Building Good Habits for More Success in Business with Hayley Watts | 081

Jon is joined by productivity and habits coach Haley Watts to discuss the psychology of habits and offer practical tips for small firm founders in architecture. They discuss the Four Tendencies of habit formation, strategies for managing to-do lists, and the importance of balancing work with personal interests. Haley also shares insights on creating small, actionable habits and provides advice on how to leverage energy levels for better task management. The conversation offers valuable guidance for anyone looking to improve productivity and achieve more freedom and fulfillment in their business.
Today's Guest...
Hayley Watts is a productivity and habits coach and trainer. She helps people who are juggling too much to get clear on their priorities, reduce their stress and help them grow their businesses. She has been delivering training around productivity and people management for the last 10 years, and now helps people who are running their own businesses to get focused.
Episode Highlights...
00:00 Introduction
01:33 Meet Haley Watts: Productivity and Habits Coach
03:36 Understanding Habit Formation
06:50 Effective Use of Calendars and To-Do Lists
11:26 Creating and Sustaining New Habits
14:05 Managing Overwhelm and Prioritising Tasks
24:10 Weekly Planning Strategies
28:03 Final Thoughts and Takeaways
31:32 Closing Remarks and Contact Information
Key Takeaways...
Build small habits that stick
Start with tiny steps you can do easily.
Link your new habit to something you already do – like brushing your teeth or making tea.
Celebrate little wins to help you keep going.
Plan your day in a way that works for you
Use a simple system to keep track of what needs doing.
Start with the most important jobs, and think about when you have the most energy.
You can use a calendar, a journal, or even post-it notes – whatever helps you stay on track.
Stop feeling overwhelmed
When your tasks are all over the place, your brain feels messy too.
Keep everything in one spot and break big jobs into small steps.
This makes things feel easier and helps you stay in control.
Links Mentioned In The Episode...
Connect with Hayley on LinkedIn
—--
Want to explore podcasting for your business?
👉 Book a chat with Jon to explore working with him 📞
Interested in joining our membership community?
👉 Click here to JOIN THE WAITLIST 😀
Resources…
👉 Grab the Architecture Business Blueprint 🎁
It’s the step-by-step formula to freedom for architects, architectural technologists, and architectural designers. Get it today (without any charge).
👉 Follow or Connect with Jon on LinkedIn 🤝
👇 And if you enjoyed this episode…
Please leave a 5-star review or rating wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
In The Next Episode...
Next time, Jon explores how to stay positive even when you’re feeling down.
00:00 - Introduction
01:33 - Meet Haley Watts: Productivity and Habits Coach
03:36 - Understanding Habit Formation
06:50 - Effective Use of Calendars and To-Do Lists
11:26 - Creating and Sustaining New Habits
14:05 - Managing Overwhelm and Prioritising Tasks
24:10 - Weekly Planning Strategies
28:03 - Final Thoughts and Takeaways
31:32 - Closing Remarks and Contact Information
Ever wondered why some people find it easy to stick to new habits,
Jon Clayton:and for others it feels impossible.
Jon Clayton:I'm joined by productivity coach Haley Watts to explore the psychology of habits
Jon Clayton:and uncover the small changes that can make a big difference in this episode.
Jon Clayton:Of Architecture Business Club, the weekly podcast for small firm
Jon Clayton:founders who want to build their dream business in architecture and
Jon Clayton:enjoyable freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment in what they do.
Jon Clayton:I'm John Clayton, your host.
Jon Clayton:I've been spent over 20 years working in architecture.
Jon Clayton:I know how hard it can be to explain your services so people truly
Jon Clayton:understand and value what you do.
Jon Clayton:Many firms struggle with this, but by sharing your stories on podcasts,
Jon Clayton:you can become the trusted voice in your market, grow your brand,
Jon Clayton:and attract much better clients.
Jon Clayton:We can help you with everything from podcast strategy and launch
Jon Clayton:production and management.
Jon Clayton:Podcast hosting and guesting through to promoting and growing your show.
Jon Clayton:If you'd like to discover how podcasting could benefit your business, click the
Jon Clayton:link in the show notes to book a no obligation chat about working with me.
Jon Clayton:Or if you're interested in being a guest on this show, email, John.
Jon Clayton:That's JO n@architecturebusinessclub.com.
Jon Clayton:Now let's learn how you can create good habits for more success.
Jon Clayton:Haley Watts is a productivity and habits coach and trainer.
Jon Clayton:She helps people who are juggling too much to get clear on their
Jon Clayton:priorities, reduce their stress, and help them grow their businesses.
Jon Clayton:She's been delivering training around productivity on people management for
Jon Clayton:the last 10 years and now helps people who are running their own businesses
Jon Clayton:to get focused to connect with Haley.
Jon Clayton:Head over to LinkedIn via the link in the show notes.
Jon Clayton:Hay, welcome to Architecture Business
Hayley Watts:Hi there.
Hayley Watts:Welcome.
Hayley Watts:Thank you for having me.
Jon Clayton:You're very welcome.
Jon Clayton:It is great to have you here.
Jon Clayton:Haley, what, what do you get up to in your free time?
Jon Clayton:Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of the productivity
Jon Clayton:work that you've been doing?
