"Get Your Sh*t Together!"

If you’re interested in my post-college story, I want to let you know I’m sharing all of my tips on the post-college job search, nailing informational interviews, and more on the Bri Books Podcast Newsletter.

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0:00-0:15 - Hello and welcome to BrI Books podcast. Today’s episode is all about “Get Your Sh*t Together: How To Stop Worrying About What You Should Do So You Can Finish What You Need to Do and Start Doing What You Want to Do” by Sarah Knight. 00:22 - I’m so happy to be back in front of the mic. It’s October 1. Hello,  Q4! It feels like just yesterday we were brushing off the cold and snow in January. Andhere we are staring autumn in the face. 00:45 - I’m thrilled to be in front of my mic today. I had a plan for an upcoming episode, but I figured we’d do a #unplugged session instead. I recently completed the book, and I’m positive Knight has slipped into our home and read our imessages, because this book is strumming my pain with its...pages. 1:30 - I first encountered “Get Your Sh*t Together” in early 2017. The book existed on the periphery of my reading list for most of the year. I’d heard about Knight’s bestseller, “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving A F*ck. 2:20 - Finishing “Get Your Shit Together” left me motivated but also feeling internally empowered. I realized I have all the tools necessary to use the time, skills and energy I have in the most effective and vibrant way possible. 2:45 - Here’s the plan for this episode. First, we’re going to talk about what “getting your sh*t together” actually means. I find myself muttering it to myself under my breath when I’m shuffling through papers or search an email inbox. I think, “Gosh Brionna, pull it together. Wrangle your life up, because it’s out of control.” 3:10 - Reading this book helped me realize my “sh*t” didn't come undone in one day, so I can't expect to put it all back together in one day. Being an “adult” means strategizing, focusing on and committing to your goals. There’s a lot of mental clutter surrounding who we think we are, and the goals we ~think~ we should be setting. 4:00 - Sarah breaks down in “Get Your Sh*t Together” why it’s so important to STRATEGIZE, FOCUS, and COMMIT to goals tailor-made for YOU. 4:10 - Next, I’ll talk about my own struggles with getting my “sh*t” together, and how I’m applying new techniques from the book. 4:38 - First there’s strategizing: setting a goal and making a plan to achieve it in a series of chunks. 4:58 - This is where things get important. If you’re like me, you have a goal. Say the goal is to “Update my Linkedin”--a vague yet important task.  Instead, we getting paralyzed by procrastination and anxiety because of all the things swirling in your head (headshots, resume, connect with everyone, send out emails, etc.) See how it’s easy to psych yourself out? That’s why it’s so important to break goals into series of CHUNKS. Pick a chunk, and then focus. 5:55 - Focus is simply intentionally setting aside time to complete a chunk or task. This is an aspect of the professional world I’ve found myself struggling with--budgeting and allocating time realistically. I Tend to under budget those sorts of things can be fixed by understanding the series of chunks that go into task, and setting aside time to complete each chunk. If you’re like me, when you don't ocs you judge yourself and procrastinate and wonder why you ever set goal. Now time for third step. Commit. 7:00 - Reading “Get Your Shit Together” brought me back to a conversation hosted by Vinterlude. Vinterlude is a collection of women who host bespoke events for black women and black vendors as a method of modern political activism. I was invited by Depth and Candor host Hiwote Getaneh. 7:50 - At the end of the day, the main tenet is that practice is just practice. The point isn't mastery at the end of the session. It’s to strategize, focus, and commit on movement and improvement. 8:15 - I’ve shared my struggles with you, now i'm gonna tell you how i’m trying to get my shit together to finish the year strong. Let me know what you’re up to and how you’re doing the same. Use #brit books @bribookspod. Subscribe to Bri Books Podcast Newsletter. 8:52 - Brionna’s Q4 2017 theme:“Streamline, Strengthen, Fundamentals and Foundation.” 9:20 - “Strea: the theme is the streamline and strengthen fundamentals of my foundation. Professionally, that means reading industry based books and finishing an online course Personally, it means creating a sustainable volunteer schedule As for the Bri Books community, my Q4 goal means staying disciplined and building processes into the Bri Books podcast foundation. 10:10 - The third stage is to COMMIT to set goals. I’ll be first to admit I struggle with discipline and telling myself, “no.” I’m Queen of #TreatYoSelf. But as part of streamlining and strengthening fundamentals and foundation, I’m learning that it’s not about how I feel. My procrastination may be a sign of discomfort, and discomfort comes with growth. So, instead of trying to return to a state of comfort (“Game of Thrones” marathon re-watches, anyone?!!) and when I find myself procrastinating, I say i'm not afraid of hard work. Also there’s no such thing as too hard, it’s just degrees of difficulty along an achievable continuum of goals.” 11:23 - Thank you for listening to this episode it was so fun doing this unplugged top of the dome style episode. Tell me what you're reading. If you’ve already read gyst, tag me using #bribooks. Of course we're at bribookspod on instagram, twitter, facebook. Bribookspod.com is where this stuff lives. I really am so grateful everyone here is listening. Have an amazing start to October 2017. Let’s get it!