130. Not Your Average Productivity Course
From my extensive work coaching women in the field of Public Health, I've seen some of the common struggles they experience and crafted a tool to help. It is my Not Your Average Productivity Course, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
This week, I have the pleasure of hosting two clients from the course, Sarah and Vicki. They'll be sharing key insights from their experience in the Not Your Average Productivity Course and how it continues to benefit them even after its conclusion.
Tune in this week to find out if the Not Your Average Productivity Course aligns with your needs. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the five-week program, covering everything from logistics to the content we'll explore, and hear testimonials from past course participants.
Watching the violence unfold in the Gaza Region has been completely devasting and heartbreaking. I’ve decided to support the victims by donating 100% of the proceeds of the profits of the next round of the Not Your Average Productivity Course (which runs November 13th to December 15th, 2023 and is open now for enrollment) to The Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Click here to sign up.
What You Will Discover:
What is included in the Not Your Average Productivity Course.
Who this course is for.
How the productivity course will help you increase your productivity and rest.
What you will achieve by the end of the 5-week course.
How 1-on-1 coaching can help tailor your course experience.
Why the course is scheduled during the holiday season.
Resources:
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The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
Full Episode Transcript:
Hey you all, I’m Marissa McKool, and you’re listening to the Redefining Rest Podcast for Public Health Professionals. Here we believe rest is your right. You don’t have to earn it, you just have to learn how to take it and I’m going to teach you. Ready? Come along.
Hi, everyone. I wanted to jump in real quick and let you know about an important change that is happening. As some of you know, I am Arab American, and watching the violence unfold in the Gaza region the past several weeks has been completely devastating and heartbreaking. I know it can feel like there's nothing you can do to end the violence or support the victims, but that is not true.
And one thing I have decided to do is donate a 100% of the proceeds of the profits from the next round of the Not Your Average Productivity Course to The Palestine Children's Relief Fund. This organization has a long standing history supporting Palestinian children. I will leave a link in the show notes to their web page if you want to learn more about them. They are on the ground right now providing urgent and immediate medical supports and other services to children in need impacted by the violence and by displacement.
So if you've been thinking about joining the Not Your Average Productivity Course, now is the time. Your registration fee will be donated to this organization to provide immediate and urgent humanitarian aid to the children in the region. And if for any reason you are unable to join, it's not the right time, you can't afford it, you can still support this effort by sharing with your network, posting on LinkedIn, sharing with your colleagues so more people can find out.
My goal is to sell out this course, which would raise about $5,000 to support these efforts. So please help me in achieving this goal and register for the course, which we'll leave a link in the show notes or share out with your network.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me or message me on social media, on LinkedIn, on Instagram, and I'm happy to respond and answer them. So with that, let's get into this week's episode.
Hi, everyone. How’s it going? Are you getting your Halloween costume together? I love Halloween, personally. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve really dressed up and gone out. I’m hoping we do that this year. And maybe if you have kids, you’re getting their costumes together. I just love this time of year personally. But today is not about that at all. This is actually going to be a slightly different style podcast episode.
I’m going to be sharing about the Not Your Average Productivity course that starts November 13th. I’m going to be telling you who it’s for, who it’s not for, what it can help you with, what’s included. And the best part you’re going to hear directly from Sarah and Vicki, two women who took the course last time I offered it. And they’re going to share why they signed up, what they got out of it and their experience and more. Now, if you’re like, “No, I have no interest in hearing about this course or from the participants.” Totally fine you can absolutely skip this week’s episode.
But if you struggle with productivity or stress or having too high of a workload, then I want you to listen. Or if you’ve been considering thinking about joining the course, you were around when the first time I offered it and you didn’t join, but you’ve continued to think about joining. I want you to stick around because I want to make sure you have as much information as possible to make an informed decision if this course is right for you. Because the truth is it’s not right for everyone.
I would not recommend this course for everyone. It’s not a one shoe fits all, one size fits all, whatever that saying is. It’s specific to some concrete issues that are addressed in the course. And if you’re not struggling with those things, I don’t want you to waste your time and money. So here’s how it’s going to work. I’m going to share a little bit upfront about what the course is about and what’s included. And then we’re going to jump into the conversation with Sarah and Vicki. And then I’m going to wrap up after that with giving you the logistical details.
Let’s first touch on what you’re going to learn in the Not Your Average Productivity course and actually why I created this course. This course has come out of working with women in public health on these topics for a couple years now. I was sitting down and I was really thinking about what are some of the common themes that I have seen with my one-on-one clients. Women just like you in public health with what they’re struggling with productivity and stress and rest.
And I kind of took the core pieces, the essential pieces you need to know in order to get help (a) being more productive but (b) not from a hustly place. To have more time to reduce your stress and get more rest. I took the foundational pieces that my one-on-one clients learn that they have told me have helped them the most. And I packaged them into this five week class so you can get the most out of that time. And one of the things, actually recently I did a survey, some of you might have taken it, the women in public health stress survey.
And one of the trends I was seeing that informed doing this course again. Because if you remember when I first launched this course, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do it again, and that was the honest truth. One of the things that really helped me decide to launch it again, beyond the feedback from people in the course, like Vicki and Sarah, who you’re going to hear from in a little bit. Because their feedback, what they were getting out of initially was, oh, my gosh, I have to offer this again. There are so many other people who need this if this is how impactful it is for these people.
