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The podcast focuses on fiercely empowering women in business, as entrepreneurs and women in male-dominated industries, featuring guests who embody strength, resilience, competence, and a touch of sass as they navigate business and life.
Looking for guests who are willing to bring a wealth of experience and knowledge but also possess the strength, resilience, and sass that align with the tone of my podcast.
I want their stories and insights to provide immense value to my audience, helping me to establish a powerful podcast as a must-listen for women looking to empower themselves in business. The goal is to build competence and discover how brave women can be in business.
Welcome to Superheroes in Heels, the podcast where powerful women rise, lead, and own the room. I'm Kimberley Borgens, your host, fellow trailblazer, and unapologetic advocate for women in the world of business. With over thirty years of experience building success in a male dominant industry, I'm here to empower you to do the same. Each week, you'll hear bold conversations with inspiring guests who embody strength, resilience, a little dash of sass, and a little bit of grace. Together, we'll challenge the status quo, break through barriers, unlock your confidence, and unleash your inner superhero.
Kimberley Borgens:You ready? Let's go.
Kimberley Borgens:Hello, and welcome to Superheroes in Heels, the podcast where women in business step into their power and create the lives and the careers that they truly want. I'm your host Kimberley Borgens, and I fiercely empower women in believing that they're more capable and more vulnerable and more valuable than they might even believe for themselves. And today, we're gonna talk about some fun things. Well, I think it's fun. We're gonna pull back the cake on the art of subtraction, you know, doing less so that you can clear the path for doing so much more in your business, in your life, all everything altogether.
Kimberley Borgens:So that's what we're gonna talk about today. Look. We know the hustle of entrepreneurship and leadership. Look. It feels relentless.
Kimberley Borgens:I know. Every day is a sprint up the side of a mountain carrying not just your dreams, but the dreams of your team, your family, your community. All of that plays in that role. But what if the key to getting to the summit is learning what not to carry with you? So this week, I'm gonna be, you know, diving in deeply into some transformative tools like the to don't list and the ta da list.
Kimberley Borgens:And because we're all about action here, this week's superhero challenge will help you put these tools to work instantly. So let's start with a confession. How many times have you ended a jam packed day staring at your to do list and just realizing you still haven't hardly crossed anything off your list? You know, if you nodded or winced or was like, ugh. Yeah.
Kimberley Borgens:You're not alone. The classic to do list can become a source of guilt and overwhelm rather than the productivity booster that it was meant to be. That's where the to don't list comes in. So I wanna tell you about the to don't list. The to don't list helps you to subtract in order to multiply more in your business.
Kimberley Borgens:I know that sounds a little bit crazy, but the truth is that superheroes really tell you is that the real power isn't about everything that you do. It's about the things that you choose not to do also. And the to don't list is your secret weapon. So instead of cramming even more onto your to do list that never seems to get done, get crystal clear on what it is that you can stop doing. We're gonna talk about that today.
Kimberley Borgens:Alright. You might wanna get that paper and pencil, paper and pen, the notes on your your phone. You might wanna get those handy because we're gonna talk about some things today that you could eliminate maybe, that you could delegate, outsource, those kinds of things. So at least we're gonna start with that and we're gonna, you know, dig a little bit deeper. Think about the things that you do that you could delegate.
Kimberley Borgens:They're the things that you're doing that someone else could do just as well or maybe even better. You know, passing them off is not a weakness. It's a strength, I'm telling you. Look, I seriously in order to grow a business to the level that it is right now, I had to let go of doing more than half of the stuff that goes through in our company. We were partners or we are partners, and half of the stuff was his responsibility, half of the stuff was my responsibility, but I couldn't keep and maintain my half of stuff by myself.
Kimberley Borgens:I had to hire people. We had to hire an assistant. We had to hire somebody to help manage the books. We had to hire somebody to help do operations. We had to hire employees to go out and work in the field.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Go to the go take care of the clients for us. We can't do it all if we were really going to grow our business. So think about for you, what are some of the things that you can pass off that you can let go of? They're not a weakness.
