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If you’ve been in the entrepreneurial space for more than a hot minute, you probably know Charlie Gilkey. He started out with a blog, but now he is the creator of Productive Flourishing, a podcast and a site that helps people do the work that matters so they can become their best selves. Believe it or not, we nabbed Charlie as a guest on Worth It, and we’re really excited to share this interview with you. So, let’s get to it.
While most of our conversations center on money and how to build wealth, we know that most of our audience are entrepreneurs who have multiple interests, love exploring new business ideas, and who want to make the most of the time they’re working. After all, you started your own business so you could have time to do what you love, right??
And yet, as Charlie talks to us about in this episode, we tend to prioritize work to the point of sickness or burnout, and we do it all in the name of money or “getting things done.” The result is that many of us feel like we’re just working for money, that we’re not in alignment, and we don’t have time to do the things we really want to do — or even need to do.
Charlie goes into detail on why this is in his new book, Start Finishing, and he was nice enough to shed some light on this during our chat. In fact, he calls it out pretty early in this episode: If you’re struggling to find the time to do what you want to do, it’s not because there’s not enough time. It’s because your priorities aren’t aligned.
We all have busy lives. It can feel like we’re running from one thing to the next, trying to get ahead. And it can feel like a hamster wheel. We’re not really getting traction and we’re not doing what we feel most called to do because, you know, you have a lot on your plate.
But let’s be real. You get to choose what you’re working on — and what you’re not working on. It can be hard to change what you’ve already set in motion (yes, you have to finish that client project or get those meetings done before you can really make space for what’s important to you), but you can set yourself up for success starting now. How? Charlie calls is the 5 Projects Rule.
This rule is one that Charlie highly recommends, especially for those in the entrepreneurial space. Basically, it means no more than 5 projects per time slice (a day, a week, a month, a quarter, a year). Many of us have 5+ projects we work on in a day, like “Do the laundry, finish that work project, mow the lawn, do the groceries, schedule the vet visit, figure out the water bill” etc. — and it’s no wonder we don’t have time! We are literally cramming our day with projects. Instead, Charlie recommends cutting it back to 5. 5 a day, 5 a week, 5 a month, whatever it is. But no more than 5 in a time slice. To do this, you’ll need to figure out what you don’t have to do, or what you can delegate. Get real with it, and don’t let other people’s priorities or emergencies affect this once you’ve made a decision. Stick to your project plan!
And if your time slice is bigger than a day — a week, month, quarter, year, etc. — you can break those projects down into smaller time slices. In a really good planning world, Charlie says, you’d have a long-term project chunked out into smaller projects, i.e. a month-sized project broken down into week-sized projects.
If you’re wondering how to break down your projects by week or even day, Charlie has a recommendation for that, too.
Ask yourself what a 2-hour chunk looks like for your project breakdowns: what can you get done in 2 hours and where you can fit that block of time into your schedule? Charlie also shares that you can ask yourself which items you can get done in 15 minutes, because you knock things off your list really quickly when you see those things come up.
He also adds that we all underestimate how long it takes to get stuff done, so build in a buffer! For a rough buffer, Charlie says you can multiply the time you think a project (or work block) will take by 3. So that 15 minute project… it might actually take you 45 minutes. Plan accordingly.
Charlie shared his big productivity secret on this episode: “No date, no finish.” If you don’t have a date for that big project you want to finish, or that little project you want to start, it’s never gonna get done. And picking a date is only half the battle. From there, you need actionable breakdowns — those 5 projects per time slice we talked about. What are you doing today/tomorrow/this week/this month to move you closer to that goal?
There’s another important point that Charlie made: we tend to run and hide from our commitments to our own projects. How often have you stared at your to do list, started to write that email, or tried to find information about your new pet passion… and froze? Maybe you ran straight to a client or customer issue to resolve, or you decided to open Instagram, or maybe you buried yourself in email busy work. #Guilty
But the problem with this is: We trick ourselves into thinking “At least we did something.” But it isn’t the work you should be doing, and you know it. So get real with yourself, make a plan, and make it actionable.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we talk about in the podcast. Charlie also covers the problem with how we all manage our to do lists, the risks with planning more than 6 months at a time, and more. We talk about all of it in the podcast, we but we also talk about his new book: Start Finishing.
While this is technically a “productivity book,” Charlie says it’s different in three ways:
He hopes to help people thrive in their businesses, homes, and communities, and we think he’s well on his way. If you want to know how to finally start finishing, juggle all of your many interests, and create a schedule that lets you do more than work and feel guilty… this episode and Charlie’s new book are perfect for you. Check them out!
This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R Covey
Getting Things Done – David Allen
Start Finishing – Charlie’s new book out 9/24/19
Charlie’s “home” on the interwebs: productiveflourishing.com
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