But the second piece that kind of reinforced it was some of the information I gathered from the survey. And I conducted the survey to really see where you all are at. What you’re struggling with. What’s creating your stress? What you want to change in 2024. And one of the overwhelming things that I saw from that survey was one of the biggest challenges is your workload, the volume of work. And one of the things that’s impacting the most is your time, is your ability to have time to do the things you want to do like hobbies or spend time with family.
So those two things combined, what the participants shared with me, how it was helping them and the results of that survey have really prompted me to offer this one more time before the end of 2023. So in the course, you’re going to learn, as I said, some of the key strategies, tools I teach my clients. And you’re going to get one-on-one support from me to start to reduce your stress, to start to create more time. And if you want to get really motivated to work on some personal goals or hobbies.
The topics of the course include redefining productivity, reducing overwhelm, creating motivation, goal setting and the guilt of rest. Now, you might not feel like you need help with all of these five areas but they will all help you. Maybe you don’t feel like you need a week on goal setting, that’s fine. But if you’re struggling with motivating yourself, I want you to come join this course. Maybe you always get stuck in overwhelm, but motivation itself isn’t necessarily the issue. That’s okay, this course is still going to help you.
Some of the participants last round found that the guilt of rest week was actually the most helpful. While others found actually, redefining productivity was the most helpful. That’s the best part of this being a five week course and you getting the combination of the worksheets, the videos, the coaching which I’ll share more about in the logistics piece. Because it can really be tailored to what is most important and most helpful for you for you to walk away with.
Here are some of the common problems that other women who have taken the course have worked on. Procrastinating while working on projects. Dealing with frequent interruptions. Feeling guilty for saying no or stepping down from a responsibility. Struggling to take time off or to balance work and family. So this course is for you.
This is the only really hardline requirement I would say is this course is specifically for people who identify as a woman or someone who has been socialized as a woman. This is a requirement, probably the only hard requirement. And socialized as a woman means even if you don’t identify as a woman now, at one point in your life the people around you, society treated you, socialized you as a girl or a woman. Because you absorbed and internalized the same messages that this course covers that come from the patriarchy.
Now, the other piece of who this is for, it’s really designed for people who work full or part-time in public health or another related helping profession. So if you’re a full-time student, if you’re a stay at home parent, this is really not for you. As far as working in public health or helping profession, there’s a lot of space there. I hear from so many people who reach out, “I love the podcast, but I don’t think I can join coaching or the course because I work in this field or this field.” Public health is so big, you all, and helping professions are also so big.
If you listened to an episode a couple of months ago with my client, Chelle, she was in veterinarian medicine. But actually so much of her work was public health. It was more ecosystem level one, health prevention. So if that’s you and that’s what’s holding you back. I don’t want it to. You’ll actually hear from Sarah. She was a teacher for 20 years. But she joined the course because no matter what helping profession you’re in, you absorb some of the same messages. We have a lot of the same challenges.
This is really a course for those of you which I think describes almost everyone in public health who are go-getters and high achievers. But you’re just feeling overwhelmed, you’re overworking, you’re struggling balancing it all. And as I said before, this is really not for you if you’re a full-time student.
And also if you’re looking for a calendar system, a course that provides organizational tools, project management tools, actual tactical tools, this is not the course for you. I don’t include calendar tips or an organizational system for you to follow. There are other courses out there for that. You are welcome to go find them. I just want to make it clear that is not what this course is. That’s one of the main ways this course is different from other productivity resources but there’s a few others as well that are really important.
First, this course really focuses on increasing productivity or using productivity to prioritize yourself and your rest, not to hustle more, not to do more just to do more sake. And second, this course focuses on understanding how hustle culture and the patriarchy impact your approach to productivity, impact why you’re struggling to balance work and life, why you’re neglecting your personal goals, why you struggle to rest.
And the last thing I want to share before we hear from Sarah and Vicki is what you can expect to achieve by the end of the course if you take it. I’m not going to sit here and say, “By the end of the five weeks, you’ll completely eliminate your burnout.” No, that’s not realistic. But you are going to make progress on learning what’s in your way of reducing your stress or working less or having more time and make progress on addressing that.
You will be able to take what you’re learning in the course and continue that work after the course. For some people during the five weeks it helped them to ask for more help or step down from a committee or give themselves grace to rest or delegate more. And having the one-on-one coaching as you’ll hear from both Sarah and Vicki in just a second, really helps tailor your progress, your goals, your changes, your growth to what you want and what you need.
So let’s go ahead and hear from Sarah and Vicki a little bit about their experience. I know it’s one thing to hear from me, the person who created and teaches the course. It’s a totally different thing to hear from folks who have gone through it as students. So I want you to hear from them. And then we’ll come back and I’ll share the logistical details of exactly what is included, when it starts, how to register, all that stuff.
Marissa: Can you share your name and why you wanted to sign up for the Not Your Average Productivity course?
Sarah: I’m Sarah and I signed up for the Not Your Average Productivity course because I was noticing some dissonance between the hustle that I was putting on myself and then openness, discover what you want, that I was offering to the humans that I coach. And I’m like, “Hey, wait a second. I might need some tools here.” Because it’s one thing to know it, it’s another thing to do it.