Kimberley Borgens:They are a strength. Imagine freeing up your time for strategy or innovation instead of being bogged down by the admin, or the daily routine of emails or, you know, or or or or or the list goes on. But what if you could just let go of some of that and delegate it? What if you outsource some things? Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Some tasks that are not necessary for you. They don't require your unique genius. Maybe it's bookkeeping, social media scheduling. Hello. We don't have to do all of that.
Kimberley Borgens:How many times do you go to do your social media media scheduling and then you end up on social media for like another hour because you got caught watching reels? Give it to somebody else that that's just their task. They just get it done and move on and not get caught up. And if they do, it doesn't matter because it's not on your dime. Website updates, I don't do that anymore.
Kimberley Borgens:Boy, I remember when I did. It took me three times as long as it takes a person who does it now at least. Let the experts who are really good at and who love those things handle them so that you can focus on your work, the reason why you got into business in the first place, the reason you wanna make an impact in the world. And then eliminate. Eliminate the tasks that that move you closer to your goals.
Kimberley Borgens:If they don't move you closer to your goals, then why are you doing them? Or why aren't you outsourcing them? Maybe it's attending meetings out of a habit or answering emails that don't really need you to answer them. I can't tell you how many emails I get in a day. Well, I know I get, you know, over a 100 emails a day.
Kimberley Borgens:I can't possibly respond to a 100 emails. Some are just for information. Hey, we're having a sale. Great. Thank you.
Kimberley Borgens:Delete. Or okay, maybe I'll look at you on the weekend. Right? But you don't have to respond to every single email. You get in a habit of doing it.
Kimberley Borgens:But it doesn't really need your attention so maybe you can eliminate it. I can't tell you like, I don't know, every six months, I kinda go through my emails and I unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe. I do it once every six months. Done. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:I could even have an assistant do that actually. But cross these off because when you do that, it's guilt free. Allow yourself to have guilt free, I don't need to do that. Eliminate it. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Picture your calendar with some white space. Right? Some room to breathe, some room to plan and to create. What is next for you? That's the power of the to don't list.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? It's not about neglect. It's not about, having to have guilt. It's about a strategic focus on what it is that you need to focus on so that you can grow your business. So how do you build a to don't list, Kimberley?
Kimberley Borgens:Alright. I got four actionable steps for you. The first one is audit your week. Track everywhere your time goes. Write it down.
Kimberley Borgens:Write down everything that you do each day. I know it feels tedious when you're doing it, but let me just tell you, if you give yourself the chance to do this, right, it will come back to you tenfold down the line. K? So write everything down. The phone calls, the emails, the conversations, the filing.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Running errands, everything. Just write it down. And then highlight the activities that truly just drain you or they don't align with you and your bigger vision. They have to get done, but you don't have to be the one to do it.
Kimberley Borgens:So that's step one. Do ask yourself, is this task essential? Is it something that only I can do? One of my mentors, Sandra Yancey, she with the Women Network, she often says, only do the things that you can do. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:So ask yourself, is this something that only you can do? Does it drive results? Does it create income for your business? Does it keep you on track with your dream? Then decide.
Kimberley Borgens:So if it doesn't fit into the results that you're trying to create, if it's not something that you should be doing, right, then decide. For each of those tasks that you wrote down, decide to either delegate it, to outsource it, or to eliminate it, or keep it for sure because you know that it's meant for you to do. Right? And don't don't be afraid to say no, even to yourself. I mean, it's a superpower.
Kimberley Borgens:Just because it's there doesn't mean that you have to do it. And the fourth thing I would say is to communicate. Set boundaries and communicate the changes to your team, your clients, your family. Sometimes you have to eliminate some of the things you're giving your client and say, you know what? We're restructuring restructuring and and here's here's what what we're we're gonna gonna give you now.
Kimberley Borgens:We're not losing value. We're just shifting what it looks like and help them understand that value. But you're modeling leadership by focusing on what matters most for you and for your family and for your clients. Now I have to admit, I'm more of the to do list person. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:But for the things that only I can do and a few things that I pick up every now and again, I add them to a list sometimes. I don't have a to to do list every single day. Right? And when I do have a to do list, I complete it and then I throw it away. Now I do I will admit I have two reoccurring to do lists.
