Lifestyle, Mindset, Podcast

What if productivity wasn’t about doing more, but about doing less with intention?

🎧 Tune into Episode 64 of Inspired by Design

In this episode of Your Wellness is Your Business Strategy with Olivia Austin, I sat down with designer, educator, and multi-business owner Olivia Austin to explore discipline, boundaries, and the habits that create real freedom in business and life.

Rather than chasing hustle or perfection, this conversation centered on something much simpler, and far more sustainable: designing your days in a way that supports your energy, your focus, and the life you actually want to live.

Starting the Day with Intention Instead of Reaction

To begin with, Olivia shared that her most important daily practice isn’t flashy or complicated. Every morning, she commits to a non-negotiable 30-minute window just for herself.

This usually includes early rising, journaling, meditation, and an online therapy check-in. However, what matters most isn’t the exact routine, it’s the intention behind it.

Instead of locking herself into rigid rules, Olivia allows flexibility within the structure. Some days call for journaling. Other days call for complete stillness. The commitment stays the same, but the practice adapts.

As a result, the habit actually lasts.

In other words, discipline doesn’t have to feel restrictive. When it’s rooted in self-trust, it becomes supportive.

Why Calendar Management Is a High-Performance Habit

As the conversation continued, Olivia identified the habit that truly “snowballed everything” in her life and business: taking control of her calendar.

Running two businesses while raising kids meant she had to stop reacting to her schedule and start designing it intentionally. So, she began working in focused three-to-four-hour blocks, batching tasks, and limiting all calls, client, strategy, and sales, to one designated day per week.

Because of this, she reduced context switching, protected her mental energy, and created more space for deep work.

Put simply: your calendar isn’t just a scheduling tool. It’s a boundary.

Why Checking Email First Thing Drains Your Energy

Alongside calendar management, Olivia emphasized another often-overlooked productivity habit: setting specific times to check email.

After all, your inbox is essentially a list of other people’s priorities. When you start your day there, you immediately place yourself in reactive mode.

Instead, Olivia treats email as a task, not a constant interruption. By doing so, she remains proactive, focused, and grounded throughout the day.

Similarly, we talked about how checking emails or DMs first thing in the morning pulls your attention outward before you’ve had a chance to connect inward. Starting the day with intention allows you to move through your work with clarity rather than urgency.

Reframing Marketing as an Opportunity, Not a Burden

Next, the conversation shifted toward marketing, an area where many entrepreneurs feel stuck or overwhelmed.

After eight years in business, Olivia is intentionally bringing more play and experimentation into her marketing. Rather than treating it as something heavy or draining, she now sees it as a creative tool and an opportunity.

Thanks to platforms like Instagram and email, business owners can reach global audiences, often at little to no cost. However, instead of trying to do everything everywhere, Olivia recommends choosing one platform where your ideal clients already spend time.

From there, experiment. Pay attention to what resonates. Then, once clarity emerges, go all in.

Marketing doesn’t need to be loud. It just needs to be aligned.

From Corporate Burnout to Building Her Own Lane

Olivia’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t start with a perfect plan.

In fact, she quit her corporate graphic design job without clients, without a safety net, and without a clear roadmap, only a deep knowing that she couldn’t continue living someone else’s version of success.

Over time, freelancing evolved into a full design studio. Later, that studio expanded into an education platform for designers who want to build and scale agencies sustainably.

Year after year, the business grew, not because she followed a formula, but because she stayed connected to her intuition and took consistent action.

Everything you need, she reminded listeners, already lives inside you.

High Performance That Supports a Full Life

Importantly, Olivia doesn’t pursue high performance for external validation. She does it to live fully.

That’s why she’s intentional about:

• Keeping technology out of the bedroom
  
• Using an old-school alarm clock
  
• Charging phones downstairs
  
• Connecting daily actions to a long-term vision
  

Rather than doing more, she focuses on removing obstacles that drain energy and attention. As a result, her days feel calmer, clearer, and more intentional.

Discipline, in this context, becomes an act of self-respect.

Productivity When Time Is Limited

When Olivia became a parent, time constraints forced clarity.

With fewer working hours available, she had to identify what truly moved the needle. Now, she works roughly 25 focused hours per week, yet accomplishes more than ever.

Why? Because she prioritizes needle-moving tasks, protects her energy, and fills her days with work she genuinely enjoys.

While long-term vision matters, she emphasized that enjoying the day-to-day matters just as much.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome by Owning Your Expertise

Finally, we talked about imposter syndrome, especially for newer entrepreneurs.

Olivia offered a powerful reframe: you don’t need to be the most advanced person in the room. You need to be relatable. Your lived experience, your approach, and your way of thinking are what make your work valuable.

Confidence grows when you keep small promises to yourself, whether that’s exercising, setting boundaries with technology, or honoring your schedule.

Over time, those promises build trust. And trust builds momentum.

Final Takeaway: Discipline Is What Makes Freedom Possible

Ultimately, this conversation wasn’t about hustle or perfection.

It was about alignment.

When you design your days with intention, protect your energy, and trust yourself enough to take action, discipline stops feeling like pressure, and starts feeling like freedom.

Not just in business.
But in life.

🎧 Tune into Episode 64 of Inspired by Design