And I listened to the podcast for a while and had interactions with you that just told me you were the person to go to, to kind of unlock my brain around the letting go of hustle culture. And not necessarily being less productive, which is kind of the really fun piece that came out of this.
Vicki: So my name is Vicki. And I wanted to sign up to the course because, well, several reasons. First of all, I’ve done a course, one of Marissa’s courses before, the How the Patriarchy Robs you of Your Rest. And I really liked that. So as soon as I saw another course come up, I was like, “Yes, let’s get in there.” Secondly, it’s really good value for money and she’s not told me to say that. But I would really like to do a proper big coaching course but I haven’t been able to afford it. So these are just really good little bite sized things that I can afford to do.
And the third reason is I was absolutely in over my head with a lot of work and the moment I saw it was a course on productivity and rest, I thought it was just the perfect time to do it.
Marissa: Yes, I did not pay her to say that. That’s why I do some of these courses because I know the financial cost of one-on-one coaching isn’t accessible to everyone. So I’m glad because that’s part of the goal of these courses. So, Sarah, you were in a helping profession for a long time. Did that inform kind of wanting to take this course and get out of that hustle space?
Sarah: 100%, because I was already kind of on the journey of unlocking some of the don’t listen to your body, don’t say what you need sort of rhetoric that I had fully adopted. It was in my brain but not paying rent, and I didn’t put it there. So I was ready to get that out. But yeah, even though I wasn’t in the medical field, it was very aligned with what you describe in terms of just the expectations to be the martyr, don’t speak up and everybody else comes first and all that. But it really was never without a cost.
And once I started to unravel that I was like, “I’m actually a better teacher/coach/advocate, whatever role I’m in at the time. If I am listening to myself and even daring to model having different expectations of myself for the people that I work with.
Marissa: I love that. So for our listeners, what was the best part of the course for you and why? So they have a little sneak peek into the course.
Sarah: Oh, gosh, I know. I knew this question was coming and I’m like, “I’ll be prepared with an answer.” And then you ask, I’m like, “Maybe not.” Because it’s hard to evaluate what was best. It was kind of what I needed at the time. I’ve certainly rewatched a couple of the videos that are part of the course. The guilt of rest is really what resonated a lot with me.
And my brain enjoyed the historical perspective. It just kind of neutralized why I got to where I am in terms of maybe this isn’t me being terrible to myself. Maybe this is me reacting to all the messaging that I’ve gotten. And now I have to do really uncomfortable hard work, with your help, of identifying what’s in there and what I want to let go.
Vicki: For me, the best part of this course and the previous course that I did, has always been the coaching sessions because again, they’re such good value for money. And it’s just there’s something about one-to-one coaching that’s actually when you speak to a person that’s just so much more helpful than coaching yourself, although of course that’s great. But sitting there and trying to sort through your own thoughts without an external set of eyes or an external voice can be really hard.
And there was definitely a couple of times on the course where I thought I had my brain figured out and Marissa came in and said, “Have you thought it might be this?” And I realized, yes, it’s definitely that. And I’d never have come to that conclusion on my own. So I think the coaching sessions are just invaluable. Love it.
Marissa: And throughout the course, it’s only five weeks, but did you have any aha moments or shifts or changes you got out of those five weeks, you want to share with folks listening?
Vicki: It was probably one of those that I just mentioned actually. There was a point where we were talking about something and I was convinced that my brain was worried it was going to last forever. And then Marissa suggested it was more about the uncertainty. And I’ve had a sudden realization of how much I dislike uncertainty, which I think is quite common. There was something else today that was going on that made me think about that as well.
So I think for me it was the moment I realized how uncomfortable my brain is with uncertainty and where I’m going to go with that going forward.
Marissa: Yeah, and that’s a good example of why the one-on-one coaching is so helpful in a course because that’s so specific to where you’re at to be able to uncover that.
Sarah: And another thing that you told me in a coaching session which change is uncomfortable. But in terms of, I’m not failing if this feels really bumpy or I’m not doing anything wrong or I’m not, not trying hard enough. If I feel super uncomfortable when I try to rest or as I’m making these changes. That was a huge takeaway. And I wish that it was like Marissa taught me the magic bullet and everything’s clear.
But you taught me to at least kind of embrace that the process is going to be bumpy and that that’s okay. Some days it’s easier to be in that head space than others. But just noticing the discomfort and kind of allowing it.
Marissa: And the last question I have for you is, if there’s people listening who might be interested in this course and curious about it and wondering if it’s right for them and on the fence. What would you tell someone who’s thinking about joining from your experience going through it?
Sarah: I was very human and you were so there for it. So I actually signed up right about when I was having to do a very fast move of my small farm and my home gym and all the things. So I knew that the treadmill was going to be on full blast and that I would show up for my coaching sessions, but I wouldn’t be able to week-by-week follow the course. So if that’s kind of your objection of I can’t do it perfectly, you don’t need to.
I actually found a lot of value in doing, once I finally had, I think it was about week three where my brain had settled enough to let me see that indeed I did have time to watch the course. And maybe it was when I was going for a walk or doing my makeup or things that were already happening. So there was a bit of a, hey, brain, actually there are opportunities, moment for me. But once I kind of had that, it actually worked for me to batch them. So I would do two lessons and then kind of think about it.
