How to Be the Quarantine Queen-B of Productivity

“I don’t know how you do it with a kid.”

Eight months ago one of my clients, a dedicated corporate career woman who thrived off of routine, structure, and spreadsheets, asked me this. She had spent the past decade in the same routine within the ”safety” of a job. She’d known me through two businesses - first as a Pilates client, then as a leadership coaching client. 

Fast forward to now, everyone is working from home, if they’re able to, and every kid is staying home and every parent has also become the teacher. No babysitters. No school. No playdates.  No nannies (unless you have the fancy luxury of a live-in nanny...and if so, rock on, Queen!!)

So how do you literally DO IT ALL? 

I‘ve built my business with my baby by my side, sometimes even on my chest, working from home with my husband. With three years of training, this shizzle is simple and effortless for me.

NO.1 - PUT THE MASK ON YOURSELF FIRST

Airplane survival 101 - when hitting turbulence and rough skies. Recently the skies have been freaking rough with our emotions rocking us back and forth with every shift, change, closure, update, news report. Your self-care (and hell, your sanity) is more essential now than ever. 

Own your throne and claim your power over how you take care of yourself. Start your day with a routine that energizes and inspires you for me it looks like…

1. 5 Minutes of Gratitude Journalling, listing everything that I am manifesting to me right now and being grateful that I already have it. My success is inevitable, after all. ;)

1. 20-Minutes of Transcendental Meditation. This was a meditation practice that I cultivated this past summer when I was dealing with getting my dad into rehab, growing my business, managing a very headstrong toddler, supporting my mom and her business’ growth while my dad was away, and doing it all...with a lot more added stress. This was a gamechanger for my mood, my sanity, and my patience. If I miss a day, I feel much more high-strung, on edge and have a lot less patience than on the days that I do. 

1. 2-3 Miles of Running. When gyms were open, sometimes I’d switch it out for 30-minutes on the elliptical, but basically, get I get my body moving. Even when I reeeeeeally don’t want to, I know that the change in me AFTER my run is necessary to serve consistently in all the roles I occupy. I show up with so much more presence, focus and stamina when I have done my “moving meditation.” Running was my lifeline a decade ago when I was struggling through a really toxic relationship, and it continues to serve me, grounding me into momentum and moving forward, despite any fear or doubt that may come up.

2. 30-Seconds of a Cold Shower. Yep, you read that baby right. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t start out as cold though. I love a good, hot shower - like steam coming off my body, level of hot. But after by the time, I’ve fully lather, rinsed and am ready to repeat, that’s when I turn off the hot completely and turn the cold on full-boar. When I step out, I am vibrating on a whole new level of excitement, vigor and am ready to tackle all the roles I play throughout the day.

This four-step process sets the foundation for my day. 

Am I 100% perfect at it...hell, no. I’m human as much as I’m high performing. Which leads me too…

NO.2 - GO FOR 80%

Perfection, control-freakedness, Type A, 100% perfect all the time obsessions will leave you f*cked when you work from home.  Believe me, this was a hard-fought lesson to recondition myself, but it is necessary for the maintenance of your sanity. 

I do not do my perfect 4-step process morning routine, every morning, every single day. I sometimes miss one or two of the steps. 80% of the time, I nail it - all four and my foundation is rockin’. But there’s that 20% of the time where I miss a day of meditation - sometimes I intentionally do it just so that I can remember the difference of how I feel without it versus how I feel when I do it. I used to do the same back when I was eliminating gluten from my diet. I would intentionally eat it just so I could remember how it made me feel when I did - awful. Eventually, I didn’t need those reminders because not eating gluten became as natural for me as breathing. I have no doubt the same will be true for meditation. 

Sometimes I miss journaling or my legs are so sore that I choose not to run. But, that’s the thing…

You make it a conscious choice. Your power lies in your power to choose. 

I don’t “try” to do a run when I know my body, my heart, my soul doesn’t want to do it. I make a freaking decision - I DECIDE NOT TO. 

By having clarity about your decisions, it eliminates the emotional sadism of beating yourself up about “trying” to do something you never really intended on doing in the first place.

Remember, let your “yes” mean “yes” and your “no” mean “no.”

CANDID HONESTY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT IN THE DECISIONS YOU MAKE WITH YOURSELF AS IT IS WHEN SPEAKING WITH OTHERS. 

The 80% rule also applies to your team. It is a waste of your time operating in your “Zone of Excellence,” or worse, “Zone of Competence” doing tasks and projects that could be done by your team. 

Remember, I have seen a direct correlation between how much money a business is making to how much time it’s leader spends in her Zone of Genius. 

Letting go of control over those projects and tasks that you do really freaking well, like 100% A+ Great Job! Circled projects and tasks that are in your Zone of Excellence or Competence is like pulling teeth when I ask my clients to delegate them.