Hayley Watts:I do.
Hayley Watts:I love to get deeply engrossed in a good novel.
Hayley Watts:Um, and my son has set me a challenge this year to see if I
Hayley Watts:can read a hundred books in a year.
Hayley Watts:Um, so that's quite an undertaking, but it gives me a good excuse,
Hayley Watts:right, to sit and read.
Jon Clayton:Absolutely.
Hayley Watts:and, and to balance that kind of sitting around and reading.
Hayley Watts:I'm also learning to ice skate, um, which yeah, it's quite nerve wracking
Hayley Watts:in your forties to learn to ice skate.
Hayley Watts:I'm very worried about injuring myself, but I'm making
Hayley Watts:progress and I'm enjoying it.
Hayley Watts:So that's the main thing, right?
Jon Clayton:Oh yeah, absolutely.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:Do you have any, um, favorite genres of novels?
Hayley Watts:Oh, I've recently been getting into a bit of historical
Hayley Watts:fiction, um, so I'm quite enjoying some of that 'cause I never really paid
Hayley Watts:attention to history in school and learn.
Hayley Watts:Learning about it as a story kind of brings it to life a bit more,
Hayley Watts:so I'm really enjoying that.
Hayley Watts:Um, but I've also relatively recently been introduced to fantasy
Hayley Watts:through my book club, so yeah.
Hayley Watts:That's cool as well.
Hayley Watts:Just reading something a bit different to what I might otherwise have picked up.
Jon Clayton:I love that when you discover something new like that and then it
Jon Clayton:sort of opens up this whole different world that you didn't know about.
Jon Clayton:Uh, my, I find that with music, my big, I love to read, but
Jon Clayton:music's one of my big interests.
Jon Clayton:But my daughter, she's an avid reader.
Jon Clayton:She gets through a ridiculous number of books.
Jon Clayton:It's unbelievable.
Jon Clayton:you're here to talk about creating good habits which can help lead
Jon Clayton:to more success in business.
Jon Clayton:So I'm really excited to, to have this conversation.
Jon Clayton:Forming new habits can be hard for many people, though.
Jon Clayton:I wondered why you think that some people may be a better at, uh, forming
Jon Clayton:and sticking with habits than others.
Hayley Watts:They definitely are.
Hayley Watts:Um, and I'm one of the people that's probably not very good at it, which got
Hayley Watts:me interested in this, um, area of habits.
Hayley Watts:Um, Gretchen Rubin's book, the Four Tendencies, she introduces this
Hayley Watts:idea that there are four different personality types in relation to habits.
Hayley Watts:Um, and she talks about the rebels.
Hayley Watts:The people who don't like creating new habits don't like being told what to do.
Hayley Watts:Um.
Hayley Watts:She talks about the questioners, the people who don't want to do something
Hayley Watts:or take action unless they're really brought into the idea and connect,
Hayley Watts:get all their questions answered.
Hayley Watts:And I've, I know friends who are really good at exercising,
Hayley Watts:really good at eating healthily.
Hayley Watts:And it's often because they've done the research, they've understood,
Hayley Watts:they've had a lot of questions about, well, why should I eat, I
Hayley Watts:dunno, green vegetables every day.
Hayley Watts:And they've gone away and researched it and learned about it.
Hayley Watts:And what they've learned has motivated them.
Hayley Watts:So they're the questioners.
Hayley Watts:Then there's me.
Hayley Watts:I'm an obliger.
Hayley Watts:For me, if I've got some external accountability, like if I said to you,
Hayley Watts:John, I'm gonna go and I don't know, swim every day for the next week.
Hayley Watts:If I knew that you might ask me about it, or even that you were thinking
Hayley Watts:I was doing that, that's more likely to motivate me than me just going,
Hayley Watts:I know that's good for my health.
Hayley Watts:uh, so I'm, I'm an obliger.
Hayley Watts:If, if it's for somebody else, I'm more likely to do it.
Hayley Watts:So I know that, so I can make that accountability external.
Hayley Watts:And then the other category of people who are the, um, upholders and they're
Hayley Watts:really good at following the rules and instructions, and they're good at
Hayley Watts:saying no when they can't do something.
Hayley Watts:But if they do commit to doing something, it's gonna happen.
Hayley Watts:And, and they're the ones who are wondering, like, why, why
Hayley Watts:do other people not do it?
Hayley Watts:It's a bit of a mystery.
Hayley Watts:Um, um, those things are fluid, right?
Hayley Watts:There might be times where you move from one to the other, but an upholder is not
Hayley Watts:likely to start behaving like a rebel.
Hayley Watts:Um.
Hayley Watts:Me as an obliger, there might be times where I'm a bit more like a
Hayley Watts:questioner or like a, um, a rebel.
Hayley Watts:So we kind of move around depending on the different factors and different things.
Hayley Watts:But I, I love Gretchen's book.
Hayley Watts:It's fascinating.
Hayley Watts:It really got me thinking about, yeah, why some people are good at this and
Hayley Watts:why some people like me really struggle.
Jon Clayton:Oh, I love that.
Jon Clayton:I'm gonna have to Google that book and check that out.
Jon Clayton:I definitely would like to read a bit more about that.
