5x Your Productivity: Mastering Flow State with Performance Coach Alex Wisch

Unlocking peak productivity isn’t about working harder or longer but about finding ways to work smarter and more effectively. Alex Wisch, founder of Wish Peak Performance and Executive Coaching, shared his expertise on the Recruiting Insider podcast, offering strategies to help individuals achieve heightened productivity and flow in their professional lives.

Central to Alex’s approach is the concept of flow states, which occur when one is fully immersed in a task. Unlike the common notion that productivity means working tirelessly, flow represents a state where the brain operates at peak efficiency, eliminating distractions and fostering creativity. Achieving this state can dramatically improve not just the quantity but also the quality of work.

Flow states are not accidental; they are cultivated through intentional strategies. Alex explained how factors such as focused attention, engaging challenges, and stepping out of comfort zones can trigger these states. He emphasized that tasks should be challenging enough to stimulate growth but not so difficult that they create anxiety. Striking this balance is key to sustaining both engagement and productivity.

In a world full of distractions, managing mental clarity is crucial. Alex highlighted the importance of reducing cognitive load by taking mindful breaks and practicing active recovery. For many, the temptation is to push through tasks without pausing, but Alex cautioned against this, advocating instead for structured breaks that refresh the mind and allow for sustained performance throughout the day.

Burnout is a common pitfall for high achievers, but Alex provided actionable advice on how to avoid it. He compared professionals to athletes, emphasizing the need for recovery and balance. By adopting habits like prioritizing sleep, hydration, and exercise, individuals can protect their long-term productivity while maintaining overall well-being.

A unique perspective Alex brought to the discussion was the importance of mastering the basics. Whether it’s creating a solid foundation of habits or focusing on essential self-care practices, these simple yet powerful elements often determine long-term success. He stressed that flashy techniques or quick fixes are no substitute for consistency and discipline in maintaining productivity.

Mindset also plays a critical role in productivity. Alex shared that believing in one’s capability to complete a task can significantly impact the outcome. Drawing on the Bannister Effect, he explained how breaking perceived limitations can create a ripple effect of success. Visualizing success and practicing positive self-talk are effective tools for fostering this empowering mindset.

Alex also spoke about the value of tailoring productivity techniques to individual preferences. Everyone’s rhythms and workflows are different, and discovering what works best for one’s unique circumstances is essential. He encouraged listeners to experiment with time-blocking, breaks, and focus periods to identify their optimal productivity patterns.

When it comes to creating sustainable habits, Alex recommended starting small and building gradually. Attaching new habits to existing ones can make them easier to integrate into daily routines. For example, pairing the act of drinking water with brushing teeth can reinforce both practices, making them habitual over time.

Ultimately, Alex’s approach to productivity is about achieving balance and sustainability. Rather than sprinting through tasks and risking burnout, he advocated for finding a pace that allows for steady growth and success. By embracing these principles, individuals can unlock their full potential and achieve lasting productivity in both their professional and personal lives.

 

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Alex: Let’s just talk about going into doing something and coming out as successful as possible. It’s kind of skirt in the line of peak productivity and going into a task, believing that you are capable of handling it. There’s something else called the banister effect, which first guy ran a four minute mile.

And once he ran a four minute mile, all of a sudden, a couple of other people were able to run a four minute mile, which kind of goes along this idea that you’re going into a task or you’re doing something. The more you believe It’s capable of getting done the higher your success rate. And theoretically, the more productive you’re going to be doing that task.

[00:00:34] Mary: Before we start the show, I have a quick question for you. Is your resume stuck in the rejection pile? At Resume Assassin, I create powerful resumes that showcase your skills, experience, and achievements, getting you noticed by recruiters. I’ll also optimize your LinkedIn profile, transforming it Into a magnet for opportunity, visit resume assassin.com [00:01:00] today and take charge of your job search.

Visit resume assassin.com. What if I told you that you could five x your productivity, quit working weekends, increase your income and level up your personal and professional achievements? I’d say, heck yeah, man. Where do I sign up? Alex Wish is here with us today to tell us how to do just that. Alex, welcome to Recruiting Insider.

[00:01:29] Alex: It’s a pleasure to be here.

[00:01:32] Mary: Alex is the founder of Wish Peak Performance and Executive Coaching, where he works with ambitious leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives to enhance productivity, achieve flow states, find purpose, and develop leadership skills. All while Prioriti prioritizing their happiness and health.

