🎙 Episode 20: Experimenting with Productivity – Finding What Works for You
Ever tried a productivity hack that just didn’t work for you? 🙋♀️ Maybe you love structure, but time-blocking made you feel trapped. Or you tried digital planning, only to realise you need the feel of pen and paper. The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to productivity!
In this episode, we’re diving into productivity experiments – how to test different methods, figure out what actually works for you, and pivot quickly if something isn’t the right fit. I’ll walk you through:
✅ Why productivity is like trying on clothes, you need to experiment to find the perfect fit.
✅ How to test new strategies (without overwhelming yourself!).
✅ A simple 4-step framework for experimenting with productivity hacks.
✅ The key question to ask before trying any new method: ‘Will this make my life easier or harder?’
✅ Why quitting a method that isn’t working isn’t failure.
🎯 Ready to experiment with your productivity and find a system that actually works for you? Tune in now!
🔗 Resources & Mentions:
✨ Take the Productivity Quiz → zestproductivity.com/quiz
✨ Related Episodes:
👉 Let’s experiment! Pick one new productivity method this week and let me know how it goes – DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn! 💬
📢 If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend who’s on their own productivity journey!
Next week, we’re talking about boundaries, how to stop work from creeping into your personal life and make the most of your focused work time! Don’t miss it. 🎧
Ever tried a tried-and-tested productivity hack, only to find it completely didn’t work for you? Maybe you were told time-blocking was the secret to success, but it left you feeling trapped. Or you tried digital planning, but found yourself missing the satisfaction of ticking things off on paper.
The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to productivity. What works for one person may feel completely unnatural to another. That’s why the best way to boost your productivity isn’t to follow generic advice—it’s to experiment and find what actually fits your life, goals, and personality.
In this post, we’ll explore how to test productivity methods, figure out whether they’re working, and quickly pivot if they’re not.
Think of productivity like trying on clothes. You wouldn’t buy a jumper just because it looked good on someone else—you’d try it on, check the fit, and see if you feel good in it. Productivity is the same!
Some people thrive with rigid schedules, while others need flexibility. Some love detailed planners, while others prefer a minimalist approach. The key to success? Experimenting to find what works for YOU.
One of my coaching clients, Bibi, is a professional singer, mother of twins, and juggles an incredibly busy schedule. When she came to me for support, she said this after six months of working together:
“The greatest help (and relief!) to me was that Jasmine only ever applied relevant processes to my situation and personality – enhancing what was already natural for me – and not once trying to cram me into a different method or mindset.”
If we had forced her into a system that didn’t suit her, she’d have felt like she was wearing an ill-fitting straightjacket rather than a productivity method designed for her life.
That’s why productivity experiments are so important. Before trying something new, ask yourself:
👉 Will this make my life easier or harder?
If the answer is harder, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it—but it does mean you need to set realistic expectations and possibly adjust other areas to make space for it.
Think of productivity experiments as test runs, not permanent changes. You’re gathering data on what works and what doesn’t.
📌 Pick ONE or TWO strategies at a time – testing too many at once makes it harder to track what’s actually working.
Here are a few popular productivity methods to experiment with:
(From Episode 16: Sticking to Your Plan – Tips for Real-Life Productivity)
👉 Start your day by tackling your biggest, hardest, or most avoided task first. Once it’s done, everything else feels easier!
(From Episode 19: Focus – My Productivity Superpower (And How to Build Yours))
👉 Work in 25-minute focused sprints, followed by a 5-minute break. This helps maintain concentration and avoid burnout.
(From Episode 15: The Power of Short-Term Planning – 6 Steps That Will Boost Your Productivity)
👉 Spend time each week reviewing your priorities, planning key tasks, and anticipating obstacles.
(From Episode 16: Sticking to Your Plan – Tips for Real-Life Productivity)
👉 Try both paper and digital tools and see which aligns best with your workflow. Paper enhances focus, while digital offers flexibility.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is giving up too soon (or worse, sticking with something too long just because it “should” work).
✔ Try something for at least one week to get a real sense of it.
✔ If it feels promising but needs tweaking, adjust and continue for 2-3 weeks.
