Aug 13, 2025 | Business Planning, Work Culture
By Tyonne Boyd-Godfrey, Lifestyle Consultant
Listen, we need to have an honest conversation about productivity. As a consultant who’s spent the last decade helping high-achieving professionals get their lives together, I’ve noticed something: most of us are doing it all wrong. And I mean all wrong.
You’ve probably tried every productivity hack under the sun. The color-coded calendars, the time-blocking methods, and the fancy apps that promise to revolutionize your workflow. Maybe they worked for a week or two, but then life happened, and everything fell apart. I get it – I’ve been there too.
Here’s the truth that nobody’s talking about: productivity isn’t one-size-fits-all, and it’s definitely not about squeezing every minute out of your day until you’re running on fumes and cold brew coffee.
The Real Problem with Your Productivity System
Working with clients from Fortune 500 executives to fresh-out-of-divorce entrepreneurs, I’ve realized that most productivity systems fail for one simple reason: they don’t account for who you are as a person. Your energy cycles, your natural rhythms, your actual life circumstances – you know, the real stuff.
When Sarah, a tech executive and single mom, came to me stressed about falling behind at work, she had been trying to wake up at 5 AM because some productivity guru said it was the “secret to success.” But Sarah’s a night owl who does her best work after 8 PM when her kids are asleep. Fighting her natural rhythm was making her less productive, not more.
Building a System That Actually Works
Here’s what I tell my clients: Your productivity system should feel like your favorite pair of jeans – comfortable, reliable, and tailored specifically to you. Here’s how to create one:
1. Get Real About Your Energy
Track when you naturally feel most alert and focused. Don’t fight it – use it. Some of us are morning people, others come alive at midnight. Both are valid. Your peak hours are your money-making hours – protect them fiercely.
2. Define What Productivity Means to YOU
Being productive isn’t about checking off the most boxes – it’s about moving the needle on what matters. For some of my clients, that means closing big deals. For others, it’s having energy left to help their kids with homework. Get clear on your definition.
3. Build in Recovery Time
Y’all, burnout is real, and it’s expensive. I’ve seen too many brilliant people crash and burn because they treated themselves like machines. Your productivity system needs to include rest, just like your workout routine includes recovery days.
Making the Shift
Here’s the part that might be hard to hear: creating a sustainable productivity system takes time. It’s not about downloading another app or buying another planner. It’s about really understanding yourself and being honest about what works for you.
Start small. Pick one aspect of your current system that feels forced and adjust it to match your natural inclinations. For instance, if you hate traditional to-do lists, try voice notes or mind mapping. If morning meetings drain you, start blocking them for afternoons.
Remember, you’re not broken if the popular productivity methods don’t work for you. You’re just different, and different is where the magic happens.
The Bottom Line
As a lifestyle consultant, I’ve learned that the most productive people aren’t the ones following every trend – they’re the ones who’ve figured out their own rhythm and stuck to it. Your productivity system should empower you, not exhaust you.
So take a step back. Look at what’s really working (and what’s not) in your current approach. Be willing to experiment, adjust, and sometimes completely start over. Because at the end of the day, productivity isn’t about doing more – it’s about doing what matters, in a way that works for you.
And if anyone tries to tell you there’s only one way to be productive? Well, honey, they’re selling something you don’t need to buy.
Jun 12, 2025 | Uncategorized
In Louisiana, we are on the verge of enacting legislation that criminalizes the most vulnerable among us — and calling it a solution. Senate Bill 196, a bill creating a so-called “homelessness court,” is making its way to the Senate floor. Proponents claim it offers an alternative path to rehabilitation. In truth, it adds yet another bureaucratic layer to an already overwhelmed system, turning social failure into criminal liability.
As someone who leads a youth agency in Baton Rouge, I see the daily impact of housing insecurity on young people, especially those in foster care, juvenile detention, or parenting at a young age. These youth are already overexposed to systems that punish them more than they protect. What HB196 proposes is not support or safety. It is institutional fatigue masquerading as policy.
Let’s be clear: this bill doesn’t solve homelessness. It shifts the cost, morally and financially, from social services to the criminal justice system. And who pays the highest price? Children.
In 2022-2023, over 6,100 infants and toddlers in Louisiana experienced homelessness. Yet more than 90% of them were not enrolled in any early childhood program. They are growing up without access to the developmental support that could change their trajectory — and we’re debating whether to send their parents to court instead of sending resources to their communities.
We don’t need another courtroom. We need coordinated, well-funded support services. This bill is a distraction from that reality.