He’s coached for major Fortune 500 companies. He’s been a CE O2 times, an angel [00:02:00] investor, professional athlete, fitness world record holder, and he’s captured over 37 million impressions on LinkedIn in 2023 alone. Alex. Tell us just a little bit about your background and how’d you get here today?

[00:02:20] Alex: Well, yeah, let’s say it’s definitely a pleasure being here thanks for bringing me on the show and I think a little bit about my background.

So I think everything you said I think there’s there’s always a little bit more to me. I’m always have a unique opportunity on the side along with kind of having my couple businesses with coaching and Executives and entrepreneurs, um, but outside of that world, how I got here was a very, let’s just say in, um, a, a typical direction than a lot of other coaches, entrepreneurs, uh, for me, it started [00:03:00] back, uh, went to a very great school.

It was very hard work. I went to an Ivy League school, Penn, um, but I got here. Was a high performing student perfectionist and burnt myself out. And then I actually ended up dropping out of college. Um, went through about eight years of depression. That was significantly challenging, which brought me to an absolute rock bottom.

And through that experience, although, you know, those weren’t college years, there was a lot of. I would say grit, resilience, a lot of life, life lessons and character building that I think was an accelerant when I got out of that depression. Um, and on the productivity and kind of peak performance side, what it really forced me to do was understand in my life when you have all these available variables around you, what you can actually can control.

So I feel like a lot of times people get caught up on areas they can’t control. And for me, it was [00:04:00] focusing on these areas you can control. Um, and then rebuilding my life piece by piece as actually a trainer, building relationships and private equity, venture capital, doing some work with professional athletes and, uh, eventually just taking on all sorts of opportunities, saying yes to a little bit of everything.

And, uh, yeah, I eventually the path ended up where I am today.

[00:04:25] Mary: Wow. I think that everybody wants to know what fitness world record do you hold?

[00:04:33] Alex: So it’s a little bit of an atypical fitness world record. We’ll throw it out there, but, um, I’ve always been an athlete and I’ve done anywhere from ultras, I used to actually compete internationally in ultras, um, over, you know, 24, 30, 50 mile races.

I loved, I loved competing and do different sports and I was professional sailboat racer. But when the pandemic hit. I had nothing to really compete in. I had to keep [00:05:00] my kind of motivation going. So for me, I, uh, got into CrossFit a little before the pandemic and I was thinking of what’s the, you know, what’s something I could go after that potentially might not be humanly possible, but like, I’ll just kind of go for it, you know, maybe along the way motivate a few people, um, and also raise money for veterans mental health, which was a big part of the whole mission, but it was.

what I call the six, uh, 6, 000 rep challenge. So I wore 24 pound, 24 pound vest. Uh, it was symbolic towards the, towards the challenges people carry, like for a lot of veterans and mental health. And I did 1, 000 strict pull ups, 2, 000 push ups and 3, 000 squats in a total of six hours and eight minutes. And we raised 37, 000 for veterans.

[00:05:51] Mary: Wow. That’s amazing. That’s really cool. You know, I’ve heard a lot of people talk about how you, every single year, [00:06:00] you should find one thing that really challenges you physically, and you should do that thing because it’s going to push you in every area of your life, whether it’s personal, whether it’s professional, it’s going to help you grow.

I think that’s really cool. All right. So let’s dive into the topic here. So to say that you can 5X productivity is. It’s a bold claim. Can you elaborate on what that means just a little bit and even potentially the kind of results that your clients typically achieve?

[00:06:32] Alex: Sure. So we come a long way in the world of mindset, productivity, and performance, especially I’d say over the last, let’s say over the last eight years, um, there’s a concept called flow and for people don’t know what flow is or being in a flow state, it’s when you’re fully immersed.

In a situation or doing a task or working on something and everything around you kind of just melts away and you have a [00:07:00] complete focused, you have a sense of well being and you’re basically the best version of yourself now when you’re in this state, your mind originally what they thought is your mind’s working on like all cylinders.

You know, they actually did. They did some brain scans. They thought the brain would be complete lit up. But what actually makes someone optimally productive? Is there brains working as efficiently as possible? So in this peak productive state of mind, the brain was had similar activity to someone who was basically meditating except some areas in the frontal lobe that utilized like creativity and some other processes.

So we’re in a world full of distractions. And a big part of it is how do you kind of get your mind focused on Just leave, alleviate, get rid of all those distractions and kind of get that sense of just fully immersed in that task at hand and optimizing your brain. [00:08:00]

[00:08:00] Mary: So how could we get into that flow state then?

