Eliminating Distractions and Streamlining Processes

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Michael David Davis
Hi, I'm Michael David Davis.

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Nicole Davis
And I'm Nicole Davis.

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Michael David Davis
And we are your thought partners.

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Nicole Davis
Were you actually okay with the way I said my name? I feel like every time I say my name, you're like, with more gusto.

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Michael David Davis
All the more gusto with that.

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Nicole Davis
With more o more gusto.

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Michael David Davis
I mean, look, I'm just letting you live by your life. Thank you. We're going to be talking about in this episode of the ability to eliminate distractions and streamlining that process.

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Nicole Davis
I love it. This is my love language.

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Michael David Davis
She loves streamlining everything to make the process more efficient. And of course, you know, time blocking But really those distractions are eliminating them, I think are probably the most important things for sure. Like, believe it or not, it's painful to do these episodes and put the phone on, Do Not Disturb. And I think that is so challenging because as you mentioned before.

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Nicole Davis
It's the Oh, my gosh, it's the potential of missed opportunity. Right? Or miss Oh, efficiency missed follow up. Like, what am I going to miss by putting my phone on? Do not disturb for the next 40 minutes or whatever it is. Who might be disappointed in my lack of a you know.

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Michael David Davis
Shes like the fomo queen right here and somebody says are doing it and she found out after the fact it will be my fault. That's right. It got missed. But I think ultimately that that's probably the most simple thing to talk about. But before we get into even removing the distractions that are around you, I think probably removing the distractions that are actually in our workspace.

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Michael David Davis
Oh, yeah, right. Because there's nothing more. I think, you know, this is all about changing your mindset. And I think when you are getting into an environment where you're sitting down and if we're trying to actually make these changes to become more efficient with ourselves, right. Like I don't want to go back and sitting to my workspace and it's just cluttered and messy.

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Michael David Davis
There's paper stacked up. I have pens or pencils or my keyboard and mouse and all these chargers or any of that.

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Nicole Davis
I mean, okay, so for you, yeah, that does not bring peace right now.

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Michael David Davis
I know. I'm like, I want three items on my desk.

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Nicole Davis
Yeah, yeah. But, but let's be clear for other people that does bring peace. So I don't want to I don't want to make it like you have to have a spotless desk if you want to have a great workday. I think it is. As we said before, it's about finding what works for you, but it's being realistic about what works for you, because I would tend to agree for myself.

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Nicole Davis
I don't like to have I get anxious when I have too much stuff in my workspace. And so I do these periodic purges where it's like, Let me get rid of all these Post-it notes that are sitting on my monitor. Let me, you know, clear off these. I really like a paper calendar of to do lists. And so like, sometimes I'll keep them for a couple of weeks just to make sure that I don't forget I need whatever, you know.

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Nicole Davis
Yeah.

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Michael David Davis
You mentioned something that's a little shocking to me, so.

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Nicole Davis
Great.

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Michael David Davis
Yeah, right. Well, but it also kind of goes into what we're talking about, like efficiencies, right? You mentioned having Post-it notes around your monitor. So can you can you tell us more like I'm very clear. I mean, I've seen it. I just thought you like putting like little color coded things around your monitor because.

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Nicole Davis
It.

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Michael David Davis
Is it gives you a little more flair or.

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Nicole Davis
But it's not decorative. Yeah.

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Michael David Davis
Like whenever I walk by your office, I'm like, oh, look, she's got like, this is like a yellow day, Right? Exactly. So why do you have those Post-it notes on your monitor?

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Nicole Davis
Okay. I mean, for starters, I think because I started off as a teacher and that's like a staple, like when you graduate with your education and degreed or like, and here's your obligatory stacks.

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Michael David Davis
Of Post-it.

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Nicole Davis
Notes, I don't know, becuase I love post-its.

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Michael David Davis
Tens of thousands of dollars, And they give you a stack of post-it notes.

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Nicole Davis
So, you know, I like, by the way, shout out to 3M but like they have to be the super sticky post-its. Like you don't want that garbage Post-it business and you yeah you don't want it. No offense anyone you don't want like an off brand post-it, you need super sticky 3M brand pot-it. But I don't know, I think it helps me focus on I use them for various reasons, right?

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Nicole Davis
Sometimes I'll use them in design sessions with clients or partners to kind of help brainstorm. And for me, that's an easier way to brainstorm right they’re mobile. You can also I know we're not getting into tools yet. It's really hard for me, but you know, there are also tools like Miro or Mural that can replicate, replicate in a digital format, kind of having that design session and and the Post-it world.

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Nicole Davis
But I don't know, it just depends on how I'm feeling that particular week. Like sometimes it's easier for me if I have a lot going on. I like to steer into the skid, so when I'm really stressed, I kind of throw myself into it more to make sure that I'm not missing anything. So sometimes having Post-its of like all those little things that need to get done that I can kind of like take them off and monitor, ball them up way, throw them away.

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Michael David Davis
So how does I guess to.

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Nicole Davis
Me feel like you're judging.

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Michael David Davis
Me? I'm always judging secretly, deep inside and judging. So me I'm thinking about, I guess, because again, this is what gives me the anxiety. If I'm going to my desk and I see these plethora of Post-it notes just even if they’re neatly placed around. Yeah, you know, the rim of my monitor that's, that's given me so much anxiety knowing like, oh my gosh, like I need to get these down.

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Michael David Davis
I haven't those where. Mm hmm. Like you said, we're not talking about tools, but like, to me, the technology aspect of it where if it's not on my monitor, but there's something that's on my screen maybe that can get it done or like you've mentioned in the past, about like, having your tasks to check off.. So how do you is there a determination scale that you have that takes you from using something with like such an actual tactile response versus like what you do or do you write it down and then you add it into a digital format, like what's an.

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Nicole Davis
Honest to goodness? I think that I kind of mix up my organizational structure from time to time just to keep myself engaged and and like, interested in like I try out a lot of different things. I read a lot about what other people are doing or listen to podcasts like this to to figure out what other folks are doing and what's helpful for them.

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Nicole Davis
And I try those things out. Like, I think we're always a work in progress and I'm not there yet. All right. So for me, I do like to try a bunch of stuff out. You know, the other thing with the post edits is that this has suddenly become like, you know, an infomercial. But the other thing with the post-its is that sometimes when I'm in, you, you know, a meeting and I have really clear points that I want to make sure I hit sometimes having those like, okay, Nicole, you've got five point and here is one, two, three, four or five post it.

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Nicole Davis
And just having them up on my screen like I don't have to worry about doing like the wrong screen share where you have like your notes app up and everyone sees like you were like, Right, Interesting. I don't know.

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Michael David Davis
So like, this is like while you're on a zoom call, yeah, I read something. So what I'm doing is in calls of clients, I'm trying to look at the camera so that they know I'm looking at them, you know? But, you know, I also want to watch your reaction. So I'm imagining you have flipped it. So instead of seeing, like, if we're on a Zoom call, you're basically putting a Post-it over my face and not looking at me?

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Nicole Davis
I feel targeted.

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Michael David Davis
I guess it's just more about like understanding because I think that as a.

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Nicole Davis
think it just a pant. It's not like all the time. Right? But it is. I mean, I feel like I open it close enough to the camera so that I can I mean, that's why I put it there, right? So I can still make close enough eye contact, I can like, slyly get rid of it once I'm done with that one.

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Nicole Davis
Yeah. You know, it just, it just kind of depends. I mean, the other thing too, is that I do laugh a lot and I'm a loud laugher and I've noticed that sometimes if I have notes on my desk, I'll laugh and will, like, blow them off the desk.

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Michael David Davis
Yeah. Wow.

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Nicole Davis
So I need a little adhesive to help me out. Okay. All right.

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Michael David Davis
Look, I. But I think that is a really valid point on just the organization side or even the de-cluttering. So instead of having maybe two or three note pads or where you wrote your notes on this sounds like it's such it's a nice temporary way that once you’re finished,

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Nicole Davis
It’s a supplement.

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Michael David Davis
You can just pull it down. Yeah. And it's a clean space.

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Nicole Davis
It's not a system. Yeah, it's a supplement. Right. And I think so shocked that we went down this road, but the whole purpose of saying that was that it doesn't have to look like what you think it should look like. It doesn't have to look like Marie Kondo just rolled through your office and organized everything and like, throw out everything that doesn't spark joy for you.

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Nicole Davis
Yeah. Yeah. Like, I just think different things work for different people. And some people thrive in, like, stuff. Like, stuff brings some people a lot of comfort. And so just having those things around you can kind of, you know, I have.

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Michael David Davis
I think they call those people hoarders now. Okay, no, they're not.

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Nicole Davis
But, you know, sometimes they're there are just like things that have that emotional energy or a calming for you or whatever. And so this is like in theory, that's like a ten minute segment on like, you don't have to have a clean desk to work.

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Michael David Davis
And I but I think it's great because again, like, I love having that clean space to go. Yeah, right. And again, you know, you are very different than I am. But as you mentioned, I think it's okay for people to realize because, yeah, if it was my way, I would be going to people's desks, say like, let's clean this.

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Michael David Davis
feel like, you know, there's some weird maybe teacher that made me have to clean up behind myself all the time. And so that gives me anxiety. But for you, I'm sure most everyone else that's out there, they also have that feeling of, you know, you might have a picture of your pet or your family member or somebody that your partner is, somebody that gives you that comfort sitting down.

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Michael David Davis
But I just feel like those get lost in the other clutter that's around because you're piling other things around it. Right. So whereas that's a good happy medium, I think that you have the ability to do that. Sure. Yeah. I mean, that's cool.

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Nicole Davis
Great.

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Michael David Davis
But I mean, you know, so outside of our desk area then, like, what else can we declutter? Does it matter?

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Nicole Davis
I feel like I'm going to just uncover all the ways that I'm still analog and not digital here. But I mean, the other thing that I do, I love a good notebook and I have, you know, kind of like a labeling system. So there's an organizational system within the notebook. But sometimes for me it is just really helpful for my own retention of information when I'm sitting at a meeting to like record things down on paper and in a notebook, Sometimes it's more distracting, especially if you're on Zoom or something like that, sit there like clacking away or have to keep like mute in a meeting every time that you're trying to do your good,

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Nicole Davis
like active listening noises with your client. Right? So I do like to keep a notebook, but then I also like to keep those notebooks, which is a little kooky. So I have started a system where I have all my filled notebooks separately, so if I need to reference them, they're there, but they're all kind of facing one direction.

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Nicole Davis
And then if I do go back and need to reference something in that notebook, I flip it around the opposite way. So I know it's kind of like they talk about this when you're de-cluttering your closet, right, to flip your hanger backwards.

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Michael David Davis
And say, like, you should see the closet, like it's flipped. And I'm like, Why are these clothes backwards? And that's how well.

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Nicole Davis
So you flip the hanger backwards once you've worn it, so that you can kind of visually see things that you've worn. And so you can also visually see things that you maybe haven't worn in three months, six months, whatever, and know things that you may want to start thinking about getting rid of anyway. So I do that with my old work notebooks my filled notebooks so that after six months I can look and say like, okay, you didn't use one thing in that notebook in the last six months.

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Nicole Davis
So like, look through it. Do you still need it? You know, if I feel like I still need it, I still need it, okay. And I'll hang on to it. But if not, then it's something that can go in the recycling bin or whatever. So that for me has been kind of like a helpful way to to have a bit of that analog piece, but also declutter and keep things a little bit more streamlined.

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Michael David Davis
Okay. So we've been talking about the physical decluttering. Is there a way that we can declutter our mind? Right. Because I think about, you know, I tell people that I meditate 3 hours a day. There's no way you don't there's no way that's not possible. You still tell me. You don't.

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Nicole Davis
I don't think that's true.

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Michael David Davis
But it's it's so an hour before you get up, like actually physically getting up out of bed, right? Like just putting myself in that mental state of mind of what's happening. I'm not thinking about what tasks that are going on, but just, hey, like I'm breathing, I'm going to get up, I'm going to function, I'm going to do whatever.

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Michael David Davis
Right. And part of that exercise is also doing that kind of meditation. Or meditation isn't just sitting there saying, Oohhmm the whole time. And then, you know, that's one hour and an hour before going to bed, right? Just kind of like letting what the day's events occurred, getting down. And then like for 15 minute walks throughout the day or for intentional getting away and getting up from your.

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Michael David Davis
Yeah. Area workspace and then just sitting down, relaxing without a phone, without something. Again, that's your distraction zone. So when I think about how can we de-clutter our mind before setting down to give ourself the most efficient process and really be fair to ourselves about getting in and doing the work that we need to get done? What do you have a practice that you do or anything of that nature?

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Nicole Davis
No, I'm scatterbrain. No, I'm not a scatterbrain, but I don't do enough mindfulness exercises. And that's I think actually that's maybe I don't want to speak for you, but I feel like you are you are exercising moments of mindfulness, and maybe that is also meditation, but it's not. Maybe meditation in the traditional sense that people envision. Right, right, right.

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Nicole Davis
So, you know, I think it depends. I think for me and I think a lot of working women and, you know, women who aren't working have the same situation. There's a lot to balance. There's a lot in your mind. And, you know, a lot of times you put yourself last on the list of priorities and things that need to get done.

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Nicole Davis
And so, you know, I'm no different in that sense. I think sometimes I don't prioritize my own mindfulness or meditation or tidiness of my mind the way that I could. But I do try to find those little moments of mindfulness. And for me, that ends up being before whatever the next big thing is, right? And more often than not, it's something that's maybe bringing up a little anxiety for me, but it is just kind of like taking a moment, take a few deep breaths, you know, I fully believe in having like a personal anthem or some sort of personal mantra that you can say to yourself or sing in your head before you go into

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Nicole Davis
an important meeting. Or maybe it's a tough conversation and just kind of, you know, take a moment to breathe and remind yourself how awesome you are or what skills or gifts you're bringing to that meeting or conversation.

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Michael David Davis
I don't disagree. Like I, I will tell you, like my mindset, a lot of times I'd have to go into a room because I am very outspoken, would be the easy term. But I would say that I have to remind myself my mantra is confidence, not dominance, right? So going in with the confidence of knowing how that after whatever discoveries and things that have been observed, you can change that situation or help, you know, really build out something that's going to make the person you're working with just like, Wow, this is great.

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Michael David Davis
As opposed to having your own insecurity. Like, I'm sure we can. We all, you know, suffer with the imposter syndrome. And a lot of times those insecurities then lay out the dominance that we may try to, like steamroll somebody. Yeah. So I think to me, like when I think about decluttering my mind, that's where I'm very much like, okay, so before I go into this meeting, let me remind myself what's happening, where the situation is, who the person I'm speaking to, and then again, just trying to really reflect their tone back with them so that I'm like, Oh, I'm much more at ease.