And so that was a piece that I think people who are on the fence or maybe are like, “I don’t know. Life’s not perfect right now for this to fit in.” It really didn’t have to be. And it seemed kind of not frivolous but possibly irresponsible to be like, “Hey, I’m having this big life change and also I’m going to invest money in something that doesn’t have to happen.”
But I really just trusted my gut. I read the emails. I felt like, okay, this is speaking to me. And you delivered. It was what you said it would be. And I can see how on the back side of being on the course now, how it’s going to shake up my thinking for a long time and I think that’s the power for me.
Vicki: I would say go for it. If you’ve got the money to spare and you can go for it, don’t bankrupt yourself, but it’s really worth the money. If you’re thinking, I know I saw a lot of your stuff previously about people saying, “I don’t have time for it”, and stuff. And I genuinely would agree with you. If you don’t have time for it this is the perfect time to sign up for it, make the time for it, find it. Because. It will help, it just helps having that.
And it’s almost easier than signing up to regular one-to-one coaching because you know it’s a finite amount of time. So you know, I’ve got five weeks to really focus on this and yeah, you might not get everything in. I’m not going to lie. There’s still a video I need to watch from this one. But you can do it in your own time apart from the coaching sessions. But you can fix those to a time that’s suitable to you and Marissa’s really flexible. So if it turns out not to be right for you at that time, you can change it. So I would just say if you’ve got the money, go for it because it will really, really help you.
Marissa: Yes, I love that. So thank you so much for coming on and sharing your experience. I know it will really help folks who are considering it on the fence just to get an insider’s perspective, that’s not mine, someone who’s actually gone through it. Thank you so much.
Okay, so if after listening to Sarah and Vicki, you’re like, “I think I really want to join. I think this might help me.” Here are the details you need to know. The course starts the week of November 13th and goes through December 15th. I know this is during a lot of people’s holiday season. I did that on purpose. It wasn’t an accident. Your brain is going to want to use that as an excuse. Yeah, you’re too busy, you can’t. No. Just as Vicki shared, that is the best time to join, when you are busy. That’s when you need the support the most.
You would not hire a plumber if you didn’t have a leak. The same thing here. So the week before the course starts, the week of November 6th, you’re going to have a 30 minute one-on-one orientation call with me. This isn’t a coaching call. This is for us to get to know one another, go over what you want to achieve, where you’re struggling.
And this is new, I did not do this last time. But based on participant feedback and based on my observation going through the course, I realized it would have been really, really helpful to have just a touch in before we start the course before coaching. So you and I can get to know one another. I have a better idea of what you’re struggling with. You know me a little bit better. So the one-on-one coaching sessions can be even more impactful, we can even go deeper and make sure you achieve the changes you really want to change in the timeframe.
So every week you’re going to get weekly course videos. And then every other week you’ll have one-on-one coaching with me. So every single week you’ll get those course videos. Three of the five weeks you’ll have one-on-one coaching with me scheduled at the time you have available. So it’s based on your schedule. And as Vicki shared, I’m very flexible, so if things come up, don’t worry about that.
And then in between the coaching sessions, you’ll have implementation worksheets. And don’t worry for those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, there won’t be any coaching calls that week. This is only $500. As Vicki said, it is a real steal compared to my one-on-one coaching services tend to be around $5,000/$6,000. So I really created this to make a coaching resource that included actual one-on-one coaching, more financially accessible to more people. So you have access to get support.
And the time commitment. It’s only five weeks long, which is very different than committing to a three, six month coaching program. And the per week time commitment varies depending on the week. Some weeks it might be 30 minutes, some weeks it might be 90 minutes. But most of the work is flexible to your schedule. As you heard from Sarah, she listened to some of the videos on a walk or doing her makeup. You can determine when to watch the videos, when to do the worksheets. And you schedule your one-on-one calls with me based on when you have availability.
So I want to make one thing clear before we wrap up here. This is not a group course. I know that can be a little confusing. You get the weekly materials, the videos, the worksheets delivered to your email. And then all the coaching is private one-on-one with me. So you don’t have to worry about sharing what you’re struggling with, with other people in public health. It’s just you and me.
This is the last time I’m offering this course this year. I may offer it again in 2024. I’m definitely going to offer a course. I’m not sure if it’s this one or going to be a different one. But as I said, I did the women in public health stress survey and one of the most common things you all struggle with is the workload and productivity. So if it’s not this specific course, I will offer another course some time in 2024, the same topic area. I’m just not sure which one. Just so you know.
So if you are having knee surgery, now is probably not a good time to do this course. You can totally wait till 2024 and see what course we offer next year. If your brain’s saying, “I can’t do this course now because of the holidays, because I have a big work project.” No, that’s why you should do the course. This course will help you get through that busy period. So registration is open right now. You can go to mckoolcoaching.com/courses and sign up. We’ll leave a link in the show notes. And it’s open until November 5th.
If you’re worried or concerned or have questions about the time zone for the coaching calls, maybe you live outside of North America, the US, just reach out to me info@mckoolcoaching.com and we can see if we can make that work. I had someone take the course last round who lived in Malaysia and we were able to make it work. So if I can, I will do it, but if I have to get up at 4:00am, probably not happening, so reach out to me and we can talk about it.
