We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lisa Zawrotny. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lisa below.

Lisa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

When I first began productivity coaching, the industry was saturated with a focus on efficiency and doing more in less time. This mindset from my peers coupled with the societal norm of glamorizing being busy and hustling to get ahead was, in my experience, perpetuating an unhealthy narrative. I know firsthand how problematic the “do more” approach can be, having pushed my own limits too far while balancing family and business as a caregiver and entrepreneur. This inspired my goal to teach productivity differently, safely, effectively…to show how productivity is really doing less to live more.

Most productivity approaches demand continued effort and energy and that isn’t sustainable. If we keep trying to do more without considering why, without taking true breaks, and without seeing the signs of overwhelm, burn out is inevitable.

Years ago, I was a caregiver for my mom, who had Alzheimer’s. I moved her into our home while I was pregnant with my first child and cared for her through that pregnancy and birth as well as the pregnancy and birth of my second child. I was in full survival mode while juggling a business with my husband and my own freelancing. I stared burnout straight in the eyes and kept pushing through because you’re strong when you have to be, right? That’s all I knew. When my mom passed away and I was deciding what to do next, I kept thinking of what I would DO. Get a job? Do more freelance? Rework our business? A quiet but urgent voice inside me said “Wait! Stop. Rest a Moment. Take a breath. Clear a path.” I’m so grateful I listened to that voice because instead of adding to my overwhelm, I created space to heal. I took the time to clear out our incredibly cluttered physical space and tended to the spaces in my own heart and mind to process all the things that had happened: exhaustion, grief, trauma. I called it decluttering inside and out. Taking this time allowed me to increase self-care and a shift in how I prioritized life. I learned more about myself as a person, with all my passions and unique qualities, and found a way to feature them in what I did next. It taught me that LESS is truly more.

Having experienced real burnout and knowing what it’s like to live for years in survival mode, I never want to go back there and I’m on a mission to ensure my clients don’t either. Instead of promoting the hustle and grind, I use principles of positive psychology and stress management to help my creative clients do less, live more, and breathe easier. The best part? This approach not only feels better, it’s more effective.

Lisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Lisa, founder of Positively Productive Systems, host of the Positively Living Podcast, and a Productivity + Accountability Coach for multi-passionate creatives and entrepreneurs.

After experiencing a deeply overwhelming time in my life juggling multiple roles as a caregiver, wife, mother, and business owner, I became a Professional Organizer to help clients reduce clutter and create space in their lives so they would stress less and live better.

From the first moment I stepped into someone’s home, I could see how the clutter was connected to their head and heart. Our experiences and mindset (impacted by things like grief and trauma) affect every choice we make. I’ve worked with so many people and so many types of clutter, but one thing is always the same: the internal experiences drive the external. I realized if I could connect right away to the heart of the matter, literally, we could speed up the decluttering and prevent it in the future. Then we could use that understanding to create the right habits and systems that clients could sustain.

I shifted to coaching, adding three certifications to my collection (life coaching, time management, and stress management) in order to focus on the internal, though I still help clients declutter the external too. Now I help entrepreneurs make space for what matters and design customized approaches that fit them. While traditional productivity immediately focuses on efficiency (and I do help my clients with that) we don’t start there. I start with self-awareness.

Before I ask you what planner you use, or how you track tasks, I find out about your personality and your values, your preferences and strengths. What you love to do is one of the best indicators of what you’ll consistently do, and that is the foundation for successful habits. Principles of Positive Psychology (another certification I added to my collection) show us that the more we tap into our strengths and are in alignment with our values, the more satisfying our lives will be. The same holds for being productive. We focus on self-management and energy management before anything else. When you do, the rest falls into place much easier.

As I coached more and more clients, I could see an additional connection in them that I was discovering in me. It was something I didn’t have a name for at first, but do now: multi-passionate creative. We are the lifelong learners, the ones who never stop searching, creating, and growing, and that means we are more susceptible to burnout, especially when we’re also caring for others. Oftentimes we create our own overwhelm with the best of intentions because of our creative superpowers. Add to that the fact that what resources there are for productivity are limited to one job/business, a singular focus…so I made it my mission to not only redefine productivity for everyone but to specialize in helping my fellow multi-passionates.

I currently work one-on-one with clients, provide a packed resources vault for the DIYers, and happily share tons of helpful, free content on my podcast. Working with me is like having multiple coaches: a professional organizer, life coach, stress management and positive psychology coach and productivity coach all rolled into one. You’ll learn the kinds of habits you’ll be able to keep and delight in how having fun actually primes your productivity! After all, productivity isn’t one aspect of your life. It’s all aspects working together in harmony.
On a personal note, when I’m not sharing my take on holistic productivity, I’m walking my own talk and doing what I love, living the life of a multi-passionate creative. I play music (lately it’s self-taught guitar) and sing solo and with my family, cook and bake, watch movies and travel with my husband and kiddos (a tween and a teen), and happily revisit stories like Harry Potter (yes, I’m a Hufflepuff). Any chance I get you’ll find me drinking coffee (iced or hot, love me some Dunkies) while reading…probably trapped under one of my cats.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience is pretty much the cornerstone of what I have lived the past decade and what I help my clients grow. After all, the life of an entrepreneur is constant change and challenges. One of the principles I teach–creating space–is something that helped me not only be resilient, but also handle massive change calmly and seamlessly. For years I have been applying my own techniques to my life. My schedule has plenty of buffer time, my calendar system is automated and flexible, and I have intentionally designed a way to coach that allows me to work with people across the globe (mostly by Zoom, sometimes by phone, and rarely, but enjoyably, in person). I batch projects, including my podcast, so I often record many episodes ahead. I also have systems to track projects and ideas and to make updates easily. All of these allowed me to organize a move across the state to a new home (and new school) for my entire family without losing a single client or missing a deadline. As a matter of fact, until this past spring, I continued to build my business and podcast in the corner of a small bedroom. Now I’m celebrating a new office in a new building, and it’s been wonderful. Let this inspire you to know you need very little to make it work, if you choose the right things to do and are consistent doing them.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

There are so many things that go into building a reputation. First you need to start with ethical, clear marketing where you say what you mean, keep your promises, and give your potential clients agency to make the best choice for them. This has been my goal since day 1 and each satisfied client would share what I did with others. Testimonials are amazing to back up claims, but the majority of my clients come from referrals because hearing directly from someone who has experienced your work is so powerful.

A strong reputation also comes from sharing what you stand for and doing so genuinely. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. I’ve grown into that over the years, leaning into my authentic nature (e.g., I take what I do seriously, but I do NOT take myself seriously, so I lean into humor and fun) and sharing these aspects of myself in a variety of ways. I try to choose platforms where I am at my best like keynote speeches and podcast guesting, but I think my own podcast has been the most effective and enjoyable to me. (It’s ironic that I’m writing this here for you to read, so I welcome you to come find me on my podcast!)

I adore podcasting and have aired an episode of the Positively Living Podcast every week since June 2020. In February 2023 I celebrated over 20,000 downloads…all from sharing one episode at a time. The momentum is building with so many requests to be on the show, reviews coming in, and people sharing. I can see through this growth that having my own content and perspective is an important part of building my reputation.

It’s an organic way to grow awareness too. In nearly every conversation, I can say “I have a podcast episode about that. You might want to check it out.” I continue to speak up about my unique approach to productivity and share as much hope and actionable tips as I can. I offer value expecting nothing in return other than a listen.

The reason it’s most effective for me is because podcasting fits my strengths and is fun for me, so I show up consistently and that, combined with expertise, offers me that “street cred” that reassures listeners that I’m real and capable. Conversations showcase what I know, what I’m curious about, and who I’ve worked with (I’ve even coached clients on air so you can hear what it’s like to work with me). That transparency is potent.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://positivelyproductive.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/positively_lisa
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/positivelyproductive
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/positivelyproductive
• Twitter: https://Twitter.com/positively_lisa
• Other: https://positivelyliving.buzzsprout.com/

Image Credits
Jeff Zawrotny, Leah Zawrotny (Forever Moments Photography)