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Nicole Davis
Yeah, well, yeah. And I think to that point, it allows you to be a better participant and a better listener in that conversation. When you've let go of whatever your hang ups are, whether that's insecurities, whether that's ego, whatever it really makes you a better partner for that person that you're you're speaking with or working with. When you are able to kind of take that moment and declutter your own mind before you jump in and start the next conversation.

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Michael David Davis
Yeah, and I think and I think that goes into like minimizing the interruptions of ourselves, right? Because I know that a lot of times when I'm getting near an end of a meeting, I have to catch myself thinking about, Oh, man, I need to get off. I need to get off because I've got somebody else I need to talk to.

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Michael David Davis
And I start thinking about the other person in my situation. And I might miss, even if it's 30 seconds, I might miss a crucial moment in that person speaking about. Yeah. So again, it's just that little reminder that, all right, hey, stay focused until the very end. I would rather be transparent and honest and say, let me catch up.

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Michael David Davis
Can I spend 30 seconds with you? And we just talk about that in a conversation because sometimes doing that, too, they might bring something up that wasn't brought up in a conversation before whomever I'm speaking with. And I'm like, Oh, glad. I'm glad I asked this question. And really I'm asking the question because I'm trying to get caught up to where they're ready to speak.

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Michael David Davis
But sometimes, again, they're just that new revelation might come out of they, oh, you know, let me remind you of this. But then actually, blah, blah, blah blah. I was thinking about this, too. So it gives them that opportunity to share first, which I'm very hard at doing. Let me let you share first, because I just want to jump in and start together.

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Michael David Davis
So. All right. I think that's good for this segment. Sure. When we get back, we're going to talk about all the other fun stuff.

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Nicole Davis
Let's do this. Are we live recording, I’m recording, great Both of us, our best to our best selves at this moment.

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Michael David Davis
I’m just having fun.

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Nicole Davis
Nicole All right. Michael Yes.

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Michael David Davis
I don't know why she doesn't like when I call her name. I would never have. You're not in trouble.

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Nicole Davis
Okay?

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Michael David Davis
I am now. I am now at my most Zen. I've been practicing the removal of distractions of what's going on in my mind. Okay, I have de-cluttered my work area. I love that I have sat down and I am now at my most optimal performance, getting ready to start my workday.

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Nicole Davis
Or.

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Michael David Davis
Maybe even coming back from lunch or something. Right? Right. And now that I've done that and I feel like I've gotten pretty good at that. And so. Well, I mean.

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Nicole Davis
You've been really good at like, eliminating distractions and being Zen. Okay, cool.

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Michael David Davis
Yeah. Like, you know, and if someone out here is doing this and they're putting this into practice and they've gotten really good at it. Yeah, right.

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Nicole Davis
I mean, look, you're way better at it than I am. Yeah, for sure. I have a noisy brain. It's like your brain is a lot. Yeah. I feel like your brain is a lot to - It’s the Californian in me. - Yeah, Maybe

00;20;02;14 - 00;20;03;26
Michael David Davis
we’re all. tree loving hippie huggers.

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Nicole Davis
Maybe

00;20;05;00 - 00;20;05;15
Michael David Davis
hippie. huggers?

00;20;05;15 - 00;20;06;04
Nicole Davis
I don't really know.

00;20;06;04 - 00;20;08;26
Michael David Davis
Tree huggers. Hippie lovers. There you go. Yeah.

00;20;09;20 - 00;20;10;23
Nicole Davis
Uh-huh.

00;20;10;23 - 00;20;28;21
Michael David Davis
Something like that, who knows? Don't put it on a bumper sticker it won't sell. All right. Okay, so I'm in this mindset. I'm there, I'm ready to go. And I'm able to do this and repeat this process, like, over and over each day. Right? But I'm still a mess when it comes to getting things done. I feel like, well, because I feel better.

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Michael David Davis
But like.

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Nicole Davis
Is this real, you or Is this is hypothetical you?

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Michael David Davis
This is the hypothetical.

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Nicole Davis
No, it's like you get stuff done all the time.

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Michael David Davis
I’m putting empathy shoes on right now.

00;20;38;18 - 00;20;39;18
Nicole Davis
I love okay.

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Michael David Davis
I'm really I'm like, if somebody is not at this Zen state.

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Nicole Davis
Yeah.

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Michael David Davis
Okay. So but hypothetically, I'm now in my optimal working mindset because I've removed these distractions. I've set my phone to the side again. I've turned all these pings and bangs and booms off. Yeah, and I've blocked off my calendar. So I'm not getting meetings and I'm not getting these interruptions and I'm really ready to now for the next step.

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Michael David Davis
Right? And to me.

00;21;06;08 - 00;21;09;08
Nicole Davis
It's like, do something. Yeah, do your work and.

00;21;09;08 - 00;21;22;09
Michael David Davis
What right, which. Okay, so if I'm going to do this work right, Yeah. I feel like, okay, like if we're going to make any kind of reference to a metaphor, we're like, I'm a finely tuned car now. I just got out of the shop. Yeah, like.

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Nicole Davis
Give me that open road.

00;21;24;23 - 00;21;29;02
Michael David Davis
My, not my free, but my synthetic oil is smooth. All that sludge is out of my system.

