Tiffany Han [00:00:00]: Y'all here's a problem with all of that advice that screams at us every day to work smarter, not harder. If that was the advice we needed, we wouldn't be here right now, because I promise you have heard that advice a million times. I have heard that advice a million times. And we can run ourselves frickin ragged trying to figure out and make sure that we're working smarter, not harder. And oh, my God, the amount of pressure that we put on ourselves and the amount of judging we do of ourselves. Because if I am stressed out or if I'm not figuring this out, then I must be working neither harder nor smarter enough. Nope, not on my watch today. I want to talk about a whole new way to approach your work, why chasing smarter is actually doing us no favors and is completely unsustainable.

Tiffany Han [00:00:53]: And I want to teach you how finding a gentler way towards your productivity helps you both feel like you're living in what I like to call the thrive zone and gives you something that is going to start over time to resemble balance, but it's not going to be the kind of balance that you probably think you're after. Oh, my God, Tiffany. Are you telling me that all this time that I have been pushing myself to work smarter, not harder, that I have been doing it wrong? You've got to be freaking kidding me. Listen, if working smarter, not harder air quotes works for you, great. Keep doing what you're doing. Fantastic. Go live your best life. Easy peasy.

Tiffany Han [00:01:40]: Get out of here. This is for everybody who has tried that advice, who's read the books, who has bought the planners, who has watched all the YouTube videos, who's watched Instagram reels, who's tried to do the digital detox, who's tried to do the TikTok thing, and you're still freaking wondering, how do I get things done? And how does my life feel easier? And, oh, my God, there has got to be a way. Listen to me now when I tell you that all, all of that advice out there that you have been trying to follow is not made for your brain, and that does not mean that there is anything wrong with your brain. I promise. I promise. Please. If you take nothing else away from this, know that there is nothing wrong with your brain, but all of that advice is made for somebody else whose brain does not work like yours. And listen, I'm not over there talking to those people because I think that you and your magical brain and your creative brain, your brain is brilliant.

Tiffany Han [00:02:42]: You are brilliant. And I don't think that you have to disassemble all of these parts that make you awesome in order to fit into somebody else's. Work smarter, not harder. Box. Here is why it doesn't work for people like us. Work smarter, not harder. What that typically looks like is you are going to get everything done faster. But in our world, what does that mean? Well, that typically means that then you have more time to get more things done.

Tiffany Han [00:03:16]: Wait, what? Oh, because just trying to keep up with the amount of things that we're doing, and then there's always more to be done. Oh, fudge. Hmm. Yeah. And then it never ends, right? So if you're super efficient in answering your emails right away, guess what? You're gonna get more emails. This is a game that we cannot win. And this is why everybody comes to me and they're like, tiffany Hahn. I feel like I'm running on a freaking hamster wheel.

Tiffany Han [00:03:48]: How do I get off it? But I'm afraid to slow down because it's gonna keep going and I'm gonna die. Whoo. Let's all take a breath. So working smarter, not harder, creates more work, because we get our stuff done faster, then we have more to do. And if we are not setting ourselves up with systems that are sustainable to work smarter, then we're going back and forth in this pendulum swing where all of a sudden I forgot how to do it, but I've got so much more to do. It's like when you have half a minute of breathing space in your life, and then you're like, oh, this is nice. And so you immediately volunteer for something, only to realize that that half a minute of breathing space was just an anomaly and your life is really crazy. But you already volunteered for the thing, and so now you just have to cram it in.

Tiffany Han [00:04:43]: And guess what? You are the absorber of all of the stress, because. Oh, my God. No, no, everything's fine. I've got this. It's fine is what you're showing on the outside, but on the inside, you're like, I don't know if I can keep doing this. That has been y'all. That has been me so many times. My current philosophy is I just don't volunteer for things.

Tiffany Han [00:05:03]: And it's so freeing. Okay, what do I want you to do instead? Hey, what do I do instead? If I can't work harder and I can't work smarter, what? What do I do? Yeah. I'm gonna draw you a little diagram. If you're listening to the podcast, you can click through to the blog post to see my beautiful scientific drawings. Or you can just let me describe them to you because you're smart and you have a creative brain, and you'll be able to see it. Okay, friends, so I want to introduce you to a new way of approaching productivity. Your work, how you're showing up to the things that matter most to you and to those big, important goals, because, again, we've been told that working smarter, not harder, and making those smart goals. Whoo.

