5 Ways You Can Be As Productive As Shonda Rhimes In The New Year
If you’re a business owner (or even aspiring business owner) you know the importance of ending the year with a bang and stepping into a new one like the boss you are. You also know that productivity is key.
While many people are spending time making New Year’s Resolutions that they may or may not keep, you’re probably somewhere strategizing your last moves of the year and getting ready for the new ones you’ll make once the clock strikes 12 and if you’re not, you still have time to catch up.
Recently, our favorite girl boss and mentor (in our heads) Shonda Rhimes, who is most famously known for producing (and creating and doing writing for some of them) four of the world’s favorite television shows (Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder and PrivatePractice), sat down with Fast Company and dropped a few gems that will not only increase your productivity, but hopefully also your coin in the new year. As an outsider looking in, I always wondered how Shonda has managed to have four television shows while also raising small children.
Get out your pen and paper, it’s time to take notes.
Don’t Let People Steal Your Time
If Shonda said it, it’s bible, and I’ll debate anyone who tells me otherwise.
Recently, Shonda adopted a new habit during the day that involves working the first hour of her day from home. This new habit was created after Shonda felt that being in the office during the day allowed people to lean on her for everything when they could just lean on each other and allow her to be in her own creative space.
Even if your day doesn’t involve working in an office, be mindful of people who knowingly or unknowingly steal your time. This may mean setting your phone to Do Not Disturb during the busiest hours of your day or perhaps ignoring a text until you finish that proposal.
[Tweet "Time is money and, for every minute wasted, is a dollar you willingly throw down the drain."]
Stop Focusing on Problems, Focus on Solutions
As an entrepreneur, there is always going to be a problem that you need to fix. If you’re fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on who you ask) to have a team of employees, it is almost inevitable that you will be tasked with the responsibility to try to fix every problem that comes your way.
Shonda proudly boasts that she encourages her employees to never come to her with problems and if they do, they better have a solution.
Discussing problems takes up a lot of your positive energy and creative juices so, instead of focusing on what went wrong, try focusing on how to make it better. At the end of the day, nobody is going to care about what your problem was, they’re going to care about how you overcame it.
[Tweet "No one cares about what your problem was, they care about how you overcame it."]
If You’re the Know It All in Your Circle, Change Circles
There’s a famous quote that’s probably floating through social media even as we speak that says, "If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room,” and Shonda echoes that same sentiment:
“I think it's really important to be surrounded by people who know more stuff than you do, and are better at it than you are."
If you take a look around your inner circle, or even towards the people you spend the most time with professionally, and you’re the know-it-all in your group, you may need to look for a new group to surround yourself with.
As a business professional, it’s important to always be evolving and if you’re the one who is always imparting knowledge and information into others, then who is imparting knowledge into you?
[Tweet "“It's really important to be surrounded by people who know more stuff than you do, and are better at it than you are." - @shondarhimes"]
You Don’t Have to Do it All Today, Tomorrow Isn’t Going Anywhere
When you’re your own boss, it can become difficult to have an off-switch. You may literally get to a point that you are spending 24 hours a day, 7 days a week working just because there’s nobody around to tell you to stop (unless you have someone in your circle who knows when to get you in check).
Shonda recounts a time when one of her executive producers had to remind her to focus on the things that were right in front of her. She remembers being angry when he would repeatedly tell her, "Shonda, this work will always be there tomorrow.” While she didn’t understand it then, she understands now.
“I try to focus on climbing this piece of the mountain, and then think about climbing the rest of it later,” Shonda says of her newfound approach to life.
As an entrepreneur, you might feel as though you have to complete projects the moment they land on your lap in order to make room for additional projects; however, if you can’t get it done today, it’s okay. Seriously. Take a deep breath and have at it again tomorrow. Sometimes walking away from a project gives you a different viewpoint once you pick it up again.
Never Be Afraid To Take Time For You
She shares her most coveted secret with Fast Company, and that is, she makes taking time for herself a priority.
During the hustle and bustle of the day for an entrepreneur, it can become hard to schedule in quiet time. Shonda suggests that you take the stillness and quietness of the beginning of the day (when you first wake up) to either focus on you or simply take in the moment.
Being readily available to other people at any given moment can have its pros and cons. On one hand, people will praise you for always being available, but on the other hand, you lose a little piece of yourself when you don’t take time to simply take care of you.
A wise woman once said, if “Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”.
Want to get more gems from Shonda’s interview with Fast Company click here.
What are some positive actions you're making towards productivity to get the new year started off right? Let us know in the comments below!
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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How A Stay At Switzerland's Luxurious 7132 Hotel Reminded Me To Live The Life I Deserve
Sometimes, as women—especially as single Black women—we simply need to be reminded that we are deserving of living a life we dream of. Even if that means creating it for ourselves. I recently set out on a weeklong trip to Switzerland, a trip I’ve been wanting to take for years, and near the end of my visit, I had an epiphany.
“DeAnna, this is the life you deserve,” I thought to myself as I took in the gorgeous bathroom in my suite at the famous 7132 Hotel and Thermal Spa. It was one of the most luxurious hotels (and bathrooms) I had ever stayed in—and that’s saying a lot for someone who often travels for work.
To help you better understand why this was such a mental awakening for me, I first need to give a bit of my backstory. I’m in my late thirties. I’m an attorneyand a journalist. I own a home and have traveled the world extensively. Essentially, I’ve done everything in life I set out to do. However, when it comes to dating, I struggle. Not because there is anything wrong with me per se, but because my career and “lifestyle” often create problems in my romantic relationships.
View from my hotel room
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I’ve been told everything from, ‘I can’t continue to date you because you seem to choose your career over wanting to settle down and have kids’ by a man after only the second date to ‘Maybe if you just sat down somewhere for a while, I’d actually wife you’ by someone who has honestly never proven themselves to be the settle down type. And these are only a handful of the things I’ve been told over the years.
It’s been frustrating, to say the least, and there have even been seasons where I purposely dimmed my light in hopes that my career wouldn’t push away potential suitors. I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, why would you even consider that? If they’re for you, it won’t matter what you do.” Hey, don’t judge me, but also, I one hundred percent agree.
My hotel bathroom
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That’s why this recent moment in Switzerland was right on time. When I first walked into the hotel to check in, I was blown away by the surrounding beauty. It was a five-star property with one of the world’s most famous thermal bathhouses. Yet, it was something about seeing that 90% of the hotel’s guests were couples, that forced me to sit back for a bit of introspection—while soaking in the thermal spa, of course.
As I went through the mental conversation, there was a battle of sorts. On one hand, I knew that being able to partake in experiences like the one I was having at that moment was important to me. I knew that, at times I actually love being able to dabble in the finer things—after all, I’ve worked hard to be able to afford them. On the other hand, and sadly, I knew that sometimes being a single Black woman that publicly showcases her “luxurious” habits can intimidate men and even scare them off from pursuing you under the guise of them feeling like they “can’t do anything for you, because you have everything.”
My hotel room
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So, what is a girl to do?
Do I minimize/hide the life and experiences that I have? Do I play down the hard work I’ve put in to get where I am professionally? Or, do I risk being single in exchange for being able to have said life, without backlash?
Luckily, the joy that I felt while being at this property won. There was something about taking a full day to simply pamper myself at the bathhouse and in my in-room steam shower and soaker tub, indulging in cuisine from a 2-star Michelin restaurant and doing all of this while surrounded by an amazing group of Black women that reminded me—this is certainly the life I was meant to live and that I deserve. Even if it means that right now, I’ll just have to provide it for myself until the right partner comes along. And honestly, I’m okay with that.
Restaurant at 7132 hotel
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