What are some strategies that we could use? A

[00:08:05] Alex: hundred percent. And I’ll also throw one thing out there too. I mean, just something where someone could relate to is if you’ve ever been in a coffee shop and, um, or get a conversation with someone, then all of a sudden, like, you know, you Two hours go by, then you’re like, wow, like what, what just happened?

You had an amazing conversation and that’s like, you know, that’s, that’s that flow state. Um, so in flow, there’s flow triggers and these triggers, the more triggers you have, the more likely you’ll get into a flow state. Um, and so like a couple of them, I’ll kind of just throw out there is like things like complete concentration, novelty, things that are new.

We have like, Um, a challenge skill ratio where you want, you want to task to be something you’re doing to be theoretically, let’s just say like 7 to 14 percent of a challenge above your skill, [00:09:00] where if the challenge is too high, you actually get anxious. If it’s too low, you get bored and there’s also like several other triggers that are in this process.

But. You know, overall, the more these triggers that you incorporate, the more likely you get into a flow state. And to add on top of that, you will, there’s actually not just individual flow, there is something called group flow, which is, it’s as if you’re like, if you see like a sports team and almost as like individuals and extension of a human body.

So there’s that element of, you can be in a flow state as individual, but you can bring an entire team. And have them basically just working as efficient, like in unison, as if they were one, two.

[00:09:48] Mary: So how would you help somebody figure out what those triggers are? How do you determine, okay, this is the sweet spot for me, right?

It’s just challenging enough to keep me engaged [00:10:00] and it’s going to make me want to keep working harder and harder and stay in that flow state.

[00:10:06] Alex: Yeah. So, I mean, the challenge. Bob. I think you’re asking. This is a great question. So I think the best way to explain this. First, the people should know is your kryptonite to productivity is anxiety.

Okay? And if you have a certain level of anxiety, it’s just going to completely destroy your concentration, your focus and your productivity, right? So as a baseline component, um, you know, I work with very, you know, ambitious, ambitious people taking along, taking on a lot of different challenges. And so one is you might have to even start with like just anxiety management.

Okay, honestly, just how do you lower that anxiety? How do you learn the stresses? How do you, you know, go get to a point in the day where you’re also not thinking about the other, you know, five or six zoom calls you just had. And, you know, you [00:11:00] forgot to, you know, bring your lunch or, or other things that are going on.

Right. And it’s all about kind of being in the moment. So one is reducing the anxiety. And the other piece, I think that’s really important that something to think about is reducing cognitive load. And this is where so in order to get into flow, we can really only balance about four things in our mind at once.

And outside of that, that means like if you are going into a meeting or you want to go and give like a speech or presentation, you need to stop. Take a moment to take a like do active recovery where you’re able to kind of put yourself become mindful and be in the moment and you’re giving yourself a chance to reset.

So instead of going from like zoom meeting, zoom meeting, zoom meeting to zoom meeting, you take like a five or 10 minute break in between so you can kind of, you know, compartmentalize the previous meeting, you know, send yourself again and be [00:12:00] fully present for the next meeting. But we can kind of like open and close those doors and different tasks that we do.

[00:12:06] Mary: Mm. I think that that’s so relatable to a lot of people. I mean myself included. I was, I woke up this morning and I went to the gym and You know, I have all of these things going on in my head where I’m like, oh my gosh, I have such a busy day today and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and to get stressed out.

And then once that happens for me, it’s like my productivity is out the window because, you know, once that stress hits, it’s, if you can’t figure out how to really manage that and how to gauge it, it’s really tough to, you know, sit down and start knocking things off of your to do list. So figuring out a way to really.

You know, manage that, figure out what it is, like you said, maybe even take a step back, take a rest, take a pause and be like, regather your, you know, your thoughts and your feelings before you really step into the day to start knocking out [00:13:00] everything that you need to do.

[00:13:02] Alex: There’s, and I’m here’s, here’s one thing I’m going to add to this.

This is probably one of the biggest challenges I run into when it comes to achieving, you know, we’re talking five X product productivity. And, And we’re also talking about not just about being productive, you know, for short period of time, but also how do you extend that product to productivity throughout a day?

People fall into this category of I got to keep on working. It’s work, work, work, work, work, no breaks and keep on working. Now, if you want to be optimally productive, And think about what the word productive means. It doesn’t mean it’s, it’s not hours in the day spent on doing something. It’s how much you get done in a particular segment of time.

