Taking Productivity to a Whole New Level at The GSD Work Retreat

00:00:24 - Amber Hawley
Welcome to season three of the My Biz Bestie podcast. I'm Amber Hawley.

00:00:28 - Maelisa Hall
And I'm Melissa Hall.

00:00:30 - Amber Hawley
And today we're talking about our first ever amazing My Biz Bestie retreat that we just hosted last week.

00:00:39 - Maelisa Hall
I know. It was super exciting. And we thought we would share some takeaways from the retreat with you because it was a little bit different than when we do our own retreats because obviously we were hosting it for other people. So we just had some, you know, different ideas and had some things to share.
Yeah.

00:00:57 - Amber Hawley
And we... I mean, as we've said before on the podcast, we find it so valuable to hear other people's perspectives or takeaways on things, which is why we do all the BizBestie interviews because there's always different approaches. But we also got a chance to interview four of the ladies while we were there.
And we're going to include their takeaways as well.

00:01:19 - Maelisa Hall
Yep. So you'll get to hear them in a minute. But first, Amber, what were your takeaways today? from our retreat, from being more of a retreat leader and less of a participant, I guess, was the biggest difference for us.

00:01:36 - Amber Hawley
Yes. I will say it was so much fun. I had such a great time. And, you know, being able to do that kind of work, which it just kind of, it's like a blend of, you know, doing that coaching type of work, but also doing the GSD and is such a sweet spot for me.
I love doing that. We love talking business and marketing all day long. So it was wonderful. But yes, we were there to serve others. So to help them with their productivity, I think my biggest takeaway or the thing I was blown away with is how much those women got done.
And I think for me, it helped me see the value of having somebody who was taking charge and checking in and kind of pushing and challenging, you know, the participants to really narrow down their focus and get clear about what they were going to do both for the weekend, for the day, and for the hour, right?

So we did Pomodoro sessions. It was so popular. We did it again on the second day, or the third day, actually, because the second day was our first real work day. And they were so amazing and was really getting clear with people, okay, what are you going to be doing for the next hour?
And getting them really focused and then helping them and holding them accountable. And I don't know, I was just absolutely blown away with how much they got done.

00:03:05 - Maelisa Hall
I was too. I was so impressed. We were both like, dang, in two days, like two full work days, they got done as much or more than we get done in our week-long retreat.

00:03:22 - Amber Hawley
Yeah, I would definitively say if I had accomplished that in our time in Canada... It would have been amazing. Two of the people completely redid their websites. I think everyone kind of put some effort into the website, but two was a complete overhaul.

00:03:38 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. We're talking like creating brand new pages, rewriting things, all of it.

00:03:44 - Amber Hawley
Yeah. And it was just amazing. They really did focus and, again, have that clear vision of what needed to be done. And we were there to support and give the feedback. So I That was really cool to see. And I could see the value of having the structure in it that makes it even more valuable.

00:04:04 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. Yeah. I guess that's one of the biggest differences too is we did offer... I think we offered more structure than even we had initially planned to offer because initially we were like, we're handling everything so you can just show up and get your stuff done.

00:04:19 - Amber Hawley
Yes. And it was always optional. People got to come and go as they pleased and they could participate or not participate. And so that's always a part of it because you need to work when you're in the flow state. So really capitalizing on giving people the freedom to do what they're needing to do, but being able to offer more of a structure, I think really helped people immensely.
And that's why they requested it for Saturday.

00:04:44 - Maelisa Hall
Well, and even we did it like twice a on one day and then the next day people wanted to do it twice again because it did turn out to be so valuable. And I think part of that was, yeah, like I saw you really like diving in with people like, okay, we've been...
And during those, that was like maybe I think our longest... productivity session we did, like Pomodoro session was like two hours, right? So the other ones were like maybe an hour and a half or two hours. So the other time people were like strategizing, asking questions, or we were like reviewing some things that they had done and giving them feedback on it.
So it was more like discussion based and overall strategy. But then it was really cool before, I think the second day before the morning session, you were like, okay, so-and-so, What are you working on?

