Annie Croner is the founder and CEO of Whole Assistant, an online platform & community, formed to provide a positive place where assistants can go to transform their lives and level up their careers. She is an executive assistant coach, trainer, and strategic thinker. Annie is also host of The Whole Assistant Podcast. You can learn more about Annie by listening to my conversations with her on episodes 26 and 219 of The Leader Assistant Podcast.
I’m excited to re-post several episodes of Annie’s podcast on this show over the coming months and I think you’ll enjoy hearing her point of view on all sorts of topics relevant to the assistant profession.
In this spotlight episode of The Whole Assistant Podcast, Annie shares 3 misguided productivity myths.
CONNECT WITH ANNIE
- Annie on LinkedIn
- Whole Assistant Website
- The Whole Assistant Podcast
- Email: annie@wholeassistant.com
- Whole Assistant Instagram
ABOUT ANNIE
Annie Croner is an executive assistant coach, trainer, and strategic thinker. She loves to help her clients unlock their badassery, and revolutionize their careers.
Over her 20 year career as an executive assistant, Annie worked for boutique companies across multiple industries including accounting, marketing, nonprofit, and private wealth management. Working in a variety of settings has led to a diverse understanding of the assistant role and the many challenges that often come with it.
Annie is passionate about helping those in support roles show up more strategically and garner the respect of their executives, colleagues, and key stakeholders without sacrificing their mental health and well-being.
Annie lives in Denver, Colorado where she enjoys green smoothies, her family, and an occasional evening of Latin dancing. To learn more about Annie please visit WholeAssistant.com.
–––
THE LEADER ASSISTANT PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP
To learn more about how you can join growth-minded Leader Assistants, check out our Leader Assistant Premium Membership for ongoing training, coaching, and community.
THE LEADER ASSISTANT BOOK
Download the first 3 chapters of The Leader Assistant: Four Pillars of Game-Changing Assistant for FREE here or buy it on Amazon and listen to the audiobook on Audible. Also, check out the companion study guide, The Leader Assistant Workbook, to dig deeper.
LEADER ASSISTANT LIVE EVENTS
Check out our constantly updated schedule of events for admins and assistants at LeaderAssistantLive.com.
JOIN THE FREE COMMUNITY
Join the Leader Assistant Global Community for bonus content, job opportunities, and to network with other assistants who are committed to becoming leaders!
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to The Leader Assistant Podcast so you don’t miss new episodes!
You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, and Stitcher.
Join my email list here if you want to get an email when a new episode goes live.
LEAVE A REVIEW
If you’re enjoying the podcast, please take 2 minutes to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts here. Each review helps me stay motivated to keep the show going!
—
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00.500 –> 00:00:03.220
JEREMY: Person-Meeting Planning can be a lot to manage.
00:00:03.220 –> 00:00:05.940
JEREMY: That’s where Troop Planner comes in.
00:00:05.940 –> 00:00:10.560
JEREMY: Troop Planner is built to make life easier for busy assistants like you.
00:00:10.560 –> 00:00:19.640
JEREMY: Whether you’re organizing an executive offsite, department meeting or team retreat, Troop keeps it simple, fast and organized.
00:00:19.640 –> 00:00:34.480
JEREMY: From choosing the perfect location to managing budgets, coordinating travel and tracking attendee details, Troop brings everything together in one easy-to-use platform so you can save time and focus on what matters most.
00:00:34.480 –> 00:00:41.140
JEREMY: Troop has an exclusive offer for Leader Assistant listeners through Administrative Professionals Day, so don’t miss out.
00:00:41.140 –> 00:00:45.180
JEREMY: Visit leaderassistant.com/troop to learn more.
00:00:46.200 –> 00:00:49.040
JEREMY: Hey friends, it’s Jeremy Burrows, host of The Leader Assistant Podcast.
00:00:49.040 –> 00:00:50.380
JEREMY: Thanks for tuning in.
00:00:50.380 –> 00:01:06.400
JEREMY: Today I’m excited to highlight an episode from my friend Annie Croner’s podcast called Whole Assistant, and I really think you should check out her show at wholeassistant.com or look it up on your favorite podcast platform.