This is not how we build a better Louisiana. Senate Bill 196 adds pressure to an already overwhelmed judicial system and does nothing to address the lack of affordable housing, early care, or mental health services.
Let’s reject this punitive approach. Homelessness is not a crime; it’s a policy failure. We owe our children better than this.
May 7, 2025 | Breaking the Binary
In Episode 1, we introduced the Spheres of Authentic Action framework—an existentially inspired tool to help leaders navigate complex decisions without abandoning their values. In Episode 2, we bring that framework to life with real-world examples and two new tools to help you apply it to your own organization.
Authentic leadership doesn’t mean choosing between purity and pragmatism—it means navigating across values, strategy, and creativity with intention.
🌀 Navigating Across Spheres
We revisit the three concentric circles of our framework:
- Core Values: The deep impact your organization is committed to creating, beyond language or branding.
- Strategic Flexibility: The ways you communicate and adapt while keeping your core work intact.
- Creative Possibilities: The innovations that emerge when constraints challenge your usual way of doing things.
Drawing from real nonprofit leaders across youth development, health equity, and environmental justice, we explore how organizations are:
- Clarifying what’s truly non-negotiable in their mission
- Developing context-specific language that stays true to their values
- Innovating when traditional approaches are no longer viable
🧠 Thought Experiment: Thinking Without a Banister
Inspired by Hannah Arendt’s philosophy, we guide you through a thought experiment to expand your team’s ethical judgment and adaptive capacity. It’s designed to help you recognize when sector norms limit your vision—and what new possibilities arise when you start “thinking without a banister.”
📥 Free Downloads
Ready to map your own organization’s work across the three spheres?
Download the Spheres of Authentic Action Mapping Template
Download the Strategic Flexibility Communication Guide
🎧 Listen to the Episode
In just 20 minutes, you’ll gain a clearer sense of how to lead authentically through uncertainty, complexity, and constraint. Listen to Episode 2 here and bring the Spheres framework into your everyday practice.
💬 Coming Up Next
In Episode 3, we’ll explore Martin Buber’s concept of the I-Thou relationship and how authentic connection can shift our leadership from individual burdens to shared power.
Until then, map your work, notice your language shifts, and explore what new creative options emerge when you break free from binary thinking.
May 6, 2025 | Breaking the Binary
Episode 1: The Courage to Be — Authenticity vs. Survival
Welcome to the blog companion for the premiere episode of Breaking the Binary. If you’ve just listened to “The Courage to Be: Authenticity vs. Survival”, you know we’re diving into some of the toughest tensions nonprofit leaders face:
How do we stay true to our values when doing so might threaten the very survival of our organizations?
This episode explores what it means to lead authentically in a time of political pressure, funding shifts, and identity-based backlash. Using existential philosophy as our guide, we unpack what it means to make conscious choices within real constraints—and how embracing our freedom to choose can actually open up new possibilities for impact.
We hear stories like Tanya’s, a youth mental health leader who faced a wrenching decision when a funder demanded the removal of LGBTQ+ affirming language. Rather than choose between compromise and collapse, Tanya found a third path—rooted not in reaction, but in reflection. Through the lens of philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, we begin to see how freedom, integrity, and strategic adaptation can coexist.
Introducing: The Spheres of Authentic Action Framework
To help you apply these insights to your own work, we created the Spheres of Authentic Action framework—a tool to support decision-making that is grounded, flexible, and visionary.
This framework invites you to think beyond either/or:
- 🔵 Core Values Sphere: What is the real-world impact your organization is here to make? Strip away language, branding, even structure—what must stay true at all costs?
- 🟢 Strategic Flexibility Sphere: What are the aspects of your work that can shift to meet the moment—language, presentation, partnerships—without compromising your core?
- 🟣 Creative Possibilities Sphere: What could become possible if you treat constraints as invitations to innovate?
When applied to a real challenge your team is facing, this tool helps you move past paralysis or reactive compromise. Instead of asking “Do we comply or resist?”, you can begin to ask “Where is our real power to choose, and how can we act with integrity within the current terrain?”
🧠 Download the Free Worksheet
Use the downloadable worksheet below to explore your organization’s current challenge through the Spheres of Authentic Action. Whether you’re navigating funding restrictions, political climates, or value tensions, this tool will help you clarify what matters most—and where you have room to move.
Download the Spheres of Authentic Action Worksheet
🎧 Missed the Episode?
Listen to Episode 1: The Courage to Be and explore how existential thought can illuminate a path through the murkiness of modern leadership. Then grab your worksheet, gather your team, and start reframing your next big decision.
🔄 Coming Next
In Episode 2, we’ll go deeper into how different organizations are using this framework in real time—adapting language, shifting strategies, and staying grounded in their missions while building new pathways through complexity.
