Can you get things done without beating yourself up?
In a world full of productivity hacks and strategies, we often use them to push and manipulate ourselves into doing…making ourselves miserable in the process.
Enter Sophie Chiche to the rescue!
In this podcast episode, we explore loving, kind productivity and the misunderstandings that lead to self-abuse in getting things done. It’s a down-to-earth, honest conversation about why we do the things we do, and why we sabotage our best intentions.
Here’s some of what we explore:
- The myth of “I don’t have time to do it” and why we make excuses
- How writing a book is like parenting a child
- Ending the habits of abusive productivity with kind structure
- Sophie’s journey of losing over 200 lbs and transforming her relationship with food
- How indulging your “bad desires” can actually help
- Giving yourself permission to do what you really want
- A terrifying TED Talk experience
Listen to the podcast here:
Gentle Productivity: How to Get Things Done Without Pressure
“Self management is the new version of time management.” – Sophie Chiche
Why don’t we do what we say we want to do? Sophie points out that we’re avoiding our fears of success and failure with the excuse, “I don’t have time to do it.” It lets us keep the fantasy alive, and avoid the discomfort. The truth is that if we want to do it, we’ll do it in the time we have. Instead, we need to manage ourselves and our stories.
Tips for completing a huge project without getting stuck in overwhelm:
- Make a realistic (kind!) public commitment with a deadline
- Open a Trello board with questions and spend just 10 minutes answering them
- Work on a project in manageable increments of 20 minutes or one hour
Make up the rules so they’re friendly, not frightening. We often push ourselves to get things done with abusive self-talk and unkind pressure. This is a game you’ll never win. Instead, use a collaborative approach to work with your psyche by using kind strategies, and you’ll be far more productive.
“If your psyche is aligned with it, you will do it. If it’s not, you’ll find a way not to do it.” – Sophie Chiche
Align incompatible beliefs to be more productive. If you have a belief that reaching a goal, you’ll sabotage your efforts. Meet your inner resistance and align your beliefs first or they will drain your energy and blind you to opportunities. Once you’re aligned, you’ll move forward with greater productivity and openness to synchronicities.
Trick yourself into doing something “big” by making it small and manageable. Forget about the overwhelming goal and simply take one action, or work for five minutes. It quiets your fears and gets you into action.
Get into alignment by giving yourself permission to do what you actually want to do. People are afraid that if they don’t force themselves to work, it won’t happen. When Sophie was struggling to lose weight, her coach first urged her to indulge all her desires without restraint. Once those desires were acknowledged, it healed her relationship with food. When you give yourself what you want, it takes the pressure off and opens the path for easeful productivity.
Cultivate self-awareness to increase productivity. Question your beliefs to break through inconsistencies. Self-awareness allows you to see connections to your behavior and make adjustments.
“The more you love yourself, the more it becomes difficult to not be at peace with others.” – Sophie Chiche
Remember that it’s not about YOU. When Sophie was paralyzed with fear before giving her TED Talk, she called up her mentor and friend, Gay Hendrix. He urged her to find one person in the audience she might be able to help, and told her, “Get off your ass. It’s not about you!” She completed her talk motivated by an act of service.
“So much of what we think is good for us is because we think we have to. How about you find something you really love doing and you do that? How would it be like to live from that place?” – Sophie Chiche
Meet Sophie Chiche
Sophie Chiche is a multi-talented entrepreneur, author, speaker, journalist, and psychologist. After earning Master’s Degrees in Business and Journalism in her native city of Paris, France, Sophie added another in Psychology soon after moving to Los Angeles.
Her most recent venture – becurrent – teaches productivity as a gateway to purpose. She comes to it with a unique blend gathered over the last 30 years of building teams, writing books, running companies, coaching peak performers, and raising children.
Her new book, War and Piece of Cake, comes out in Spring 2022.
When she’s not doing that, she’s freeform dancing in a burgundy tutu or riding her Harley on the PCH.
Connect with Sophie
Website: https://www.becurrenttoday.com
Take the Productivity Archetype Quiz: https://becurrenttoday.com/quiz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/becurrenttoday
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becurrenttoday/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiechiche/
Subscribe to the Wildspire podcast: https://www.theawakenedbusiness.com/wildspire