00:01:06.400 –> 00:01:11.140
JEREMY: Again, Annie Croner’s podcast called Whole Assistant.
00:01:11.140 –> 00:01:21.260
JEREMY: Today I am spotlighting one of Annie’s episodes from The Whole Assistant Podcast, and I’m excited to spotlight several episodes over the coming months.
00:01:21.260 –> 00:01:27.800
JEREMY: So I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you check out wholeassistant.com to learn more about Annie and her great podcast.
00:01:33.918 –> 00:01:41.518
ANNIE: The Leader Assistant Podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.
00:01:49.725 –> 00:01:56.865
JEREMY: Hey, friends, my best-selling book, The Leader Assistant, has a companion study and discussion guide to go along with it.
00:01:56.865 –> 00:01:59.565
JEREMY: It’s called The Leader Assistant Workbook.
00:01:59.565 –> 00:02:13.145
JEREMY: Now, you can buy the Kindle ebook version of The Leader Assistant Workbook on Amazon, or you can go to leaderassistantbook.com and get a printable PDF version of the workbook.
00:02:13.145 –> 00:02:21.785
JEREMY: This version has all the space and margin in between the questions that you can write your own answers and take notes with.
00:02:21.785 –> 00:02:29.105
JEREMY: So, it’s a great way to print it out and keep track of your discussion and study guide notes.
00:02:29.105 –> 00:02:36.265
JEREMY: Again, go to leaderassistantbook.com and click on Workbook to check out The Leader Assistant Workbook.
00:02:36.265 –> 00:02:43.165
ANNIE: Today, we are talking all about three misguided productivity beliefs that you may have.
00:02:44.085 –> 00:02:46.965
ANNIE: These beliefs will hold you back if you let them.
00:02:46.965 –> 00:02:53.025
ANNIE: I like to consider these beliefs myths as a lot of us are unaware that we actually think these things.
00:02:53.025 –> 00:03:00.425
ANNIE: So, I just figured I would bring it into your consciousness, into your awareness today by naming them.
00:03:00.425 –> 00:03:09.505
ANNIE: But before I get there, I do want to start by laying the groundwork for this topic by sharing the productivity equation.
00:03:10.365 –> 00:03:18.785
ANNIE: So, the productivity equation is a concept that I’ve seen around, but I don’t know that anybody is sharing it the same way that I am.
00:03:18.785 –> 00:03:21.505
ANNIE: So, the productivity equation goes like this.
00:03:21.505 –> 00:03:26.085
ANNIE: Productivity equals the amount of value created.
00:03:26.085 –> 00:03:31.145
ANNIE: So, in our role, this is the output or the end result or whatever project we’re working on.
00:03:31.145 –> 00:03:35.445
ANNIE: So, the amount of value created divided by time.
00:03:36.205 –> 00:03:45.725
ANNIE: So, if the time piece is larger, then the amount produced is going to be smaller based on the value created.
00:03:45.725 –> 00:03:52.465
ANNIE: If you’re able to create the same amount of value in less time, the amount of your productivity increases.
00:03:52.465 –> 00:03:55.505
ANNIE: The end result is increased productivity.
00:03:55.505 –> 00:04:07.345
ANNIE: So, we really want to look at strategies that are going to reduce the time part of the equation and produce the same or greater value than we initially thought possible, okay?
00:04:07.345 –> 00:04:14.885
ANNIE: So, for the sake of this conversation today, again, productivity equals the amount of value created divided by time.
00:04:14.885 –> 00:04:28.265
ANNIE: So, keeping this equation in mind, the first myth or the first misguided belief around productivity that we’re going to talk about today is that productivity has a lot to do with how busy you are.
00:04:28.265 –> 00:04:31.405
ANNIE: The busier you are, the more productive you’re being.
00:04:32.345 –> 00:04:35.565
ANNIE: That is not actually accurate or true.
00:04:35.565 –> 00:04:49.305
ANNIE: Busyness, meaning the state of doing things, which also is often accompanied with a state of anxiety or stress as an emotion behind the busyness, busyness does not equate to value.
