Productive Living: Getting Unstuck, with Britt Frank – TPW498

This week's episode features my conversation with Britt Frank, licensed neuropsychotherapist, trauma specialist, and author of The Science of Stuck, talking about getting unstuck, achieving our goals, and making a life that matters. Britt Frank offers wise advice on how to get unstuck and move forward I'm excited to share with you my conversation with licensed neuropsychotherapist, trauma specialist, and author Britt Frank, as part of our Productive Living series. Who is Britt? Britt is a licensed neuropsychotherapist and trauma specialist and author of The Science of Stuck (Penguin Random House), named by multiple publications as a must-read. Her newest book, The Getting Unstuck Workbook, helps readers apply the material in The Science of Stuck. Britt received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her master’s degree from the University of Kansas, where she later became an award-winning adjunct instructor. Britt is a contributing writer to Psychology Today and her work has been featured in Forbes, NPR, The New York Times, Fast Company, Psych Central, SELF, and Thrive Global. When she’s not hanging from the ceiling practicing aerial arts or spending time with her family, Britt is a featured wellness expert on podcasts, blogs, and television. How Britt got started Britt didn't start her career out knowing exactly what she was doing and with a perfect plan to go about doing it. In her life, she had many struggles, everything from eating disorders to addictions. She also bounced between different corporate jobs, having no idea of what exactly she wanted to do. When she learned what she now teaches, everything changed. She became passionate about talking about our minds and brains and all the tools we can use to simplify things, get unstuck, and have a more meaningful life. Britt's life experiences really add to the value of her work. A typical day for Britt As an entrepreneur and an author, Britt's days can get pretty wild. When she is in the middle of writing a new book, she will begin her day at 5:00 am, writing until about 9:00. From 9:00-10:00 she will focus on working out. Beginning at 10:00 she will focus on therapy for the rest of her work day, ending at 5:00 pm. In the evenings, from 5:00 until 8:00 she focuses on all the admin work of her practice, emails, and other things she missed throughout the day. At the end of the day, she will relax and spend time with her husband and dog. Productivity tools Britt recommends Britt is not opposed in any way to high-tech gadgets that help with productivity, but she is a fan of old-school pen-and-paper organization. There is also brain science that supports the use of pen and paper, which allows our brains to absorb information better. The digital world moves much faster than our brains do. Whenever Britt tries to move her calendar and other agendas onto her computer, things tend to fall to the wayside. She uses color coding in her planners to help manage her various roles (speaking, writing, and therapy) and appointments for each one. She likes to cross things off her list as she accomplishes each task. Britt uses a paper planner with a daily, weekly, and monthly section. She goes through the monthly section first, highlighting any speaking engagements she might have, book manuscript due, or any other important event. She wants to see at a glance what is most important so she can prioritize. She then goes through the weekly section to break down her tasks for each thing that needs to be done. In the daily section, she decides what needs the most attention and prioritizes accordingly. The problem of stuck When Britt talks about the problem of being stuc...