Tiffany Han [00:05:47]: We're putting a lot of pressure on that word, smart, aren't we? Is the key to having the life that you want. And I am here to say that if it was that easy, we would not be having this conversation, and I wouldn't be doing the work that I was doing. I would be like a kabillionaire instead. And, yes, I'm here. So what I'm going to do is introduce you to a pendulum. And on this edge of the pendulum is the way that we typically approach what we're doing, what we're saying yes to, how we are proceeding through our lives as high achievers, high, as over committers, as enthusiastic, creative people who like to say yes. And maybe you were raised to be a bit of a people pleaser or to think that part of your job was to be a hostess to the world. And so you have decided world has taught us that it is our goal to do and be all the things.

Tiffany Han [00:06:47]: Yes. How do I just get all the things done? Tiffany, if you could tell me that my life would be perfect. Oh, I could work smarter, not harder, so I could get all the things done faster. Yeah, that's not going to work. Now, when we fail at getting all the things done, typically what happens is then the pendulum swingshe to the other end of the spectrum, which takes us into what I like to call the burnout zone. And in the burnout zone, instead of getting all the things done, we typically end up getting, oh, none of the things done. And then, because the world is not set up for us to take care of ourselves or for us to take breaks or for us to actually, one, give ourselves permission to rest, and two, when it's time to rest, actually know how to frickin do it. Oh, my gosh.

Tiffany Han [00:07:42]: Should I do an episode about rest? Tell me, let me know. I would love that. And even how to give yourself permission to rest. So, because we are not adept at resting, rest smarter, not harder. But then, oh, my God, we're still putting pressure on how we're resting, because that is implying that there is a right way. Uh huh. Aha. But no wonder we're all in this ping pong game.

Tiffany Han [00:08:06]: So after we spend some time in the burnout, then what happens is we're like, oh, my God, I'm so behind. What am I going to do? I'm supposed to be doing all the things I've done, none of the things. I better hurry up and rush to get back to the other side of the spectrum, to the all the things zone. So not only are we feeling behind and feeling pressured, but we are judging ourselves for needing to take a break. We're judging ourselves for being burnt out. We're judging ourselves for being behind and how little we got done. And so we're already running on below empty. Then tell me if this is familiar.

Tiffany Han [00:08:37]: We get involved in what I like to call a manic panic ping pong game, where we can spend our whole lives just going back and forth between these two zones, all the things and burnout. Guess what? This feels really shitty. Not only does it feel really shitty, we might be, for the most part, over here on all the things, getting it done, and it might help us have a life that, on paper, looks pretty good. There are gonna be people who say, oh, you're doing okay. What are you talking about? Everything's fine. But the way that this life feels on the inside, y'all is just a sad face. And I guess what? Life is too short to live like this. Life is too short to exhaust ourselves in this ping pong game.

Tiffany Han [00:09:28]: What if there was another way? What if there was a third way? What if instead of working harder or working smarter, we got to work more gently? We got to find and devise a way into and through our goals and our lives that allowed us to be more of who we naturally are. That allowed us to find our own innate style and systems that worked for us and allowed us to focus our energy on the things that mattered most? Let the rest of them go. Not so that we could do more work down the road, but so that we could have more time, energy, and attention to be in our lives. Yes, I'm talking less hustle, more living, y'all. And so where I want us to think about playing is right down here. Right here in this middle ground. Now, tiffany, this is a teeny, tiny, itty bitty point in the middle ground between these two extremes. How do I find that magical point? How do I find that one perfect spot to stay at? Well, if the answer was put more pressure on yourself again, you and I would have this problem solved.

Tiffany Han [00:10:40]: So let me introduce you to the way of gentle productivity. My love. You're amazing. Me, too. My brain works like this. Also, what we want to do, instead of focusing just on this one little point, is we want to give ourselves a range. Dun dun dun dun. And we want to say, I'm going to do my best to play and to stay in this middle range, because this is a range where I'm getting things done.

Tiffany Han [00:11:11]: Maybe not all the things, but the things that matter. And sometimes I get tired, but guess what? I'm not veering into burnout. And sometimes I might need to amp it up a little and sometimes I might need to pull back a little, but this is that middle way, just right zone where, wow, I actually feel like I'm living my life on purpose. And this is, y'all, what I like to call the thrive zone. Because within this zone, we get to thrive. This is also an invitation for you to find what I like to call your Goldilocks zone. And this is that zone that's right in between too much and not enough. And it is what we, in the storybook vernacular, like to know as just right.

Tiffany Han [00:12:08]: This is named after what physics often call Earth, which is the Goldilocks planet, because it has this magical combination of water content and oxygen quality that creates the perfect conditions for life. Now, what does that have to do with us having productivity issues? When you are living in your thrive zone, in that just right place, that also helps you create the perfect conditions for your life, this is where you are able to recognize your goals, recognize what's important to you, and also recognize that you, my love, are human, having a very human experience in this world, and that it is not your job to be perfect or to be a robot, or to be a shell of a human. No, no. We want you living right here. Here's what I want you to know about the thrive zone. You're not going to be able to find it right away in the gentle productivity club. One of the things I talk about is how gentle productivity is a lifestyle, and it is a lifestyle that is not one and done. It is something that you want to ease your way into no matter where you are on the spectrum.