00:04:50.545 –> 00:04:51.525
ANNIE: Really think about that.
00:04:51.525 –> 00:04:53.845
ANNIE: Busyness does not equal value.
00:04:53.845 –> 00:04:58.905
ANNIE: Busyness doesn’t decrease the time you spend either creating the value.
00:04:59.665 –> 00:05:04.345
ANNIE: Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean that you’re being super productive.
00:05:04.345 –> 00:05:16.625
ANNIE: Have you ever worked your butt off and at the end of the day, not been able to recall what actually got accomplished, not able to recall what you actually produced?
00:05:16.625 –> 00:05:18.445
ANNIE: That is an example of what I’m talking about here.
00:05:18.445 –> 00:05:24.965
ANNIE: We spend all of our time playing whack-a-mole, not showing up strategically for our time, not showing up strategically for our day.
00:05:25.005 –> 00:05:42.565
ANNIE: We spend our time in busy-ness, I’m using air quotes around busy-ness, not to actually produce anything, not to actually consider the value that was created throughout the day or the time it took us to create that value.
00:05:43.745 –> 00:05:48.065
ANNIE: So busy-ness does not have anything to do with productivity.
00:05:48.065 –> 00:05:56.965
ANNIE: Productivity is literally the amount accomplished, the output, the end result, the value created, divided by time.
00:05:56.965 –> 00:06:08.605
ANNIE: And the fact that you look busy, the fact that you are busy, the fact that you feel anxious and stressed out, does not actually mean that you are creating value and in a timely fashion.
00:06:10.045 –> 00:06:12.665
ANNIE: So I just want to bring some awareness to that.
00:06:12.665 –> 00:06:16.265
ANNIE: Productivity has nothing to do with how busy you are.
00:06:16.265 –> 00:06:25.105
ANNIE: Productivity only has to do with the amount of value created or the output or end result divided by the time, the least amount of time.
00:06:25.105 –> 00:06:29.385
ANNIE: So actually, productivity often looks less busy.
00:06:29.385 –> 00:06:30.905
ANNIE: It often looks more strategic.
00:06:30.905 –> 00:06:45.045
ANNIE: It often looks like taking the time to line out your processes and then executing on those processes in a really productive and time-constrained way, taking into account the amount of time to get that task done.
00:06:45.045 –> 00:06:47.225
ANNIE: So it often requires planning.
00:06:47.225 –> 00:06:50.545
ANNIE: It often requires you to show up more strategically for your time.
00:06:50.665 –> 00:07:01.745
ANNIE: So that you aren’t staying over here in the busy-ness, but you are producing high-quality work and doing it in the most productive, time-effective way.
00:07:01.745 –> 00:07:02.285
ANNIE: Okay.
00:07:02.285 –> 00:07:12.525
ANNIE: The second kind of misguided productivity belief that we’re going to talk about today is that productivity has everything to do with your effort and working hard.
00:07:13.785 –> 00:07:15.425
ANNIE: So here’s the reality.
00:07:15.425 –> 00:07:17.465
ANNIE: Productivity has nothing to do with effort.
00:07:18.405 –> 00:07:22.045
ANNIE: You can work hard all you want and not produce anything.
00:07:22.045 –> 00:07:30.145
ANNIE: You can work hard all you want and do it in a less effective, less time-restrained way.
00:07:30.145 –> 00:07:36.505
ANNIE: Effort doesn’t equal value created, and working hard doesn’t actually mean you are creating value.
00:07:36.505 –> 00:07:38.265
ANNIE: I’m going to say that one again.
00:07:38.265 –> 00:07:45.185
ANNIE: Effort doesn’t equal value created, and working hard doesn’t actually mean you are creating value.
00:07:46.845 –> 00:07:54.285
ANNIE: The most productive people actually implement strategies that will require less effort and make their work easier and more streamlined.
00:07:55.305 –> 00:08:01.385
ANNIE: Some of you are overcomplexifying your work, and your productivity is suffering as a result.
00:08:01.385 –> 00:08:09.905
ANNIE: Your brains are trying to make things harder than they actually are, and so you aren’t streamlining things in the most efficient and effective ways.