And so it was also part, it was really increasing the level of accountability because there were some people who were like, oh, okay, getting a little bit distracted. We were able to be like, hey, remember you said you wanted to work on this one, like this thing while you were doing the Pomodoro.
And they're like, yeah, you're right. Okay, I'm working on that, working on that. But it was tying it all into the overall strategy.

00:05:52 - Amber Hawley
Yes, and that was the thing. I didn't want people leaving and having that feeling of, oh, I didn't accomplish enough, right? And we had somebody there who, she's somebody I think that just is so used to just charging through her to-do list, she might've walked away feeling that way.
Hers was almost the opposite of acknowledge the progress you've made and recognize everything and have a realistic viewpoint. And for other people, it was making sure we're staying consistent to that vision and saying like, what could you accomplish that will make you feel fantastic leaving this weekend?

00:06:25 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah, it was really cool to see and it made me a little jealous because to be honest. Because I was like, I want to pay someone to do everything while we're on the retreat. And then lead my Pomodoro sessions. So I did have some of those moments, but it was really cool.
And I was just blown away by how people freaking dived in and just got stuff done. I mean, they were so freaking productive.

00:06:57 - Amber Hawley
So I guess for the people out there who've never heard of a Pomodoro session, we should explain what that is. So it's a style of working where you spend 25 minutes actually working on something and you're focused. It's quiet time. We're all being focused.
And then you take a five minute break and then you do another five minutes, five minute break, so on and so forth. And then you can build in longer breaks, which is actually what we did. We did like a two hour one. And then we ended up taking a lunch hour because it just how it timed out.
and then doing another two-hour one. But the point of it is to work with how our brains work and to know you've got to take breaks because it actually makes you more productive. Otherwise, you end up burning yourself out. So Melissa is the real expert on it because you do this for your academy as well as an offering.

So do you have anything to add to that?

00:07:48 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. I think the typical one, if you wanted to do a full day, it's like six hours of of Pomodoro time and like an hour break. So you can plan it out for literally your entire workday. And there's a lot of research that shows that when people take consistent breaks, they are more productive overall, like at the end of a workday.
But also, it's not just about productivity. It's about managing your energy. And at the end of the day, you don't feel so wiped out. You don't feel so exhausted and like, oh my gosh, I just spent all day doing this. It's also a great way because you're using these 25-minute chunks of productivity to It's a way to trick your brain if you have a task that you've really been avoiding because you can say like, okay, I'm only going to do one Pomodoro of my budget, right?
And you can promise yourself, okay, I can handle spending 25 minutes on my budget if it's something that you really avoid doing or really don't like doing.

And then half the time you'll say, you know what? That wasn't so bad. I can do the next Pomodoro to finish this task out. Or if you're like, yep, that was horrible. hated every minute of it, then you can feel good knowing that you did 25 minutes work on it and you can move on to something else.
And when people use this strategy a lot, then later on, they'll actually think about their tasks in Pomodoros. They'll say like, oh yeah, that takes me one Pomodoro. A blog post takes me one Pomodoro or a blog post takes me two Pomodoros. And on that note too, it also helps you recognize how much time you're spending on things.
which I know for me is a big issue where all of a sudden I'll be like, oh, I just spent two hours on something. And should I have really spent two hours on it? So it makes you very cognizant of how much time everything takes.

00:09:25 - Amber Hawley
I think that's huge. That alone, just because so many people underestimate or overestimate, depending on the task, and yeah, get lost in it. And there is, because you're doing it by the timer, like you said, there's just built-in accountability and awareness.
And I think the more aware we are of how long tasks are actually taking, it helps us immensely with realigning our schedule or how we're doing things or like, oh, is this something I should be doing every month or should I be outsourcing this because it's taking longer than I thought?
And then when you do outsource it, you know the average time it will take.

00:10:01 - Maelisa Hall
And I will say, The Pomodoros, I've been doing them with my group in different capacities for about a year. I've been aware of it for a long time. And it is still so hard for me to do on my own. I lead these in my group every single week. I lead longer ones every quarter.
And I still struggle to implement it when it's just me, to push myself to do it. So having it in a group setting where other people are there and know that's what you're working on or know that's what you're doing is really invaluable.

