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Welcome to my May 2024 productivity report! I spent a sunny month over in Sweden, with lots of family time and fun. Enjoy this report, and for more reports, check out October 2023 here, November 2023 here, and December 2023 here. For this year, January 2024 is here, February 2024 is here, March 2024 is here, and April 2024 is here.

🌱 How I Felt Going into May 2024

I knew May was going to be an exciting month because I had been planning it for a long time – ever since Christmas. My daughter is a huge Taylor Swift fan, and her biggest Christmas wish was to go see one of the shows on the Eras tour. Looking at the tickets prices in the US quickly led me down the road of heading home to Sweden for a bit… because as it turns out, it was the more affordable option. Supermom that I am, I moved heaven and earth to get tickets for one of those show dates.

So off we went to Stockholm at the beginning of May. I had booked an Airbnb in Sundbyberg, halfway between the venue and downtown Stockholm. It turned out to be a really cute place with very nice hosts. It wasn’t a huge place (a studio), but it was private, safe, comfortable, and more than enough for the two of us. I hadn’t been to Stockholm for a few years, so it was nice to be back and take in the city again. 

A bonus of combining my daughter’s Christmas wish with a trip home was also that I could visit family too. My parents are always excited to see us and my niece was graduation high school anyway, and it just seemed like good timing overall. We had a wonderful time, all in all.

🌻 The Best Kind of Productivity Creates Impact and Opportunity

Witnessing Taylor swiftly inspire thousands of people over a few nights led me to this month’s message for you, and it’s this: the best kind of productivity creates reverberant impact and opportunities not just for the person doing the work, but for others as well.

You can’t deny Taylor’s power. All month long, we were treated to financial report after financial report on the news, talking about the sudden economic upswing from all the traveling fans coming into town. And they were not exaggerating. During our time in Stockholm, we heard very little Swedish. Mostly English with different accents. It was delightful. So delightful that the city had proclaimed itself #Swiftholm for the week. It brought back memories of little teenage Caroline touring in the 90s with her idols, experiencing the same things.

So what can we learn from this phenomenon? Well, a few things.

First, we have to establish that productivity applies to all areas of your life. Most people think about productivity just in context of work, and that’s where they go wrong. Because of that, they start telling themselves that they’re not productive if they’re not working. That’s a very slippery slope, which often leads to negative burnout. As I stated in this post, Productivity isn’t about “doing boring tasks faster” than anyone else. It’s about creating results for yourself that lead to deep fulfillment and happiness… so how productive you are depends entirely on your goals, and how you choose to approach them.

Productivity comes through in everything – in life, and at work – and those areas are intertwined. If your goal is to eat better, then spending time learning how to cook is incredibly productive. It doesn’t matter if it has anything to do with your work or not – in the short-term. It will have an impact on it regardless, long-term. All areas of your life affect each other. That’s why anything that has to do with maintaining your health is always incredibly productive. Some people instantly label themselves “lazy” if they sleep in one day, but that’s not necessary. We need sleep, and rest is a natural anchoring point, so there’s no need to apologize for it. If you change your perspective on all of this and let go of the idea that the only way to be productive is at work, you’re off to a great start.

Second, the best kind of productivity – the one that comes from integrating business and life – creates deep impact and opportunities not just for you, but for others. When you love what you do, and it’s a part of you, that clearly shows. It inspires others. I alluded to this in Janury’s report on how to elevate your craft. When you are inspired, you take action, and that ripple effect keeps going. This is why Taylor’s fans travel everywhere. It’s why I did the same at that age. It’s why many people start their businesses. We don’t just do things for no reason. There is always a story behind it, and it usually starts with inspiration. The best leaders know how to inspire others, and Taylor is a prime example of this. They know that their success will inevitably ignite a spark in the next leader, who will then be able to contribute for the betterment of humanity as well. Let’s keep that train moving.

🤔 What inspires you?

I’d love to know – what has inspired you throughout your life? Who or what inspires you today?

Let me know in the comments below!

🏆 How Productive I was in May 2024

The month of May was a perfect representation of work-life balance in action. As always, when family is around, your work productivity takes a bit of a hit. That being said, the other side of the coin – family productivity – goes way up. That’s how this works. It can feel like you’re sitting on a seesaw sometimes, but that’s ok.

We allocate the time and attention an area of our lives need at any given time, and that can be seasonal. It’s not always going to have it be completely even. You have to make good decisions around your priorities, and then work towards fulfilling your goals in the best way possible. My goal is to have a healthy and happy family life, so with that in mind, I was incredibly productive in May.

📁 Projects Completed 

This month, I completed three projects, one giant one and two smaller ones. This is the first month that I’ve met my goal instead of exceeding it, and it’s precisely for this reason that I’m keeping the number to three. Three projects per month has been my goal for the past year, and it’s the perfect number. Keeping it there lets me take on a big project and still have time for a bit more, without over-working. It’s my sweet spot.