00:08:11.385 –> 00:08:13.165
ANNIE: So, pay attention.
00:08:13.165 –> 00:08:15.785
ANNIE: Are you putting a lot of effort into something?
00:08:15.785 –> 00:08:18.045
ANNIE: Are you working hard for something?
00:08:18.045 –> 00:08:21.605
ANNIE: What is the actual result of what you created?
00:08:21.605 –> 00:08:26.365
ANNIE: Do you feel like you are creating things in a time-efficient way?
00:08:26.365 –> 00:08:29.325
ANNIE: Or are you spinning your wheels most of the time?
00:08:30.365 –> 00:08:37.265
ANNIE: And have you implemented strategies that will require less effort and make your work easier?
00:08:37.265 –> 00:08:39.225
ANNIE: All good questions to ask yourself.
00:08:40.705 –> 00:08:50.105
ANNIE: The last and final misguided productivity belief that a lot of us have is that productivity has all to do with how many hours you work.
00:08:50.105 –> 00:08:52.345
ANNIE: I’ve worked 60 hours this week.
00:08:52.345 –> 00:08:54.085
ANNIE: I’ve been super productive.
00:08:54.085 –> 00:08:55.865
ANNIE: Have you, though?
00:08:55.865 –> 00:08:57.165
ANNIE: Have you?
00:08:57.165 –> 00:09:01.505
ANNIE: Many of you think that more hours equals increased productive output.
00:09:01.505 –> 00:09:22.465
ANNIE: Now, more hours may mean increased output, but they aren’t productive hours because that timepiece, going back to the initial equation that we had, productivity is equal to the amount of value created over time, that timepiece is increased, which means that your total productive output, the productivity, the rate of productivity has decreased.
00:09:24.525 –> 00:09:30.745
ANNIE: My question to you is, how can you get the same amount of work done that took you 60 hours to do in 40 hours?
00:09:31.985 –> 00:09:56.285
ANNIE: Often, we wear our long hours, we wear the effort we put towards things, we wear how busy we are as badges of honor, and so we like to buy into the idea of being busy, we like to buy into the idea of efforting or working hard, we like to buy into the idea of working harder, longer hours, and we call it being super productive, but it’s actually really not.
00:09:56.285 –> 00:09:58.205
ANNIE: Probably getting under people’s skin right now.
00:09:58.205 –> 00:10:08.865
ANNIE: Now look, you may be operating at optimal productivity in terms of your time and your energy that you put towards it and really the value you’re creating.
00:10:08.865 –> 00:10:10.845
ANNIE: And if you want to work longer hours, that’s fine.
00:10:10.845 –> 00:10:14.505
ANNIE: If that’s the job you have and you’re fine with it, that’s fine.
00:10:14.505 –> 00:10:19.265
ANNIE: My question to you is, how can you get the same amount of work done in fewer hours?
00:10:21.025 –> 00:10:26.605
ANNIE: Because working longer hours doesn’t support the equation above for productivity.
00:10:26.605 –> 00:10:28.865
ANNIE: So I’m going to give an example of this.
00:10:28.865 –> 00:10:38.565
ANNIE: I think that many of us were raised going to school and I was for most of my formative years, but there was a time, I think, between fourth through sixth grade that I was homeschooled.
00:10:38.565 –> 00:10:42.905
ANNIE: And I would get my schooling done in two or three hours a day.
00:10:42.905 –> 00:10:49.985
ANNIE: And my cohorts, the people that were around my same age were going to school all day from like 8 a.m.
00:10:49.985 –> 00:10:51.365
ANNIE: to 3 p.m.
00:10:51.365 –> 00:10:54.025
ANNIE: And they were in school for hours on end.
00:10:54.025 –> 00:10:58.445
ANNIE: And I was able to get my schooling done in a shorter time frame.
00:10:58.445 –> 00:10:59.065
ANNIE: Right?
00:10:59.065 –> 00:11:00.585
ANNIE: Now, there’s a reason for that.
00:11:00.945 –> 00:11:04.185
ANNIE: We didn’t have set schedule in terms of class schedules.
00:11:04.185 –> 00:11:05.625
ANNIE: I was able to go at my own pace.