00;21;29;03 - 00;21;29;29
Nicole Davis
Yeah, yeah, but.

00;21;30;21 - 00;21;40;28
Michael David Davis
Everything just good. My gas mileage has gone up. The tires are inflated. Change the oil right. So. But now. Right. Like I'm fully optimized.

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Nicole Davis
Yeah.

00;21;41;22 - 00;21;42;07
Michael David Davis
Okay.

00;21;42;15 - 00;21;43;22
Nicole Davis
I got it. Yeah. Okay.

00;21;44;08 - 00;21;52;25
Michael David Davis
So what do I do, though? Like, now? What do I do to prevent myself from, like, getting bogged down into my work again? Like, you're an expert at this.

00;21;52;25 - 00;22;17;20
Nicole Davis
Okay, hold it. So, we.. Okay, so I may not have, like, the the appropriate attitude towards work that I should because I love work and I do struggle with work life balance and I love being bogged down in my work. So I think to me, this is maybe a little like, I don't know, me, but I like being bogged down in my work.

00;22;17;20 - 00;22;23;06
Nicole Davis
So I guess maybe let's reframe. Okay, so you're just ready to get to work? Yeah.

00;22;23;07 - 00;22;28;13
Michael David Davis
Yeah. Or I mean, I'm at work and I get yeah, get to physical work, right? Like, I'm ready to start diving in.

00;22;28;16 - 00;22;29;07
Nicole Davis
Be productive.

00;22;29;07 - 00;22;52;18
Michael David Davis
Yeah. But the problem, the problem I think, hypothetically, is that. All right. But I've got again, I've got 25 things on my tasks, right? Where do I begin? Yeah, I haven't gotten to that point where to prioritize my task maybe on nature, but I'm like, I want to do this. And, you know, and and I'm trying to avoid the burnout or my fatigue and like, I want to be able to like, again, make this much easier for me to do it.

00;22;52;25 - 00;22;55;02
Michael David Davis
What am I what am I going to do?

00;22;55;02 - 00;23;01;20
Nicole Davis
Yeah, so it sounds super negative, but shocker. Oh, I'm not a negative person.

00;23;01;20 - 00;23;07;25
Michael David Davis
No, but it's definitely not. I mean, in my head, like, I'm always going there first. Like, remember I start it. No.

00;23;07;29 - 00;23;30;15
Nicole Davis
Yeah. So? So it's going to sound super negative, but if you, if you have and I hate this list, I'm of like the things that you do during the week because let's be real, the things that you do have to get done right So you know, if you're your own boss or if you have a boss or a manager, like there's no empathy around.

00;23;30;15 - 00;23;52;04
Nicole Davis
Like, I don't want to do this. It stinks. It's not fun. Like the job has to get done, right? But if you have some tasks on your weekly to do list or monthly to do list or whatever, you're like, I hate this. That probably means that there's something there that could be more streamlined, right? That could make it more automatic, that could make it easier for you.

00;23;52;13 - 00;24;15;23
Nicole Davis
And I often find that those are things that we do have to do time and time again. Usually, if there's some novelty to a task, it's not necessarily the I hate this, but you get you might get anxious about it, you might get nervous, whatever. But that like deep hatred, one of the items on your to do list usually comes from something that you have to do a lot.

00;24;15;28 - 00;24;36;24
Nicole Davis
Yeah. Or something that you have to do a lot. And there is not an easy way to get it done. So to me, that's the first step is start documenting your I hate this list. And from there you can start to see some patterns. Right? And again, like every moment is not the moment for assessment, which is why I say make a list.

00;24;36;25 - 00;25;00;15
Nicole Davis
Like at the end of the day, you got to get this stuff done. But then when you do have that time to go back and assess evaluate, start like ticking off those things on your I hate this list or start, you know, analyzing those things. So do they all use a similar software at your organization or do they all involve like one particular process or one particular team that you have to work with?

00;25;00;15 - 00;25;02;06
Nicole Davis
Like sometimes that can be the thing too.

00;25;02;15 - 00;25;04;26
Michael David Davis
Okay, I think I have a real world example.

00;25;04;26 - 00;25;05;06
Nicole Davis
I'm ready.

00;25;05;06 - 00;25;11;18
Michael David Davis
For this. Okay, so like what? I'm doing phone calls and I'm talking to people I hate is such a strong can I say I dislike this?

00;25;11;18 - 00;25;14;15
Nicole Davis
Like I really don't care for it. Yeah, how about that?

00;25;14;15 - 00;25;19;13
Michael David Davis
All right. Yeah. Or I really wish someone else would do this list. Yeah, like I.

00;25;19;21 - 00;25;24;07
Nicole Davis
Yeah, it's like my. If I had a personal assistant wish list. Yeah. Yeah.

00;25;24;11 - 00;25;45;18
Michael David Davis
Virtual or not human being. Okay. Seeing if I'm hearing you correctly. So I don't like to take notes when I'm talking to somebody on the phone at a Zoom or something like that. So then would they work smarter, not harder mentality By like turning on some sort of dictation software, like, like Google, for instance, has something that they can kick on.