Jon Clayton:I think I'm probably quite like you Haley, with my habits.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, I think if I have some external accountability that's
Jon Clayton:definitely helped me before.
Jon Clayton:Something as well, actually setting a, a date that has worked
Jon Clayton:when I've actually picked a date and set a date for something.
Jon Clayton:And I I do rely quite a lot on, um, like a diary and a
Jon Clayton:calendar to help me plan things.
Jon Clayton:Which leads me on, actually to a question I wanted to ask you about the different
Jon Clayton:ways that you've noticed, um, people using their diaries in relation to this.
Hayley Watts:and I think it's really common, I think for people
Hayley Watts:to put into their calendar, oh, I'm gonna do that thing on this date.
Hayley Watts:I'll do it then.
Hayley Watts:And that works, I think, as a technique when you use it sparingly.
Hayley Watts:But I think when you use it for everything, 'cause there's
Hayley Watts:nowhere else to put the stuff.
Hayley Watts:Your calendar becomes really overcrowded and, and what you have
Hayley Watts:a tendency to do is say, well, this thing isn't a priority today or even
Hayley Watts:this week, so I'll put it into my calendar in three or four weeks time.
Hayley Watts:And then that three or four weeks time rolls around and you just dismiss
Hayley Watts:everything that comes up in the calendar, because that's not priority today either.
Hayley Watts:I do a lot of work with people around managing high workloads.
Hayley Watts:And I think when people are putting things in their calendar for everything,
Hayley Watts:it tends to feel overwhelming and people stop engaging with it.
Hayley Watts:Now there will be exceptions, of course, there's always exceptions.
Hayley Watts:What I find tends to work better for people is if you know that you are
Hayley Watts:a morning person or you know you do your best work in the middle of the
Hayley Watts:afternoon, like whenever your, your zone is to be able to concentrate
Hayley Watts:and focus, if you can block out some concentrating and focusing time.
Hayley Watts:And then decide near the time what the priority is.
Hayley Watts:I find that tends to work better for people rather than just
Hayley Watts:putting everything in the calendar.
Jon Clayton:Oh, I like that.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:I've done that classic thing of putting items on my calendar and
Jon Clayton:then they've just got moved, like,
Jon Clayton:and then the next week the task is still there.
Jon Clayton:'cause it's that thing of, oh, well that doesn't feel like the priority today,
Jon Clayton:so I'll just keep sliding it back.
Jon Clayton:And there has been some occasions when there's been some tasks that for weeks
Jon Clayton:and weeks and weeks have just got.
Jon Clayton:Pushed along into the following week.
Jon Clayton:So that's something that I would definitely like to
Jon Clayton:work on, uh, improving for
Hayley Watts:Yeah, and there's loads of tools and technology
Hayley Watts:that's out there that that helps us to organize our workload better.
Hayley Watts:Um, like equally pen and paper and spreadsheets, they work fine too.
Hayley Watts:It's just a case of finding something that you enjoy using,
Hayley Watts:uh, and, and sticking with it.
Hayley Watts:And I think everybody uses a calendar.
Hayley Watts:Everybody knows how they work, so that feels like an easy thing to use.
Hayley Watts:And if you've got a workload that is quite repetitive and
Hayley Watts:predictable, um, maybe that works.
Hayley Watts:You know, if your role is to send out invoices and respond to emails
Hayley Watts:and you aren't working on anything more strategic or anything that has.
Hayley Watts:Um, unexpected, you know, queries from clients that might
Hayley Watts:take up quite a lot of time.
Hayley Watts:Then it might work in those kind of more administrative type jobs.
Hayley Watts:Um, but I think for people who are running their own businesses,
Hayley Watts:there's probably a bit more going on.
Hayley Watts:And, like you say, you're gonna kind of end up bumping it and, and
Hayley Watts:looking to do Yeah, just pushing it, which feels a bit demotivating.
Jon Clayton:Hmm, absolutely.
Jon Clayton:Small business owners are wearing so many hats usually.
Jon Clayton:Interesting you mentioned there about, um.
Jon Clayton:Analog as well, sort of notepad and diaries, that sort of thing.
Jon Clayton:That's something that I started doing last year actually, was using a, a
Jon Clayton:bullet journal in addition to like an online calendar, that sort of thing.
Jon Clayton:So mine approach is a little bit of a combination now, sort of
Jon Clayton:part analog, part digital, um, but it's still a work in progress.
Hayley Watts:Yeah, I think, I think that's the best approach.
Hayley Watts:It's about doing something that works for you.
Hayley Watts:Yeah.
Hayley Watts:There's all these fancy apps out there and you know, someone messaged
Hayley Watts:me a few days ago say, oh, I found a great AI tool to do this.
Hayley Watts:But the problem with that is they said, well, I've been using it.
Hayley Watts:I was like, yeah, but do you feel any better or do you still
Hayley Watts:feel stressed and overwhelmed?
Hayley Watts:They're like, oh yeah, it still feels really stressful.
Hayley Watts:'cause they don't really know what's in there because they're, uh, you
Hayley Watts:know, the AI has done it for them.
Hayley Watts:Um, so yeah, using a bit of both is good.
Hayley Watts:I, I tend to use an electronic tool for my, kind of all the things
Hayley Watts:I need to do and think about.