When I am going into months where I am more focused on work than family (it’s a seasonal thing), then I often complete 5 or 6 projects a month. However, that can’t be the bar I set for myself because it wouldn’t be realistic or smart, given my goals. We have to allow for some breathing room. You slowest month is the one you go by, but you always have the option to go above and beyond.

🚀 My Favorite Project in May 2024

My favorite project in May 2024 was working with Featured.com on an article for recommendations and insights into how productivity methods can be customized for different coaching styles. This gave me a chance to highlight Mindful Monday Mapping (or “MMM” for short), which is my advanced program for leaders and CEOs. I build that framework using a combination of many different proven productivity techniques (including KanBan and Kaizen), but it’s predominately influenced by reflection routines and bullet journaling.

Bullet Journaling is a very popular productivity method for listing out notes, tasks, and ideas. It’s perfect for those who are already very decisive, and know what needs to happen next. Usually though, my clients are less decisive, and they often hesitate around what the next step should be, so they need a different approach. By using narrative writing instead (but with the same general idea behind it), we let the next steps reveal themselves. It’s a method that works without triggering overwhelm, which is why I’m so proud of it.

⏳ Hours Worked in May 2024

This month, I worked just under 103 hours, which is close to 26 hours per week. Compared to previous months where I’ve been slightly under 25 hours, this month I went a bit over. That was surprising to me because it felt like I worked lighter. I think it’s because I took almost a full week off to concentrate on having fun with my daughter in Stockholm. I made up for that a little bit when I stayed at home with my family.

The majority of my time was spent on marketing & promotions, as it should be in my business model, so it was nice to see that line up. I also spent quite a bit of time on consulting for companies and coaching my private clients – again, as I should. Everything felt nicely aligned; I just put in a few more hours than I have in previous months. Perhaps the fact that it was a long month combined with me making up for time off got the best of me there. As long as the hours don’t increase drastically, it’s all good.

⌨️ Digital Images Organized in May 2024 

During May, I took a lot of photos – 4239 to be exact. I deleted about 802 of them, which left me with 3427 to add to my archive. As usual when I travel, the camera roll tends to fill up quite quickly. That happened here too. I did several photo shoots for my marketing, which made up the majority of the content.

Doing these productivity reports have provided me with a valid excuse to take so many selfies. I absolutely love taking photos, so I really enjoy the creative process behind a photo shoot. I was a professional photographer for a some time in the early 2000s, and I absolutely loved coordingating photo shoots. That hasn’t changed – it’s just that now that I don’t have photography clients, I have to be the model myself. Many of this month’s photos were also of Taylor Swift, of course, to eventually add to my daughter’s collection, so that was an unusual amount. And then we went out in Stockholm almost every day for a week, so those added up too.

If you’d like to learn my workflow for organizing photos, join us in DPO PRO: The Ultimate Photo Organizing Masterclass. Memories matter, and being able to repurpose your business assets is key for loud productivity.

👟 Steps Walked in May 2024 

I only have one word to describe the month of May 2024: outstanding. So outstanding that I could easily add on an expletive. The trip to Stockholm combined with the warmer weather and being outdoors every day provided me with the perfect environment for knocking my step count goal out of the park, flexible as it may be. For the past year, my ideal step count goal is 5000 steps per day, walking or running. The colder months have been a problem (hence my new home gym area), but now that summer is upon us, I’m on fire.

This month, we walked a total of 207,083 steps. That is about 6800 steps a day. On most days in Stockholm, we actually did a lot (close to 15,000 steps), but there were a few rainy days that evened out the math… and that’s bound to happen. Our best day in Stockholm was close to 25,000 steps, and that is a giant leap from where we were just a year ago. I’m very happy with that result. #progress

🍋 Home-Cooked Meals in May 2024

We did really well on home-cooked meals this month too – we came in a 82.3%, which is excellent. Stockholm is a fairly pricey place to eat, so we actually cooked a bit in our Airbnb. Mostly simple stuff, but still. We ate out a few times, but not often. When people ask me what we eat in Sweden, I kind of chuckle at the reality. It’s Thai food. Naturally, we have some classics that still are popular, but ask any Swede and I think they’ll agree with me that Thai food is ubiquitous with Sweden in this day and age. Swedish Thai food also happens to be the best kind of Thai food. The dishes are prepared in a very Swedish way, and you just don’t get that elsewhere. It’s hard to explain, so just take my word for it. When in Sweden, always eat Thai food.