✔ If you dread it every time, drop it! (There’s no point forcing something that clearly isn’t working.)
Fun fact: Studies show it takes an average of 66 days to form a habit—but that can range from 18 to 254 days depending on complexity. If you’re testing a daily method, it’ll stick faster than something you only do weekly.
Experimenting is only useful if you analyse your results. But don’t worry—you don’t need a complicated system!
Here are 4 quick reflection questions:
✅ Is this making my life easier or harder?
✅ Do I feel more in control, or more stressed?
✅ Am I actually getting more done, or just feeling busy?
✅ Do I enjoy using this strategy, or am I resisting it?
If a productivity method isn’t clicking, drop it without guilt. There’s no failure in quitting something that isn’t serving you!
Instead of thinking: “I failed at this method.”
Shift your mindset to: “I learned this wasn’t the right fit for me.”
Just like you wouldn’t keep wearing uncomfortable shoes because they look great on someone else, you shouldn’t force a productivity method that doesn’t suit you!
(Although… if they were really beautiful shoes, I might be tempted. 👠😉)
Productivity isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what matters most, in a way that works for YOU.
💡 Experiment, reflect, adjust, repeat.
And if you need support in finding your ideal productivity system, this is exactly what I help my coaching clients with. I also offer executive coaching for organisations—so if your workplace could benefit from a productivity boost, let’s chat!
📩 Get in touch: zestproductivity.org/consultancy
🚀 Your Challenge: Try one new productivity method this week! Then, DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn to let me know how it went!
Next week: We’re talking about boundaries—how to stop work creeping into personal life while making the most of your focused time. Don’t miss it!
Speaker 1:
Hi and welcome back to another episode of Productivity with Zest. How are you joining me today? Are you feeling hopeful about learning something new? Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff that you have to do? Are you feeling close to burnout? My hope is that in the next short time together, that you will find one thing to do in action and this will make you feel less overwhelmed and less burnout.
Speaker 1:
This is episode 20 of the Productivity with Desk podcast with me, jasmine, and I’m so excited about today’s topic because it’s something I’m really passionate about Finding productivity strategies that actually work for you. Not just following generic advice, but truly experimenting to see what fits your life, your goals and your personality. You can use this episode to apply any content from other episodes or other tactics and strategies that you might want to learn and try. Just wanted to give a quick shout out. If you’re one of my new listeners, this is a really good episode to start with, along with the episode called what is Productivity? You are so welcome. I also wanted to say a big hi to my newer listeners in Nigeria, which is currently heading up the ranks to become one of the most popular countries to listen to this podcast. It’s currently the fifth country on the all episodes list, after the UK, us, canada and then Switzerland, and it is third for listeners in the last five episodes. I really hope that you are finding this helpful and please, please, please, keep sharing with your friends and colleagues. If you’re a new listener, a great place to start would be heading to zestproductivitycom forward slash quiz to take my productivity quiz. You can discover your productivity superpowers and what areas are your weakest. I will then give you some targeted action points and a particular episode that will help you. Also, look out for a special offer in the first email you get, where I’ll give you some extra personalised tips for free. I really believe that what works for one person may not work for another, which is why I’ve created the quiz, because it’s easy to think that a one size fits all approach will work, but I just don’t think it does so. Today, we’re going to talk about how to test different productivity methods, how to assess whether they’re working for you and how to pivot quickly if they’re not. So either grab a cuppa or a brew for my northern English friends and get comfy, or pop on your headphones and head out for a walk. Let’s get going. Let’s start with something I really believe there is no universal best way to be productive. Some people thrive with rigid schedules, others prefer flexibility, some need external accountability, while others would find that stifling. What works for me may not work for you would find that stifling. What works for me may not work for you.
Speaker 1:
I remember working with the wonderful Bibi last year in my coaching practice. Bibi is a professional singer, a mother of twins, and her husband lives mostly abroad. She runs her international performing schedule alongside teaching privately and at a university, as well as having a complex series of freelance programs at a university, as well as having a complex series of freelance programs, including a groundbreaking entrepreneurial artistic startup. She’s amazing. This lady has a lot going on. She came to me to help balance everything, to get clarity on the important things and figure out some systems that work for her, and this is what she said. After our six months together, the greatest help and relief to me was that she only ever applied relevant processes to my situation and personality, enhancing what was already natural for me, and not once trying to cram me into a different method or mindset.