00:10:32 - Amber Hawley
Yes, I think the accountability. Well, and we saw this where people would be in the groove and they'd want to keep working. And I was like, nope, you got to stop. You got to end it there. End that sentence. Let's go. And then the same thing would happen is the five minute break would try to, it would kind of get extended.
And so having that person who's like kindly, but firmly saying like, okay, back to work, back to work, let's go. put down your phone. And I really recommend when you're doing Pomodoro session that you do not check your phone for that five-minute break because that is the best way to one, not relax or to get your attention pulled into something else.
Save that for the longer break or at the end. Nothing is that urgent. You can wait however many hours, two or three hours, whatever it is. That would be my biggest recommendation. Yeah. Overall, the retreat, it was amazing.

I feel like the amount of things that people accomplish and how they felt about things and even just their overall vision for their business. That was so cool. And it was just really great to spend time with other women who are very investing in their business and really motivated to kind of take things to the next level.
So that was awesome. And it was very fun. I mean, there was a hot tub, which... was kind of hilarious because when we turned on the jets, it felt like our eyes were burning. So I think it was a little over-chlorinated. For some reason, none of us left.
And so the hot tub was a lot of fun. We had a massage therapist come in. And I feel like as hosts, we learned a lot about like, okay, what could we do better next year? How can we improve this?

How can we make this more effective for people? But overall, I was just so happy with how well everything turned out.

00:12:17 - Maelisa Hall
Oh, for sure. And the house itself was amazing and in a beautiful location. And you could literally see the Pacific Ocean from the second floor. And it was gorgeous. It was a great place. That was, I think, our biggest regret when we were talking afterwards is that we didn't get a little bit more time to walk around because it's such a walkable area.
There's so many cool things nearby.

00:12:39 - Amber Hawley
Yeah. Well, that was our bad, right? We didn't actually build in that break for ourselves because all of our participants did do that. So they did all the healthy stuff. We kept saying like encouraging them towards health and balance, but then ourselves not so much doing that.
But I felt like, again, I was trying to make sure everything was prepped or things were there, what was needed. And yeah, we did not do that until the last day. Then we did go up and have a lovely lunch overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful. But for sure next year, I'm definitely going on that walk.
Like I kept saying I was going to do it and then I didn't. And yeah, people, you can walk at night there. It's so safe. It's really beautiful. So it was good. I think the participants really utilized the time really well and had a great time. And that was the overall feedback was how wonderful it was.

00:13:28 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. So let's hear from them about some of their takeaways because they were all GSD virgins. This was their very first time doing a GSD weekend or retreat or getaway of any kind. So let's hear what they had to say. So if you've never done this type of retreat or weekend for yourself, you can see what other people found surprising or what they found valuable.
Now we're here with Dr. Karen Banquet. And Karen, this was your first time doing a GSD retreat. So what did you think? How did it go? Actually, it was really great. I got a lot of stuff done that I have been putting off for literally years. Got my website copy written, and I've been paying on that website for almost two years now.
And so it'll be good to have that go live.

00:14:25 - Amber Hawley
I was going to say, you know how many entrepreneurs have had so many major projects on their list. So we constantly were giving feedback to you and the other participants like, don't feel bad about that because that's just how it is.

00:14:38 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah, yeah. I've been feeling bad about it for quite some time. I didn't start this weekend. We totally understand. We totally understand that. So what motivated you to... to finally do it? If you've had these things going on, you know, on your list for years, what was the catalyst where you were like, it's got to get done now?
Really, it was the opportunity to come here and have the space because it felt like I just didn't have the time or space to get it done at home. I obviously wasn't making space or time to get it done. But it was so specifically focused on getting these things done that I had been putting off and ignoring because they were for me and my business, right?
And everybody else in the family needed. things taken care of. And the to-do lists were very long.