Hayley Watts:But then I, each morning I will pull out from that tool,
Hayley Watts:what am I gonna work on today?
Hayley Watts:And that goes on a post-it note.
Hayley Watts:So I don't look at all the other stuff that needs doing.
Hayley Watts:I just look at the top three things and I give myself three things.
Hayley Watts:'cause I wanna leave a bit of capacity in the day to deal with the unexpected or,
Hayley Watts:um, the, the proactive things that I want to do each week, that are each day that
Hayley Watts:are different to the more movable tasks.
Hayley Watts:So, yeah, that helps me to just have my top three for the
Hayley Watts:day on a, on a post-it note.
Jon Clayton:Oh, I love that.
Jon Clayton:That's very analog, the old school post-it note.
Jon Clayton:But I, I love that for the, being able to just focus on that.
Jon Clayton:Um, that leads nicely onto my next question actually, Haley, which is, how
Jon Clayton:do you recommend we create a new habit?
Jon Clayton:I.
Hayley Watts:yeah.
Hayley Watts:Great question.
Hayley Watts:So I've done a lot of reading around habits and I've worked
Hayley Watts:with a lot of people around how to formulate ones that work for them.
Hayley Watts:So I think, yeah, the first thing is deciding what is
Hayley Watts:the new habit going to be.
Hayley Watts:The second thing is how do we make it really small?
Hayley Watts:So in BJ Fog's book, tiny Habits, he talks about the importance
Hayley Watts:of making a habit really small.
Hayley Watts:So we started off our conversation with me getting all excited about,
Hayley Watts:oh, I love reading and novels, but are not so good at reading the nonfiction
Hayley Watts:books, the self-development, the business books, that kind of stuff.
Hayley Watts:I find there's a bit tougher going 'cause your attention span
Hayley Watts:needs to be a bit better, right?
Hayley Watts:So my tiny habit was, well, I'm gonna read at least a page a day.
Hayley Watts:I don't think there've been any days where I've only read a page, but if
Hayley Watts:I pick up the book with the intention of I'm just gonna read a page, I'll
Hayley Watts:get into it by that, by that time.
Hayley Watts:And if I only read a page, that's fine.
Hayley Watts:I've met my goal.
Hayley Watts:So it's making it small and then pairing it with something that you do already.
Hayley Watts:So it's called habit stacking, where you pair pair it up.
Hayley Watts:So.
Hayley Watts:When I turn on my bedroom light in the morning, that's when I
Hayley Watts:pick my book up to read at least a page of my nonfiction book.
Hayley Watts:So, because I'm pairing it with something that I do already,
Hayley Watts:it makes it easier to do.
Hayley Watts:And then when I've done that, I give myself a little, you know,
Hayley Watts:congratulations, a little moment of recognition that I've done this
Hayley Watts:thing and instilled this new habit.
Hayley Watts:And that can help us to want to keep going with the habit.
Hayley Watts:So, yeah, making it small and pairing it up with something that you do
Hayley Watts:already and just recognizing that you've achieved something and you've done it.
Jon Clayton:I like that it's, um, celebrating that little win.
Jon Clayton:And, um, often I think we try and do something new.
Jon Clayton:We, we try and do too much.
Jon Clayton:Um, so I love the idea of, of just making it something really small
Jon Clayton:then, and celebrating that afterwards.
Jon Clayton:It's a great, great
Hayley Watts:Yeah, and sometimes we can try and do too many new things at once.
Hayley Watts:So like if you're moving house or create starting a new job, then maybe
Hayley Watts:that isn't a, a good opportunity to change a few things at at once.
Hayley Watts:But if it's just day to day, then may be kind of doing those in slow
Hayley Watts:increments and just visualizing.
Hayley Watts:Okay, well I'm gonna read, when I turn the light on in the morning, I'm just picture
Hayley Watts:yourself in your head, like turning on the light, picking up the book, turning on
Hayley Watts:the light, picking up the book so you're kind of rehearsing it in your head so
Hayley Watts:you remember to do it at the right time.
Jon Clayton:Mm. And that way then we're less likely to, to get
Jon Clayton:overwhelmed with all of the things that we've we've got going on.
Jon Clayton:What do you think causes people to feel overwhelmed by their to-do lists?
Jon Clayton:I.
Hayley Watts:Very often when I start working PE with people on organizing
Hayley Watts:their workload, people say, well, I have got a to-do list, and then they'll pull
Hayley Watts:out a scrappy piece of paper from the bottom of their back and a notebook.
Hayley Watts:There's an app that they started using and they've put a flag on some emails as well.
Hayley Watts:And there are so many different lists in so many different places that feels
Hayley Watts:overwhelming before you even get started.
Hayley Watts:So the first thing would be having everything in one place, whether that's
Hayley Watts:an electronic tool or bullet journal or you know, whatever it might be.
Hayley Watts:It's choosing a tool
Hayley Watts:and, and.
Hayley Watts:Really committing to spend, just spend a little, you know, you do need to spend
Hayley Watts:a little bit of time setting something up, but it's well worth it in the end.
Hayley Watts:And that's something that I help people with is setting up a tool.
