then you're like, No, that's not quite the way that it's going to work. And so that would be, it's not really transition, but it's like that change and reprioritizing based on what the week ahead looks like. Same with family time. You know, often that's me. I do my my weekend reset on a Saturday. That's when I'm thinking about doing the shopping, doing the meal planning, and actually, you know, resetting the house and thinking about. What's going to happen over the weekend. So it's about finding something that's going to work for you. I think that's the important part of it, isn't it that fits into kind of your life. So I'm really interested for those people, obviously, an evening reset we're probably familiar with, in terms of what that looks like in a household. I'd love to know about your switch up. I can't remember what you called it, the kind of transition from, you know, kind of home life to work life and and the transition out of it, please?

Speaker 4  25:30
Yes. So the workday startup and the workday shutdown routine, it's basically the the morning and evening routine of your work day. And these are routines that so often get forgotten, because when we whether we are commuting from our kitchen to our home office, or we are commuting from home to our office building, a lot of times we get into the office, we sit down and we go, we already feel behind, because emails have been coming in, and we just kind of start working. And when we sit down and start working, we're not able to begin our day with the end in mind. We're not able to begin our day with a plan, feeling present, feeling calm. We are starting our day with a bit of a chaotic energy, and it's really difficult to shake that chaotic energy when that's what you bring into the beginning of your work day. And so a workday startup routine is a short series of steps. It's doing a physical routine that creates a mental shift. So it can be as simple as something like if you work from home, sit down at your desk, open up your laptop, write down your top three priorities for the day, and make sure that your water or your coffee has been revealed filled. That is it? It is not something that is meant to be incredibly complicated or complex. But what performing this short series of steps in order does is it signals to your brain that it's time to focus. I have a good friend who also works from home. Doesn't have the typical commute, and she has a work sweater that she keeps at her at her desk, and so whenever she sits down to begin work, she puts on her work cardigan, which is a part of that physical signal that Okay, it's time to focus. You could light a candle. You could put on a certain type of music, but it doesn't, it doesn't really matter what the cue is, as long as you are consistent with it from day to day, because it puts you into a mindset of focus. But it's that routine at the end of the day that makes a huge difference. Because again, just like many of us start our work day by opening our laptop and diving into the first thing or getting lost in emails, many of us tend to close out our work day by getting up and walking away. That's it. Yeah, getting it, just getting up and walking away. And what happens when you get up and you walk away is that you are taking with you all of the open loops and unfinished work. Now there's a principle called the Zeigarnik effect that tells us that our brains have a preference for things that are unfinished. That's why we lay in bed at night and think through the things that are on our to do list, because our brain wants to focus in on the things that are unfinished. And so when you just get up from your desk and walk away, it's no wonder that you continue thinking and ruminating on all of your work activities and reaching for your email when you really want to be present with your family in your limited downtime. And so a workday shutdown is again a small series of physical steps, but also very purposeful steps that enable you to close those open loops, even if your work isn't technically finished, because let's be real in the world that we live in now, very rarely is all of our work completely finished. It's just like putting a bookmark in a project, but still ongoing, and so a really effective workday shutdown routine is going to have you plan, prepare. Preview plan and prepare. That's it. Preview plan and prepare. Get a preview of what's coming tomorrow, because this is going to remove that need for you to think, Okay, what? What's my first meeting? Who am I meeting with tomorrow? What am I doing? Because those are the kind of things that we mull over in the evenings. So you get a preview of your next day, and then you look at okay, what is my plan for tomorrow? What do I want to accomplish? Do I want to go ahead and think through my top three now, just so that I already know what it. Is so I can hit the ground running for tomorrow. Maybe it's, oh, I know that I want to spend time working on this specific project and then the last P prepare. What can I do now briefly to ensure that I am ready for tomorrow? Maybe if you know that you have a meeting with a new client, you can go ahead and pull some of the materials for that you can send a confirmation email, what can you preview? What can you plan, and what can you prepare? Because when you assess okay, what was completed from today, what's still open from today, and you you tell yourself, okay, I am done for today, you are almost tricking yourself into thinking that the work is done so you can be more present. You know that it's there for you tomorrow, and so really, that workday shut down. That's the secret to being more present in the evenings. Because you're you're closing the loops for now, knowing how you're going to reopen them tomorrow. I