And so my stuff always got put off last and to have this opportunity to come down here and focus on it and have everything be taken care of and to get the coaching and encouragement and feedback and instruction because I really didn't know what I should be doing or what it would look like.
So yeah.

00:15:52 - Amber Hawley
That's awesome. And I will say, I kept telling you all along, like you were like the A plus student because you really were just banging stuff out. We were doing Pomodoro sessions and it was absolutely amazing what you were accomplishing. So, and that's all on you, right?
I think for you, was there anything, I mean, because you'd never done it before and you had kind of an idea of what to expect, but did anything surprise you about the last few days that you weren't expecting? Did anything surprise me?

00:16:18 - Maelisa Hall
Well, I got through my entire list of things I wanted to do. Honestly, that was pretty surprising.

00:16:25 - Amber Hawley
I'm surprised by that. I'm not sure I've ever done that on a GSD weekend. So I'm super impressed.

00:16:31 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. And just I think the and this sounds kind of corny, maybe the level of assistance you guys gave, you know, in the instruction and encouragement and feedback was really valuable and was really helpful. Oh, okay. Fuzzy feelings. And I guess on that note, what a lot of people might be thinking is like, okay, well, that's cool.
Like you go and you bust something out for a weekend. But then how are you feeling about like going back home? And do you feel like you have some momentum? momentum? Are you a little bit worried like you're going to get a lot of stuff done, but then not be able to use it?
So I actually feel like I can continue that I have a list of things to do. And I have a sense of what needs to be done. At the same time, I feel like if I don't do anything that I got enough done over the weekend, that that's okay.

I think that's really important. Yeah.

00:17:22 - Amber Hawley
What was your favorite moment of the weekend?

00:17:25 - Maelisa Hall
I think when I actually looked back at my notes that I did the very first night when I looked back today and realized that literally everything on my list, I could check off. Like every single thing on my list, I could check off.

00:17:38 - Amber Hawley
That was pretty cool. That is pretty cool. Again, still mind blown. And I hope one day to be just like you and check everything off my list for one of these weekends. But you're amazing. Thank you so much for coming and joining us. It has been a blast.
And I do really appreciate everything you contributed to everyone and how just I'm impressed by the work.

00:18:01 - Maelisa Hall
Well, it was a lot of fun. And it was fun to have all the camaraderie and the... Company and the relaxation, that was all very nice too, so I appreciate it. That's true. You actually spent some time relaxing, too. It wasn't like you were like, hardcore 100.
So damn, yeah. She went to lunch with a friend too. What, that's pretty cool, too. Wow, like, we're not worthy. So, Karen, if people want to find out more about you, where should they go? Well, so I am a psychologist in private practice in Sacramento.
And I work with couples. And I work with mood disorders. And I can be found at my brand new done up website at c-a-r-y-n-b-a-n-q-u-e-p-s-y-d.com. That's Karen Banquet's ID, people.

Thanks so much, Karen. Thank you.

00:18:56 - Amber Hawley
And now we have with us the lovely Molly Ann Sherman, who is a home renovation designer. Welcome, Mollyann. So this was your very first time doing a GSD retreat, going away to work on your business instead of in it. How was it for you? It was great. I felt like I was productive and I made some progress and hung out with a great group of ladies.
Awesome. Yes, it was so great to have you. I do a little bit feel for you. You were the only non-therapist in the whole bunch, although that should make you feel super supported, honestly. There was so much openness in the house. So did anything surprise you about coming into the GSD?
I've never done one before, so I didn't have any real specific expectations. Just was kind of rolling with what your format was and kind of picked in when I needed to.

And I think I made use of your expertise in the ways that you could support. And I felt productive. So that was good.

00:19:59 - Maelisa Hall
What was your favorite part of the weekend?

00:20:04 - Amber Hawley
I think having some structure, the timed time periods that you would do sort of focus work was good.

00:20:11 - Maelisa Hall
The Pomodoro sessions? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:20:13 - Amber Hawley
The Pomodoro sessions. So when there's a little bit of structure, it gives you kind of a direction and goals and things to meet. And so I thought that was helpful.