Speaker 1:
If we had tried to just put Bibi into all the things that work for my mind and my business. It would have felt like putting a straitjacket on her. She would have felt confined and dressed entirely in the wrong clothes and Bibi always dresses carefully exactly what is needed for the situation. Productivity is like trying on clothes you need to experiment to find the right fit. It’s about discovering what feels good, what looks good on you not your friend on you and what actually makes your life better. This reminds me of a key question that I ask myself whenever I make any change in my life Is this decision going to make my life better, easier or harder? This question has saved me from many bad choices. It’s a question I started leaning into more after the time I got a puppy.
Speaker 1:
We’ve had dogs before and I grew up with dogs and I thought it was going to make my life better, but in reality, it made things so much worse. She was a lovely dog but was not suited to our family or our circumstances. She wanted to be out chasing sheep, literally. It was a really horrible and a valuable lesson when we knew that after three months of giving it our all, we had to ask the breeders to take her back and find her a home she deserved. Now I’ve had dogs before and it’s worked out really, really well. But I should have taken the time to fully acknowledge the challenges before diving in in much greater depth than I did. It’s me and my husband made the decision then and there that before making big choices, we would consider is this decision going to make my life easier or harder? If it’s going to make it harder, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily not the decision we would make, but we need to acknowledge this and maybe make changes elsewhere to create space for it. You can apply this same question, this same logic, to productivity experiments.
Speaker 1:
Before trying a new technique, consider whether it’s likely to ease your workload or add unnecessary stress. Is it going to make your life easier or harder? And this is particularly interesting with productivity, because sometimes it takes a bit of effort and time to start something, to put in a new system. So you want to think about the long term. Is the effort to put this in going to actually save me time in the long run? So you need to try to see what fits, and that’s step one. Think of productivity experiments as test runs rather than permanent changes.
Speaker 1:
You are not committing forever. You’re just gathering data on what works for you. You are not committing forever. You’re just gathering data on what works for you. You need to try on that coat. It looks good on the rack. You think it will fit you, but will it suit you? There’s only one way to find out. So pick one or two techniques to try at a time. Don’t attempt to implement multiple new strategies simultaneously, as it can dilute your focus and make it harder to assess each method’s effectiveness.
Speaker 1:
And if you want to know more about maintaining focus, have a listen to last week’s episode, episode 19, about my productivity superpower, focus. Here are a few strategies you might consider based on previous episodes of Productivity with Zest. So you might want to try eating the frog. I talk about this in episode 16, about sticking to your plan. Real life productivity. Eat the frog is when you start your day by tackling the hardest or least appealing task first. By getting it out of the way early, you create momentum and you free up more of that mental space for the rest of your work. Or number two, the Pomodoro technique, which I’ve mentioned a few times, most recently on episode 19 in Focus, my productivity superpower. This is where you work in focused 25 minute bursts followed by a five minute break. This technique helps maintain concentration and prevent burnout, especially for those deep work tasks.
Speaker 1:
Or you might want to try weekly planning for clarity, which I talk about in episode 15, the power of short-term planning six steps that will boost your productivity every week. You set aside time each week to review your goals, schedule key tasks and anticipate obstacles. This proactive approach helps reduce stress and ensures you stay on track. Or you might want to look at the paper versus digital planning debate and test which one’s going to work for you. We talk about this in episode 16 as well. You can test both digital and paper planning systems to see which aligns with your workflow. Digital tools offer flexibility and automation, while paper planners can enhance focus and memory. So try one, see what works.
Speaker 1:
So what does giving something a test run actually mean? It involves integrating a new method into your routine in a structured way, setting clear expectations, tracking results, results and be mindful about how it impacts your energy and effectiveness. You don’t need to overhaul your entire system. Simply introduce one new approach and observe how it fits your workflow. By thoughtfully selecting and testing these strategies, you can discover what truly enhances your productivity and tailor your approach to suit your unique needs.