If there are any other questions I did not answer here, please email me and ask info@mckoolcoaching.com. We’ll leave a link in the show notes. I really hope to see you in this course so we can get you set up to start reducing your stress so that once the new year happens, which is right around the corner, you all. When 2024 hits, you are positioned to not be overworking or stressed or putting yourself last next year. And the remainder of this year, you’ll start to feel better and have some more time and go through the hectic holiday season with more ease than the past years.
With that you all, I hope this was helpful. Thank you Sarah and Vicki again for coming on the podcast and sharing with everyone listening, your experience, and I’ll talk to everyone next week. Bye.
If you found this episode helpful then you have to check out my coaching program where I provide you individualized support to create a life centered around rest. Head on over to mckoolcoaching.com, that’s M-C-K-O-O-L coaching.com to learn more.
Hi, everyone. I wanted to jump in real quick and let you know about an important change that is happening. As some of you know, I am Arab American, and watching the violence unfold in the Gaza region the past several weeks has been completely devastating and heartbreaking. I know it can feel like there's nothing you can do to end the violence or support the victims, but that is not true.
And one thing I have decided to do is donate a 100% of the proceeds of the profits from the next round of the Not Your Average Productivity Course to The Palestine Children's Relief Fund. This organization has a long standing history supporting Palestinian children. I will leave a link in the show notes to their web page if you want to learn more about them. They are on the ground right now providing urgent and immediate medical supports and other services to children in need impacted by the violence and by displacement.
So if you've been thinking about joining the Not Your Average Productivity Course, now is the time. Your registration fee will be donated to this organization to provide immediate and urgent humanitarian aid to the children in the region. And if for any reason you are unable to join, it's not the right time, you can't afford it, you can still support this effort by sharing with your network, posting on LinkedIn, sharing with your colleagues so more people can find out.
My goal is to sell out this course, which would raise about $5,000 to support these efforts. So please help me in achieving this goal and register for the course, which we'll leave a link in the show notes or share out with your network.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me or message me on social media, on LinkedIn, on Instagram, and I'm happy to respond and answer them. So with that, let's get into this week's episode.
Hi, everyone. How’s it going? Are you getting your Halloween costume together? I love Halloween, personally. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve really dressed up and gone out. I’m hoping we do that this year. And maybe if you have kids, you’re getting their costumes together. I just love this time of year personally. But today is not about that at all. This is actually going to be a slightly different style podcast episode.
I’m going to be sharing about the Not Your Average Productivity course that starts November 13th. I’m going to be telling you who it’s for, who it’s not for, what it can help you with, what’s included. And the best part you’re going to hear directly from Sarah and Vicki, two women who took the course last time I offered it. And they’re going to share why they signed up, what they got out of it and their experience and more. Now, if you’re like, “No, I have no interest in hearing about this course or from the participants.” Totally fine you can absolutely skip this week’s episode.
But if you struggle with productivity or stress or having too high of a workload, then I want you to listen. Or if you’ve been considering thinking about joining the course, you were around when the first time I offered it and you didn’t join, but you’ve continued to think about joining. I want you to stick around because I want to make sure you have as much information as possible to make an informed decision if this course is right for you. Because the truth is it’s not right for everyone.
I would not recommend this course for everyone. It’s not a one shoe fits all, one size fits all, whatever that saying is. It’s specific to some concrete issues that are addressed in the course. And if you’re not struggling with those things, I don’t want you to waste your time and money. So here’s how it’s going to work. I’m going to share a little bit upfront about what the course is about and what’s included. And then we’re going to jump into the conversation with Sarah and Vicki. And then I’m going to wrap up after that with giving you the logistical details.
Let’s first touch on what you’re going to learn in the Not Your Average Productivity course and actually why I created this course. This course has come out of working with women in public health on these topics for a couple years now. I was sitting down and I was really thinking about what are some of the common themes that I have seen with my one-on-one clients. Women just like you in public health with what they’re struggling with productivity and stress and rest.
And I kind of took the core pieces, the essential pieces you need to know in order to get help (a) being more productive but (b) not from a hustly place. To have more time to reduce your stress and get more rest. I took the foundational pieces that my one-on-one clients learn that they have told me have helped them the most. And I packaged them into this five week class so you can get the most out of that time. And one of the things, actually recently I did a survey, some of you might have taken it, the women in public health stress survey.
And one of the trends I was seeing that informed doing this course again. Because if you remember when I first launched this course, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do it again, and that was the honest truth. One of the things that really helped me decide to launch it again, beyond the feedback from people in the course, like Vicki and Sarah, who you’re going to hear from in a little bit. Because their feedback, what they were getting out of initially was, oh, my gosh, I have to offer this again. There are so many other people who need this if this is how impactful it is for these people.
But the second piece that kind of reinforced it was some of the information I gathered from the survey. And I conducted the survey to really see where you all are at. What you’re struggling with. What’s creating your stress? What you want to change in 2024. And one of the overwhelming things that I saw from that survey was one of the biggest challenges is your workload, the volume of work. And one of the things that’s impacting the most is your time, is your ability to have time to do the things you want to do like hobbies or spend time with family.
So those two things combined, what the participants shared with me, how it was helping them and the results of that survey have really prompted me to offer this one more time before the end of 2023. So in the course, you’re going to learn, as I said, some of the key strategies, tools I teach my clients. And you’re going to get one-on-one support from me to start to reduce your stress, to start to create more time. And if you want to get really motivated to work on some personal goals or hobbies.