00:20:22 - Maelisa Hall
Sweet. Yeah, I always get way more work done. doing that kind of thing. Because you have somebody to keep you accountable, right?

00:20:28 - Amber Hawley
Yeah. In addition, I think spending some time with you, Melissa, and reviewing some of those specific things that can help to generate a connection to the audience I'm trying to reach. And now I just have to sort of how to make that happen and all that.
But the direction was really helpful, I think.

00:20:44 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah, she really made me feel like I knew nothing about kitchen design. And hopefully I was a good practice client for you. Because I was like, I don't know, here's what I would Google.

00:20:57 - Amber Hawley
I think it's safe to say that you might know the least of anybody I've ever known. So that feels valid. Well, but that's the person you want to reach when you're trying to figure out who you're trying to reach or you're not, you know, like, do you know anything about this?
And how would you go about it? And that's real world. So Yes. And I think the beauty of that is you can have somebody, there's a freshness to it. Like what you're saying is it helps you to look at the work that you're putting out there because they're giving you a unique perspective.
And at the same time, the business aspects always apply regardless of the industry. So I think that's really good. For sure. So it was so great. And I will say if people want to look into you further and find out more about you, where would they go? Well, you could find out more about me and my services and such we do in design at macdesignstudio.
com.

That's our website. And we're located in Fremont and do a lot of work throughout the Bay Area and love to help people make their homes more friendly and comfortable.

00:22:00 - Maelisa Hall
Sweet. And that's Fremont, California. That's Fremont, California. Thanks so much, Molly Ann. You bet. Thanks for having me. And now we are with the wonderful Jasmine Jordan. Welcome, Jasmine. So Jasmine, this was the first time you've done a GSD retreat.
And how did it go? What do you think? I thought it was super cool. I've never dedicated so many hours of pretty much my life to working on my business. And it was very much needed and super helpful.

00:22:35 - Amber Hawley
Yeah, I will say I feel like you did a lot. And I felt like you did a really good job of both a lot of like, Actual getting work done and kind of bigger picture planning. And there felt like, you know, there was a lot of clarity that was coming from that.
I would, you agree with that?

00:22:51 - Maelisa Hall
Yes, I would. So. Was anything about the weekend surprising or anything from the weekend surprise you? Well, I really liked my room. I didn't think I wouldn't like it, but I guess I didn't think about it at all, so I was surprised by how much I like my room.
How kick-ass the house that we chose was? Yeah, the house is pretty kick-ass. It's pretty fabulous. Surprise. Well, I was surprised to know that I picked five alcohols that I didn't really know about. Yes, on the food survey.

00:23:25 - Amber Hawley
I was like, there are three evenings and she's picked five alcohols. Should I check in with her? I guess we're wondering, like, I know sometimes when you've never done something, like you said, you don't know quite what to expect, but... But as far as like structure, what you accomplished or kind of how things went, was any of that surprising for you?
Well, I don't think I'd been exposed to that Pomodoro method.

00:23:50 - Maelisa Hall
I mean, I could be wrong, but it's the most standout explanation and practice I've ever done. So that was surprising because I didn't really think there was going to necessarily be any sort of option to a structure. Not that I didn't want a structure.
I just was open to whatever. And I was pleasantly surprised by that because it worked really well for me. Awesome. And is there anything like after this weekend, because you did get a lot of stuff done and a lot of, like Amber said, a lot of different kinds of things done, going home tomorrow, like how are you feeling about going into the week and going back to regular life and how what you did this weekend can apply to that?
I'm excited to continue to move forward with figuring out how to get an intake coordinator set up. That to me is a really big piece of the life puzzle that needs to fall into place.

Apart from that, I'm a little bit nervous. I was talking with Amber earlier today about how I feel like every day kind of just happens. And I don't feel like even if I make a plan that it ends up unfolding even remotely close to what I think. So we had a lot of discussion around how to be unyielding about two hours a week for just getting ahead on the week or working on side projects.
So I hope I can do that for myself. That's my goal. I definitely want to invest in some big post-its and smaller post-its of different colors to create some sort of weak visual for me that hopefully my kids can't reach so that I can stay organized.

