2997: How Do You Balance Productivity and Creativity? by Tyler Tervooren of Riskology on Choosing Happiness

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting. They can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:25] So press play on Good Sleep Tonight, because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app, and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:39] This is Optimal Finance Daily. How Do You Balance Productivity and Creativity? By Tyler Tervooren of Riskology.co

[00:00:51] What's that? I ask myself as I pour over my timesheets. I'm making hundreds of dollars an hour doing this, but only a few dollars per hour doing that? This is my new hobby. Figuring out how much money the different things I do make over time. I use a timer to track and record each of my business tasks, so that every so often, I can look back and see what work is most productive for my bank account.

[00:01:17] But just as interesting as peeking at the inner workings of my business is the effect it's had on other areas of my life. Unfortunately, it hasn't been great. The more I increase my hourly wage, the more irritable and stressed I am when I feel like I'm using my time unproductively.

[00:01:36] Not just at work. Everywhere. Watching a movie with my wife? Wasted time. Taking the dogs out? Wasted time. Driving into town to see friends? Wasted time.

[00:01:50] When you're working to increase your income? When you're working to increase your income, there are trade-offs to make. You don't get to just snap your fingers and make more money. But what I didn't realize as I started this experiment is that I was falling into a subconscious trap. Putting a dollar value on every hour, even if those hours shouldn't be compared. Ever felt like you were in the same trap? The more you earned, the more stressed out you became? It's supposed to be the opposite.

[00:02:16] You're not alone, though. Here are some ideas to solve the problem.

[00:02:21] How big paychecks stress you out.

[00:02:24] When people talk about stress related to money, they usually mean they don't have enough.

[00:02:29] But according to a simple but intriguing study, the opposite can also be true.

[00:02:35] The more money you make, the more likely you'll experience stress and anxiety.

[00:02:40] It sounds strange, but it makes sense when you consider how hard your brain works to create patterns, even when they don't exist.

[00:02:48] Without careful attention to how you train yourself to look at money and time, your brain struggles to distinguish between hours spent doing different stuff.

[00:02:58] Thinking about work, doing work, or thinking about and doing fun, non-work related things.

[00:03:04] Once you've focused yourself on your hourly wage, you'll be focused on it whether you're toiling at some difficult task or watching a sunset.

[00:03:13] You measure your return on dollars per hour.

[00:03:17] Is watching this sunset going to make me $100 an hour?

[00:03:21] No?

[00:03:22] Back to work.

[00:03:23] Where creativity comes from.

[00:03:25] The problem, of course, is that there are things that help you work your best and are very valuable.

[00:03:32] Relationships, downtime, sunset watching.

[00:03:35] But can't be measured with money.

[00:03:37] They inspire creativity and actually make your work more valuable.

[00:03:42] To understand the concept better, just ask yourself.

[00:03:45] Will a painter create their best work doing nothing but mastering brush strokes?

[00:03:50] Or do they need to spend time thinking about the purpose behind the strokes too?

[00:03:55] Or will an accountant do better work by editing spreadsheets all day?

[00:04:00] Or do they also need to spend time better understanding their clients?

[00:04:04] In both cases, you get paid for one task.

[00:04:07] But it's the other that makes you more creative and allows you to do that task better.

[00:04:14] Restructure your work for more money and creativity.

[00:04:17] I've learned for myself that if I want to make more money,

[00:04:20] I definitely need to pay attention to where my time is spent.

[00:04:23] I have to optimize for my most productive tasks.

[00:04:28] But I also need to do a few things to make sure my creativity and happiness doesn't plummet as a result.

[00:04:34] It's hard to get this right.

[00:04:35] But here are two things that are working for me right now.

[00:04:39] Number one, only track work hours.

[00:04:42] To do this, you first have to set some.

[00:04:45] Easier said than done when you work for yourself.

[00:04:48] For me, it's critically important to set my hours and hold myself to them

[00:04:53] by not letting work slip into time that should be reserved for other things.

[00:04:58] The separation also keeps my pattern-seeking brain

[00:05:01] from trying to squeeze productivity out of time that shouldn't be optimized for that.

[00:05:07] And number two, schedule downtime in your day.

[00:05:11] Whatever work hours you set for yourself,

[00:05:14] make sure you take frequent breaks to allow variety in your schedule.

[00:05:18] For me, this is a morning exercise session,

[00:05:21] a quick walk with the dogs,

[00:05:23] and a break to run errands in the afternoon.

[00:05:25] This makes sure I take time during the day to think about work and not just do it.

[00:05:31] Stepping back and looking at your work as a whole drives creativity.

[00:05:35] It helps you get out of your routine for a moment and look at the bigger picture.

[00:05:40] You see opportunities that you won't see when you have your head down doing the work.