Hayley Watts:Um, I do that with teams of people, whether they do it together as a
Hayley Watts:group, um, or with individuals if they're running their own business or
Hayley Watts:if they're senior executives in firms.
Hayley Watts:So.
Hayley Watts:Yeah, I think that sense of feeling overwhelmed by the to-do list
Hayley Watts:comes from not having one place to go to, to decide what to do next.
Hayley Watts:So I think that that helps, and then being able to break it down
Hayley Watts:and section it in different ways.
Hayley Watts:So, you know, if you, if you've got a list of like, that's just
Hayley Watts:massive, it goes on forever.
Hayley Watts:It doesn't feel good.
Hayley Watts:So being really clear on what your priorities are for the week is helpful.
Hayley Watts:I also have, um, within my, my list, I kind of categorize some
Hayley Watts:of those tasks depending on where I'm going to be when I do them.
Hayley Watts:I deliver quite a lot of management and productivity training.
Hayley Watts:So I spend a bit of time on trains.
Hayley Watts:I have a list of things that I can do.
Hayley Watts:It doesn't matter where I am.
Hayley Watts:Usually kind of fairly quick and easy type things.
Hayley Watts:So if I'm on the train or if I arrive somewhere early for a meeting, I can say,
Hayley Watts:you know, I can pull up those quick tasks that does, you know, I can do anywhere.
Hayley Watts:So I might categorize things based on where I am or, or even what mood I'm in.
Hayley Watts:You know, maybe I'm in the mood to just do something, you know, I could do something
Hayley Watts:creative or decision making or thinking.
Hayley Watts:There might be other times of the day where my brain is more suited
Hayley Watts:to, uh, doing some really easy admin tasks that don't require all of my
Hayley Watts:brain cells to be working so well.
Jon Clayton:So
Jon Clayton:Part of that is, having self-awareness of your own energy levels and you
Jon Clayton:know, so those internal factors.
Jon Clayton:And then externally thinking about your movements, where you're going
Jon Clayton:to be, whether you're at your desk, whether you've got time on
Jon Clayton:the train or whether for a meeting to begin or that sort of thing.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, that's a really interesting way to think about categorizing and breaking
Jon Clayton:down that big, overwhelming to-do
Hayley Watts:And you know, if somebody writes something on their website, oh,
Hayley Watts:sorry, writes something on their to-do list and they put website like that,
Hayley Watts:that might be quite a big job to update some, you know, a business website.
Hayley Watts:But if, if somebody writes on their to-do list, read the text on the
Hayley Watts:homepage and decide what I want to change, that feels a bit easier.
Hayley Watts:Bit easier.
Hayley Watts:So breaking it down into what's next rather than the overall massive
Hayley Watts:big task that needs to be done.
Hayley Watts:Like what are you gonna do to just kind of be nudging that thing forward?
Jon Clayton:Mm. I think there's sometimes there's some confusion between tasks
Jon Clayton:and projects that actually something like, oh, that task to redo the website.
Jon Clayton:That's actually a really big project.
Jon Clayton:Potentially even a simple website.
Jon Clayton:There is a huge list of individual tasks, tasks to work through to complete that.
Jon Clayton:But we would, we just, oh.
Jon Clayton:Complete website one task.
Hayley Watts:and, and I, I guess with a lot of these tasks, it's like, you know,
Hayley Watts:writing complete website or do marketing or social media, they're never done.
Hayley Watts:There's always more that you can do.
Hayley Watts:So what is it that you want to achieve from doing those things?
Jon Clayton:Hmm
Hayley Watts:so reminding ourselves of the goal can be helpful as well.
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:So how do we decide?
Jon Clayton:What thing?
Jon Clayton:So what task or activity?
Jon Clayton:How do we decide which one of those to work on next?
Jon Clayton:Remember, don't forget to join the wait list for our membership community,
Jon Clayton:where you can meet other business owners who want the same thing as you.
Jon Clayton:If a thriving business that gives you more freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment.
Jon Clayton:just go to architecture, business club.com forward slash waitlist, or
Jon Clayton:click the link in the show notes.
Jon Clayton:And enter your details.
Jon Clayton:So you don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to improve
Jon Clayton:your business and your life.
Jon Clayton:And if you're enjoying the show, then please leave a five-star review or
Jon Clayton:rating wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jon Clayton:Now, back to the show.
Hayley Watts:So I think it's about thinking about our energy levels.
Hayley Watts:So if I've not slept very well and I'm feeling a bit groggy, a bit under the
Hayley Watts:weather, then I might just go to my list and pull off some easy things to do.
Hayley Watts:But if I'm, you know, I'm on it and I'm feeling good, I can look at my list and
Hayley Watts:say, right, these are my top priorities, these are the, the what's next actions
Hayley Watts:that are gonna move that forward.
Hayley Watts:I'm gonna do that.
Hayley Watts:I try and get the things done that are top priority first.
Hayley Watts:'cause then I feel like, you know, I'm achieving something.
Hayley Watts:Does that help?
Hayley Watts:Is that what you do?
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:That, no, that, that definitely does help.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:I think the way that I approach it is I have sort of changed my approach and
Jon Clayton:experimented quite a bit with this.
Jon Clayton:But the way that I've been doing it more recently.
Jon Clayton:I did some self-reflection on my energy levels throughout the
Jon Clayton:day, and then I try to match.