Speaker 1  31:03
love that idea. You know, it's a real light bulb that's gone on them. For me, Anna, the fact that you, I think, what was it called the zigarnik, zigarnik theory, the garnic effect, yes, garlic effect, where you talked about the fact that our brain loves these kind of open problem type things. And that's a real light bulb for me, because that's what it is, and that's certainly, that's what my brains like, do you know, to me? And so I was thinking all the time, and I do do the kind of startup routine and the closed down routine, oh no, that's not what it's called. I apologize. So I do do something like that. I probably am better at the startup than I am the close down, apart from at the end of a week, because things start coming in, people start coming in. And, you know, it's just hard, isn't it? Sometimes to give a finite kind of here, here we are done. I was interested to know, actually, whether, because you've obviously been working and coaching people in productivity and time management for quite a while, did you have you seen a quite detrimental effect with the fact, with working from home, how that affects people's ability to do that? Because obviously when you go into the office, it's much easier to start that you've got a very designated kind of startup and close down to your day, in principle, right? At least, you're leaving for the day, and there's a travel and a commute in the middle of it. So when people are literally walking like I do like I'm sure you do as well. Anna, from your kitchen to your office, has that proven more difficult for people to get their heads around?

Speaker 4  32:28
You know, in a in a way, I would say yes, because when you're working in an office, the commute is obvious. You You don't have to put thought into it. You don't have to really be intentional around leaving the office, because you get in your car, or you get in your get on the bus, get on the train, and you go home. And so when I'm working with clients who maybe are working from home for the first time, and they are really struggling with the boundary between work and home, because it's all blended. Now is we create, we use that workday shutdown to create an artificial commute. I actually worked with one client, Marcus. He was an engineer in Dallas, Texas, and he would finish the day in his home office. He would go outside and take a walk around the block, and then he would come back inside and start his evening at home, and that that walk around the block was the mental decompression that he needed to really transition into being at home in the evening, even though he had been at home all day. One thing that we do at our house, I have a sliding door like, kind of like a barn door, pocket door, style of my office, and it looks right into my living room. And so if that door is open when I'm in the living room kitchen, we have an open concept floor plan I can see into my office, and so that door has to be closed to create that separation. And so when you're working from home, it might require a little bit more creativity. And if you're looking for ideas, send me a DM on Instagram. I'll help you figure it out, but it but then you begin to have more freedom around the way that you shut down. Yeah,

Speaker 1  34:25
I think it's interesting, actually, what you know you talk about the person that you know that walks around the block, and I know one of my husband's colleagues, they only have to be in the office three days a week, and so the other two days he gets on his, you know, and it's a big commute in from him outside of London, into London, and he does the same sort of 20 kilometer bike ride back and forth before he starts his day. So I think it's kind of similar things, you know, isn't it? And so, yeah, no, really, really interesting. So, well, thank you for sharing those. Anna, really useful. There's so much food for thought. You know, everybody's minds will be going. How can I do that? You know, do I do. That? Do I do a version of that? How can I improve on that? And there's so many improvements to be made. Now, I wanted to pick your brains a little bit before we leave. About tools. Okay, so I know it's not about tools. We need to be intentional. We need to be working towards our purpose. Really, really important. I'm just thinking all the time, because at the moment, Ingrid and I are trying desperately to be more productive, more efficient. We're looking at process all the time. We're obviously embracing things like aI all the time, which is exciting into in terms of the way that it can help if you use it in the right way. And one of the things that we did this week was, I was like, We really need to know how much time we're spending on things in order to actually make a change and see ourselves where the time is being hemorrhaged away. So a lot of it was kind of, it's been on there for a while, but last week, I was like, We really need to do this. We record a podcast. We're telling our members, our podcast listeners about this. We need to do it. So today, this afternoon, quite by chance, I installed toggle, which is a time management time tracker, remembering to start to record it. I'm sure it'll be quite difficult, because that's a big habit change, isn't it? But what do you think about that as a starting point for people? I know it's probably going to be people in a work context and not in a personal context. You want to explain what toggle is and how you think or don't think that can help.