00:25:22 - Amber Hawley
Yeah. And I think, yeah, that was a great conversation because I think it's something that all business owners have struggles with or At different times or in varying levels, the idea of, especially when you have young children in addition to a business, how do you make sure that the non-negotiable time for you and your business is still happening?
And I think we came to the conclusion of... Even starting small, if you dedicated two hours a week to just working on your business and you had a real clear plan that you actually would accomplish a lot and you would at least be feeling forward momentum.
And sometimes I think we get the idea that we have to give so much time in order to really move things forward in our business. And that's overwhelming when you're balancing everything, right?

Yeah. And so I think, again, I felt there was a lot of receptiveness there. And I'm excited to hear how you implement that. We might have to check in with you on a Facebook Live or something and see how that's all going. And are you actually making sure that you're making those two hours a week sacrosanct for yourself, for your business, and see how that goes?
And then I'm sure... You'll probably be so excited you'll add more, but at least just starting there, right? I think it's important. But the Post-it things, yeah, that was...

00:26:41 - Maelisa Hall
They're game changers.

00:26:43 - Amber Hawley
For reals, yeah.

00:26:44 - Maelisa Hall
Instant visual cue reminder things that I love.

00:26:49 - Amber Hawley
I know. Because you can put your notebook in your backpack or your suitcase or your briefcase and forget about it. So that's why people are writing in their notebooks. No, you're going to write it on this big Post-it on the wall for all to see. But it was awesome.
What was your favorite part of the weekend?

00:27:06 - Maelisa Hall
Well, there were a lot of really wonderful parts about the weekend. It was nice to get to know some women that I hadn't met before at all. And people that I'd kind of like quasi fangirled about a little bit like Melissa and just like the biz bestie people in person as their like duo.

00:27:23 - Amber Hawley
That was pretty cool. Just to be clear, Jazz and I know each other. So that's why she didn't mention me.

00:27:27 - Maelisa Hall
That's right, Amber. Sure. Yeah. We used to work together. So I just want that to be clear.

00:27:36 - Amber Hawley
Otherwise, she'd fangirl me so hard.

00:27:39 - Maelisa Hall
I totally obviously loved working for her because I wouldn't have spent probably a weekend with any other former boss now that I think about it. So that's true. It's a little weird. So also Amber. So that was a nice high of the weekend. It was really nice to be so well taken care of by Melissa and Amber, by you guys for food and just checking in in a way that You know, maybe I wasn't going to necessarily ask for a check in or help at the moment, but just getting prompted or like reminded that I need to be considering something or OK, what are you going to work on for this next segment of Pomodoro work or however you say it was very helpful because it helped me not create a situation for myself where I went down a rabbit hole or got so exhausted because I was just sitting doing something for two hours instead of taking the breaks and stuff.

So that was really valuable to me. So I consider that a high.

00:28:32 - Amber Hawley
There's a hot tub. That was cool. You know what's funny is as you were talking, I was totally thinking of the hot tub and I was like, was the high point when we turned on the jets and both of our eyes started burning so bad we couldn't see? No. Hashtag true story.

00:28:53 - Maelisa Hall
And that's all we will share about the hot tub people.

00:28:57 - Amber Hawley
Yes, that's all.

00:28:58 - Maelisa Hall
All right, Jasmine. Well, now that people have heard you, and they're dying to fangirl you, where should they go to find out more?

00:29:06 - Amber Hawley
That's intense.

00:29:08 - Maelisa Hall
My website is my name, which is Jasmine without the E. So J-A-S-M-I-N. And then my last name is French and long. It's Jordan A. It's spelled J-O-U-R. I almost forgot. D-E-N-A-I-S-M-I-N. And the last part is LMFT because that's my title.com. Or you can just go to the show notes.
Yeah, that might be better. But yes, so your name, JasmineJordanaeLMFT.com if people want to find out more.

