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Welcome to my March 2024 productivity report! What a recharging month it was for me; I went back “home” to Honolulu, Hawaii, where I pondered my environment quite a bit. Did I come to a few conclusions? You bet! It all culminated in this month’s takeaway regarding my true measure of success, so let’s get right into it… If you haven’t read the first few reports, October is here, November is here, December is here, January 2024 is here, and February 2024 is here.

🌱 How I Felt Going into March 2024

The freezing weather of February gets me every year. I love snow and ice, but I don’t like being cold, and Chicago chills me to the bone. As such, we often head to warmer climates around this time of year. It’s like clockwork. After a few months of shivering in darkness, we just long for the sun too much to not go somewhere. We do try to avoid spring break season, so we usually head out at the end of February, or at the very least, early March.

This year was no different. We hopped on a flight to LAX on March 3rd, and from there we flew “home” to Honolulu, Hawaii. I say “home” because that’s where we used to live before moving to Chicago, so I still revert back as if nothing has happened whenever I’m in my old neighborhood. If you watched February’s report over on YouTube, you would have heard talk about how much I love it there. So much so, in fact, that I am considering moving back. Maybe not right now (or even next year), but I can certainly see it happening within the next few years.

🌻 Why Your Ideal Life Pace is a True Measure of Success

I’m an island girl by heart. I’ve always been that, but for some reason, I’ve kept questioning it. Every time I’m on an island somewhere – whether its O’ahu, New Providence, Puerto Rico, or even Iceland – I feel infinitely comfortable. There’s something about it that draws me back. You’d think it’d be the climate, but no. Iceland wouldn’t be included in the grouping if it was… There’s just something about the lifestyle that suites me. As I have now figured out, it’s the pace – and that’s what turned out to be my main takeaway for March.

Your ideal pace is the rhythm and intensity by which you live your life. I think every person has an ideal pace, and it’s one of the main things that make us either happy or unhappy. In other words, your internal pace has to match up with your external environment. I prefer to look at it as the intensity of movement around you. If you choose live in the country side (or on an island), you’re likely into a slower pace of life. If you like constant movement, that’s typically associated with city life where you have tons of options around everything.

My true measure of success is being aligned to my ideal lifestyle pace. I want and need to live in a nurturing environment because (as Jaleh Zandieh pointed out in this video), that’s my leadership lens. It’s my premier need for doing my best work. Naturally, I value money and other things too, but a properly paced environment always comes first. I thrive in environments that are low-stress, yet very productive and high-impact as a result.

Your ideal pace can change throughout your life – as it has for me – which is why it’s so important to check in with yourself every now and then. There’s a season for everything. Not surprisingly, this came up for me as I went back to Hawaii, but interestingly enough, it also came up for some of my clients this month. The weight of running a business, combined with everyday responsibilities, like childcare, can easily take a toll on you if you don’t have the right support. Coping in a non-ideal environment is very possible, but life just gets so much more draining. I’ve had so many conversations with people in all stages of life around this, and these conversations have prompted me to think of how easy it is to trick yourself into feeling successful when you’re actually not.

How you measure success has to align with how you value yourself and your priorities, or you will forever end up deeply unfulfilled. In other words, if your true measure of success is money, for example (meaning earning as much cash as possible), then that’s what you should be pursuing. If it’s freedom, go for that. If it’s something else, by all means – pursue it… but just make sure you’re aligning your priorities accordingly, with that intent. Whatever you put first comes at the cost of something else, so you cannot be upset when that happens. If you are (i.e. if what you say and what you do are two different things), it means you’re out of alignment. Check yourself.

🏇 “Fast-Paced” Doesn’t Necessarily Equal “Productive”

One thing I feel the need to point out is that “movement” and “speed” should absolutely not be confused with “work ethic,” “productivity,” or “progress.” It’s perfectly possible to run in place, and going fast doesn’t mean you’re not going in circles. In fact, sometimes you have to slow down just to make sure you’re not going in circles. Speed is about getting from start to finish quickly while your pace is about rhythm and intensity. Two totally different things!

I’m an incredibly diligent and hard worker that likes to be productive; I just don’t like a lot of movement and “busyness” around me as I make progress. I think it’s because I can focus better that way. I don’t need the noise. However, I work at great speed. I make fast decisions and focus well, so I close projects out quickly, and with accuracy. Hence my profession. It’s something for which I have my project management skills to thank… couldn’t do it without them.