When we did eat at home, we did the traditional Swedish breakfast routine of yogurt and sandwiches, meatballs (veggie), and hot dogs. Yes, we have veggie options for everything, so vegans can rejoice. Basic Swedish food is called “Husmanskost,” which just translates to cheap, simple, comfort food. I have to say though…As much as I love sandwiches, I can do without them for a bit now. No more Smorrebrod for a while yet – until the next time I go home. Perhaps that’ll be another flexible goal for the summer. LOL

🎧 Books & Learning in May 2024

This month, I listened to the audiobook version of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. There are a few of us that have a little book club going online and the consensus had fallen on a fiction book this time around. I don’t read much fiction overall because I’m so into learning and self-development, but it was actually nice to not have to learn anything this month, especially since I was taking some new online courses that I had purchased at the same time. 

Overall, I found this book to be a very difficult read / listen – for many reasons, but mostly due to logistics. The writing skipped back and forth a lot between scenes, so that alone was giving me whiplash. I think I was on chapter nine before I finally started piecing together what was happening. That being said, when it came together, it really came together.

On top of that, it was a heavy investment of time. This was a long listen – close to 14 hours. Because of that, I had to stop so many times, and I think that threw me off too. In hindsight, I probably should have picked up the physical book instead of listening to this; I’m a visual person, so I think seeing the words would have given me a bit more control over how I took them in and how quickly. I was traveling though, so that was the deciding factor. 

I do think this book is a worthwhile read. It’s highly rated, but you have to be patient with yourself in order to really get into it. The story itself was heartbreaking. Good, but heartbreaking. It reminded me a lot of the John Jakes’ North and South novels that I read back in the late 80s. Southern charm combined with a challenging reality, politics, and societal drama. I loved the narration, which was beautifully done with a very charming southern twang. Would I recommend it? Yes, but not in audio book format.

☕️ Meaningful Conversations in May 2024

These past few months, I have been blown away; it has taken only minutes to book out my Fika with Caroline slots. Those are the hot cup catchups I do with people on my mailing list just for fun. Not only is it extremely flattering that so many people are interested in chatting for a few minutes with lil’ol me, but it also speaks to a larger truth: we all feel the need for connection right now.

Our world has become so divided in the past few years because of politics, social issues, and lockdowns, that I think we’re all missing a bit of warmth. That’s exactly what these sessions are meant to inspire. I don’t want to just chat with people who think like me. In fact, I want to hear from people who don’t, so that I can broaden my own horizons, hear a different perspective, and perhaps learn something new. It’s always enlightening to take an open-minded approach to communication.

Many thanks to the wonderful ladies who chatted with me while I was in Sweden: Lisa Deneau of Once Upon a Tail; Cathy Bauer of Photo Chaos Cornered; Rae Deane Latham, who is a student in Searching Sweden; Christina Pensado Benet of Fotos en Orden; and Celina Lee, Career Coach Extraordinaire.

Professional Highlight

For a while now, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting on the Advisory Board for The Photo Managers, the community of the Professional Organizers who specialize in Photo Organizing, Digital asset management, and other related niches.

This month, I also accepted an invitation to service on the Governance committee for them, which has already proven to be quite interesting. Non-profit work is something I am very interested in pursuing in the future, so learning from my colleagues about how different boards work and how to run the most productive board possible is quite exciting. We have only had two meetings so far, but I can already feel that the skills I’m acquiring here will make a big difference for me at some point in the future. I don’t know yet what that will look like, but let’s just say that it’s the preparation to my future opportunity. I can feel it in my bones.

June will be an exiting month for me. I will be heading to California to see friends, family, and colleagues. I will be meeting my good friend Claudine Chi for the first time in person (woohoo!), and I’ll also be collaborating with Jaleh Zandieh on up-leveling the leaderships skills for a select few individuals. It’s going to be an amazing summer!

⭐️ Success Celebrated in May 2024 

This month, I have chosen to celebrate my Productivity Reports. I’ve now done these consistently now for a few months, and I’m having a blast with it. I’ve talked about this before, but a big problem for a lot of peolpe is impatience. I am so grateful it’s not one of mine.

Know this: whatever you’re doing, it’s working. It’s just working slowly. You have to stick with it and not quit and get shiny new object syndrome. Patience takes care of a lot of things, including mastery.

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

What hubs, tools, products, and services do I use to be more productive? A great question! In an effort to be really transparent, I have a few recommendations below. Some of these are affiliates links, others are not, but I would recommend them regardless – they’re just awesome. Check them out!

Here’s my list of things I loved in April 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 Building in Notion (for Beginners) event, and the replay is available for purchase now.
• Airtable → We have used Airtable for many years now – as our main 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 stopped at several tea shops that I like: Paloma Tea House in Gamla Stan (old town) as well as the one in NK (Nordiska Kompaniet). I got several really nice green tea summer blends, but I want to highlight their Symphony blemd. It was a green tea blended with strawberry and rhubarb notes – one of my favorite combinations. 

Paloma Tea House's Symphony Blend

Yield: 1 Cup

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Hot Water
• 2 tsp Tea

Instructions

1. Boil filtered water

2. For each cup of water, use about 2 tsp of tea

2. Steep 3 minutes and 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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