Jon Clayton:obviously there's some things that have set deadlines, but then there's a lot
Jon Clayton:of other tasks that are just ongoing things, and some of those I find easier
Jon Clayton:to do, uh, and, and others harder.
Jon Clayton:So have some times throughout the day where I'll say, well, any, not
Jon Clayton:necessarily more difficult, but anything that demands more of my energy, more
Jon Clayton:of my attention, that I need to be kind of on it to do that kind of deep
Jon Clayton:thinking, creative work, strategic work.
Jon Clayton:I'll try and do that in the same part of the day when I know that
Jon Clayton:my energy levels are higher.
Jon Clayton:And then anything else that I can do more easily, like.
Jon Clayton:Admin, bookkeeping checking, re replying to emails, that sort of thing.
Jon Clayton:That can be kind of at the time of day when my energy levels are lower
Jon Clayton:and I'm kind of feeling tireder.
Jon Clayton:What I have found as well is that whilst meetings, like video calls, meetings and,
Jon Clayton:and even podcast interviews in the main, I, I enjoy particular podcast interviews.
Jon Clayton:I really enjoy doing them.
Jon Clayton:I do.
Jon Clayton:Often find any kind of thing that involves a video call.
Jon Clayton:I do find it tiring.
Jon Clayton:But equally it's also kind of energizing in some way.
Jon Clayton:So it, it is strange that like initially I would try and schedule
Jon Clayton:those for that part of the day where I would do the kind of the deep
Jon Clayton:work, if you want to call it that.
Jon Clayton:But what I realized is that actually.
Jon Clayton:I can actually do it at the other time of day and actually there's something
Jon Clayton:about it, maybe it's, um, a little bit of adrenaline before we hit record, that
Jon Clayton:it kind of gives me an energy boost and I am able to do those calls and meetings
Jon Clayton:and recordings at a time of day when I would normally be feeling less energetic.
Jon Clayton:So I've realized that that was a little hack for me to be able to
Jon Clayton:squeeze more productivity out of my
Hayley Watts:Yeah.
Hayley Watts:I think of them as energizer tasks, like what's gonna energize me.
Hayley Watts:Um, for me, probably around 3, 3 30 in the afternoon, my energy levels dip.
Hayley Watts:So that's a good time to pull out an Energizer task or even to just take a
Hayley Watts:break, get outside, move around, even if it's just for a couple of minutes.
Hayley Watts:Uh, that makes a big difference.
Hayley Watts:People often say to me, like, how do I get my energy levels
Hayley Watts:to be really good all day?
Hayley Watts:It's like, well, you're not a robot, so then they're not gonna be like that.
Hayley Watts:Um, you'll have peaks and troughs and it's about.
Hayley Watts:You know, what you just described is a perfect description of how
Hayley Watts:to embrace those kind of peaks and troughs in our day by just kind of
Hayley Watts:matching the tasks of where we're at.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, Yeah, it's definitely, definitely been
Jon Clayton:working for me, uh, a lot better.
Jon Clayton:I think as well, just managing expectations of what is
Jon Clayton:reasonable to achieve in a day.
Jon Clayton:I think that you mentioned there like not being a robot.
Jon Clayton:That none of us are ever gonna work at a hundred percent productivity
Jon Clayton:and actually for the average small business owner that your, your
Jon Clayton:productivity levels will typically be lower than a regular employee because
Jon Clayton:you're juggling so many other things.
Jon Clayton:That's my experience of it anyway.
Jon Clayton:But I, I wrestled with that for a long time.
Jon Clayton:Thinking that I would be able to get far more what I would call
Jon Clayton:productive work done in a day.
Jon Clayton:And it's only in recent years after a lot of self-reflection and, and learning a bit
Jon Clayton:more about productivity that I've realized actually I was not being realistic at all.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:So it's, um,
Hayley Watts:And often business owners will say, oh, but the
Hayley Watts:thing is I love my job and my business, I find it all energizing.
Hayley Watts:And it's like, well, that's great, but you can only sustain that
Hayley Watts:level of throwing more hours at it for a certain period of time.
Hayley Watts:Because there will come a point where you then you do get
Hayley Watts:burnt out, you do get tired.
Hayley Watts:And when, when that starts to happen, you start to make less
Hayley Watts:good decisions that aren't in the best interest of your business.
Hayley Watts:So I love that you started off asking today about like
Hayley Watts:interests outside of work.
Hayley Watts:Like we need to make sure as people running our own businesses, that we
Hayley Watts:have those, um, and that we are doing something that's, that's not work,
Hayley Watts:because that helps us to recharge rather than just go on standby.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:So we've talked, um, a little bit about planning for the week and
Jon Clayton:our, our sort of approaches to that.
Jon Clayton:I. Maybe we could dig into that a little bit more because, I mean, planning can
Jon Clayton:be a little bit boring for some people.
Jon Clayton:They maybe struggle with that.
Jon Clayton:So how, how can we make ourselves do it, do that planning that's
Jon Clayton:necessary for us to get the things done that we want to get done.
Hayley Watts:Yeah, for me, minimum bit of planning for the week is to look ahead
Hayley Watts:at what I've got coming up in the next three weeks and identify is there anything
Hayley Watts:I need to do to, to plan for that.