Speaker 1:
So step two how long should you try a new method? One of the biggest mistakes people make is giving up too soon or sticking with something too long because it should work. So a good rule of thumb would be to try something new for at least one week to get a real sense of it. If it feels promising but needs tweaking, adjust and continue for another two to three weeks. If you dread it every single time, drop it sooner. There is no point forcing something that clearly doesn’t suit you From a psychological perspective. Research shows that forming a new habit can take an average of 66 days, but it can range from 18 to 254 days depending on the complexity of the behaviour. Neural pathways in your brain strengthen through repetition, so the more consistently you apply a strategy, the more automatic it becomes. This means that some productivity techniques may need a longer commitment before they truly integrate into your routine. If you’re trying a new daily thing, that will become a habit quicker than trying something weekly simply due to the repetitions.
Speaker 1:
So step three you’ve picked what you’re going to try. You’ve tried it. You’ve tried it for a few weeks. You need to reflect now on what’s working. Experimenting is only useful if you analyse what’s working and what’s not. It doesn’t have to be onerous or take ages. In fact, please don’t take ages over the analysis and stop moving forward. Here are just a few simple questions you could ask yourself to check whether it’s working. Does this method make my life easier or harder? Do I feel more in control or more stressed? Am I actually accomplishing more or just feeling busy? And do I look forward to using this strategy or am I resisting it? You can use journaling. You can track your mood or you can simply do a quick mental check-in to help you decide whether to stick with the method or move on. Even talking to a friend can be really useful with this Step four.
Speaker 1:
Move quickly if something isn’t working, or adopt it if it is so. If you’ve figured out through your analysis that something is working and is worth carrying on, keep it. Keep going with it until it doesn’t. So keep checking in. Is this still working for me? But if you’ve figured out that something isn’t clicking, drop it without guilt. There is no failure in quitting something that isn’t serving you. Drop it without guilt. There is no failure in quitting something that isn’t serving you. The key is to pivot quickly, like you know I like to do, rather than forcing yourself to stick with something that drains your energy.
Speaker 1:
Instead of thinking I failed at this method, try to shift your mindset too. I learned that this wasn’t the right fit for me. You wouldn’t keep wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes just because they looked good on someone else, so why would you do the same with productivity strategies? So productivity is not about doing more, as you know. It’s about doing what matters, what’s important, in a way that works for you, and the best way to figure that out is to experiment, to reflect, to adjust and repeat, to do those steps that I’ve outlined in this episode and, if you’d like some help with that, whether deciding which methods to try applying them effectively or reflecting on what’s working this is exactly what I help my coaching clients with. Working with a coach gives you the structure, accountability and expert guidance to make real progress faster.
Speaker 1:
I also work with organisations, so if you think having executive coaching would help you in your workplace to the benefit of your company, gain touch. Earlier this year, I had a conversation with someone who had a desire to take her role to the next level, and she wants to work out how, after our chat, she realised that her organisation could benefit from structured coaching. She put me in touch with her employer, arranged a meeting, and now they’re booked in for executive coaching for her and for others, so they will all benefit. I also run workshops on key topics like strategic planning, time blocking, focus and prioritisation, overcoming procrastination and preventing burnout, or I can create something bespoke for you. If that sounds something that could benefit you or your company, let’s talk. Get in touch via my website, zestproductivitycom, and you can click on consultancy for more information.
Speaker 1:
So here’s your challenge for the week Pick one new productivity experiment and test it. Maybe you’re going to eat that frog, maybe you’re going to try to plan your weeks. Whatever it is, pick one and go for it. Then come tell me how it went, message me on instagram or linkedin, send me an email or leave a comment wherever you’re listening. If you found this episode helpful, please share with a friend, leave a review and subscribe so you don’t miss next week’s episode. We will be talking about boundaries and how to put steps in place to stop work invading where it isn’t welcome so you can be super productive where it is welcome. Balance and boundaries are my weakest area in terms of productivity and I quickly descend into overwork, unless I’m really careful. Does that sound familiar? Remember, if you want to discover your productivity superpowers and weakest areas, like by balance, head to zestproductivitycom forward slash quiz and find out in just a few minutes. Until next time, happy experimenting.
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