Until then, remember:
Authenticity and adaptation aren’t opposites. They’re partners in the practice of courageous, values-driven leadership.
Apr 12, 2025 | Business Planning, Work Culture
By Tyonne Boyd-Godfrey, Lifestyle Consultant
Last month, we had a heart-to-heart about why your productivity system might be failing you. If you took my advice and started paying attention to your natural rhythms, you’ve probably noticed something: Time isn’t the only currency that matters. Energy—your physical, mental, and emotional fuel—is what truly drives your productivity.
Let me say this louder for those in the back: You can have all the time in the world and still accomplish nothing if your energy is depleted.
The Time Management Trap
For decades, we’ve been obsessed with managing time. We slice our days into 15-minute increments, schedule back-to-back meetings, and pride ourselves on being “busy.” But here’s what my highest-performing clients have discovered: time management without energy management is like having a sports car with no gas.
Marcus, a finance executive I worked with last year, was scheduling his most complex analytical work for late afternoons because that’s when his calendar was free. But after tracking his energy patterns for just two weeks, he realized his mental sharpness peaked before 11 AM. When he rearranged his schedule to protect those morning hours for deep work, his output doubled—not because he had more time but because he was using his high-energy periods wisely.
Mapping Your Energy Landscape
Let’s get practical. For the next week, I want you to rate your energy levels on a scale of 1-10 at different points throughout the day. Notice patterns:
- When do you feel most alert and focused?
- When do you experience the afternoon slump?
- Which days of the week do you have more energy?
- How do different types of work affect your energy?
This isn’t about judging yourself—it’s about gathering data. Your energy patterns are unique to you, influenced by everything from your sleep habits to your hormonal cycles.
Jasmine, a marketing director and mother of two, discovered that her energy fluctuated dramatically throughout her menstrual cycle. Instead of fighting it, she now plans her most creative work during her follicular phase when her energy is naturally higher and schedules more administrative tasks during her luteal phase when her energy tends to dip.
Types of Energy You Need to Manage
Energy isn’t one-dimensional. There are four types you need to monitor:
- Physical energy: Your body’s capacity for activity
- Mental energy: Your ability to focus and think clearly
- Emotional energy: Your capacity to handle feelings and interpersonal situations
- Spiritual energy: Your connection to meaning and purpose
Each requires different management techniques. For instance:
- Physical energy responds well to movement breaks, proper nutrition, and adequate sleep
- Mental energy benefits from focused work periods followed by genuine breaks
- Emotional energy needs boundaries and time for processing
- Spiritual energy is replenished through activities that connect you to your deeper purpose
Energy Drains and How to Plug Them
We all have energy vampires in our lives—the activities, environments, or people that leave us feeling depleted. Identifying yours is the first step to managing them.
Common energy drains include:
- Decision fatigue: Making too many choices without systems
- Toxic relationships: Interactions that leave you emotionally drained
- Environment mismatches: Working in spaces that don’t support your focus
- Value conflicts: Spending time on activities that don’t align with your core values
Tonya, a client who ran a consulting business, realized that her weekly networking events were draining her introverted battery. Instead of forcing herself to attend every event, she became more selective and developed a recovery routine for afterward. Her business relationships actually improved because she was more present and energized when she did attend.
Building Your Energy Management System
Now that you understand the importance of energy management, let’s build a system that works for you:
- Protect your peak energy hours: Schedule your most important and challenging work during your high-energy periods
- Create energy transition rituals: Develop routines that help you shift between different types of activities
- Design your environment: Set up your workspace to support your energy rather than drain it
- Build in recovery: Schedule regular breaks and longer recovery periods
- Align with your values: Ensure your work and activities connect to what truly matters to you
Remember, this is personal. What works for your colleague or that productivity guru on Instagram might not work for you. Trust your data and your experience.
This Month’s Challenge
For the next 30 days, I want you to experiment with energy management. Start by tracking your energy patterns, then make one change to better align your important work with your natural peaks. Maybe it’s scheduling your creative work for early mornings, or perhaps it’s taking a real lunch break away from your desk.
Document how this change affects not just your productivity but also your overall satisfaction and well-being. Share your results with me on this post.
Because here’s the truth: Productivity isn’t just about getting more done. It’s about having the energy to do what matters most to you in a way that feels sustainable and fulfilling.
Next month, we’ll dive into digital decluttering and how to create a tech environment that supports your energy rather than draining it. Until then, pay attention to what fuels you and what depletes you. Your energy is your most precious resource—manage it accordingly.