00:29:43 - Amber Hawley
Yes. And thank you so much for joining us. You truly made the weekend a lot of fun and we were so glad to have you and super excited to see you continue on. Thank you, ladies. It was great. Would you like to experience some of the magic that all of our attendees are talking about?
You can join us for a Pomodoro-style session and with the My Biz Besties there for your accountability on Thursday, October 25th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific.

00:30:13 - Maelisa Hall
It's going to be epic. We will be there to cheer you on, to help you brainstorm what needs to get done during each Pomodoro session. And yes, it is live. There will be cameras on so we can see you if you are leaving in the middle of the session. And we'll be like, hey, what's up with that?
But in a nice way, just like we do. But yes, we are super excited to do this. And you don't have to fly to San Diego. You can just sit wherever you are in whatever clothes you want and get some stuff done.

00:30:42 - Amber Hawley
And the reality is we know this works. We know that if you took these three hours, you could get that project done that you've been putting off for a long time or get some of those to-do lists that, again, have been looming and you avoid because you just, face it, don't want to do them.
But we will help you by getting you to get clear ahead of time what you're going to work on. And then we will be there for the accountability and the structure. And just having other people there to support you virtually just by having another body. And so we want you to join and see the magic for yourself.
So please head on over to mybizbestie.com forward slash co-working because we want to work with you.

00:31:24 - Maelisa Hall
Yes, that's all one word, C-O-W-O-R-K-I-N-G, co-working. And now we're chatting with Therese Grieco. Hi, Therese. Hi. Hi. So you had never done a GSD weekend before.

00:31:40 - Amber Hawley
Never.

00:31:41 - Maelisa Hall
And what did you think about it? How did it go? I thought it went fabulous-ly. And I was just, I was so thankful to just have some space to work on a bunch of stuff that I hadn't had time to.

00:31:58 - Amber Hawley
Yeah, I will say you, in my eyes, I feel like she a little bit gets the MVP award. Because although... Like we already we talked to other people who finished their to do list and other people did so many things. But honestly, I feel like you were the one that just at all times we were like, oh, is she asleep?
And then all of a sudden there was like a Facebook like or something. But you were just working, working, working and kind of did your own solo thing, but just had your list. You're like, nope, got it done. You just got it all done. It was super impressive.
Thanks. And I truly appreciated because I feel kindred spirit that the first thing you did was like clean out your bathroom. Bag and organize everything. That to me was amazing.

00:32:39 - Maelisa Hall
Thanks, yeah, I, well, I, I am a high J, so, you know. And so it was just a lot of months of just kind of go, go, go and so it was nice to just have some space to. I mean, even going through emails was helpful. So yeah, because I think sometimes. weekend like this is higher level planning stuff.
Sometimes it's busting out one specific project. And sometimes like, I think what you used it for was just clearing out all the stuff that does take literally hours to do. And so my guess is that you're kind of feeling like after you leave this weekend, you have a lot of that stuff cleared out.
So you've kind of like decluttered and now you have a fresh start. Yeah. I now have more room in my brain.

To take some of the brainstorming things that we had talked about and start implementing them. So bigger picture kind of stuff. Yeah. Awesome. What prompted you to want to do this GSD weekend? Like, is this something you'd ever thought about before? And, you know, why now?
Well, honestly, probably in the past, I don't know, handful of months, I just started listening to my biz bestie. And I actually kind of just picked out all the episodes about GSD listen to all those first. And I had never heard the concept, but I had been telling people for like a year, like, I just need to do a vacation by myself.
That's not a vacation, you know, where I just do work.

00:34:14 - Amber Hawley
Yes. And you also get the award for furthest traveled. So because you came from the Midwest, so that's even more impressive. But that's the thing, right? It's like to have that time. It's exactly like I need a break where no one from work is bugging me or no household chores.
But just so I can like get caught up or whatever. Yeah.

00:34:32 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. And so and it was even more appealing, I would say, because I got to go somewhere totally different that I'd never been. I know.

00:34:41 - Amber Hawley
And you actually went out and explored. I will say you went down a couple. You went to the beach. You did your walks and stuff. So that was great.