Tiffany Han [00:13:25]: Sometimes that means we're tiptoeing our way in. Sometimes that means we're going to dive right in and try something, just to try it. And sometimes that means that we're going to take a whole lot of leaps as we find our right way. Can I tell you what is the right way for you? No, because I am not inside your brain. What I can do is offer you a whole lot of different perspective shifts, a whole lot of mindset shifts, and a whole lot of new approaches that are not offered when you are having work smarter shove down your throat that are going to help you start to understand what you and your magical brain needs. Now, y'all. One thing that I hear from people all the time is I just want balance. If only I could find balance, everything would be figured out.

Tiffany Han [00:14:16]: How do I find it? I feel so sad that I don't have balance. What do I do? As we are handed balance. Work, life, balance. Parent, human balance. Friends, family, balance. Introvert, extrovert, balance. Self care, social justice balance. The picture that shows up in our brains is one of the static yoga pose where you never move and everything happens around you and everything is fine and it never feels like too much, nor does it ever feel like not enough.

Tiffany Han [00:14:47]: It is a perfect balance point. And here's what I want you to know about finding balance. Finding balance is active. Finding balance is something that you participate in. And as you think about finding balance, what that actually consists of is moving in and out of and through at different balance points. But you're actually always moving. You're always in motion. And the problem here is that the world has taught us that being in motion means we're doing something wrong.

Tiffany Han [00:15:20]: Oh, I felt balanced last Tuesday, but then I lost it. Ugh. I'm so bad at balance. Anyone? Yeah, we are. Oh, man, we judge. Should I do an episode about judgment? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We aren't giving ourselves permission to be in motion. And so, because our naturally occurring way of being is in motion, right, the universe is always expanding into chaos.

Tiffany Han [00:15:44]: As soon as you hit balance, as soon as you get something figured out and you hit right here, something will change. Something is going to change and is going to throw you off. And guess what? That is how the world works. There is nothing wrong with you. You have done nothing wrong. You are doing great. Oh, my God, you're amazing. So, as you think about balance, as you think about that elusive balance, think about what am I moving away from? What am I moving towards? How can I give myself more grace? How can I be more loving with myself? What do I need right now in this moment? Because here's the thing about the just right zone.

Tiffany Han [00:16:19]: Your needs are going to change because you are a human who's interacting with all of these different people on the planet. And so instead of thinking, what is balance? Period, we are going to say, what is balance right now, today. And those words, those three words right now, today are the magic words that are going to help you start to identify what you need for yourself and how you can move forward with your life looking the way that you want it to. And very, very important. We are doing a big all caps and here feeling on the inside the way that you want it to feel, not just looks. We want to know how does your life feel? How does it feel and what do you need for yourself? Say it with me right now today, what are your priorities right now, today? What is the most important thing to do right now today? What actually doesn't matter in this pile of jumble of all the things right now, today, what kind of rest do you need right now, today? Do you see how these three words bring our focus to right now instead of thinking about this nebulous, one day perfect vision of a life? Because I don't know about you, but my perfect vision of a life never includes the mess that I can see when I look around my office. But my life often includes a mess in my office. So use these words.

Tiffany Han [00:17:44]: Remember that balance is an active way of being. You're always going to be in motion. Think about what can you do to get closer to that thrive zone? And then as you open up your mind to some more gentle productivity, maybe it's not your responsibility to do all the things. It's not. That's a spoiler. The world depends on over responsible people to keep it running. Yeah. Who benefits from your burnout? Not you.

Tiffany Han [00:18:15]: Not the people closest to you, I promise you that. Not the people who are the most important to you. It is no longer your responsibility to do all the things. Instead, what is it your responsibility to do? What matters most to you right now, today. And that is how you turn that frown upside down, my friend. If you are interested in finding out more about gentle productivity, we are going to be opening the doors of Gentle productivity club very soon. I can't wait. I will put a link to the waiting list and if you want to get on that waiting list, you will be the first to know.

Tiffany Han [00:18:49]: Gentle productivity club is, oh, one of my favorite things that I do. I love it and I would love to have you in, especially as we move into back to school mode, into the fall, into making some things happen. Let's add, have you put a new kind of focus on your goals and your life and how you're living while remaining gentle with yourself and how you're moving through things. And I promise you, it is like the biggest, most beautiful, glorious win.