As I wrote in this article, I think there is a misconception that a high-impact workplace has to be stressful. Not so. “Busy” environments tend to be stressful and unproductive, which is perhaps why I’ve never entered corporate work. Multitasking doesn’t work. Simplifying does. I’d much rather be at peace with my own entrepreneurial pace, yet deeply focused. With that, I can now make much better decisions around what I prioritize. And that just might mean a move back to the islands soon. Time will tell. 🌴

🤔 What is Your True Measure of Success?

I’m curious… What is it that you really want? Is it money? Is it freedom? It is recognition? What about your ideal pace? Do you have clarity around what you value most, and whether or not it’s aligned with the decisions you make in your business? How do YOU measure your success?

Let me know in the comments below!

🏆 How Productive I was in March 2024

After the fail that was February, the month of March felt much better. Prioritizing the right things were not a problem because I didn’t let fear interfere with my decision-making. SO MUCH BETTER!

I cannot overstate just how powerful it is to remove fear and doubt as valid criteria. If you just accept that you’re gonna do things in spite of being scared, and then (on top of that), you just assume you can do them well, it makes things so much simpler. It’s life-changing… and it makes you never want to go back to your old ways.

📁 Projects Completed 

I worked on nine projects during this month, and I completed three of them. One was much bigger than the others, so it claimed almost all of my attention once I returned from vacation. It was completed on right on time though, which made me happy.

My goal for 2024 is to continue to complete three projects per month (just like I did in 2023), so this was spot on – again. I really like the number three because with that, I see enough movement, yet still meet that goal with ease. I think we can safely say that it matches my ideal pace. Keeping it that way is now the goal going forward.

🚀 My Favorite Project in March 2024

My favorite project this month was finishing the sales page for The Bookend Approach to Productivity, which is my mini-course on how to have a strong start and finish to your work days. Focus is so important, and if you don’t have it, it can completely derail your business. You need to know how to proactively make sales and be productive as a foundation. Otherwise, you won’t get very far as a business owner. That’s why I wanted to put this course out there – to showcase a process that works – for anyone who might be struggling with this.

This month, I also mailed out the first edition of my newsletter “Creating Space,” which felt really good. The new design feels fresh and contemporary, so I’m excited to potentially get it into more inboxes soon. If you missed it, you can check it out on my CK Creator Profile here.

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⏳ Hours Worked in March 2024

This month, I worked a total of 88 hours and 40 minutes, which comes out to about 22 hours per week. My goal is to stick to around 25 hours per week or so, and this was pretty close. Slightly under, but that makes sense since I spent a lot of time in the ocean. So far, I’m loving my new time tracking setup in Trackabi because it makes my reports so easy to read.

Reviewing these reports is so insightful because I get to see exactly where my times goes and how I manage it – a direct result of my decision-making and prioritizing every month. You can’t expect to find time for what matters. You have to make time for what matters. And with reports like this, you can clearly see what results are generated because the correlations stand out quite clearly.

Something worth noting from this month’s report is how much small steps – a.k.a. micro goals – add up. If you take a look at the second line from the top, called “Caroline TBA routine,” that’s my daily Bookend Approach Productivity routine. It takes on average 15 minutes at the top of my work day, and 15 minutes at the end of my work day…. but do you see how much it adds up to every month? Over 15 hours worth of productive time that drives major results. You can’t argue with those stats. In fact, it’s one of the routines that have absolutely transformed my business. In other words, time well spent.

I’ve also noticed lately that I’m enjoying completing shorter sprints of work with 10-minute breaks in between, as opposed to longer work session with full hour-long breaks. I often don’t need a whole hour before I get into things again, so the shorter but more frequent breaks are working well. They give me a chance to grab some fresh air, stretch, and refill my cup of tea. All is well when that happens.

⌨️ Digital Images Organized in March 2024 

Throughout March, I took 3144 new photos. I deleted very few of them – only 219 – which netted me 2925 images to add to my archive. The majority of them were for marketing purposes. Over in Hawaii, I did three full photo shoots that all turned out well. And then there were our regular vacation snaps. Most of them were good too right off the bat, so nothing much went there. I don’t do a ton of screenshots, but when I do, they are often the genesis for ideas and therefore go straight into Notion. Subsequently, they get deleted. Therefore, my camera roll is pretty clean and easy to organize nowadays.

For “regular” people (meaning non-entrepreneurs and non-creators), I often recommend sticking to the 80-20 rule for photos. Maybe 30% keepers at most. But for us content creators, it’s a whole different ball game. We need to crank out a bit more than the average person, but because of that, we also get to keep a few more. That’s fun. 📷

If you’d like to learn my workflow for organizing photos, join us in DPO PRO: The Ultimate Photo Organizing Masterclass.