Right. So on the productivity level, something people really struggle with is called the grit to recover. I think we’re kind of all familiar with grit and pushing through, right? [00:14:00] Yeah. Oh yeah. A lot of people, Have a lot of challenges when it comes to kind of stepping away and justifying, like, I’m going to step away from my work, you know, for like 10 minutes, go for a walk outside, be present, do some breathing and then come back to my work.

But those breaks are so essential to be optimally productive, but it’s also one of the biggest challenges I run into people who just kind of want to keep pushing, pushing, pushing.

[00:14:30] Mary: Yeah. I can relate to the pushing, pushing, pushing. So how would you help your clients unlock this kind of productivity?

[00:14:41] Alex: That’s a great question. So, you know, I, in a typical situation, like I find that, you know, a lot of coaches or a lot of people give a general methodology and I’m going to be very, um, real with you. I, I’ll give a couple [00:15:00] different suggestions, but the one thing you have to understand. And I emphasize a lot with people I work with is that everyone’s a bit different, you know, you can go out there and be like, great, there’s some great research about like this method works with this method works, but you got to be your own best scientist and kind of create your own user manual to figure out what works best for you.

So kind of going through and what helps someone with their productivity. Um, like I might start off saying, for example, there’s something called ultradium rhythms. And these are rhythms with like we’re probably familiar with circadian rhythms, like rhythms are sleep and wake cycle, but all trading rhythms are rhythms happen within a day.

And I might say, like, you know, theoretically, a good work cycle is like, let’s work 90 minutes, 90 to 120 minutes and take, like, a 15 20 minute break. And we start there and, you know, have a client, you know, kind of work in that segment of time. And, you know, [00:16:00] they’ll journal about how the process has been right, and then we have ways of kind of, uh, you know, monitoring results.

And I use kind of some apps and different different other tools and then depending on the person. I mean, some people do better with working in 20 minute segments of times and five minute breaks. I mean, but you need to have a starting point. And I really a huge fan of time blocking. Along with that, I’ll just throw in, um, emphasize this is getting into a place with minimal distractions.

Um, I think that’s also a really big piece of the equation.

[00:16:39] Mary: Yeah, for sure. I mean, one strategy that I like to use is I’ll kind of block out my day where in the morning I know I’m the most productive, so I’m doing the most brain intensive. Things in the morning. I’m knocking those things off of my to do list with zero distractions.

Like you said, if I have any kind of a distraction, [00:17:00] I’m not going to, I, my productivity will be 25 percent of what it could be. So those distractions, I think that that piece is huge. So, you know, morning time, I know I’m productive. I’m knocking out my to do list. And then in the afternoon, maybe after I’ve eaten lunch and, you know, my brain is starting to, you know, Shut down maybe just a little bit and it’s not quite clicking like it does first thing in the morning for me, then I’m doing some less intensive things in the afternoon where maybe I’m checking email or, you know, I’m on LinkedIn, um, connecting with people and, and responding on posts and doing things like that, things that don’t take as much brain power for me.

And those are a few techniques that I use that I found have been really, really helpful.

[00:17:45] Alex: And I, I love, uh, the example you’re giving, I’m going to say that that’s, that’s a great example of what you found to be like your most productive hours.

[00:17:56] Mary: Um,

[00:17:56] Alex: you know, there, there’s this, everyone loves coming up with [00:18:00] polarizing content and there’s some content that kind of came out.

It’s like, you know, it’s kind of like the idea of like screw morning routines. Like that, that’s one thing. Everyone’s like all about the morning routines. We were like screw morning routine. There’s a funny piece behind this. And it’s that if what you’re saying, like if you people have different times of the day where they’re most productive and this is again about knowing your personal self and some people when they first wake up their most productive.

So for some people, instead of waking up doing this routine, doing that, going to the gym, it might be in your most benefit to get your most productive work done when you wake up, you know? And then on top of that, I might have, I have another client that’s like, Well, you know, like I got to wake up early and I got to, you know, you know, wake up early and work out and do X, Y, and Z.

But he’s most productive from like 10 to like 2 a. m. in the morning. And that’s just the way he’s always been. And I said, [00:19:00] look, maybe society has all these things about, you know, different actors or people waking up at five 30. But the reality here is if you’re most productive at that time at night, like.

Let’s figure out what works best for you, right? And it’s just a little different.