00:11:05.625 –> 00:11:10.545
ANNIE: And my own pace was a lot more efficient than the school’s pace was.
00:11:10.545 –> 00:11:27.265
ANNIE: And the reality is that a lot of us have been raised to go from working at school from like 8 to 3 or 8 to 230 to a job and working 8 to 5.
00:11:28.405 –> 00:11:34.105
ANNIE: And we fill up the time based on the hours that are allotted for it.
00:11:34.105 –> 00:11:44.925
ANNIE: Instead of seeing how much we can get done in a shorter period of time, seeing how we can streamline things in a shorter period of time.
00:11:44.925 –> 00:11:56.105
ANNIE: So these are the things I want to bring your awareness to because productivity is simply the amount of value you create over time divided by time.
00:11:56.905 –> 00:12:04.465
ANNIE: So really, minimizing the time you spend on your tasks will increase your value proposition for your employer.
00:12:04.465 –> 00:12:06.605
ANNIE: It will increase your rate of productivity.
00:12:07.625 –> 00:12:18.865
ANNIE: And really streamlining your processes so that you can show up optimally, so that you can have the highest productivity rate is so much fun.
00:12:18.865 –> 00:12:23.405
ANNIE: So the question then becomes how do we actually increase the amount of value created?
00:12:23.985 –> 00:12:27.765
ANNIE: The first step is to think about how to work smarter, not harder.
00:12:27.765 –> 00:12:30.305
ANNIE: So I’m going to share a few things that will help you do this.
00:12:30.305 –> 00:12:31.345
ANNIE: Templatize, guys.
00:12:31.345 –> 00:12:33.085
ANNIE: Templatize everything.
00:12:33.085 –> 00:12:34.305
ANNIE: Templatizing is great.
00:12:34.305 –> 00:12:37.665
ANNIE: Create a template for those emails that you send out consistently.
00:12:37.665 –> 00:12:43.165
ANNIE: Create a template for requesting receipts for your executive.
00:12:43.165 –> 00:12:48.465
ANNIE: Create templates for your agendas and things like that.
00:12:48.465 –> 00:12:51.765
ANNIE: Create a template for your meeting with your executive, your one-on-one with your executive.
00:12:52.265 –> 00:12:54.605
ANNIE: Templatize, templatize, templatize.
00:12:54.605 –> 00:12:57.925
ANNIE: Another strategy to work smarter and not harder is to automate.
00:12:57.925 –> 00:12:59.985
ANNIE: Automate as much of the things as you can.
00:12:59.985 –> 00:13:14.885
ANNIE: That’s why I really appreciate Trello for task management, because I can put things in my board automatically, and they’re set to autodrop in my board at the same time every year, or the same time every day, or the same time every week.
00:13:14.885 –> 00:13:17.745
ANNIE: It just is automated, so I know I’m not going to forget things.
00:13:18.645 –> 00:13:22.845
ANNIE: Systematize, systematize, systematize as much as you possibly can.
00:13:22.845 –> 00:13:28.985
ANNIE: Batch similar tasks together so that it takes less time for your brain to switch from task to task.
00:13:28.985 –> 00:13:29.845
ANNIE: Gamify.
00:13:29.845 –> 00:13:32.145
ANNIE: I really like this one because this is so much fun.
00:13:32.145 –> 00:13:39.825
ANNIE: I would actually challenge myself when I was working as an executive assistant to get things done in a shorter time frame, and then I track my times.
00:13:39.825 –> 00:13:49.925
ANNIE: So say, for example, I’m working on expense reports, and it took me two hours to get expense reports done the previous time I did them, so this time I’m going to try and get it done, in an hour or an hour and a half.
00:13:49.925 –> 00:13:56.485
ANNIE: Gamify is so much fun, and it adds a bit of joy to your work too, especially if you’re competitive by nature.
00:13:56.485 –> 00:14:00.525
ANNIE: And I wouldn’t say that I’m competitive with other people, but I’m certainly competitive with myself.
00:14:00.525 –> 00:14:05.945
ANNIE: So gamification for me was a strong strategy in maximizing my productive output.