[00:05:45] This issue is far from settled,

[00:05:48] and it's something I'm actively working to understand better and improve at.

[00:05:52] I'll report more as I learn more.

[00:05:58] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:06:01] How do you balance productivity and creativity?

[00:06:04] By Tyler Tervorin of Riskology.co

[00:06:08] I know we've all been there,

[00:06:10] setting those ambitious New Year's resolutions.

[00:06:12] By mid-January, most of us have already given up.

[00:06:15] But what if I told you there's one financial resolution

[00:06:18] you could actually stick to because it happens automatically?

[00:06:22] Well, today's episode is sponsored by Acorns.

[00:06:25] And Acorns makes it easy to start automatically saving and investing

[00:06:29] so your money has a chance to grow for you,

[00:06:32] your kids,

[00:06:32] and your retirement.

[00:06:34] You don't need to be an expert.

[00:06:36] Acorns will recommend a diversified portfolio that fits you and your money goals.

[00:06:40] You don't need to be rich.

[00:06:42] Acorns lets you invest with spare money you've got right now.

[00:06:45] You can start with $5 or even just your spare change.

[00:06:49] Acorns is great because this type of automation

[00:06:51] is exactly what we talk about on this show.

[00:06:54] Head to acorns.com slash OFD or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today.

[00:07:02] Paid non-client endorsement.

[00:07:04] Compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns.

[00:07:08] Tier 1 compensation provided.

[00:07:09] Investing involves a risk.

[00:07:11] Acorns advisors,

[00:07:12] Acorns advisors,

[00:07:12] Acorns advisors,

[00:07:13] an SEC registered investment advisor.

[00:07:15] View important disclosures at acorns.com slash OFD.

[00:07:20] You sign up for something,

[00:07:22] forget about it after the trial period ends,

[00:07:24] then you're charged month after month after month.

[00:07:27] The subscriptions are there,

[00:07:29] but you're not using them.

[00:07:31] In fact,

[00:07:31] I just learned that 85% of people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month.

[00:07:37] Thanks to Rocket Money,

[00:07:39] you can see all of your subscriptions in one place

[00:07:41] and cancel the ones you're not using anymore,

[00:07:43] saving more money.

[00:07:45] Rocket Money is a personal finance app

[00:07:47] that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions,

[00:07:50] monitors your spending,

[00:07:51] and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings.

[00:07:54] The app automatically scans your bills to find savings opportunities

[00:07:58] and will even negotiate with service providers on your behalf.

[00:08:02] No more waiting on hold.

[00:08:04] And their new goals feature makes saving automatic

[00:08:07] perfect for building an emergency fund or saving for a house.

[00:08:10] Cancel your unwanted subscriptions

[00:08:12] and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money.

[00:08:16] Go to rocketmoney.com slash OFD today.

[00:08:19] That's rocketmoney.com slash OFD.

[00:08:23] Rocketmoney.com slash OFD.

[00:08:26] In general,

[00:08:27] I think the concept of valuing your time makes sense.

[00:08:30] It could encourage you to outsource more

[00:08:33] and not try to do everything yourself.

[00:08:34] But I try to be careful about not spending time

[00:08:38] on anything I would consider low-level work.

[00:08:42] For example,

[00:08:43] I've wrestled with the idea of hiring someone to clean my house.

[00:08:47] On the one hand,

[00:08:48] outsourcing it would make sure it gets done

[00:08:51] as cleaning tends to be at the bottom of my list of priorities.

[00:08:54] But on the other hand,

[00:08:56] I see value in doing it myself.

[00:08:59] Scrubbing toilets keeps me humble.

[00:09:01] And I think it's good to remind myself that I can be self-sufficient.

[00:09:05] But also,

[00:09:06] it's a physical activity.

[00:09:08] It gives me time away from looking at a screen.

[00:09:11] And it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

[00:09:14] Sometimes when I'm not motivated

[00:09:15] to do challenging intellectual or creative tasks,

[00:09:19] cleaning helps me get unstuck.

[00:09:21] It's an easy way to get that gold star feeling of accomplishing something.

[00:09:26] There's also a feeling of synergy for me.

[00:09:29] When I clean and tidy up my physical environment,

[00:09:32] it reflects on my inner environment.

[00:09:35] I don't get that same feeling when someone else cleans for me.

[00:09:39] Finally,

[00:09:40] taking a break from creative or challenging work

[00:09:42] to do something like cleaning

[00:09:43] helps me rest my mind

[00:09:46] and result in doing a better job

[00:09:48] when I'm back in front of my computer.

[00:09:50] But that should do it for today.

[00:09:52] Thank you so much for joining today and every day.

[00:09:55] And I'll see you back here tomorrow

[00:09:56] where your optimal life awaits.