Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. Let's talk about productivity. I feel like productivity gets a better way, and I get it because one of my sticky floors always used to be tying my worth and it started as a little girl. Good grades, got praise, right? I prided myself on being on the honor roll, making straight A's, and of being a great whatever it was was at the time.

Erica: Piano, school, cheerleading, you name it. And it only continued your college and into a career. The more it produced, the more worthy I was. Now that realization is not something that has come to me overnight, but it is one of those sticky floors that I have already put a lot of work into and will continue to do so because hustle culture is a part of our society. Right?

Erica: It's a badge of honor to being busy. And everywhere you turn, there's these mantras that are focused on hustle culture. You hear hustle harder every day I'm hustling. And while I do love to hustle, I really had to reframe my beliefs and thoughts around what it meant to be productive and what it means to hustle. So in today's episode, I'm gonna give you the real truth about productivity, that the hustle culture You are listening to the Glass Ceiling and Sticky Floor podcast.

Erica: The podcast that will empower you to shatter limiting beliefs and toxic behaviors to uncover infinite possibilities so you can live your best life. I'm Erica Rudy, and I'm on a mission to bring more women into positions of power and keep moving. I'm obsessed with all things growth and abundance, and I'm here to talk you through the tried and true secrets to get you to level up your career and your life. We talk about the hard stuff here, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear, and burnout. So pull up a seat, pop in an earbud, and let's dive in.

Erica: Alright, y'all. I'm gonna kick this off with a core truth that I want you to really hear before we dive in, and that is that you don't have to sacrifice your sanity for success. You don't. Your days do not have to be filled with losing your shit on those you love because you've hustled all along. And now your hustle has totally depleted you of your energy.

Erica: Nope. Uh-uh. That ain't productive, My definition of productivity has totally shifted in the past few years from one that was focused on output equals what I were to the very simplified version of going after what she wants and achieving it is productivity. Now even more simplified, your vision plus your doing equals your productivity. Now you're probably saying, Erica, that's in, so stick with me.

Erica: Yes, it is, but it also isn't. So your vision might need to execute on a huge project at work. So in this instance, productivity would be mapping out the project plan, delegating tasks, organizing the required meetings, and so on. Seeing that project come to fruition, one milestone at a time, in this case, is productivity. But what if your vision is to protect your mental health?

Erica: It might mean getting a subscription to an online therapy provider like Talkspace or BetterHelp. It could be finding the right therapist and then attending therapy on a regular basis, watching the gains in your mental health add up over time. Now I don't know about you, but a couple years ago, me going to therapy, it was necessary, but I don't know that I would've called it productive. But with this, it really is. Now we take it a step further.

Erica: What if your vision was to rest? Because y'all rest is important. Rest is critical to success. It's an activity that should be scheduled into your weekly routines at a minimum. Productivity in this instance might be talking to your partner and getting that person to take the kids to the park for a few hours so that you can sit on your couch, cozied up under your gray furry blanket with a bowl of snacks resting on your stomach so you can catch up on the latest love is blind or Veda pump rules without hearing mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, 27 times in a row.

Erica: You see, vision in this instance was the rest. And the doing was getting your husband out the door with the kids, snack prep, show prep. That equals productivity. Now I know that doesn't match up with this concept of productivity today, which is your outfit, right, what you produce. Because if you're sitting there watching love is blind, are you really even doing anything?

Erica: And y'all already know you are rest, and rest is essential to you having the energy that you need to do the other big work that you need to do, like those project plans. Now Laura May Martin, she's an executive productivity advisor at Google, which what a cool title that is. She has created what she calls the productivity loop, and she links the vision and execution inside this loop. Now stick with me while I walk you through per five c's of productivity, and we take it through its entire life cycle. Now the first c is calm.

Erica: This is, you guessed it, when you're doing something that is kind of like you're at rest. Right? It could be an activity that might not be productive by the old terms, but it could be when you're out for a walk or doing something super mind numbing that doesn't require you to be laser focused even on work. Lately for me, it's been doing puzzles with my kids and making friendship bracelets. Honestly, we've got a ton of beads left over from the queen's birthday party, but it could be something like paint by numbers or adult coloring books as well.

Erica: Now the second C is to create, and that is when this idea comes to you, that would be great to put into practice, whether that's something at work or in your home and like you're just a light bulb goes off. Inspiration has struck y'all. That is the second C. Then you're going to move into the third C for capture. And this is such a game changer because it's about taking that idea and making a note of that idea.

Erica: Not a mental note, because y'all know mental capacity is limited, but physically writing it down on a sticky note or capturing it in the notes app of your iPhone, however you do it. But either way, capture this idea so that you don't lose it. Because let's be real y'all. How many great ideas have you had that you didn't write down and are now lost forever? I can't even count.

Erica: But the fourth c is consolidate, which is gather all of your ideas, all of your to dos, all of the things you got going on, and get them on a list for the next day. This is like organizing the troops, getting the idea ready to assimilate. And it should include making time for the idea that you thought about and that you captured in the previous seat. And then the fifth seat is to close, which means to execute. It means to implement.

Erica: And then once you've done all the work you need to do to close on that idea, whether it is putting a new outdoor patio outside or a side or a better process at work, you've closed the loop. You've completed the project. And then you go back to the first seat calm. And that's the constant life cycle of new ideas of getting them into place and of executing on them. Now someone who's good at productivity is always flowing through this life cycle and has multiple ones in flow at the same time.