00;25;45;18 - 00;25;49;28
Michael David Davis
So when I'm on a Zoom meeting or I'm on a phone call or just like we're talking now.

00;25;50;06 - 00;25;50;15
Nicole Davis
Yeah.

00;25;50;15 - 00;25;53;21
Michael David Davis
It's going to type out all the information I.

00;25;53;21 - 00;25;54;29
Nicole Davis
Need. Yeah, I.

00;25;54;29 - 00;25;59;12
Michael David Davis
Don't have to. Yeah. So is that, is that like where you're going ?

00;25;59;14 - 00;26;13;15
Nicole Davis
I don’t know, let’s unpack this. All right, so, so yes, to me, that doesn't immediately sound like a solution to your problem, but I think we should unpack. Like, what do you actually. What did we say? We're not saying, hey, don't care for so much.

00;26;13;15 - 00;26;15;09
Michael David Davis
I have someone else take my notes.

00;26;16;21 - 00;26;37;08
Nicole Davis
Right? Yeah. So hold because I said we're going to unpack it and not repeat the same thing again. Correct. So you what part of it feels frustrating to you would it be the actual typing when you. Because I think you've already said like you would rather engage with someone, you would rather be able to read their face, make eye contact, things like that.

00;26;37;10 - 00;26;38;14
Michael David Davis
It's the repetition.

00;26;38;23 - 00;26;40;07
Nicole Davis
Because what is repetitive about.

00;26;40;12 - 00;26;45;27
Michael David Davis
Well, so I'm taking the notes and then I'm probably having to put this inside of some other like, yes, I say.

00;26;45;27 - 00;26;46;08
Nicole Davis
Around.

00;26;46;08 - 00;26;58;03
Michael David Davis
More. I might be putting it into the notes like, because like you, I think we're we have very similar styles. I'm just digital. She's very analog and I'm very digital in a sense. So like I'm not one.

00;26;58;03 - 00;26;59;09
Nicole Davis
Hundred percent analog.

00;26;59;19 - 00;27;00;29
Michael David Davis
No, no, you have I can't.

00;27;00;29 - 00;27;01;22
Nicole Davis
Wait to talk about some.

00;27;01;22 - 00;27;22;13
Michael David Davis
Technology. You have moved beyond videocassettes, which is surprising. The clamshells are gone. So like, but like, I think it's just so I've got these notes that I've taken, then I run in the prom or I'm reading mine. I'm like, trying to edit myself and then I'm like, trying to put them into another little spot. Maybe it's in there contact or like the conversation and I have.

00;27;22;20 - 00;27;36;26
Michael David Davis
And then after I look at that, then I'm like, Oh, I'm going to follow up with what we talked about and I'm typing out an email at this point, right? So I'm like incorporating the notes that I took that I've now put into the CRM that I'm now putting into an email for a follow up email. So like I now typed this out 3 to 4 times.

00;27;38;00 - 00;27;39;25
Michael David Davis
I don't like doing that.

00;27;39;29 - 00;27;40;07
Nicole Davis
Yeah.

00;27;40;07 - 00;28;00;15
Michael David Davis
And so what, what can I do? Because what I can do if I think about that one conversation, is almost 5 minutes worth of work. So now again, I know that your Salesforce, Salesforce that's out there, I mean, you know that there's tools that as you're making that notes on the call, but like this feels very repetitive to me, right?

00;28;00;15 - 00;28;02;09
Michael David Davis
And so how can I make that easy?

00;28;02;14 - 00;28;21;18
Nicole Davis
But, you know, it's I have some ideas. Okay. These may not be great ideas. Yeah. So part of what I'm hearing, I think, is that it's having multiple things in multiple places, right? Or having to go to multiple systems to just kind of take care of one client need or one department need or whatever the case may be.

00;28;21;18 - 00;28;39;05
Nicole Davis
Is that right? Yeah. Okay. So in that situation, though, I don't know that a dictation software is really going to solve that problem for you, right? Because at least what I find with dictation software is that I still have to go back and edit it anyway, Right? And oftentimes I don't have a recording of what that was about.

00;28;39;05 - 00;29;25;07
Nicole Davis
That conversation was it's kind of hard to tell what's going on there. Obviously, there are more sophisticated tools that can do a more accurate job, but maybe some things that would help would be. I find that sometimes we take notes out of compulsion as opposed to need. Right. And so what is sometimes helpful, a couple of things. So one is a digital solution that is not analog bool, but if you use a collaboration tool like Miro or mural or Padlet or something like that, where during these conversations you're collaborating and everyone is documenting what's happening in the conversation, it takes the onus off of that one person to kind of be the ultimate record keeper.

00;29;25;17 - 00;29;31;06
Nicole Davis
And you've got everyone notes, everyone's notes after that conversation, and then it’s...

00;29;31;06 - 00;29;34;14
Michael David Davis
Oh I got notes on everyone too.

00;29;34;14 - 00;29;35;16
Nicole Davis
But then it's easier to.

00;29;36;02 - 00;29;37;15
Michael David Davis
Pam will not be getting that email today.

