Ep 01: Working Smarter, Not Harder

Your Permission to Pause

Welcome to the first ever episode of Your Permission to Pause podcast! The podcast where we rediscover the power of stepping back, reflecting, and recharging in our overstimulated world. I'm your host, Jo Cowlin, and in today’s episode, "Let’s work Smarter, Not Harder," we're going on a journey to unlock the secrets of maximising productivity without burning out.

Have you ever felt like you're juggling too many tasks, each clamouring for your attention, leaving you drained and dissatisfied? In a culture that often rewards the grind, it's easy to fall into the trap of multitasking and overcommitting. But what if I told you that the key to achieving more is actually doing less?

Get ready to challenge the narrative, to strip away the non-essential tasks, and to give yourself the gift of focus. As we delve into the techniques of distraction management and essentialism, you'll learn how to prioritise with precision, embrace the power of the pause, and redefine what true productivity looks like.

So, take a deep breath, find a comfortable spot, tune it and grant yourself permission to pause.

Here are the highlights:

00:01 Women fed a multitasking myth.

03:12 Multitasking leads to stress and reduced productivity.

09:05 Working from home can disrupt productivity and focus.

12:46 Multitasking hampers creativity, mental health, productivity.

15:29 Enhance productivity through mindfulness and focus.

19:37 Achieve more by doing less, but better.

20:35 Essentialist approach: do less, focus, prioritise.

23:45 Stressful schedule, but social breaks help productivity.

27:01 Visibility of tasks and clear success criteria.

31:05 Limit distractions, take breaks, measure progress.

Meet your host Jo Cowlin

Jo Cowlin keeps it real.

Some people might like to call her ‘a motivational people development expert’ but Jo would rather you didn’t.

Jo is a no-nonsense, straight-talking northerner

She is also a transformational coach, facilitator and game changer. She has a passion for results and is dedicated to helping leaders realise their aspirations without compromising their wellbeing.

She dares individuals to be different by eliminating corporate BS, life coaching, and hand-holding, and instead encourages breaking through barriers to gain clarity and step into personal power for a life without limits. She specialises in taking individuals out of their comfort zones, uncovering obstacles, and reigniting their zest for life, bringing back excitement, purpose, and magic in all areas.

Passionate about learning and growth, she is dedicated to delivering results, drawing from her own experiences of overcoming corporate burnout, overwhelm, and a lack of direction. She turned this all around, and created a way forward that brought the balance that she needed to thrive no matter what life threw at her. She is acutely aware of how stress without strategies that help you thrive, not just survive can chip away at your self-esteem and self-worth. Resilience and a proactive approach to mental wellbeing is at the core of all of her work which is predominantly aimed at helping leaders and their teams refocus, regroup and rapidly adjust to change. With a background in pharmaceutical leadership and expertise across various sectors, she offers coaching and leadership programs tailored to individual and organisational needs.

When Jo isn’t transforming company cultures, you’ll find her managing her 3 teenage girls’ busy social calendars. She’s a dab hand in the kitchen and true to form, loves to keep her food real. And if she isn’t doing either of those you will find her out in nature walking her dog or lifting a barbell in the gym.

Find out more about Jo here: https://jocowlin.com/

Connect with Jo:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jocowlin/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-cowlin/

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk