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Pharmacist's Voice

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Going into Target for just one item

Apr 17, 2020

Mentioned in this episode

Books mentioned in this episode

1.  Listful Thinking: Using Lists to Be More Productive, Successful and Less Stressed by Paula Rizzo (Author) and Julie Morgenstern (Foreword) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NP8MM0U/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_txgMEbJD4G1QW 

2.  Organizing from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life (Paperback – August 12, 2004) by Julie Morgenstern (Author) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0805075895/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_8BPsEbTEYVYHP

3.  Time Management from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule -- and Your Life (Paperback – August 12, 2004) by Julie Morgenstern (Author)  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0805075909/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_yDPsEbEKC5C2J

4.  Never Check E-Mail In the Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work (Paperback – September 27, 2005) by Julie Morgenstern (Author)  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743250885/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_LFPsEbWN9ZGNG 

5.  SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck (Paperback – March 3, 2009) by Julie Morgenstern (Author) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743250907/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_WwPsEbGCR1X8F 

6.  Voiceover Achiever: Brand your VO career. Change your life. by Celia Siegel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0791HFW5S/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_URjMEbEETT3XB 

7.  Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller (Author, Narrator), HarperCollins Leadership (Publisher)  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072J8WRND/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_XVjMEbYJ726B4 

Today’s episode is about focusing.  I have a lot on my plate during “the quarantine.”  I’ll talk about how working from home with new distractions is like going into Target for just one item.  It’s hard, but it can be done!  

For listeners outside the US, Target is a very successful and well-loved American retail corporation.  In the US, we call it a “big box store.”  You can get just about anything at Target from prescriptions to groceries to shoes! 

Target is known for its addictive shopping experience.  Shoppers often joke about going into a store to make one purchase but end up buying more.  To keep customers coming back, Target uses clever marketing, strategic product-positioning, and a treasure hunt-like shopping experience.

To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I included a link to a funny, 2-minute YouTube video in the show notes.  It shows a woman in her car arriving at Target to buy one very specific thing.  She goes into the store, gets a shopping cart, and buys all kinds of stuff.  The video ends with her back in her car, remembering that she has forgotten the one thing she went into the store to buy!  

Are you like the shopper in my example?  Or, can you go into Target, just buy that one thing you need, and leave without getting the other stuff?

What does shopping at Target have to do with my career change from pharmacist to voice actor?  Stay with me.  I’m getting there!  

As I record this on April 16, 2020, my family and I are mostly staying at home to reduce our risk of contracting the corona virus.  That means my kids are not physically in school.  They are at home, like all the other children in Ohio. My younger son has on-line school.  My older son, who has autism, has his own work to do.  It is not online, and he needs one-on-one supervision at all times.  I’m in charge of both boys while my husband works outside the home.  

Working from home with added responsibilities and distractions is like going into Target for just one item.  It’s hard, but it can be done!  Even though I have a lot more on my plate right now, I’m still making progress.  I have a secret weapon.  Lists!

Do you think the Target shopper from my story would have forgotten what she needed if she had used a list?  No way! 

Lists help me focus so I can be present for my family and work toward my professional goals.  I have a projects list for the house and everyone in it, a list of business goals, and a daily list.”  When I’m using my lists effectively, I can knock out low-hanging fruit when I have five minutes.  If I get an hour or two, I can tackle bigger tasks, starting with the highest priorities first, of course!

Having a realistic workload is important to me.  It makes me feel less stressed.  I can only get so much done in a day.  Once I picked up on how much I can handle after the first 2 weeks of the kids being home, I adjusted my expectations.  Although some goals are delayed or getting done quick and dirty, overall I’m getting a fair amount done.  

Over the years, I have learned what works for me.  Making lists, being organized, and using time management strategies are really helpful.  If you want to learn how to be a productive list maker too, check out the book Listful Thinking: Using Lists to Be More Productive, Successful and Less Stressed by Paula Rizzo and Julie Morgenstern. 

Do you want to improve your organizing and time management skills?  Check out all four of Julie Morgenstern’s books.

I’ve been using a spiral-bound notebook to make a daily list for years.  I have appointments and reminders programmed into an electronic calendar, but for a daily agenda or to-do list, I need something I can touch.  A notebook really works for me.  My daily list has 3 categories. 

  1. Errands, appointments, and outings
  2. Projects
  3. Phone calls, e-mails, social media and texts

Here’s a quick rundown of how I use my list.  

The first category is “errands, appointments, and outings.”  It includes anything that requires being out of the house. 

The second category is “projects.”  This is a vague category, but it involves everything that gets done at home and does not involve communication.  Many of my business tasks fall in this category, but so does making beds, doing dishes, folding laundry, and prepping food for dinner. 

The third and final category on my daily to-do list is phone calls, e-mails, social media, and texts.  With the kids home, communication is tricky, but returning calls and responding to messages within 24 hours is important to me.  That’s what I want from others.  I try to do it myself.  

When it comes to my family’s projects, my list has several categories.  Each person in the house gets their own goals.  We have family goals too.  Some examples are annual family portraits, home improvement projects, and vacation plans. 

For my business, I have several goals.  The categories change as needed.  Right now, this is what I have:

  • podcast 
  • demos
  • website
  • marketing
  • social media
  • performance (training)
  • technology
  • networking

There’s more than one thing in each category for my business goals.  Instead of listing all my goals, I’ll just tell you what I’ve been working on in each category over the past two weeks.  I’ve done pretty well in spite of a very different schedule and my kids home during the day.

I’ll start with my podcast.  My goal is to release one episode per week and alternate solo shows and interview shows.  So far so good.  I have been releasing an episode each Friday, and I have been lining up guests and scheduling interviews.  As a bonus, I have been able to attend “office hours” for the School of Podcasting to hear what my classmates are up to and get input from them and our instructor, Dave Jackson.

In the category of demos, I’m working on getting more audiobook demos uploaded to ACX.  ACX is the website that matches authors and narrators so they can create audiobooks for sale through Audible and amazon.com.

Some exciting news on a different topic now. voiceactorwebsites.com is helping me create a new website.  Branding is important to the website, and two books are helping me learn more about branding.  They are Celia Siegel’s book Voiceover Achiever: Brand your VO career. Change your life and Donald Miller’s book Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen.  Both are in the show notes with links to amazon.com if you want to check them out too!

With my Marketing goals, I’m starting to direct-market to potential clients.  Eventually, I want to reach out to 5/day.  I also just joined Voquent, which is a matchmaking website for voice talents and voice-seekers.  

My top social media goal right now is to update my banners so my brand is consistent across the sites I use:  LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  

I’m moving forward with audiobook narration lessons with Sean Pratt.  I just got my homework assignment, and I’ll be busy with that this month.  I’m also practicing medical narration on my own.

I have two urgent technology goals.  1.   Improve my audio editing skills using an on-line course called Studio One Jumpstart and 2.  Buy some back-up cables and a new pair of headphones. 

I have some networking goals.  LinkedIn, Zoom, and Skype are a big help!  I am expanding my LinkedIn network, and I am attending meetings using Zoom and Skype. 

Thanks to the power of lists, I am able to focus.  I have goals.  I know my priorities, and I am staying on track.  I have changed my expectations about how much I can get done in a day.  But, I’m still productive, and I feel good!  

Thank you for listening to episode 14 of The Pharmacist’s Voice Podcast!