00;29;38;02 - 00;30;00;18
Nicole Davis
But then it's easier to kind of go back and do like, okay, what were the three big ideas here? Something that I'm notorious for is at the end of a meeting where we're using a collaboration space like that. I'll say, Okay, everyone grab some Post-its and put your follow up items on those Post-its. So I really do kind of like distribute out those tasks so that I'm not responsible for everything.

00;30;00;18 - 00;30;17;29
Nicole Davis
Like, you know, I could be, but, you know, it it keeps people engaged and it keeps people accountable for keeping track of their own to do list. And then honest to goodness, I just kind of do like a copy paste from those things. Or even better, sometimes I'll take a screenshot of that and throw it into my CRM.

00;30;17;29 - 00;30;37;16
Nicole Davis
And that way I've kind of captured everything that was important in that conversation. Okay, another thing that you can do also, it just kind of at the end go around and have everyone kind of in that moment say, What are your three big takeaways from this meeting, right? Or what are the three things that we need to do as a result of this conversation?

00;30;37;24 - 00;30;54;13
Nicole Davis
And then just documenting those things sometimes can be enough to help you kind of move forward with the next step of of whatever that is. Okay. Obviously there are times you have to take notes, right? Like when we're going through a process with a new client and understanding, you know, for me, a lot of times that comes down to educational programs.

00;30;54;13 - 00;31;06;22
Nicole Davis
And how many learners do you have participating in? And there are some of those details that I just have to document. But again, it's out of necessity in those moments to try to avoid the compulsive note taking.

00;31;06;28 - 00;31;27;27
Michael David Davis
So then how do you take that? Right, Because I think that's extremely intelligent. How do I take that and repeat that process, especially when I'm talking to clients that are, you know, maybe I've worked with one client long enough, I can introduce this and say, Hey, check this out. As I do this, it helps me become more streamlined and more efficient so that I'm, you know, better prepared for them.

00;31;28;09 - 00;31;43;15
Michael David Davis
But how do I introduce that with somebody new, right? So that I'm keeping my process continually going without having to again, feel like I'm taking steps backwards because I didn't set the correct expectation, right? Like, yeah.

00;31;44;00 - 00;32;06;00
Nicole Davis
I mean, I think you just answer the question, right? It's setting those expectations early on. This is how I operate. This is the way for me to stay organized and make sure that I'm kind of checking all the boxes for you or following up on all those things that we need to complete together. I think it's also important and this is, you know, maybe like the mushy, cushy, squishy part of me, but like, checking in with that other person, too.

00;32;06;06 - 00;32;27;17
Nicole Davis
It's pretty firm. I was going to say the shoulders and shoulders. Yeah, that's fine. But, you know, checking you with that other person to have Here's a system that I use to keep our team organized. Does this work for you or, you know, what tools do you use to stay organized? And I think that a lot of times just that expectation setting, but also the checking in with someone else actually wins you.

00;32;27;17 - 00;32;40;08
Nicole Davis
A lot of fans, people appreciate being checked in with and not having another system just kind of put upon them. Yeah, but obviously it depends on what your roles are, what the scenario is, the organization, things like that.

00;32;40;17 - 00;33;09;24
Michael David Davis
Nice. So like I mean, and again we get we can have a whole nother episode just about expectation setting and getting they buy-in from somebody. But I think to that is just yeah I mean like, I mean I don't even know what else to say because like, I'm wowed, I'm actually very impressed with the fact that to me it's taking a very complex situation that you also said something about on how we tend to muddle doing our own business, right?

00;33;09;24 - 00;33;32;03
Michael David Davis
You mentioned about it in tne note taking. But I can tell you I am my own enemy when it comes to because as we've talked about before, I'm in that ideation mode. So as I'm doing something again, strangely enough, I'm not present as I'm doing that task, I'm thinking about two or three or sometimes ten other things. And now when I look down at what I was doing, I'm like, What?

00;33;32;06 - 00;33;52;28
Michael David Davis
What was the heck was yeah, right. Like, yeah. And then I'm spending more time trying to figure out totally what was I trying to do. So I find myself 30 minutes have gone by and I'm just trying to figure out what what did I just do? Right? And then that's where again, I get that embarrassment or that that kind of shame where I haven't really done anything.

00;33;52;29 - 00;33;53;11
Nicole Davis
Yeah, but.

00;33;53;11 - 00;33;56;19
Michael David Davis
I know I have it right. Like, it's. But there's nothing documented.

00;33;56;22 - 00;34;20;18
Nicole Davis
Energy but not outcomes, Right? Yeah. And I think we're inherently just really bad multi-taskers and we all want to tell ourselves that we can do it and we can, you know, push through and look at me. I can cook dinner and answer Slack messages. I'm like, We're not good at it, and we need to let go of that idea that it's noble to be great at multitasking, that it's noble to not have work life balance, all those things.

00;34;20;18 - 00;34;48;27
Nicole Davis
Right. We're we're bad at it. So we need to give ourselves maybe this is kind of like that thread of continuity of the whole conversation and right. But we need to give ourselves that mental space to be able to focus on the task at hand. And I think maybe next time or a few times from now, we'll talk about some of the tools and, you know, tech apps and things like that even use to kind of help keep yourself focused when when it's difficult or free yourself from distraction.