The topics of the course include redefining productivity, reducing overwhelm, creating motivation, goal setting and the guilt of rest. Now, you might not feel like you need help with all of these five areas but they will all help you. Maybe you don’t feel like you need a week on goal setting, that’s fine. But if you’re struggling with motivating yourself, I want you to come join this course. Maybe you always get stuck in overwhelm, but motivation itself isn’t necessarily the issue. That’s okay, this course is still going to help you.
Some of the participants last round found that the guilt of rest week was actually the most helpful. While others found actually, redefining productivity was the most helpful. That’s the best part of this being a five week course and you getting the combination of the worksheets, the videos, the coaching which I’ll share more about in the logistics piece. Because it can really be tailored to what is most important and most helpful for you for you to walk away with.
Here are some of the common problems that other women who have taken the course have worked on. Procrastinating while working on projects. Dealing with frequent interruptions. Feeling guilty for saying no or stepping down from a responsibility. Struggling to take time off or to balance work and family. So this course is for you.
This is the only really hardline requirement I would say is this course is specifically for people who identify as a woman or someone who has been socialized as a woman. This is a requirement, probably the only hard requirement. And socialized as a woman means even if you don’t identify as a woman now, at one point in your life the people around you, society treated you, socialized you as a girl or a woman. Because you absorbed and internalized the same messages that this course covers that come from the patriarchy.
Now, the other piece of who this is for, it’s really designed for people who work full or part-time in public health or another related helping profession. So if you’re a full-time student, if you’re a stay at home parent, this is really not for you. As far as working in public health or helping profession, there’s a lot of space there. I hear from so many people who reach out, “I love the podcast, but I don’t think I can join coaching or the course because I work in this field or this field.” Public health is so big, you all, and helping professions are also so big.
If you listened to an episode a couple of months ago with my client, Chelle, she was in veterinarian medicine. But actually so much of her work was public health. It was more ecosystem level one, health prevention. So if that’s you and that’s what’s holding you back. I don’t want it to. You’ll actually hear from Sarah. She was a teacher for 20 years. But she joined the course because no matter what helping profession you’re in, you absorb some of the same messages. We have a lot of the same challenges.
This is really a course for those of you which I think describes almost everyone in public health who are go-getters and high achievers. But you’re just feeling overwhelmed, you’re overworking, you’re struggling balancing it all. And as I said before, this is really not for you if you’re a full-time student.
And also if you’re looking for a calendar system, a course that provides organizational tools, project management tools, actual tactical tools, this is not the course for you. I don’t include calendar tips or an organizational system for you to follow. There are other courses out there for that. You are welcome to go find them. I just want to make it clear that is not what this course is. That’s one of the main ways this course is different from other productivity resources but there’s a few others as well that are really important.
First, this course really focuses on increasing productivity or using productivity to prioritize yourself and your rest, not to hustle more, not to do more just to do more sake. And second, this course focuses on understanding how hustle culture and the patriarchy impact your approach to productivity, impact why you’re struggling to balance work and life, why you’re neglecting your personal goals, why you struggle to rest.
And the last thing I want to share before we hear from Sarah and Vicki is what you can expect to achieve by the end of the course if you take it. I’m not going to sit here and say, “By the end of the five weeks, you’ll completely eliminate your burnout.” No, that’s not realistic. But you are going to make progress on learning what’s in your way of reducing your stress or working less or having more time and make progress on addressing that.
You will be able to take what you’re learning in the course and continue that work after the course. For some people during the five weeks it helped them to ask for more help or step down from a committee or give themselves grace to rest or delegate more. And having the one-on-one coaching as you’ll hear from both Sarah and Vicki in just a second, really helps tailor your progress, your goals, your changes, your growth to what you want and what you need.
So let’s go ahead and hear from Sarah and Vicki a little bit about their experience. I know it’s one thing to hear from me, the person who created and teaches the course. It’s a totally different thing to hear from folks who have gone through it as students. So I want you to hear from them. And then we’ll come back and I’ll share the logistical details of exactly what is included, when it starts, how to register, all that stuff.
Marissa: Can you share your name and why you wanted to sign up for the Not Your Average Productivity course?
Sarah: I’m Sarah and I signed up for the Not Your Average Productivity course because I was noticing some dissonance between the hustle that I was putting on myself and then openness, discover what you want, that I was offering to the humans that I coach. And I’m like, “Hey, wait a second. I might need some tools here.” Because it’s one thing to know it, it’s another thing to do it.
And I listened to the podcast for a while and had interactions with you that just told me you were the person to go to, to kind of unlock my brain around the letting go of hustle culture. And not necessarily being less productive, which is kind of the really fun piece that came out of this.
Vicki: So my name is Vicki. And I wanted to sign up to the course because, well, several reasons. First of all, I’ve done a course, one of Marissa’s courses before, the How the Patriarchy Robs you of Your Rest. And I really liked that. So as soon as I saw another course come up, I was like, “Yes, let’s get in there.” Secondly, it’s really good value for money and she’s not told me to say that. But I would really like to do a proper big coaching course but I haven’t been able to afford it. So these are just really good little bite sized things that I can afford to do.