👟 Steps Walked in March 2024 

Over in Hawaii, we had no problems whatsoever staying active. We never do when we’re there. Not surprisingly, Hawaii is regularly the healthiest state in the US because of the weather, fresh air, and easy access to activities.

In March, we walked a total of 304,793 measured steps, which is close to 10,000 steps a day. We didn’t even blink doing that, which just proves my original hypothesis from October: your environment has to be highly curated to support your goals, or you’re paddling upstream. 🚣🏻‍♀️ This was nothing short of down river, which really makes me think that I may be overdue for a move back to the islands again. Hmmm…

One of our favorite things to do is to loop Diamond Head. If you head up to the top, the view is great and it’s always a nice and easy (read: self-paced) excursion. Just remember to bring water!

I’ve said it again and again: lasting, sustainable change takes time, and you have to play the long game. This month, we doubled our step goal, but we’ll see how next month goes. It’s always a bit up and down until you find your rhythm pace.

🍋 Home-Cooked Meals in March 2024

Our final percentage for home-cooked meals in March was 62%. We didn’t meet our goal of 75%, and that was pretty much expected since we were on the road again. We spent 2.5 weeks in Hawaii, so I didn’t cook as much as I usually do. I was fine with that, and actually think I needed a break from it, so I’m cool with those results. It just illustrates that you don’t always have to accomplish everything perfectly in order to feel satisfied. There can be breathing room as long as you keep an eye on the habits over time.

When we did eat out, we mostly chose fairly healthy options, like vegan tofu ramen and poke bowls. Sure, a decent amount of L&L snuck in there too, but you can’t go to Hawaii and then not go to L&L. I mean, C’mon… That just wouldn’t be right. 🤣 Musubi, anyone?

🎧 Books & Learning in March 2024

This month, I read 12 Notes: On Life & Creativity by Quincy Jones. Obviously, I’m a huge fan of his (I mean, who isnt?), so I have been wanting to get to this one for quite a while now. I loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone; the audible version made it so easy to breeze through.

Reading it, I learned quite a few things about Q’s journey as a musician that I didn’t know before, for example how he toured in Europe and came close to giving up. It’s funny how in hindsight, we never really think about those moments because we know full well how everything turned out. Now, we know that he is legend, but that wasn’t always obvious – to him or to others. It’s fascinating to hear those stories and think about how much conviction and determination you have to have as an artist to make it. And what magic happens when you don’t give up.

I love how similar Q and I are as people. Obviously, I won’t be approaching his level of musicianship anytime soon (probably never will), but our interests and general attitudes towards life match up closely. I regret not being able to attend the Jazz Festival in my hometown Ystad when he was there a few years ago; I would have love to listen to him speak, but I had a prior commitment and had to miss it… Q is very knowledgable about Nordic music and culture in general, and he has worked in Sweden quite a bit. As an expat, traveler, and digital nomad, I fully respect that. Innovation belongs to people who think outside the box and make things work no matter where life drops them. As Q says in his book, “How can you expect to create art that transcends boundaries if you can’t do that yourself?” Brilliant.

☕️ Meaningful Conversations in March 2024

Some of my virtual tea dates in March got partially hoisted because of our trip extension while in Hawaii. Standby flights don’t always work out the way you hope, so I had to reschedule a few things to make those unexpected changes work. That’s OK though. Things happen. Despite that, I had a lot of great conversations and meet ups!

Julie Stipe and I have known each other for years, but not really chatted since well before the pandemic, so it was nice to catch up with her over Zoom. I also zoomed with Patty Hopp this month, as well as a few other colleagues and clients.

Another person I want to shout out is Matt Sehan from Shaka Surfing Academy, who is a wonderful storyteller. Every time we’re in Hawaii, we give him a call. Both my daughter and I enjoy getting into the ocean, but we never go out alone (you know… common sense, safety, and all that). Matt is not only the best instructor in Hawaii, but he’s also a lifeguard, certified in CPR, etc. That qualifies him to lug the equipment around instead of me. 😜 If you’re ever on O’ahu and want to up-level your water skills, give him a call. You’ll have a great time!

⭐️ Success Celebrated in March 2024 

March was another great month in terms of celebrating accomplishments. I recorded two more testimonials for my courses: one with Lisa Krigsman for DPO PRO and one with Susan Wolak for Quarterly Business Planning. I love helping small business owners succeed, so there’s nothing more fun that to get to hear from my students about their results.