[00:19:16] Mary: Yeah. And I think a lot of people, when they think about productivity, they’re thinking about how much can I get done in a day? How, or how can I do more, more, more? And I love what you said about, it’s not necessarily about doing the more, more, more, but it’s about what are you accomplishing during those really super productive.

Like you said, Alex, for you, you’re just a hyper achiever. And you said that in your past, you, you faced burnout and that’s what led to depression and all of these horrible things that happened in your life. So for those of us that are hyper achievers like you, how can we avoid that burnout? [00:20:00]

[00:20:00] Alex: Yeah. So, um, I, I love this question and I think a couple of ways to look at it is.

I’m gonna use a metaphor, so I’m gonna use the idea of concept called like a corporate athlete. Okay, so let’s just say as professionals, let’s compare us to professional athletes. All right, so professional athletes, they train most of their time, compete a little bit, and they really focus on recovery, right?

And they’re they have nutrition, hydration, sleep. Now, in the professional space, we’re really competing most of our time, right? And, you know, how much time are we really paying attention to nutrition, exercise or sleep, those basic elements, you know, and if you want to kind of take that comparison, I would say to avoid burnout one.

I’m all about mastering the basics. And, you know, I think sleep’s kind of really important. I’ve had my experience with poor sleep and had [00:21:00] repercussions from that. And I’ve learned my lesson. Um, so mastering the basics, I think, is really, really important. And when it comes to burnout, there’s a couple other things that kind of think about is, um, making sure that even if you’re having, like, I’ll give examples.

I work with someone at very high level private equity group, and there are just times where they had a deal and they got to push extremely hard and life’s not gonna be balanced. But in those times, it’s kind of I’ll utilize this idea more of contrast. It’s the idea of planning ahead, kind of knowing, like, really knowing how far you can push yourself, but planning in a really deep recovery, right?

On the other hand, when you’re working hard, if you work in shorter segments, your recovery period is shorter. If you work in really long segments, without a break, your recovery period is, your recovery [00:22:00] period is a lot longer. If you don’t take a break at all. That’s when you really hit that burnout level.

So there’s a level of also self awareness, um, that plays a big role.

[00:22:12] Mary: Yeah, I know I’ve, I’ve fallen into that trap. I mean, just being, you hear the, everybody say, Oh, solopreneurs, solopreneurs, you know, they, they’re working all these hours and it, it really is true. I feel like I’ve fallen into that trap ever since I, You know, left the nine to five and started working for myself.

It’s really, really hard to take a step back and take that break because, you know, you get that sense that, oh, if I’m not always working, then literally nothing is being done. So it’s easy to fall into that trap of just work, work, work, and not taking a step back. Like you said, Alex, to kind of just take that long term break or even that short term break to recover.

So that you can continue to work as hard as you’ve been working. So I think that that’s a really important lesson [00:23:00] to learn.

[00:23:01] Alex: And, uh, I’m going to throw out kind of two pro tips here that I think are really kind of crucial in this world. There’s, I challenge actually some of my clients to have a hard stop of the day.

Um, and to make sure they have recovery, but have a hard stop. And at the beginning they get super anxious. Like I’m not getting done the things I need to. But there’s also this concept I’ll put out there called Parkinson’s Law, which means if you give yourself a certain span of time, right, you will basically that task you’re giving yourself will expand for that period of time.

So if you give yourself a certain amount of time to get things done in a day and you kind of compress it a little bit, you might be surprised just how efficient you can actually train yourself to be. So that’s kind of pro tip one. The other pro tip two, um, that this, this is also really challenging for a lot of people.

But if you really want to have a super [00:24:00] productive day and I’m talking about, you know, people are struggling, the idea of taking a break. But when you find yourself actually most productive, that’s when you actually want to take a break right in the middle of that. And so it, it, I think people are like, well, I’m so productive.

I just want to keep on going, going, going until you burn the candle. Okay. Now the kicker is, and this is something we use as a tool a lot for writers who write like novels or books, but when you’re in that super productive, kind of like hyper focused flow state, you know, and you’ve got into it, you’ve been in for a little bit and you’re kind of on that, that top of the, you know, that top of the mountain when you take a break from that and then like that 15, 20 minute break and then you come back in, you can actually stretch that peak of productivity even further.

Right? So that break allows you to come right back into that same state of mind, that productivity, that flow state. But since that we had that recovery period, now you can stretch that out [00:25:00] further. So it takes a lot of discipline and it takes that kind of another type of grit. Like I said, the grit to recover, but those are two pretty, uh, significant pro tips that I think help.

