Making Good: Small Business Marketing Podcast · Lauren Tilden

How to Actually Get Stuff Done (Even If You Struggle With Follow-Through | 297

May 7, 2025·23 min·2 clips

Lauren spent 30 minutes peeling chickpeas before realizing it wasn't worth her precious time.

This episode of Making Good focuses on practical strategies for overcoming procrastination, perfectionism, and overwhelm to improve productivity. Host Lauren Tilden, a marketing expert with nearly 15 years of experience, shares her personal struggles and tested methods for getting tasks done. She frames productivity as a learned skill, especially for those whose brains may work against conventional time management. Tilden identifies common obstacles like procrastination on big tasks, inconsistency with routines, and avoidance through distractions like social media. She references Laura Vanderkam's book "168 Hours" to emphasize time as a non-renewable resource. A personal anecdote involves spending 30 minutes meticulously peeling chickpea skins before realizing this task was a low priority compared to time with family or reading. The host advises listeners to first determine their available weekly work hours, like her own 9 AM to 4:45 PM schedule. Listeners are guided to clarify one or two primary business goals to ensure activities align with them. The process includes performing a comprehensive "brain dump" to list every task and stressor. Tilden recommends organizing this list using the Eisenhower Matrix, also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix, popularized by Stephen Covey. This system categorizes tasks into four quadrants: urgent and important, not urgent but important, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important. A key tactic is moving prioritized tasks from a to-do list directly into a calendar, assigning realistic time blocks for each. Tilden uses Google Calendar, suggesting aesthetic enhancements like emojis and color-coding, and changing the emoji to a checkmark upon completion. She credits her team member, Mary, for helping implement this system and providing accountability. The host advocates for embracing imperfection and setting a lower daily bar to make goals achievable. Accountability is presented as critical, with ideas like announcing goals to an audience, virtual co-working sessions, or partnering with an accountability buddy. For maintaining focus during work blocks, Tilden shares her two-part "magic recipe": focus music from services like Focus at Will or Brain.fm, and the Pomodoro Technique of 25-minute focused work intervals followed by five-minute breaks. She has used the Pomodoro method for over a decade and Focus at Will for about eight years. The tone is encouraging and conversational, blending personal storytelling with direct, educational advice. Tilden speaks from her experience as a self-described lifelong procrastinator and perfectionist who also manages OCD, depression, and ADHD. The style is structured and instructional, offering a clear step-by-step framework while maintaining empathy for the listener's challenges. Small business owners and solopreneurs who feel scattered or stuck will find actionable systems and compassionate validation in this episode. Listeners seeking advanced, technical productivity systems or those who naturally excel at execution might find the strategies overly fundamental.

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