And the third reason is I was absolutely in over my head with a lot of work and the moment I saw it was a course on productivity and rest, I thought it was just the perfect time to do it.
Marissa: Yes, I did not pay her to say that. That’s why I do some of these courses because I know the financial cost of one-on-one coaching isn’t accessible to everyone. So I’m glad because that’s part of the goal of these courses. So, Sarah, you were in a helping profession for a long time. Did that inform kind of wanting to take this course and get out of that hustle space?
Sarah: 100%, because I was already kind of on the journey of unlocking some of the don’t listen to your body, don’t say what you need sort of rhetoric that I had fully adopted. It was in my brain but not paying rent, and I didn’t put it there. So I was ready to get that out. But yeah, even though I wasn’t in the medical field, it was very aligned with what you describe in terms of just the expectations to be the martyr, don’t speak up and everybody else comes first and all that. But it really was never without a cost.
And once I started to unravel that I was like, “I’m actually a better teacher/coach/advocate, whatever role I’m in at the time. If I am listening to myself and even daring to model having different expectations of myself for the people that I work with.
Marissa: I love that. So for our listeners, what was the best part of the course for you and why? So they have a little sneak peek into the course.
Sarah: Oh, gosh, I know. I knew this question was coming and I’m like, “I’ll be prepared with an answer.” And then you ask, I’m like, “Maybe not.” Because it’s hard to evaluate what was best. It was kind of what I needed at the time. I’ve certainly rewatched a couple of the videos that are part of the course. The guilt of rest is really what resonated a lot with me.
And my brain enjoyed the historical perspective. It just kind of neutralized why I got to where I am in terms of maybe this isn’t me being terrible to myself. Maybe this is me reacting to all the messaging that I’ve gotten. And now I have to do really uncomfortable hard work, with your help, of identifying what’s in there and what I want to let go.
Vicki: For me, the best part of this course and the previous course that I did, has always been the coaching sessions because again, they’re such good value for money. And it’s just there’s something about one-to-one coaching that’s actually when you speak to a person that’s just so much more helpful than coaching yourself, although of course that’s great. But sitting there and trying to sort through your own thoughts without an external set of eyes or an external voice can be really hard.
And there was definitely a couple of times on the course where I thought I had my brain figured out and Marissa came in and said, “Have you thought it might be this?” And I realized, yes, it’s definitely that. And I’d never have come to that conclusion on my own. So I think the coaching sessions are just invaluable. Love it.
Marissa: And throughout the course, it’s only five weeks, but did you have any aha moments or shifts or changes you got out of those five weeks, you want to share with folks listening?
Vicki: It was probably one of those that I just mentioned actually. There was a point where we were talking about something and I was convinced that my brain was worried it was going to last forever. And then Marissa suggested it was more about the uncertainty. And I’ve had a sudden realization of how much I dislike uncertainty, which I think is quite common. There was something else today that was going on that made me think about that as well.
So I think for me it was the moment I realized how uncomfortable my brain is with uncertainty and where I’m going to go with that going forward.
Marissa: Yeah, and that’s a good example of why the one-on-one coaching is so helpful in a course because that’s so specific to where you’re at to be able to uncover that.
Sarah: And another thing that you told me in a coaching session which change is uncomfortable. But in terms of, I’m not failing if this feels really bumpy or I’m not doing anything wrong or I’m not, not trying hard enough. If I feel super uncomfortable when I try to rest or as I’m making these changes. That was a huge takeaway. And I wish that it was like Marissa taught me the magic bullet and everything’s clear.
But you taught me to at least kind of embrace that the process is going to be bumpy and that that’s okay. Some days it’s easier to be in that head space than others. But just noticing the discomfort and kind of allowing it.
Marissa: And the last question I have for you is, if there’s people listening who might be interested in this course and curious about it and wondering if it’s right for them and on the fence. What would you tell someone who’s thinking about joining from your experience going through it?
Sarah: I was very human and you were so there for it. So I actually signed up right about when I was having to do a very fast move of my small farm and my home gym and all the things. So I knew that the treadmill was going to be on full blast and that I would show up for my coaching sessions, but I wouldn’t be able to week-by-week follow the course. So if that’s kind of your objection of I can’t do it perfectly, you don’t need to.
I actually found a lot of value in doing, once I finally had, I think it was about week three where my brain had settled enough to let me see that indeed I did have time to watch the course. And maybe it was when I was going for a walk or doing my makeup or things that were already happening. So there was a bit of a, hey, brain, actually there are opportunities, moment for me. But once I kind of had that, it actually worked for me to batch them. So I would do two lessons and then kind of think about it.
And so that was a piece that I think people who are on the fence or maybe are like, “I don’t know. Life’s not perfect right now for this to fit in.” It really didn’t have to be. And it seemed kind of not frivolous but possibly irresponsible to be like, “Hey, I’m having this big life change and also I’m going to invest money in something that doesn’t have to happen.”
But I really just trusted my gut. I read the emails. I felt like, okay, this is speaking to me. And you delivered. It was what you said it would be. And I can see how on the back side of being on the course now, how it’s going to shake up my thinking for a long time and I think that’s the power for me.
Vicki: I would say go for it. If you’ve got the money to spare and you can go for it, don’t bankrupt yourself, but it’s really worth the money. If you’re thinking, I know I saw a lot of your stuff previously about people saying, “I don’t have time for it”, and stuff. And I genuinely would agree with you. If you don’t have time for it this is the perfect time to sign up for it, make the time for it, find it. Because. It will help, it just helps having that.