Erica: For example, I'm in the middle of writing out this podcast. And an idea came up that I wanna make sure I include in my digital course reimagine it all. I don't wanna forget. I can't stop mid cycle for this podcast, but I can take a quick beat. I can pause, capture my idea, and then get back into closing on this current one before I move on.

Erica: And what is the true art of productivity? Yes. It's like keeping all the balls in the air at one time, but it is done in a way that is strategic and focused and very, very, very intentional. Now one of the most impactful things that helps hone this skill that I teach in my course, Reimagine it all, is the art of the capture and the close. Because you can have all the ideas in the world.

Erica: You can have all the goals and the plans for your life, but if you cannot capture that idea and execute on it, you're going to end up stuck in this cycle of not getting anything. Now I like to think of this like cleaning a house. And the best way to clean a house in my experience and validated by professional house cleaners is one room at a time, start to finish. You start by decluttering your room, picking up all the toys and all the other debris that has been thrown all over. And then you move around corner by corner going in a square.

Erica: You put everything in its place. You move through everything else in strategic order. Clean the windows, dust everything, vacuum, and so on. Right? Then once that room is done, you move on to the next.

Erica: Because here's the thing. If you try to vacuum the entire home, hallways and all, you end up missing places, dust bunnies are just scattering around, or someone walks through and throws more crap on your already decluttered space. But like for real though, y'all, how many times have you cleaned off your kitchen table or island just today? Too many probably already. But by the end of the day, you may have vacuumed and declutter, but you may have had to do it 10 times.

Erica: And you may have missed the windows, and you skipped over a hallway, and the kids have totally turned your home into a minefield as soon as they walk in the door from school. And guess what? You have spent all day cleaning, and yet you've gotten nothing done. You feel? So let's take this back to productivity.

Erica: You have your vision. You find that in the calm. You capture that vision somewhere on a list, in your phone, on a sticky note, whatever works for you. You consolidate everything into your place of organization, a list, agenda, your calendar, and then you close it. You execute it.

Erica: Check done. And that my friend is true productivity. And I love how Laura puts it in such just such a clever loop. It's a great visual to remind you to invite those ideas in and this. Don't you?

Erica: Seriously, think about this. Do you get your best ideas when you are slogging through emails or organizing your attic or in the middle of a big ass project? Hell no. Your mind is too busy and too wrapped up in the task at hand. But what about when you're in the shower?

Erica: What about when you're out for a run or a walk or maybe just folding laundry? Now that is when ideas strike. And that is because you are giving yourself, your mind, the space to breathe, the space to expand. And that is where you can unlock ideas and invite them in. And then it's up to you to execute.

Erica: But I wanna remind you, there is a lot of talk about getting these ideas and capturing them and doing the work. And yes, that is the key to massive success in your life. But do not forget that rest in ideating on rest is productive. Taking a quiet vacation with your partner is also very productive, even if you aren't doing anything. Yeah.

Erica: My ten year anniversary was in April and May. I technically have two. I have a legal wedding day and a celebration day. That's a story for another day. But but for my legal ten year wedding anniversary, I gave you an a weekend away with yours truly at the Omni in Asheville.

Erica: Now I organize spa days, my mom to watch the kids, the dog, and time off work. That is the piece of productivity that we can easily identify with and recognize. Now the second part of productivity will be to actually go to the Omni. Totally unplug from work and devices and plug into each other. That is my vision for this weekend away with Dan.

Erica: It's to celebrate ten years and to be totally into each other, just so absorbed in each other. And if that doesn't happen for whatever reason, maybe because we start pouring into our phones or we're not connecting at dinner and we're not talking, the trip will not be productive. My relationship with productivity, y'all, it's always been complex. It's always been about output and how much I can do and hustle harder all the time. Because I have this desire to always want to do more.

Erica: I think I've told you multiple times, one of my core values is growth, but I have to remember to slow down. I have to remember that my output is not my worth, that I am worthy of rest, that my success, or rather what others deem as success does not determine my worth, that I am worthy just as I am. And that that woman, myself, I'm worthy of rest. And when you embrace it, when you really believe in your bones and you do the work and maybe recognize that like me, maybe you have a toxic relationship with productivity. If you relate your output to your worth, you start to revamp and redefine your relationship with what it means to be productive, and you actually do get more shit done.

Erica: It's incredible. So my message here is simple. Vision plus doing is productivity, and rest is productive. Sleep is productive. Sitting your ass at the pool is productive if it matches your vision and your intention.

Erica: And that friends, I really hope that you enjoyed this new take on what it means to be productive. And I hope it gives you a refreshing view. I hope it allows you to invite in rest and relaxation into your life with purpose. But before you go, I've gotta tell you, the digital course, reimagine it all, is underway, and I have a huge, huge, huge discount for anyone who signs up before May. Now this course is the personal and professional playbook for ambitious women.

Erica: You will learn how to make your own success, master your time, and unlock a new level of potential with my science backed system that is designed to add value to your life, not to do's to your list. Seriously, you do not wanna miss out on this deal of a deal because the price is going back up to full price after May 10. No exceptions. But y'all, thank you for listening and tuning in. If you haven't already dropped that five star review, do it today.

Erica: It truly helps it land in the hands of the woman that needs to hear it the most. And don't forget to jump over to my socials too. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn. I drop some really great stuff over there, so you do not want to miss out. And until next time, remember, the only ceilings that exist are the ones we place over ourselves.

Erica: Let's smash through them together.