00:34:49 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah.

00:34:49 - Amber Hawley
That's always hard to do sometimes on our short weekends. Yeah. We were talking about the fact that sometimes we never even see the area and luckily we're in a beautiful house, but La Jolla is gorgeous. Yes. Yes.

00:35:00 - Maelisa Hall
I mean, I got here early, so I had already kind of looked at the map and was like, what's close and where can I go to sit and do work even before we started?

00:35:09 - Amber Hawley
So nice. So not knowing, not having done it before, was there anything that you found surprising about the weekend or that you didn't expect or like as far as, you know, workflow or anything really?

00:35:22 - Maelisa Hall
I don't know that I would say there's anything I found surprising that I didn't expect, but more that I just appreciated the ease of being with everyone since I didn't know anybody. And then also just everybody being respectful of us each doing our own thing.
Sweet. Yeah, I think that's a really cool thing. And maybe even more so about this group where a lot of people were doing pretty different things. things. But it was cool. And what was your favorite part of the weekend? Or what was a highlight for you?
I liked the fact that there were little things that you guys kind of peppered throughout that were super helpful, like different kinds of food for dinner, a chair massage, you know, face mask, eye mask, that kind of stuff.

Just, you know, like put in some fun things, even though the whole the main focus was work. Yeah. We know work and play people.

00:36:23 - Amber Hawley
Yeah.

00:36:24 - Maelisa Hall
That's for sure. Well, Teresa, if people want to find out more about you and what you do, where should they go? My business is called Sigmore Professional Counseling, and I work with couples, loss and grief, and perinatal mood disorders.

00:36:38 - Amber Hawley
And where is your practice located?

00:36:39 - Maelisa Hall
Oh, yes. That might be a good thing to say. I am in Columbus, Ohio.

00:36:43 - Amber Hawley
The Buckeye State, yo. Yes, it is. Awesome. Thank you so much.

00:36:51 - Maelisa Hall
You're welcome.

00:36:51 - Amber Hawley
Thank you. It was so awesome to hear from the women again. This is just a few days after the retreat ended. So it's great to hear it once more for ourselves. And hopefully this inspired you to think more about doing your own little mini GSD retreat or even the week-long one.
We definitely talk about those GSD power sessions to getting things done and getting clarity and spending time working on your business instead of in it. And we see a lot of value, the value in having somebody run that and help you give you structure, but also to do it for yourself.
And so if you're interested in structuring your own, please check out all of our previous episodes. And we're going to link to those in the show notes because we do quite a few where we talk about how to structure that to make it the most beneficial time and maximize everything you want to get out of it.

00:37:44 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah, and ways you can do it in a shorter timeframe versus the week long versus having a larger group with you versus having maybe just a couple people. We don't do them by ourselves because we like to socialize, but you could also apply those same weekend principles to one that's on your own.
So make sure to head on over to mybizbestie.com forward slash coworking. If you want to get a little taste of what that might be like and join us for our virtual online coworking session, October 25th from 10am to 1pm Pacific. And we will help you identify what is the best thing to get done.
We'll have some little idea generators that we'll send you beforehand. So you won't just show up, you know, not knowing anything that you need to do.

We'll give you some helpful instruction. But then most importantly, we'll just have the time there for you. So you will actually have a time you need to show up and be there and you'll have people expecting you to be there. And I promise you, you will get that thing done that you've been avoiding.

00:38:47 - Amber Hawley
Yes. We will hold the space and you get the tasks done. Yep. With love.

00:38:52 - Maelisa Hall
And we'll be able to celebrate your wins. It's always fun too when you can do something that you've been putting off. And then at the end of it, you're like, Hey, I just wrote two pages of my website. And someone else is like, Yes, that's amazing. And can actually celebrate it with you.
Versus when you tell your spouse and they're like, Who doesn't have a business? And they're like, Oh, okay. Cool, babe.

00:39:14 - Amber Hawley
Or shouldn't you have done that like four months ago? All right. So true. Head on over mybizbesty.com forward slash co-working. We hope to see you there.