Really Live Your “Best Life”: 4 Mindful Productivity Tips for Coaches

You’re coaching others to live their “best life”, but are you really living yours?

Whether you’ve ever flown in a plane or not, I’m sure you’re familiar with the oxygen mask self-care metaphor, “In the event of an emergency, please put your oxygen mask on first before helping others.” While, in theory, this sounds like a great metaphor for self-care in everyday life, it is actually crap. This is because self-care is important every day, not only in emergencies.

You’re a coach, you know this. Yet, building a coaching business is challenging. Especially when you’re juggling your 9-5, family, hobbies, etc. You were sold all these overnight success stores and promises of time freedom, only now you’re in the thick of doing it all yourself, so self-care is usually the first thing to go. Even when you know better.

I’ve been there, and I was miserable, almost throwing in the towel on more than one occasion. Yet, on the journey to fulfilling my biggest dreams, I realized that when you look at productivity as just getting sh*t done as fast and efficiently as possible, you’re missing the bigger picture.

Fact is, you can’t enjoy the journey when your focus is on the hustle, and that is where “Mindful Productivity” comes in. This concept completely changed my life and how I do things. So today I am sharing 4 mindful productivity tips in the hopes that it will change yours as well, so you can really start living your BEST LIFE – cause that’s what we’re all about 😉

What is Mindful Productivity?

Mindful Productivity is the awareness of what’s happening inside and around you. It’s being non-judgmental and present in the moment as you move through your days.

It involves being intentional with how you use your energy, time, and focus.

The opposite of mindful productivity is Toxic Productivity. This is always being stressed, “busy”, and feeling like you’ve never done enough no matter how much you’ve accomplished.

It is looking at productivity as just getting sh*t done as fast and efficiently as possible – yet still being inefficient.

Here are 4 mindful productivity tips to help you avoid the Toxic Productivity Trap and live your best life.

#1: Stop Running on Autopilot

Being consciously present throughout your days. For everything you do, do it with intention. Ask yourself WHY am I doing this? Do I really need to do it? Is it something I like doing?

There is more to life than doing all the things, and when you pay attention you’ll notice that many of the things you do are not in alignment with who you want to be or the life you want to live. So stop… or outsource. The choice is always yours.

#2: Listen to Your Thoughts and Emotions

Being consciously present also means non-judgmental awareness of your emotional and mental states.

It’s normal to not feel like doing a task, to get lost in daydreams, and to go down rabbit holes that seem like time wasted. Rather than feeling guilty and scolding yourself, just acknowledge the thoughts and emotions, and bring your attention back to the task at hand so you can get back to being productive.

Listen to our Podcast! EP2: How Mindfulness Can Help You Live Your Best Life

#3: Give Up Multitasking

Humans cannot multitask. Research shows this. So give it up already!

Studies show that people who frequently multitask are more distracted and less able to focus their attention even when they’re performing only one task. You also become less efficient and more likely to make a mistake.

In order to stay focused on a single task until it’s done, make sure you allocate enough of your day to be responsive and available for the people that need you. Then schedule non-interruptable focus time in blocks that are manageable around this. I like to use the Pomodoro Technique for this.

#4: Be the Tortoise (they’re living their best life)

Remember Aesop’s Fable, where a fast but often-distracted hare and a slow but relentless tortoise race? (Spoiler alert if you haven’t.. the tortoise defeats the hare). The moral of the story?… “Slow and steady wins the race.”

As entrepreneurs, society has conditioned us that to feel fulfilled and “enough” we must reach certain business milestones. The problem is that it’s a moving target. We’ve often already rushed to set the next milestone before we’ve even reached the current one.

Make a conscious effort to be present as much as possible. Slow down. It’s incredibly freeing to let go of the need to get somewhere fast and just ENJOY the processes of getting there.

Take Action

When you’re running on autopilot you risk losing touch with yourself, the present moment, and the people around you.

Do not confuse productivity with mere production. You’re a human, not a Tesla factory. If getting things done faster was the solution you’d have figured it out by now.

By slowing down, quitting multitasking, being focused and aware of your thoughts and emotions, and being very intentional with how you allocate your time, energy, and focus, you’ll be more productive, more present, and more balanced throughout your week.

Don’t just read this blog and leave it at that. What actions are you going to take to get started? I suggest downloading my free Mindful Productivity Roadmap. You can get yours on my site!

Here’s to living your Best Life!