00;34;48;27 - 00;35;03;02
Nicole Davis
I mean, I, I think that's something a lot of people face. And and it's because we we have this false narrative around multitasking and how noble it is to be able to do that when no one can.

00;35;03;02 - 00;35;24;15
Michael David Davis
Right. And I think, you know, and again, it will be next week, which I'm super excited about because we're going to we are going to talk about those tools. Surprise. But like, not only are we going to talk about the digital tools, but I'm I'm actually really excited. That's kind of show off one of my favorite analog tools that somebody recommended to me and it's there is a digital version, but something about that analog.

00;35;24;19 - 00;35;28;24
Nicole Davis
Is it an egg timer? Why did I get it?

00;35;28;24 - 00;35;32;25
Michael David Davis
Right now you don't even have to listen or watch because you know, everything about the episode..

00;35;33;18 - 00;35;40;14
Nicole Davis
This is all about it. It’s all about the egg timer. Time blocking with sn egg timer. If that could be your brand, that would be all you’re about.

00;35;41;17 - 00;36;04;17
Michael David Davis
T-shirts out on the site. Yeah. So I think but like talking about the digital and analog tools that will, that will be really helpful. Yeah, I mean, because I know that without them it is hard to go from that multitask mindset that we think that we can do to really, you know, again, we go back to removing the distractions.

00;36;04;17 - 00;36;36;06
Michael David Davis
I think for me, I have to get out of my own way and remove myself as a distraction, right? And once I do that, then I have more freedom and space to trust myself, to do the things correctly, as opposed to being more worried that I'm not going to do it correctly. And so, yeah, I think those tools and there's so many I mean, we're going to have to make a checklist because like people I think Nicole has already 25 that she can rattle off so fast and that.

00;36;36;14 - 00;36;36;28
Nicole Davis
Yeah.

00;36;36;28 - 00;36;38;25
Michael David Davis
Three dot com dot com dot com.

00;36;38;25 - 00;37;00;27
Nicole Davis
And yeah they are but but you know what that just to bring it back for a second like that's part of the value of checking with other people about what tools they use because to think you've got all the answers is ridiculous. Right. And sometimes some of my favorite things that I use now are things that I've picked up from checking in with other people of like, Hey, I use Miro.

00;37;00;28 - 00;37;09;04
Nicole Davis
Like, do you use Miro? Oh no, I use what it was the other day, Figma And I was like, This is a game changer, right? I loved working in Figma.

00;37;09;15 - 00;37;09;24
Michael David Davis
Is that the one where you can drag a.

00;37;09;24 - 00;37;10;22
Nicole Davis
Different use case.

00;37;10;28 - 00;37;13;09
Michael David Davis
The little Post-its in.

00;37;13;20 - 00;37;15;19
Nicole Davis
Yeah, you can drag with everything. But well, there's.

00;37;15;19 - 00;37;19;05
Michael David Davis
One that actually post-it related, so I'll have it for next.

00;37;19;05 - 00;37;39;25
Nicole Davis
Week. Okay. But but you know, just again, to kind of bring it back around, that's the value in looking for feedback. That's the value in checking with other people about their systems and tools, because you can actually learn a lot if you're open to it. Yeah. From from other people in the things that help them stay organized and free of distractions.

00;37;39;25 - 00;37;59;16
Michael David Davis
Yeah, I mean, I love it. So next week that's what we'll be doing and you know, not only we do like to talk about these tools, not only do we actually like we live and eat and breathe and sleep this, believe it or not, but this is what we do for a living. So we're here sharing all these wonderful tools and informations and ideas just to give you a leg up, hopefully in your environment.

00;37;59;23 - 00;38;20;10
Michael David Davis
But like you can just go to my thought partner dot com, you can see who we are, what we do, the type of clients we work with that are out there. So this isn't we do talk to a lot of people and get their information, but we also apply this in our everyday lives. Surprisingly, we even apply into our personal life, which whenever I set off an egg timer, Nicole comes running out.

00;38;20;20 - 00;38;36;26
Michael David Davis
What's going on? It it really doesn't happen. But, you know, and I think the other thing is too, is again, you can find us everywhere where podcasts are. You can go to podcast dot my thought partner dot com. You would think I would know our own website by now by the top of my head. And that's again because I'm thinking about something else.

00;38;36;26 - 00;38;58;03
Michael David Davis
I'm thinking about wrapping this up. We've got to wrap this up. Let's just do it. Yeah, we're out of here. - This is your wheelhouse. This is all about streamlining that process, right? So for removing the distractions both physically and mentally.

00;38;58;10 - 00;38;58;27
Nicole Davis
Mm hmm.

00;38;59;19 - 00;39;03;19
Michael David Davis
What? What's the benefit of that? And like, what? Like what are we doing?

00;39;04;03 - 00;39;09;19
Nicole Davis
What's the benefit of that? I feel like we've covered that. But seriously, do you want to do one more? buh Bye.