Hayley Watts:Um, I have a virtual assistant who helps me in my business, so like,
Hayley Watts:what do I need to delegate to her?
Hayley Watts:Um, but also look back a, a week, you know, what did I do last week?
Hayley Watts:What conversations or meetings did I have?
Hayley Watts:Have I captured the actions from those or, or have I done them?
Hayley Watts:Uh, so I, I think this is something a lot of people find very difficult.
Hayley Watts:'cause it means when you're doing the planning, you're
Hayley Watts:not actually doing the work.
Hayley Watts:And that feels counterintuitive.
Hayley Watts:So on a Monday morning, I run, um, a group called Organize and Thrive.
Hayley Watts:And the idea of that is, it's a very brief kind of mini planning
Hayley Watts:session, but everybody will do sort of the minimum to get them
Hayley Watts:organized and focused for the week.
Hayley Watts:And I experimented with it in September last year, uh, where I just said
Hayley Watts:to people in my network, come for free, let's test it for a month.
Hayley Watts:And I had some amazing feedback.
Hayley Watts:Like people literally said, this changed my life.
Hayley Watts:This was the difference between it feeling.
Hayley Watts:It's overwhelming and too much to me, feeling in control.
Hayley Watts:So we start at 10, past nine, we're finished by five to 10.
Hayley Watts:Um, and I just take people through some of the questions the same each week.
Hayley Watts:'cause you know, that's three weeks ahead, one week back.
Hayley Watts:Um, that's really important.
Hayley Watts:Get people to think about their priorities, what they're gonna
Hayley Watts:do, what they're not gonna do.
Hayley Watts:And then there are some different questions that I throw in each week.
Hayley Watts:They might be about wellbeing.
Hayley Watts:Um, they might be about our priorities and how do we reframe
Hayley Watts:perhaps some of the things that people have been struggling with.
Hayley Watts:Uh, so particularly for us, obliges, you know, I mentioned the obliger thing
Hayley Watts:earlier, knowing that they're coming onto a call and they're gonna have somebody
Hayley Watts:talk them through what they need to do.
Hayley Watts:That's a commitment that they're making and that gives them that accountability.
Hayley Watts:And I think it's a bit more fun 'cause people get to know each other
Hayley Watts:a little bit in that group as well.
Hayley Watts:So, um, I think that helps.
Hayley Watts:I think the other thing that can help is just having a reward.
Hayley Watts:Um, sometimes I do my weekly planning.
Hayley Watts:I have a list I call the sorting my Life out checklist, which I can
Hayley Watts:send you a link to that if it's helpful for people who are listening.
Hayley Watts:Um, sometimes I might go to a coffee shop and work my way through that and
Hayley Watts:just do it in a different environment.
Hayley Watts:Somewhere where I'm not gonna be distracted is important just to
Hayley Watts:have that uninterrupted time and I always feel lighter afterwards.
Hayley Watts:It's that remembering it will feel better when I've done it, even if
Hayley Watts:starting it doesn't feel great.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:I'm, I'm a big fan of.
Jon Clayton:Going to a different environment, particularly like a local coffee shop.
Jon Clayton:I find that there'll be some days when I'll be trying to work on
Jon Clayton:something and it will feel like I'm trying to wade through treacle.
Jon Clayton:I'm really struggling with it, but that quick change of environment, the task
Jon Clayton:that I may have been struggling on, I get done in a fraction of the time in
Jon Clayton:a different environment, or to have the opportunity to do the planning.
Jon Clayton:To then be able to then come back to my desk and then get the work done,
Jon Clayton:knowing with confidence that I'm working on the right things because
Jon Clayton:I've taken some time out of my day to do the planning work somewhere else.
Jon Clayton:I. And your Monday morning group, that sounds absolutely fantastic.
Jon Clayton:Organize and thrive.
Jon Clayton:So, um, there'll be a link in the show notes to to your website so that, uh,
Jon Clayton:listeners, you'll be able to go and find that if you're listening now.
Jon Clayton:I think that sounds good.
Jon Clayton:Just go and check out the link and, uh, go and give it a try.
Jon Clayton:Haley, this has been awesome.
Jon Clayton:Really enjoyed this.
Jon Clayton:What would be the main thing that you'd like everyone to take
Jon Clayton:away from this conversation?
Hayley Watts:Oh, lovely question.
Hayley Watts:I think if you know that external accountability is something that
Hayley Watts:helps you with developing new habits, then think about where you
Hayley Watts:may, you may be able to get some of that external accountability from.
Hayley Watts:I mean, there's lots of groups and communities that business
Hayley Watts:owners might join, but it might just be buddying up with.
Hayley Watts:Uh, a friend to say, me, this is my accountability thing.
Hayley Watts:What are you gonna do next week?
Hayley Watts:Um, and I think that habit stacking, I'm really giving a bit
Hayley Watts:of thought to what, what are the new habits that you want to create?
Hayley Watts:You mentioned earlier the importance of reflecting and just spending
Hayley Watts:a bit of time thinking actually, what's going to move the dial for me?
Hayley Watts:What's gonna help me get to the next level?
Hayley Watts:And then prioritizing that.