Speaker 4  36:28
Sure. So I absolutely love the idea of doing a time study or a time audit. I think time study sounds nicer than audit, but doing a time study is a great exercise for anyone who is ready to improve their time management and they want to understand where their time is going. And you said it's really helpful at work, but it's also incredibly helpful in your personal life as well, to understand where some of those hidden time leaks are. I have clients who have done a time study before tracking their time in 15 minute increments for a full week, 168 hours in order to really get an understanding of where exactly their time is going. Using a tool like toggle is an amazing help to tracking your time. It's also helpful because not only is there a desktop app that enables you to set almost like a stopwatch for yourself, but you can also download the app for your phone with a widget and very easily start and stop your time tracker on your phone if you're moving around the house or if you are out and about, attending in person, client meetings or you want to track within the different parts of your day. Having that information is so incredibly helpful. The act of tracking your time is also helpful because, you know, there's a famous Peter Drucker management quote, what is it? What matters gets? What's measured matters? I just totally butchered it. But when things matter, they get measured, and vice versa, whatever. And so as you are tracking your time, you begin to make more mindful decisions about how you're spending your time, because you may not want to live with the guilt of writing down that you spent 45 minutes scrolling Instagram or whatever that is. So it can, it can positively influence your decisions to a degree as well. But you can't just stop at tracking your time. Now. You actually have to look at it and analyze it. And so when you, when you, when you analyze your time. I love to have my clients ask this question, when in your week did you feel amazing? When were you really happy? And did you feel joy? When did you feel like you were living in your genius zone, doing the type of work that you love doing? And then I love to ask, When did you not feel great? Whether it was an energy dip. You know, we tend to experience an energy dip around 255, three o'clock PM, every day, naturally. But when did you not feel your best? What surprised you about where you spent your time? And then, what would you like? What was missing? What would you like to do more of? Because sometimes we can track our time in a given week and realize, Wow, I really didn't do anything social, and that's a really important part of who I am, is connecting with others. And so it can be very eye opening in guiding the decisions that we make next about our routines and what we want to build into our routines. It can influence your agenda for your weekly planning session, you may want to start asking yourself, Who do I want to have coffee week with this week? What relationships do I want to build? Because I recognize that that wasn't a part of the week that I tracked. Um, you might identify parts of your day that could be used in a better way. Okay, so, yeah. You've been setting your alarm for 6am but then you lay in bed for 45 minutes and read the news and scroll your phone, but you can't find time to go for a run or to work out that time is there. Sometimes it takes a time study and really having the numbers, the data, to prove to you that it's possible

Speaker 1  40:24
You're so right. I absolutely love it. So obviously I'm on the right track with toggle trying to remember, remember to track it is going to be interesting. But I think, you know, you write just the act of actually thinking about what you're spending your time on, let alone tracking it, is going to be enlightening in itself, and then we'll allow you then to go, why am I spending so much time on this? And I'm sure it'll say you're spending way too much time just talking nonsensically to Ingrid when you should be actually doing work. That's probably what's not got. Not got, I've not got a tag for that one, I'm afraid. But like wasting time talking to dilly dallying. Yeah, exactly. That's not in there. Then when I get there, I'm like, Hmm, I've worked 40 hours this week, and there's only 20 hours tracks. I wonder what the other 20 hours is. And so that'll be enlightening in itself. So I don't want to take any more of your time. Anna, it's been absolutely incredible. I've absolutely loved it so much more that we could talk about, maybe you can come back another time and talk more about time management and productivity. But before we go, is there anything else that you'd like to talk about, like to mention to people, and, of course, tell us where people can find more about

Speaker 4  41:33
you? Sure. Well, first, thank you so much for having me. This has been so much fun. I will come to your house and help you with a weekly planning session, if you then come to my house and help me with decluttering. So if that's a deal, we'll make that happen. But if you're interested in continuing the conversation around purpose and personality driven time management, I would love for you to tune in to my podcast. It's about time. I know Ingrid is going to be joining me for an episode soon, so I can't wait to have that conversation with her and get to meet her. You can find it's about time wherever you listen to podcasts. So if you're listening to one right now, just hop over to your search bar. Search. It's about time. Go ahead and subscribe so you don't miss the new episode that's coming out on Monday. And then if you'd like to take your time management. One step further, I would love for you to check out my free video. Course. It's called blueprint to balance, and it walks you through creating your personal balance blueprint. What does balance mean to you? What does balance look like for you in this season? I wholeheartedly believe that balance is a feeling and not a formula, and so let's get to work creating your feeling. I mean, you can get that@blueprintsobalance.com

Speaker 1  42:51
Oh, love it. Everybody's just scooting off now to blueprint blueprints of balance.com. For sure. Thank you so much, Anna. We'll pop all of those details in the show notes for you so that you've got them. Thank you for your time. It's been incredible. And yeah, that's it for today. Thank you so much. We will see you next week.