I love

[00:25:09] Mary: those. I love those. And maybe some people can relate to this as well. Maybe not. But, but I feel like when I get into my. Productivity. When I get into a flow state, I feel like I can just go, go, go, go, go. And I don’t need a break. That’s what I feel. But then let’s say next month, it’s a little bit slower, right?

Business is a little bit slower. I don’t have as much to do. And then my motivation goes down, down, down, down, down, where I’m like, now I don’t want to do anything at all. So I go from being like at the very tip top, right? I can do anything and everything to. When business slows down, I don’t have quite as much to do, then I’m not nearly as productive.

And I don’t have the desire to be nearly as productive. Have you heard of that before? Is it, is this something that’s common or is it just me? [00:26:00]

[00:26:00] Alex: No, no, it’s something that’s common. I mean, I think, I think by, you know, when, when business picks up and we could define that kind of in a bunch of different ways, yeah, it could be really exciting, right?

And it can be really engaging. Um, and there’s certain things that we’re kind of really dialed into when business slows down, you know, it might not be as engaging, but there’s a concept. I’ll kind of put another little throw a little little tip on this is let’s just say business slowing down. Let’s let’s let’s just put that in this category of like an adversity or a challenge, right?

And the way I see things is when you when you reach a challenge with every challenge in the business world, personal life. that’s health, whatever it is, there’s always an opportunity, right? So if business is slowing down, then maybe there’s something that you didn’t have the chance to focus on prior that you can catch up on.

And that might be something [00:27:00] else like in your business, that might not be as exciting, but you’ve been so focused on other things that you had had the chance or might be a good opportunity. Like I mentioned about contrast, To be like, you know what? Business slowing down a little bit. This is a great time to catch up with family and friends, or lean into a little bit of a hobby and then, you know, you have that act of recovery, then you kind of can jump right back on the horse when it picks up again.

Mm. So those are kinda like two options.

[00:27:23] Mary: I love that. I think that a another piece that a lot of people struggle with is, what should I actually be doing so that I’m maximizing my time and maximizing my productivity? Like, is this something that’s. a time waster? Is it completely wasting my time? You know, what, how should I be prioritizing my day to maximize for that productivity?

I mean, what are some tips that you could give so that we could really figure out what we should be focusing on?

[00:27:57] Alex: Yeah. So, um, [00:28:00] I’m gonna go back to a simple. Concept that goes to a square with four quadrants called the Eisenhower Matrix. Um, I don’t know who’s familiar with it, but the Eisenhower Matrix is something like I’ll have my clients just have on their desk and this matrix will tell you basically what to work on, what to like delegate, you know what to do later and what to like just delete it, like not do it at all.

[00:28:31] Mary: Yeah.

[00:28:31] Alex: So, so either a matrix. I think that’s a great tool to know exactly kind of what to focus on. Um, and the whole idea is like, you know, how you structure your day. We mentioned when you’re most, you know, when you have that level of, um, you know, lean into your creative side when that part of the day is lean into your, you know, productive, productive side.

When you’re a little more slower, lead into more of like the admin work or other things that are more just, you know, No, [00:29:00] not, not as engaging. Um, but I’m a huge fan of any way you can delegate and automate huge fan. And I’ll also say, you know, people, and this was a game changer for me, by the way, I, I have a dyslexia and some learning disabilities and ADHD, and there are some things that I worked so hard being like, I need to get better at these.

Like, um, you know, I sh I should be able to do X, Y, and Z. And I finally got to a point where I’m like, you know what? Like I’m going to hire a personal assistant and I’m just going to double down on my strengths and automate and delegate all my weaknesses because my strength at the day is what’s gonna make me more money.

And when you get rid of your weaknesses, cause I’m not even gonna focus on them, you know, you’d be surprised how much faster you can build up your strengths than kind of even growing your weaknesses or getting them better.

[00:29:54] Mary: Hmm. Yeah. I love that. What about somebody that feels like [00:30:00] stuck and they really want to figure out how do I just take control of this productivity?

[00:30:08] Alex: So I can’t, I can’t, that’s another good question. I think it’s stuck. So, um, it depends on the situation, but I will, I’m going to go back to the idea of flow. I’m gonna go back to a deal of a flow cycle. So being quote unquote stuck can be part of a flow cycle. Um, the flow cycle can get into a flow state.

It starts actually with a struggle phase. And when you know that getting into a product’s a productive state, part of that is like kind of maybe your it’s maybe like your tensions there. You’re kind of getting a lot of information and you’re kind of running it on stuff. You’re not really finding a flowing or find yourself that productive.

