Episode 694: 5 Ways to Be More Efficient by Doing Two Things at Once (Mindset & Self-Care)

EBT694 – 5 Ways to Be More Efficient by Doing Two Things at Once

Intro  00:01

Hey food bloggers. Thank you so much for joining me in this mindset and self-care focused episode here on Eat Blog Talk. One of the reasons I started a blog talk was to hold a space to talk about the importance of mindset and self-care. Being an entrepreneur can be a lot. If we are not taking care of ourselves, then getting actionable information about SEO Pinterest or whatever else is all moot. I will meet you back here every Wednesday to discuss various mindset and self-care topics. So you have the energy and space to tackle the rest.

Hello food Bloggers. Welcome to this self care and mindset focused episode of Eat Blog Talk. I am so happy you’re here. How are you doing today? How is your week going? 

I hope you are doing amazing. In today’s episode we are going to dive into a topic that will truly shift how you experience your days. How to thoughtfully pair two activities together so you can be more productive, efficient and even happier. We are definitely not talking about frenzied, frazzled multitasking here because that is never efficient, as you probably know.

[00:01:17]   

And we definitely don’t condone the burnout life here at Eat Blog Talk. This is also not an episode about juggling 20 Chrome tabs or bouncing between tasks that require deep focus. It is about pairing things that naturally go together where one thing enhances the other thing and vice versa. I have been a productivity nerd for a really long time my whole adult life actually.

[00:01:55]   

I’ve just always loved the idea of productivity when paired with efficiency and streamlining like a boss. There is always a way to make things easier without working harder. One of those ways is by doing intentional pairing. So doing two things that complement each other and that help you move the needle forward in your business and life without adding stress to it.

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What’s that phrase? You are killing two birds with one stone. I think that’s right. That’s the concept here. But we definitely can keep the birds alive.

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[00:03:29]  Megan Porta 

Okay, let’s get into it. Number one is knock out 30 minutes of work while you walk on the treadmill. The pairing here is admin and movement, two very important things that need to get done. Walking on the treadmill, I think you might agree, is very boring. I’m not the hugest fan of walking inside with my very boring basement as the backdrop and with nothing to do.

[00:04:00]   

Just walking on the treadmill is extremely boring for me. I love my outdoor walks, but it is not always nice here in Minnesota in the mornings after I work out. So squeezing in steps is really important and sometimes I have to do that on the treadmill. A while back I figured let’s make this a little bit more efficient.

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So I bought one of those treadmill stand things that you can attach to your treadmill and that I like to easily situate my computer on. Immediately after I finished my morning workout, I got onto the treadmill and kicked out 30 minutes of admin work while walking. After the 30 minutes was done, I realized that I’d gotten two high priority things accomplished admin work and movement to start my day.

[00:04:53]   

And my day had hardly just begun. Now I do this every single day. It worked so well. I loved it so much that I’ve just continued on with it. So it is now a part of my system and I highly recommend it. You can use this time for slack check ins if you’re a part of multiple slack channels, budget check ins, inbox cleanup, replying to direct messages or emails, or even just brainstorming content ideas if you want to talk into a voice memo or type them out.

[00:05:28]   

I also use the time occasionally to talk to ChatGPT to see what ideas it has for me for upcoming emails or other things that I’m working on. This combo works really well because your body’s in motion so you’re boosting energy and your creativity while you’re moving. And the task at hand is light admin work so there’s no deep focus needed.

[00:05:56]   

Number two, taking care of calls, audio messages, or Marco Polo’s while you go on a walk. So really this one is doing three things at once. Triple Win and the Triple combo here is Connection plus Nature plus Movement Something I stopped a long time ago was communicating with people outside of work during my work hours.

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Years ago I would absolutely lose track of time with this and before I knew it I had spent an hour or more texting, Marco Polo-ing or even calling friends just to check in and say hello. This was a huge infringement on my work time. We can love people dearly and deeply and still honor our work time.

[00:06:44]   

Setting these boundaries actually gives us more presence when we do connect with people to tap into more work efficiency. I stopped communicating with friends and family on a personal level during my work hours. Instead, because I do love to stay connected with loved ones, I reserve my friends and family communication time for my late afternoon walks outside.

[00:07:10]   

This works so perfectly for me because walking outside is great for my body, it’s great for my mind. I’m taking care of those movement and nature pieces that we all need, and layering in voice messages or phone calls or Marco Polos allows us to nurture relationships. At the same time, I sometimes take this a step further than personal communication and extend it to professional check ins as well.