Speaker 2  43:15
Thanks so much for listening to the declutter hub podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to us in your podcast player so you don't miss an episode and we'll see you next week.

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If you’re like the majority of amazing women I work with, you’re probably trying to juggle it all. Maybe you’re running a business, trying to keep the plates spinning at your 9-5, or maybe you’re working in the home and making it all happen as a stay at home mom. You’re getting the kids to school and dance practice on time, and somehow still have to keep up with your own hobbies and friendships. It’s enough to overwhelm anyone, and easy to feel like there’s just never enough time.

But as a Time Management Coach, here’s what I’ve learned: You do have enough time. You just need to spend time on what matters most. And sometimes, you just need the right methods to help boost your productivity.

If you want to boost your productivity everyday, here are the 5 things to build into your daily routine.

Have a Workday Startup Routine

This is kind of like the morning routine for the workday. The Startup routine is a series of steps that helps you transition from not-work brain, to work brain. It helps you switch off your personal thoughts and get into a state of focus on your work.

This can be as simple as sitting down at your desk, opening your laptop, opening your task management system, and identifying your top three priorities for the day. It can change your day!

Start Each Day By Choosing Your Top 3

When you’ve got a long list of projects you’re working on with different deadlines, sometimes it can be head-spinning to figure out what to work on first or next.

To prioritize your projects, choose the Top Three things you MUST get done today in order to move the needle on your most important projects. This doesn’t mean that you’re only going to do three things today, it means that you’re starting the day prioritizing those tasks.

Write your Top 3 at the top of your planner page for the day and reward yourself when you cross one out.

Listen to Your Body - Plan Based on Your Energy Levels

Whether you’re a morning person, a night person or you fall somewhere in the middle, we all experience our days in three energy phases: Peak, Trough and Rebound.

The Peak is our highest energy point of the day. The Trough is our lowest energy point in the day. And the Rebound is almost as high energy as our Peak, but not quite.

Morning people experience those three phases in this order: Peak, Trough and Rebound, with the Trough happening after lunch, and the Rebound kicking in late afternoon/early evening.

Night owls experience the opposite. Rebound, Trough and then their Peak kicks in in the early evening. Either way, afternoon means low energy for everyone.

Here’s where the productivity hack comes in: Schedule your low-impact work (meetings, emails, and brainstorming) during your Trough, and plan your Deep Work (writing and high-detail work) during your Peak. Tasks that you’d trudge through during your Trough will suddenly become quick and easy during your Peak.

Take a Break

First, take an actual lunch break, away from your phone. Second, schedule a short break at some point before lunch, and at some point after lunch. Ideally, mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Why? As much as we would like to believe that we can be endlessly productive, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. After about 90 minutes of concentration, we start getting less productive, we start making more mistakes, and we start getting frustrated about our mistakes. So just save yourself the trouble and take a break.

End the Day with a Workday Shutdown Routine

Just like your workday startup routine, your workday shutdown routine is meant to help you transition your mindset. Shutdown takes you from work brain to not-work brain. Otherwise, your brain can continue to spin with undone tasks from work, long after you’ve left the office.

One of my favorite examples of a shutdown routine comes from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Whenever Mr. Rogers would come from to begin each episode, he would take off his outside jacket and put on a cozy cardigan. He’d take off his outside shoes and put on his inside shoes. Mr. Rogers was performing a series of physical steps that helped him transition from outside brain to inside brain… that’s a shutdown routine!

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B says:

2 August 2025 at 1:51 PM

Really helpful thank you all 3 of you.

Reply
1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  4 August 2025 at 10:06 AM
  
  Thank you B, glad you enjoyed this episode
  
  Reply

Episode 364 – 5 things to do every day to boost your productivity with Anna Dearmon Kornick

Have a Workday Startup Routine

Start Each Day By Choosing Your Top 3

Listen to Your Body - Plan Based on Your Energy Levels

Take a Break

End the Day with a Workday Shutdown Routine

Episode 371 – 10 Areas of Your Home Where the 80/20 Principle of Decluttering is Holding You Back

Episode 370 – Grief and Clutter with Emma Gray

Episode 369 – 10 items to declutter from your home office

Episode 368 – Organising tools that work with Get Organised HQ

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