That’s we call like the struggle phase. When we actually know that we’re going to have a struggle phase and that’s part of the [00:31:00] process, we call it the graceful struggle. And there’s a sense of radical acceptance where it’s like, you know what, like part of the process of actually being productive. Is having a little bit of struggle beginning

[00:31:12] Mary: and

[00:31:12] Alex: then you stop fighting it because if you get frustrated yourself about being stuck, the likelihood of being stuck starts to drastically increase.

And then from that, we’d have something called a release where you actually walk away from that struggle phase, go into nature, go into a place where you can really disconnect from the workspace. And then you come back and that’s when you’re most likely getting to flow. And then after flow state, we go back to recovery.

So my answer is in some situations being stuck is actually very normal and there’s a sense of radical acceptance. And then in other words, you know, sometimes when you’re stuck, um, you work with a coach or sometimes when you’re stuck outside perspective, you know, it’s a good time to [00:32:00] take a break or go on a vacation and do something that’s just a bit different than your everyday, you know, work or task.

[00:32:08] Mary: Yeah, for sure. And to me, that feels like it’s kind of playing into, you know, your mindset. And I feel like that, that can play a huge role too. And, and your productivity, can you talk to us a little bit about how your mindset plays a role in achieving that peak productivity?

[00:32:28] Alex: Sure. So. I mean, there’s different kinds of mindsets.

Um, I would say in the realm of peak productivity, or if we’re even talking about, let’s just, let’s just talk about going into doing something and coming out as successful as possible, which it’s kind of start in the line of peak productivity. First of all, going into it and going into a task, believing that you are capable of handling it.

There’s something else [00:33:00] called the banister effect, which there was a guy who first guy ran a four minute mile. And once he ran a four minute mile, all of a sudden, a couple other people were able to run a four minute mile, which kind of goes along this idea that if you’re going into a task or you’re, you’re doing something, the more you believe it’s capable of getting done or that you’re equipped to deal it, to do it, the higher your success rate.

And theoretically, the more productive you’re going to be doing that task. So having that mindset that you’re capable of handling whatever you’re tackling and you know, that could also be, it could be vis visualization, it could be some like positive self-talk, but just being confident in your own capabilities of what you’re doing increases your success and productivity.

[00:33:47] Mary: I wanna talk a little bit about habits too. Sure. Could, could you share just some, maybe some tips or strategies that our listeners could implement to really. Create like sustainable longterm [00:34:00] habits.

[00:34:01] Alex: Yeah, no, I, I just get another great question. Um, and by the way, I mean, our habits shape pretty much, you know, the most successful people, their, their lives are shaped from habits.

Um, now it depends on the habits that you want to create. If I’m with someone, they’re trying to create some type of, let’s say, healthy habits, you know, things could be around work, could be around health. Um, above one of the simplest ways. First of all, I would say, you know, start off with like a single habit, incorporate that, and then you can start stacking habits.

All right. If you all of a sudden are like, Hey, I want to, you know, it’s like the new years. And I’m like, I want to do all these new things every day. It likely that’s going to work is very slim. Right. Um, you know, even 75 hard and people go on that and develop habits, but it’s not always sustainable per se.

So. So [00:35:00] I suggest, you know, kind of, you can make a list of habits that you want to incorporate into your daily life. Um, you know, pick one and the first thing you can do is take something you’re already doing and attach a habit to that. So you already kind of have a trigger. So if there is something that you want to do in a habit side, like, let’s just say, um, I’m going to give a very simple concept.

Let’s say in the morning. We wake up dehydrated. Hydration is actually pretty key to focus concentration. I have all my clients drink like two, like a, like a large glass of water every, every morning, but I attach it to them brushing their teeth. So they know, okay, I already have one habit. I brush my teeth.

And then right after brushing my teeth, I drink water. So when you wanted to establish a new habit, you can attach it to a current habit you’re doing right now. And that increases the success rate.

[00:35:58] Mary: Ooh, I love that. [00:36:00] So is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about productivity that you’ve learned through your experience?

[00:36:12] Alex: Oh, about productivity. Yeah, I mean, you know, I, productivity is this, this is a, this is a question that hits home on multiple levels because, and this is coming from a perfectionist and well, a recovering perfectionist, I should say. Yeah. I, I really wish even being the athlete I was and you know, how hard I worked, it’s, it’s about, it’s not necessarily about what you can achieve in that given moment.

