152. Task or Project? Why Your To-Do List Feels Impossible

Send me a message!🤓Being busy all day and still ending up with nothing finished is one of the most common frustrations I hear from students and professionals. The cause is usually simpler than people expect: they’re treating tasks and projects as if they were the same thing.In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I explain what separates a task from a project, how they connect, and the two questions you can ask to tell which one you’re looking at.When your daily list has only tasks (no projects!), you finally know where to start, you get to cross things off, and your big projects start moving forward.What You LearnWhy smart, successful, hardworking people still mix up tasks and projects (and why it has nothing to do with intelligence)The two-question test that tells you whether you’re dealing with a task or a projectThe two kinds of tasks, and the one idea about projects that changes how you plan your dayWhat belongs on your daily to-do list (and where your projects should live instead)Three common traps, including “the later lie,” that keep projects from moving forward🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 5: Secrets of a Good Task Management SystemEpisode 17: Tips for Project Management and Planning Study SessionsEpisode 48: Task Management Tips and the #1 Skill for Career Success (Q&A)Episode 69: Top 10 Executive Function Skills You Need in the Real WorldEpisode 131: Why We Know What to Do But Still Don’t Do ItEpisode 150: Why Smart Students Hit a Wall (Compensation Strategies That Stop Working)Submit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterest Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓One week you like your job, and the next week you can’t stand it. Or your job is good enough, but a business idea keeps pulling at you. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I answer two questions from working professionals who are each trying to make a decision from a place of uncertainty.Question 1: What do you do when you love your job one week and want to quit the next?Question 2: How do you know if it’s the right time to leave a good job and go all in on a business idea?As with all my Q&A episodes, the value lies in hearing answers to other people’s questions that you didn’t even know you had.What You Learn:Why the real source of your work frustration might have nothing to do with your jobA simple data experiment to figure out what separates your good weeks from your bad onesThe two systems that cause the most overwhelm when they’re missing (at work AND at school)How to put guardrails in place when you feel a rough week comingThe math to do before you quit your job to start a businessHow I built SchoolHabits while working full time, and what finally made me take the leapWhy you need a personal “board of directors” before making a big career move🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 12: How to Know If Your Productivity Systems Are BrokenEpisode 139: The 5 Hardest Lessons I Learned in EntrepreneurshipEpisode 146: Bored at Work, and Dealing with Lazy Colleagues (Q&A)Episode 49: How to Make Better Decisions, FasterSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterest Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓Did you breeze through school without studying? Write papers the night before and still get glowing comments? Get called bright, gifted, a natural, and believe it?Then something changed. Maybe it was freshman year of college, maybe your first job, maybe a promotion. Suddenly everything that used to work totally tanked.In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I’m talking about the expiration date on being smart. You’ll hear about a straight-A student who was failing a college class by mid-October, the compensation strategies smart students rely on without even knowing it, and why those strategies always hit a ceiling.If you’re a student, a working professional, or a parent with a teen who’s getting by on brains alone, this one will change how you look at the struggle. It was never about intelligence. It’s about skills, and skills can be learned at any age.What You LearnWhat compensation strategies are, and why smart students are so good at themThe five workarounds bright students lean on without knowing itWhy these strategies work great right up until the day they don’tHow to spot when your own strategies expired (college, work, promotion, or parenthood)The hidden cost of learning these skills at 35 instead of 13The question every parent of a teen who’s “doing great” should askWhat actually replaces memory, adrenaline, and charm🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 104: Why Your Study System Stopped WorkingEpisode 149: Eff itEpisode 136: Productivity Tools Are UselessSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebook Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓This episode is unlike any of the others that I've done. I basically just sat down in front of the mic and gave you a peek inside my own mental chatter. If you're keen to listen in on the wild conversations I have with myself, this one's for you.Don't worry, I don't drop the F-bomb in this episode, although that is 1,000% the energy I've been feeling lately. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I share a realization that I think I've always had deep inside, but only recently has it landed completely. This episode is for you if you've been holding back, hesitating, or been scared to do the thing. My advice to you is: F it. Life is too short.What You LearnThe surprising inner voice that pushed me to pitch myself to one of the world’s top ADHD experts (again)Why the “logical” voice in your head might be the one holding you backThe question my dad asked me my entire life, and why I now see it as a giftHow a professor’s nudge in college turned into one of my greatest achievementsThe important boundary on “F it” thinking that only you can setWhat a college applicant and a burned-out professional taught me about fear and doubt🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 84: How to Fail SmarterSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterestGot your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓The thing about myths is they’re hard to get rid of. Even when we know they’re myths, we still sometimes fall for them.In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I’m debunking the five note-taking myths that I have seen nearly every student I’ve worked with fall for at some point.What makes these note-taking myths so tricky is that, on the surface, they seem like smart ideas, but I assure you, they’re making school a lot harder than it needs to be.What You Learn:Why writing down everything your teacher says can leave you with pages of notes and almost no understandingWhat happens to your learning when an app takes your notes for you (and the few situations where a transcript can help)Whether typing or handwriting your notes is better, and what the research saysWhy copying the slides word for word makes you miss the most important part of classThe 24-hour window that decides whether your notes will make sense later, and why “I’ll clean them up later” rarely happensHow to use your notes throughout a unit so the night before the test doesn’t feel like seeing the material for the first time🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 91: Why “I’ll Remember That” Is a LieEpisode 145: Your Shortcuts Are Making Things HarderMueller & Oppenheimer (2014), The Pen Is Mightier Than the KeyboardThe Ebbinghaus Forgetting CurveSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeSubscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterestGot your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓Most of us know the obvious pros and cons of various work environments. If you work in an office, you have a clear separation of personal and professional life. Working remotely means