Hayley Watts:'cause it's really hard in the day-to-day and all those different things that
Hayley Watts:we're responsible for as business owners to focus on those top priorities.
Hayley Watts:Uh, so yeah, carving out some time to be proactive rather than reactive.
Hayley Watts:Sorry, you said one thing and I've given you several.
Jon Clayton:Oh, that's all right.
Jon Clayton:We're all for some, some bonus, uh, tips and, uh, value in there.
Jon Clayton:That's awesome.
Jon Clayton:Was there anything else that you wanted to say about habits and productivity
Jon Clayton:that we haven't already covered?
Hayley Watts:No, I don't think so.
Hayley Watts:I just think if, if this is something that people are
Hayley Watts:struggling with, like that's normal.
Hayley Watts:Lots of people struggle with this.
Hayley Watts:It's not something we're taught how to do at school.
Hayley Watts:Uh, it's something we find out and, and learn the hard way.
Hayley Watts:Um, so, you know, my goal is to help make it easier for people.
Hayley Watts:But if you are struggling, if you are feeling overwhelmed,
Hayley Watts:there are things that you can do.
Hayley Watts:It doesn't have to be this way.
Hayley Watts:People often discover that through getting stressed and feeling burnt out.
Hayley Watts:Um, we don't want you to get to that point.
Jon Clayton:Oh, thank you, Hailey.
Jon Clayton:I have a question that I wanna ask you.
Jon Clayton:It's, it's nothing related to our topic, but I like to ask
Jon Clayton:all of the guests on the show.
Jon Clayton:I love to travel and to discover new places.
Jon Clayton:I was just wondering if you could share one of your favorite places
Jon Clayton:and what you love about it.
Jon Clayton:And it can be somewhere near or far.
Hayley Watts:Oh, wonderful question.
Hayley Watts:There are several places that come up, um, but.
Hayley Watts:Barcelona is one of my favorite places.
Hayley Watts:I really like Ga Park, uh, which is the anti Anthony Gowdy kind of park.
Hayley Watts:I like the fact that it's an open space and really kind of
Hayley Watts:brings art and nature together.
Hayley Watts:Um, I've been there a couple of times and I always find it really
Hayley Watts:peaceful and, you know, all those mosaics sort of bright and colorful.
Hayley Watts:So yeah, I really enjoy that.
Hayley Watts:And the weather's usually nice too.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, Barcelona, fantastic place.
Jon Clayton:Um, I went there.
Jon Clayton:Probably, oh, it must be over 20 years ago now.
Jon Clayton:Um, it, my backpacking days, many years ago and I, I do recall seeing some
Jon Clayton:culture, uh, while I was there, you know, doing some cultural things, visiting some
Jon Clayton:interesting buildings, but also there was a lot of alcohol involved at the time.
Jon Clayton:Um, yeah, it was one of those sort of trips away.
Jon Clayton:Um, but it was a lot of fun and I always thought, yeah, I'd
Jon Clayton:love to go back there one day.
Hayley Watts:Oh yeah, I've, I, I went for a university field
Hayley Watts:trip, so that was a long time ago.
Hayley Watts:Um, and then went with some friends a few years later.
Hayley Watts:Um, there was a lot of sangria involved and just, just such beautiful places.
Hayley Watts:I, yeah, I love it.
Jon Clayton:Awesome.
Jon Clayton:Haddy, thank you so much for being a guest on the show.
Jon Clayton:Um, really appreciate you coming and sharing your expertise.
Jon Clayton:Could you just remind everybody where they can find you online?
Hayley Watts:Yeah, so my website is inspire.co uk and I'm on LinkedIn.
Hayley Watts:I'm pretty easy to find.
Hayley Watts:I'll be wearing purple in my profile picture.
Hayley Watts:Uh, so yeah, it'd be great to connect on LinkedIn.
Hayley Watts:Love to hear any questions, uh, that people have and yeah, connect
Hayley Watts:with people and, and hear a bit more about what they're working on.
Jon Clayton:Awesome.
Jon Clayton:I'll make sure that those links go in the show notes.
Jon Clayton:Thanks again, Haley.
Hayley Watts:Thank you.
Jon Clayton:Next time I explore how you can stay positive about your
Jon Clayton:business, even when you're feeling down.
Jon Clayton:Thanks so much for listening to this episode of architecture business club.
Jon Clayton:If you liked this episode, think other people might enjoy it.
Jon Clayton:Or just want to show your support for the show.
Jon Clayton:Then please leave a glowing five-star review or rating wherever you listen
Jon Clayton:to podcasts, it would mean so much to me and makes it easier for new
Jon Clayton:listeners to discover the show.
Jon Clayton:And if you haven't already done, so don't forget to hit the subscribe button.
Jon Clayton:So you never miss another episode.
Jon Clayton:If you want to connect with me, you can do that on most social media platforms,
Jon Clayton:just search for at Mr. John Clayton.
Jon Clayton:The best place to connect with me online, though is on LinkedIn.
Jon Clayton:You can find a link to my profile in the show notes.
Jon Clayton:Remember.
Jon Clayton:Running your architecture business.
Jon Clayton:Doesn't have to be hard and you don't need to do it alone.
Jon Clayton:This is architecture business club.