00:14:05.945 –> 00:14:08.625
ANNIE: So that’s the first thing, work smarter, not harder.
00:14:08.625 –> 00:14:10.485
ANNIE: Stop recreating the wheel, guys.
00:14:10.545 –> 00:14:11.485
ANNIE: Stop it.
00:14:11.485 –> 00:14:14.905
ANNIE: Think about how you can create a system and then stick to that system.
00:14:14.905 –> 00:14:23.045
ANNIE: The second kind of strategy for increasing the amount of value created is to start trading value for money, not time.
00:14:23.045 –> 00:14:27.085
ANNIE: So many of us there again are used to the nine to five, that sort of thing.
00:14:27.085 –> 00:14:37.045
ANNIE: But if you’re actually trading value for money and not time for money, that’s a great way to increase the amount of value created.
00:14:37.045 –> 00:14:39.005
ANNIE: See if you can get more done in less time.
00:14:39.905 –> 00:14:47.005
ANNIE: How can you increase the value you bring to the table without increasing the time spent creating that value?
00:14:47.005 –> 00:14:58.165
ANNIE: The third strategy for increasing the amount of value created is to stop assuming that increased productivity equals increased time, effort and stress.
00:14:58.165 –> 00:15:00.285
ANNIE: A lot of us, we just like to be stressed.
00:15:00.285 –> 00:15:01.345
ANNIE: It’s not that we like to be stressed.
00:15:01.345 –> 00:15:03.345
ANNIE: It’s just that we’re in the habit of being stressed.
00:15:04.185 –> 00:15:11.805
ANNIE: So we need to stop assuming that increased productivity equals increased time and effort and stress.
00:15:11.805 –> 00:15:14.165
ANNIE: Start questioning how you’re doing things.
00:15:14.165 –> 00:15:16.365
ANNIE: This is my last strategy.
00:15:16.365 –> 00:15:18.445
ANNIE: Look at everything you do.
00:15:18.445 –> 00:15:22.765
ANNIE: Start to poke holes in the belief systems that I just laid out for you.
00:15:22.765 –> 00:15:24.645
ANNIE: Start to question yourself.
00:15:24.645 –> 00:15:31.725
ANNIE: Yes, okay, but if I were to be able to do this thing, if I were to be able to work less hours, what would that look like?
00:15:31.725 –> 00:15:33.185
ANNIE: Such a better question to ask.
00:15:34.865 –> 00:15:37.585
ANNIE: Also, poking holes in the effort.
00:15:37.585 –> 00:15:41.125
ANNIE: Do I need to effort more or is there a way that I can streamline everything?
00:15:41.125 –> 00:15:44.625
ANNIE: Start poking holes, just little tiny holes in those belief systems.
00:15:44.625 –> 00:15:48.065
ANNIE: You don’t have to change overnight, but start questioning things.
00:15:48.065 –> 00:15:49.825
ANNIE: Just start questioning them.
00:15:49.825 –> 00:15:51.785
ANNIE: Be intentional, be whole.
00:15:51.785 –> 00:15:53.685
ANNIE: That is all for now.
00:16:04.468 –> 00:16:06.828
ANNIE: Please review on Apple Podcasts.
00:16:13.260 –> 00:16:14.600
ANNIE: Go bullos.com.
00:16:19.000 –> 00:16:26.000
JEREMY: Hey friends, my best-selling book, The Leader Assistant has a companion study and discussion guide to go along with it.
00:16:26.000 –> 00:16:28.700
JEREMY: It’s called The Leader Assistant Workbook.
00:16:28.700 –> 00:16:41.720
JEREMY: Now you can buy the Kindle ebook version of The Leader Assistant Workbook on Amazon, or you can go to leaderassistantbook.com and get a printable PDF version of the workbook.
00:16:42.300 –> 00:16:58.360
JEREMY: This version has all the space and margin in between the questions that you can write your own answers and take notes with, so it’s a great way to print it out and keep track of your discussion and study guide notes.
00:16:58.360 –> 00:17:04.520
JEREMY: Again, go to leaderassistantbook.com and click on Workbook to check out The Leader Assistant Workbook.
