Surprising Solutions to Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity

Surprising Solutions to The Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity

Today’s episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, I’m going to share about something I’ve recently encountered with clients and that I’m dealing with myself. 

After a call with a CEO client, I realized that many overachievers suffer from the same productivity issue: magical thinking.

Like many of us, my high-performing CEO client expected herself to be at her maximum amount of productivity all the time, no matter the circumstances.

I invite you to take a moment to consider how to overcome this common issue during a short episode that gets to the source of the problem and that also provides concrete actions you can start taking, as of today, to inject a dose of reality into your daily to-do list. 

Tips 

• Be aware of the impact of circumstances on focus and productivity — top of mind are upcoming elections, COVID-19, unemployment, economic uncertainty, working from home, and social unrest.

• Keep in mind that tasks are never singular — Most seemingly two-step tasks are in reality four to eight-step ones.

• Inject some reality into your daily routine by lowering your productivity bar. 

About Karen Tiber Leland

Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Resources

Karen’s new book No Nonsense Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done will be coming out in paperback and Kindle on December 1st, 2020, but it is available for preorder right now.

This book will help you fight distraction and find your focus, go for your goals, and master online life.

Take a moment to check it out here.