you can wear your comfy pants during all your Zoom calls. And hybrid essentially means you get to do what you want.But there's a lot more to each of these work environments than meets the eye.In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I'm diving deep into the lesser-talked-about pros and cons of each workplace setup, as well as the hidden skills required to thrive in each environment. This episode is important because each of the three environments requires an invisible skill set that has nothing to do with your actual job, and lacking that skill set can make everything harder than it needs to be.What You Learn:The real pros and cons of working in the office, from home, and in a hybrid setup (including a few downsides you've probably never considered)The executive function skills each work environment requires, and why almost nobody connects their skills to where they workWhy choosing a work environment that doesn't match your skill set can tank your productivity and make you dread your jobWhat context switching does to your focus, and how to avoid itThe biggest mistake hybrid workers make when planning their week, and how to get the best of both environments instead of the worstThe question almost no one asks before choosing a work environment, and how to tell if your struggles at work come down to a missing skill🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 16: How to Set Up Your Ideal Work or Study SpaceEpisode 77: Time BlockingEpisode 93: The Five-Minute Startup and Shutdown RoutineEpisode 95: Why You Always Think Things Will Take Less Time Than They Do (Time Estimation)Episode 140: The Secret Code at School and WorkSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterest Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓Falling out of love with your job and dealing with unmotivated colleagues can make your workday long and have you questioning your career. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I answer two questions submitted by listeners who are dealing with those exact issues. Question 1: How to make work interesting again when it's getting boring.Question 2: How to handle a work environment when your younger colleagues don't take any initiative.As with all my Q&A episodes, the value lies in hearing answers to other people's questions that you didn't even know you had.What You LearnWhy losing motivation at a job you like (and are good at) might have nothing to do with the job itselfThe sneaky way being good at your job can drain your investment in it, and how to get that spark backA research-backed method for reshaping your job from the inside, without changing your title, your company, or your roleWhat's really going on with coworkers who "do what they're asked, but only when they're asked," and the executive function skill behind itSimple ways to build initiative in the people around you, even if you're not their managerHow to protect your own motivation when the people around you are dragging it down🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 38: How to Be a Resourceful Person Who Can Figure Things OutEpisode 52: SOPs and Workflows: How to Create & Use Them to Increase ProductivityJob Crafting: https://www.aapa.org/news-central/2018/01/job-crafting-make-the-most-of-your-current-position/Submit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterest Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓Using AI to avoid reading the book. Getting homework answers from a friend just to get the check mark. Building complex automation agents that take weeks to set up and generate data you never actually look at.These are the kinds of shortcuts that feel smart in the moment — and completely backfire every single time.In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I'm making the case that the shortcut you're working so hard to find has been right in front of you the whole time. It's the work. It has always been the work.What You LearnWhy the students who try the hardest to bypass the work end up doing more work and getting worse resultsThe real cost of taking shortcuts that goes way beyond a bad grade or a missed deadlineThe critical difference between a shortcut that supports your work and one that replaces it — and why confusing the two is a total disasterWhat to ask yourself the next time that voice in your head says, "There has to be an easier way"Why doing the hard thing is never about the hard thing itself, and how most students miss the entire point of it all 🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 54: The Secret Ingredient Behind Every Accomplishment EverSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterest Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓Automated AI agents that let you nap while your work is done for you, the latest project management software that promises you'll never be overwhelmed again... color-coded email inboxes with rules that drag every new message into its own folder so you'll never have to deal with another message.Ugh. These are some of the things that are sold to us as productivity strategies.  But really, what's sold to us as the latest and greatest often makes everything worse. In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I'm sharing three productivity traps that even smart people fall for. No shame if you're doing one or all three. I'm telling you... the industry is brilliant at convincing us these are the right things to do. But by the end of this episode, you'll know what these traps are and what to do instead.What You Learn:Why these productivity traps are so easy to fall for (and why it's not your fault that you do)The truth about getting organized that can totally backfire and make things worseWhy tools that claim to revolutionize your productivity are mostly a crock of junkThe sneaky way that planning your time can make you feel even more overwhelmed than you did before The best productivity methods that go against all the traps🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 3: How to Use An Admin BlockEpisode 12: How to Know If Your Systems Are BrokenEpisode 136: Your Productivity Tools Are UselessEpisode 143: 3 Power Moves of Productive PeopleSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterest Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

Send me a message!🤓Productive people aren't productive by accident. Their ability to get the right things done on time – without burning out – is a result of a few particular actions they take every day.In this quick, strategy-packed episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I share three productive power moves of people who get things done. The power moves are for students and professionals, and anyone who's sick of feeling busy at the end of the day but knows deep down they didn't spend time on the right things.What You Learn:The number one thing you can do before you start work for the day that all but guarantees you'll get the right tasks doneThe impact of your environment on your productivity, and tips for setting up your space to support your focusWhat productive people NEVER let rule their day, even though it's tempting and most people do it.🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com)⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com)⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com)⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Become a Motivated, Self-Directed StudentEpisode websiteEpisode 55: How to Use Body DoublingEpisode 77: How to Use Time Blocking for Better Focus and ProductivityEpisode 94: Simplifying Task Management and Staying Productive Despite Disruptions (Q&A)Episode 05: Secrets of a Good Task Management SystemSubmit a question to the showFree weekly planner (Free download)❤️ Connect:Subscribe on YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebookPinterestGot your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!LET'S CONNECTSign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.