“I know they won’t do it as well as I do,” I hear them cry.

“HOW CAN YOU TRAIN THEM TO DO IT 90% AS WELL AS YOU SO THAT YOU FREE UP 50% MORE OF YOUR TIME?”

Because when you have MORE distractions or opposing priorities pulling at you - like your kids or your spouse wanting to spend time with you - you have got to be crystal freaking clear on how when you have moments of 100% focus that you are using that time to be in your Zone of Genius, instead of dilly-dallying with projects that would be better passed off to someone else. 

NO.3 - TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAMWORK, BABY!

Trying to use this time to “prove how strong/capable/able/enough” you are will leave you drowning instead of swimming to shoew. 

Working from home with kids, working in your Zone of Genius REQUIRES that you have a team. And that doesn’t just mean hiring people. It means your partner and your kids too.

You are all on the same side. Especially when it comes to you and your partner. 

Communicating EXPLICITLY what you need from your partner so that you can get your sh*t done, and vice versa is essential. 

In order to write this, coach my clients, and build my latest launch campaign for Revolutionary Empire Builders with my team, I delegated Declan to Spike. I have to in order to operate in my Genius Zone. I also know that I need to be done in 45 minutes in order to take Declan to the grocery store while Spike records his Twitch stream and coaches his clients. 

This is how we make it work. It’s teamwork. 

The only time EVER in our relationship when we have struggled was when I martyring myself on how “I HAD TO DO IT ALL.” About 6-months after Declan was born, Spike and my relationship had shifted roles. For the first time in our relationship, my business was making more money than his. 

I was the “breadwinner” and with that came a whole story that left me feeling trapped, under-appreciated, and casting my husband in such a poor light as I suffered in silence, not asking for help, trying to “prove” how strong/capable/hard-working I was, as I tried to manage growing a business and raising a baby and feeling like I was doing it on my own.

When really...that was such a load of B.S. If you know my husband, you know that he is the kindest, most generous human who’s love language is service. He would have dropped everything in a heartbeat for me, had I only asked. 

IF YOUR STORY OF “SUFFERING” IS YOUR MARKER OF SUCCESS, YOU’LL MARTYR YOUR RELATIONSHIPS BY NOT ASKING FOR HELP SOONER. 

Thank GOD for coaching! When I relayed my story of suffering and struggle to my coach, she totally called me out on my B.S. “Have you asked him for help,” she asked me. I paused. Crap. I hadn’t. 

As soon as I thought the words, “Well, he should know.” I knew my story was f*cked. 

Immediately I heard my husband’s Don’t Kill Your Date speech in my head. Spike, who is a masterful relationship coach, has given this talk around the world for the past decade and one of the things he says is…

“LADIES IF YOU THINK HE KNOWS OR HE SHOULD KNOW, HE DOESN’T! YOU’VE TO TELL HIM. GUYS, WE’RE STUPID. WE DON’T GET ‘HINTS.’ YOU’VE GOT TO TELL US STRAIGHT UP!”

Your partner cannot read your mind. If he doesn’t know what you want or what you need, it’s probably because you’re not telling him what you want or what you need in the way that he can “hear” it. 

Say what you want. Say what you need. Say it explicitly. Say it repeatedly if need be.

This is as true for your partner as it is for your team.

Communicate what you need to be done, what you want, where you’re going. That way everyone is on the same page.

Remember, you’re all on the same side. 

Your reign is now.

P.S. If you know someone who’s struggling to manage doing #allthethings while in quarantine - between babies, and boys, and being a #bossbabe - and balancing all the roles, forward this to them. 

P.P.S. For a full strategy on taking your productivity to the next level, to help you take charge of your time and move forward with MASSIVE momentum, grab my 6-hour self-study #PRODUCTIVITYPOWER course here for 50% OFF. 

This is a ONE TIME offer to help you use this time POWERFULLY to create, strategize, and craft a plan as you learn…

⭐ Why Chasing Work-Life Balance Will Always Leave You Lacking (and What to chase instead so you feel 💯 percent fulfilled in AAAAAALLLL  your roles)

⭐️ How to ALWAYS have ENOUGH TIME

⭐️ The 8 Phrases to Stop Using NOW to Increase Your Productivity and Improve Your Family’s 

⭐️ What Activities are “Productive Procrastination” and are Draining Your Profits

⭐️ Why a Your Body Plays an Intimate Role in Your Productivity (and How to Optimize Your Body for Massive Momentum)

Never before has this world needed you more to step up, stand out, and show up with consistency. In 6-hours you’ll have the tools to TRIPLE your output and give you more time to spend with your family doing what you want when you want. 

Grab this ONE TIME OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR TIME NOW - Get 50% OFF Productivity Power!

Your reign is NOW.