And it’s almost easier than signing up to regular one-to-one coaching because you know it’s a finite amount of time. So you know, I’ve got five weeks to really focus on this and yeah, you might not get everything in. I’m not going to lie. There’s still a video I need to watch from this one. But you can do it in your own time apart from the coaching sessions. But you can fix those to a time that’s suitable to you and Marissa’s really flexible. So if it turns out not to be right for you at that time, you can change it. So I would just say if you’ve got the money, go for it because it will really, really help you.
Marissa: Yes, I love that. So thank you so much for coming on and sharing your experience. I know it will really help folks who are considering it on the fence just to get an insider’s perspective, that’s not mine, someone who’s actually gone through it. Thank you so much.
Okay, so if after listening to Sarah and Vicki, you’re like, “I think I really want to join. I think this might help me.” Here are the details you need to know. The course starts the week of November 13th and goes through December 15th. I know this is during a lot of people’s holiday season. I did that on purpose. It wasn’t an accident. Your brain is going to want to use that as an excuse. Yeah, you’re too busy, you can’t. No. Just as Vicki shared, that is the best time to join, when you are busy. That’s when you need the support the most.
You would not hire a plumber if you didn’t have a leak. The same thing here. So the week before the course starts, the week of November 6th, you’re going to have a 30 minute one-on-one orientation call with me. This isn’t a coaching call. This is for us to get to know one another, go over what you want to achieve, where you’re struggling.
And this is new, I did not do this last time. But based on participant feedback and based on my observation going through the course, I realized it would have been really, really helpful to have just a touch in before we start the course before coaching. So you and I can get to know one another. I have a better idea of what you’re struggling with. You know me a little bit better. So the one-on-one coaching sessions can be even more impactful, we can even go deeper and make sure you achieve the changes you really want to change in the timeframe.
So every week you’re going to get weekly course videos. And then every other week you’ll have one-on-one coaching with me. So every single week you’ll get those course videos. Three of the five weeks you’ll have one-on-one coaching with me scheduled at the time you have available. So it’s based on your schedule. And as Vicki shared, I’m very flexible, so if things come up, don’t worry about that.
And then in between the coaching sessions, you’ll have implementation worksheets. And don’t worry for those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, there won’t be any coaching calls that week. This is only $500. As Vicki said, it is a real steal compared to my one-on-one coaching services tend to be around $5,000/$6,000. So I really created this to make a coaching resource that included actual one-on-one coaching, more financially accessible to more people. So you have access to get support.
And the time commitment. It’s only five weeks long, which is very different than committing to a three, six month coaching program. And the per week time commitment varies depending on the week. Some weeks it might be 30 minutes, some weeks it might be 90 minutes. But most of the work is flexible to your schedule. As you heard from Sarah, she listened to some of the videos on a walk or doing her makeup. You can determine when to watch the videos, when to do the worksheets. And you schedule your one-on-one calls with me based on when you have availability.
So I want to make one thing clear before we wrap up here. This is not a group course. I know that can be a little confusing. You get the weekly materials, the videos, the worksheets delivered to your email. And then all the coaching is private one-on-one with me. So you don’t have to worry about sharing what you’re struggling with, with other people in public health. It’s just you and me.
This is the last time I’m offering this course this year. I may offer it again in 2024. I’m definitely going to offer a course. I’m not sure if it’s this one or going to be a different one. But as I said, I did the women in public health stress survey and one of the most common things you all struggle with is the workload and productivity. So if it’s not this specific course, I will offer another course some time in 2024, the same topic area. I’m just not sure which one. Just so you know.
So if you are having knee surgery, now is probably not a good time to do this course. You can totally wait till 2024 and see what course we offer next year. If your brain’s saying, “I can’t do this course now because of the holidays, because I have a big work project.” No, that’s why you should do the course. This course will help you get through that busy period. So registration is open right now. You can go to mckoolcoaching.com/courses and sign up. We’ll leave a link in the show notes. And it’s open until November 5th.
If you’re worried or concerned or have questions about the time zone for the coaching calls, maybe you live outside of North America, the US, just reach out to me info@mckoolcoaching.com and we can see if we can make that work. I had someone take the course last round who lived in Malaysia and we were able to make it work. So if I can, I will do it, but if I have to get up at 4:00am, probably not happening, so reach out to me and we can talk about it.
If there are any other questions I did not answer here, please email me and ask info@mckoolcoaching.com. We’ll leave a link in the show notes. I really hope to see you in this course so we can get you set up to start reducing your stress so that once the new year happens, which is right around the corner, you all. When 2024 hits, you are positioned to not be overworking or stressed or putting yourself last next year. And the remainder of this year, you’ll start to feel better and have some more time and go through the hectic holiday season with more ease than the past years.
With that you all, I hope this was helpful. Thank you Sarah and Vicki again for coming on the podcast and sharing with everyone listening, your experience, and I’ll talk to everyone next week. Bye.
If you found this episode helpful then you have to check out my coaching program where I provide you individualized support to create a life centered around rest. Head on over to mckoolcoaching.com, that’s M-C-K-O-O-L coaching.com to learn more.
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