It’s really looking at what can I achieve and sustain over a long period of time. And you know, part of that again is like I mentioned, like the grits recover, [00:37:00] you know, I wish I knew about that. If I knew about that, like. I, my productivity would have skyrocketed, right? Um, and along with the grits recover, I think on the productivity side, having really having a mindset where going into something, like I’ll say this, there’s, there’s high achievers and there’s peak performers.

And if you want to be a peak performer, Um, you, you need to look at something where you can perform and be fairly consistent, build momentum. And then there’s this, this idea that people don’t talk about. I don’t never actually heard other people talk about it, but it’s called the art of plateauing. And so it’s knowing how to, people know how to progress.

Like if you go to the gym, people are like, Oh yeah. You know, you look twice, you [00:38:00] do this, you progress. But a lot of people don’t know is how to maintain what you’ve achieved. And what happens with high achievers is you’ll achieve something. They burn themselves out. You get this roller coaster, peak performer, you progress, you learn the art of plateauing.

So certain things are like kind of maintain where you’ve gotten and you keep going up again and you maintain it. And uh, I think if I knew that too, I think there’d be a lot of things different in my life also.

[00:38:28] Mary: I love that. I’ve never thought about it in that way, but I love that visual. What are the top three takeaways you want our listeners to learn today?

[00:38:40] Alex: Um, top three takeaways. I’ll probably keep you for say a couple of things I’ve already said, but top three takeaways would be that one, um, there’s a lot of information out there about peak productivity and there’s a lot of information and everyone has their own methodology. I’m a [00:39:00] huge believer that.

taking these ideas, but take them all in with a grain of salt. And you know, you have to be your own scientist. You’ve got to try something one thing at a time, see how it works for you over, you know, it could be a week, two weeks over a month and find out if it really helps you because some things out there can be extremely helpful for some people and can be the opposite opposite for others.

So one is, you know, you’ve got to be your own scientist to see what works. Um, number two is You know, work smarter, not harder. I think that’s, you know, a common theme that we’re leading into. And it’s, uh, you know, it’s, it’s like, actually don’t try to get to the end of the day where you’re, you’re so burnt out that you just kind of feel like you’re completely exhausted and white, you know, try to pace yourself during the day where you’re at the end of the day and you still have a little bit left in the tank [00:40:00] because that’s going to allow you to get a lot further in the long run.

And then the last one I’m going to put out there that I, I take this, um, you know, I, I did professional sailboat racing and I was very high level sailor my entire life. And I learned this, um, and I’ve learned this from seeing some of the best athletes in the world or just so the best performers and what they’re really good at is mastering the basics.

We get so dialed into. You know, all these complicated and new concepts and, you know, all these new tricks and new fads, but in the reality creating a foundation Like I said with peak performance like I was talking about the athletes and I’ll put these these are my pillars. It’s sleep nutrition exercise Community who you surround yourself with Communication how you communicate your mindset and your purpose, you know create a really strong [00:41:00] foundation on the basics You And if you achieve that, you’re probably ahead of 99 percent of the population out there.

[00:41:09] Mary: So what are you up to now, Alex? And where can we find you on social media?

[00:41:14] Alex: What am I up to now? Uh, I’ll give you a little sneak peek. Thought you’d meet people know about this. So I do my coaching, which I love. Um, I am doing some really interesting things on LinkedIn around, you know, Certain things around the algorithm, um, optimizing industry leaders, and there’ll be some exciting stuff on a new business I’m actually launching.

That’s a little bit in stealth. Um, that’ll be kind of coming out soon. And, uh, in the fitness world, uh, I have a new world record. I’ll be attempting, um, once my business life calms down a little bit, that involves 24 hour rock climbing, um, endeavor. [00:42:00] Wow. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. It’s just a matter of sometimes in life, you gotta find the balance and find those areas you can kind of take on some of these bigger challenges.

Uh, the best place to find me is on LinkedIn. So you can, if you type in LinkedIn, you type in Alex Wish and that’s W I S C H. Um, honestly, that’s the number one place to find me. My website’s also pretty easy. It’s wish W I S C H dot com, but those are my two main areas that I really focus on.

[00:42:29] Mary: Amazing. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today.

[00:42:33] Alex: It’s been my pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:42:37] Mary: Thanks for listening. I will be releasing episodes every Monday, so be sure to subscribe on the platform that you are watching this, give it a five star review, and we’ll see you next time.