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For example, if someone sends me a DM on Instagram, I will reply with an audio message during my walk. Or if I need to check in with a team member maybe about something and it’s not super pressing, I’ll just wait until my walk time and send an audio message then. This feels really organic and fun on a professional level.

[00:08:00]   

Almost like walking and chatting with someone right next to you. Highly recommend it. Number three listen to podcasts or audiobooks during creative time or during physical slash monotonous tasks. The pairing here is learning and doing. I mentioned a little bit ago that walking on the treadmill feels so boring to me. Well, so do some parts of my job to be honest, including some of those more monotonous tasks like photo editing or editing video.

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You know what tasks I’m talking about. Then there are the tasks we have to do in order to keep up with our homes, such as washing dishes, folding laundry, working out, taking care of our bodies. There’s no better way to add a little bit of flavor to these tasks than to soak in mindset content or business strategies while still getting something productive done.

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You can choose uplifting, business related or creative podcasts to keep the momentum going. You will be able to crank out an entire podcast episode while you fold a load of laundry. It makes the time go so fast you will not even remember being bored while stuffing laundry into drawers. Number four Brainstorm Content ideas while cooking or cleaning.

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The pairing here is Creativity and Chores have you ever planned a brainstorming session about a project or maybe just for general blog content, only to realize that you were not in the headspace to brainstorm? I do this all the time. I found that the absolute best time for brainstorming for me is when my body is busy doing something else.

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This one really works for me, and I hope it does for you too. Our brains love to wander during those mindless tasks, so use this time wisely. Use it to come up with blog content, ideas, concepts for reels, lead magnets for your email subscribers, or for your website or podcast ideas. If you have a podcast, you can start a note in your notes app labeled Brain Dump or Ideas.

[00:10:18]   

Start jotting down a few prompts. That way when you’re elbow deep in dish soap or laundry, you will have a creative focus ready to go. When you put your body in action with cleaning or doing mindless tasks, chopping vegetables is a good one too. Open your app, pick something to think through while you work, and get brainstorming.

[00:10:42]   

Number five, watch reels for trend research while you are stretching or foam rolling. The pairing here is strategy and recovery. My husband Dan is so diligent and intentional about stretching every morning. I’m not kidding you guys. He he takes this very seriously and I’m always a little bit jealous because it’s something I know I should do and prioritize, but I literally never do.

[00:11:12]   

I love that he has the motivation to do it consistently and he seems to be just fine doing it all on its own. But I always think if you pair stretching with something else so I can actually feel like I’m doing two things at once and being super efficient and productive. I will stretch.

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I’m not one personally to social media scroll. I ditched that habit a while ago, but I do sometimes look around for what is trending on Instagram so I can emulate what is working for others with reels and with other content published. It feels really hard to make time for trend research. It’s just not something I justify prioritizing.

[00:11:55]   

But. But again, if I pair it with something else so I’m doing two things at once and feeling super efficient, then bring it on. You can do the same. And it doesn’t have to be exactly stretching and trend research. Maybe it’s foam rolling or doing slow yoga moves while you’re scoping out photography trends.

[00:12:17]   

Or maybe it’s scrolling through YouTube to see what other content creators are publishing over there. Whatever it is, use this window of time to intentionally research something to spark creative ideas while giving your body some much needed attention to wrap up. Intentional pairing equals less wasted time. Yes please. And more aligned energy.

[00:12:43]   

So whether you’re on the treadmill, doing dishes, stretching it out or whatever, there’s always an opportunity to be intentional with your time. Try some of these combinations and see how they shift your energy and how they make you focus on the fact that you are being so productive by doing two or more things at once.

[00:13:02]   

You do not need to hustle harder. You just need to be a little bit more intentional and creative with how you stack your habits and spend your time. And I’m going to end with a quote from Seth Godin, you don’t need more time, you just need to decide. So make the decision to implement this habit into your life and business and see how things change.

[00:13:26]   

I hope you loved this episode. It was really fun to write. I love this topic and I’ll be back here next week. I’ll see you then for more. Have a great week everyone. 

Outro 

Thank you so much for listening to this mindset and self-care episode here on Eat Blog Talk. If you are a food blogger providing a service for other food bloggers, and you want to spread the word about the value that you offer. I would love to offer you a free way to do just this. Send me a 60 second audio clip to be featured in a mindset and self-care episode here on Eat Blog Talk. Go to eatblogtalk.com/audioclip to learn more.