Work Smarter Not Harder with Loubna Zarrou

Although the phrase “work smarter, not harder” is easy to remember and sounds appealing, it still seems as though “work hard” is the one that secretly wins out. That’s why episode 42 of The Positively Living Podcast is about working smarter and not harder!

Although the phrase “work smarter, not harder” is easy to remember and sounds appealing, it still seems as though “work hard” is the one that secretly wins out, don’t you think? Hard work is praised and we are made to question things that don’t require it. Complex is valued over simple. Effort over efficiency, at least when it comes to our own perceived value since we don’t want to be considered lazy, right? At this point in my life, I’m good with lazy. David Allen of Getting Things Done fully admits he created a system because he was lazy.

I’ve shared memes on my Instagram that organized people are just too lazy to look for things. We are made to believe we must fill up the spaces of our lives — from our cabinets to our calendars — and I want to encourage you to start thinking differently. When I say “make space for what matters” don’t forget it means YOU too. It means things that the perpetually busy dare not consider, like rest and recovery and time to learn and time to dream and simply be. I know we have a lot on our plates, and I firmly believe we can find space for doing AND dreaming and my guest does too.

Today I welcome Loubna Zarrou to the Positively Living Podcast. We talk about what it means to be more productive by working smarter and what we can learn from the science of happiness to embrace the Positively Productive mantra do less, live more, breathe easier.

Loubna Zarrou is an international bestselling author, certified professional speaker and multi-award-winning Strategic Dynamo who is globally recognized for her extraordinary skill of being able to mentor Entrepreneurs to gain clarity, focus and momentum with lightning speed. She is also the creator and co-host of the Entrepreneurs Sushi Club Podcast Before starting her business and becoming the CEO of The Exponential Hero, Loubna spent over 18 years managing projects both in IT as well as change management in the corporate sector. It was during these years that Loubna was able to hone and utilize her expertise in helping people enhance their happiness at work, as well as strategies for more success in the boardroom.

In today’s episode, Loubna helps us understand our minds and how to make them work for us (instead of against us) including how to handle distractions, the biggest productivity buster. We talk about rest and sleep as non-negotiable productivity tools and she shares her perspective on happiness — which she’s been studying for years — and the hard science behind it. In addition to a ton of tips from her, I also share a bit about the Pomodoro technique, which I use as a basis for co-working sessions in the Positively Living Membership Community. If you are interested in continuing the conversation from today’s episode and exploring ways to start taking action on these ideas, I welcome you to join me there. Go to www.positivelyproductive.com/plmc to join.

As a complement to today’s episode, I highly recommend listening to Episode 1 on the #1 Tool for Productivity and Episode 41 on Intentional Happiness. Now, let’s join Loubna and talk about working smarter, not harder.

Thank you for listening! Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of practical tips to create space for what really matters in your life.

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