Below is one of the interviews – you can watch the rest over on YouTube!

😍 This Month’s Favorite Hubs, Tools, Services, & Products

I often get asked what hubs, tools, products, and services I use to make myself even more productive, so below are a few recommendations. Some of these are affiliates links, others are not, but I would recommend them regardless of that status – they’re just THAT good.

Here’s my list of things I loved in March 2024:

• Notion → Where would I be without Notion? Not anywhere close to where I am now, that’s for sure. I run my entire life and business in Notion, so I wholeheartedly recommend this platform. We just hosted a Notion for Beginners event, and the replay is available for purchase now.
• Airtable → We have used Airtable for many years now – as a hub before Notion, and now for student-facing databases, external editorial calendars, and intake forms. Love it!
• Forever → This is good platform for storing photo archives. I invested in this company when they were a startup a decade ago, and it has only gotten better since then. We have a workshop coming up on it this year, so stay tuned for more info on that.
• ShowIt → Love ShowIt! It’s the most flexible and best website platform out there, IMO. Plus, it’s run by nice people, which is a plus. Check it out if you’re a creative soul or a visual artist.
• Convertkit → This has been my email system for seven years now, and I love it. It’s so easy to use, and I love that I can keep my subscribers organized and properly segmented with just a few clicks.
• Lightroom Classic → This is a program I’ve been using for two decades. I teach it and several other solutions in my course DPO PRO. Join us to learn how to use it!
• Teachable → I’ve been a loyal customer with Teachable since back in the early Fedora days, which says a lot about how much I like their platform. It’s a great place to host your courses.
• Circle → Circle is easy to use for everyone – from students to coaches to guests. We love it as our community hub. It stands well on its own, but also integrates nicely with Teachable (see above).
• Trackabi → My new time-tracking platform, which is working out wonderfully so far.
• Toggl → I’ve just switched away from Toggl, but that won’t stop me from recommending it. It’s a great tool to use for time-tracking. The free account can do a lot!
• Audible → I love my Audible subscription for when I’m getting my steps in, and I recommend trying it out if you want to get your learning on. Sign up for a free 30-day trial through my link to get a free book (or 2 free credits if you’re an Amazon prime member!) – cancel anytime!
• Secret → This is a wonderful place for finding deals on software hubs and tools. Who doesn’t love to save some $$$? Invest a little, save a lot! I’ve saved thousands.
• Grove Collaborative → Love my Grove subscription! It saves me so much time because I can restock all my household needs easily. They write sweet messages on each box too! So cute. Get a free gift set by signing up through my affiliate link!
• Almond Cow → In 3 minutes, you can have fresh nut milk. What’s not to love?
• Nuuly → I get so much use out of Nuuly (my rotating closet subscription service). It’s like shopping, except you never get tired of it. 🙌🏻 Highly recommended! Use my link to save $ on your first order.
• Taja → I really like this AI-driven platform for optimizing YouTube videos. It’s a great starting point for coming up with attention-grabbing headlines, descriptions, keywords, and more.

🫖 Tea of the Month

This month, I’ve been enjoying TWG’s Silver Moon tea. If you like white teas, light green teas, or smooth Earl Greys, you will like this too. It’s actually a green tea, but it taste like a white tea. It has infusions of berries and vanilla, which gives it a distinct taste. Most of my house guests have love it, so it’s a nice all-around blend to have on hand. You can get it from any place that stocks TWG teas, or online.

TWG Silver Moon Tea

Yield: 1 Cup

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Additional Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 minutes

TWG's silver moon tea blend ia a green tea with hints of berries and vanilla. What I love about this one is that is light and airy, but has a district taste nonetheless. I find it similar to a white tea, so if you enjoy that (or Earl Greys), you'll like this one too. Buy it online here!

Print

Ingredients

• 2-3g of loose tea leaves
• Hot water

Instructions

1. Heat water to 95° and pour over tea
2. Steep for 3 minutes
3. Enjoy!

📐 Measure What Matters

Thanks for reading this report til the end! I hope you enjoyed it. Please remember that productivity is very personal, and you DO NOT have to track the same metrics that I do. Your goals and metrics could be quite different from mine, and that’s OK.

If you’d like to understand where you should be focusing your attention, join us in an upcoming Quarterly Planning Workshop to identify your own goals.

🎬 Prefer to Watch This Report?

• About the Author
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Caroline Guntur Organizing & Productivity Coach

Hi there! I’m Caroline, and I’m here to help you get organized and be more productive, so that you can live better and have time for what matters.

www.theswedishorganizer.com

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