Kimberley Borgens:They're typed up in small print. They're right on the side of my monitor, and they're there. It's the the things that, it's the same task I do every single week. One of the list is all the the work tasks that I need to do every single week to make sure that invoicing got done, to make sure our payroll got done, to make sure the finances got updated in the system, to make sure that all the employee four zero one k, one twenty fives, all of those are taken care of, make sure the taxes are getting taken care of, make sure I check-in with my team. So all of these, this is my to do list.
Kimberley Borgens:You see how they can just roll right off my tongue. Right? So sometimes, you know, I might get distracted. Right? I get caught off guard.
Kimberley Borgens:Something is off. I'm not feeling great. I'm not able to focus, whatever that is. Then I'm able to look at my list as if it's like a little playbook, and then I can get back on track. No.
Kimberley Borgens:I didn't do that. No. I didn't do that. Yep. I did that.
Kimberley Borgens:Did that. Okay. This is what I have left to do. And I have a personal one too is don't forget to hug my husband, tell my kids I love them, you know, things like that. I know that sounds funny.
Kimberley Borgens:Why do I have hug my husband on a list? Ladies and gentlemen, let me just explain something. Oh, lordy. My husband, his love language is touch. Let me tell you out of the five love languages, touch is like number 100 for me.
Kimberley Borgens:It's not my gifting. It's not it's not even something that comes into my realm. Now it's not that I don't enjoy touching my husband. It just isn't unconsciously done. So I have to consciously know that I gotta remember to stop, take a deep breath, and hug my husband because that's what lights him up.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? So it's on my list to make sure when I'm distracted and I'm busy and I'm in hustle mode, did I stop and take time to hug my husband today? Right? So, yeah, it's on my personal to do list. But it keeps me on track and make sure that I don't leave out the important things.
Kimberley Borgens:Now let's slip the script just a little bit. Right? Let's slip that script on productivity guilt. You don't have to have a to do list. You don't have to do it that way.
Kimberley Borgens:There's other ways. Right? First, you do the, you know, what not to do, the to don't list, eliminate the things that you're not meant to do, let somebody else do the things that they could do better than you, and then you get to not have guilt anymore and move forward. But then there's also what I call the ta da list. The the ta da, like, I got all this done today.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? This is your antidote for feeling like you're never enough. Right? If you're ever feeling like you're not enough, this is a perfect kind of list to do. Instead of obsessing over, like, what's left undone, shine the spotlight on what you have accomplished.
Kimberley Borgens:At the end of each day, jot down what you did finish, big or small. Write it down. Right? Go, I got that done. I got that you know, I did this.
Kimberley Borgens:I did this and this. You're not checking it off. You're writing it down. Then you go, you know what? I really did get a lot even though I didn't feel like I was doing a lot today because you get distracted.
Kimberley Borgens:We you know, life happens. All of that stuff and you think, at the end of the day, I didn't get anything done. But if you wrote it down, you go, okay. It didn't feel like I got a lot done, but guess what? I did.
Kimberley Borgens:Big or small doesn't matter. Put it on your to done list. Also, it creates positive feedback. Right? A positive feedback loop for yourself.
Kimberley Borgens:You get into reinforcing that sense of progress and momentum. If you did the the to done list, right, to done, then sorry. Our in our household, that's what we do. But if you it starts to create that momentum for you. And when you get in a rut and you're feeling like you're not doing it, you can take a look at.
Kimberley Borgens:I just keep a binder of all the stuff that you do, right, in the week. Give yourself credit. Throw it in your file of encouragement so that you have that. And and really just, you know, find ways to pay attention of all the progress and the momentum that you have. It really it's about taking a deep breath for yourself.
Kimberley Borgens:It also helps you notice patterns, like what you're great at getting done. Right? Remember at the very beginning when I said all the things that you're doing in a week, some of those, you're not great at getting them done. You procrastinate. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:You put it off as long as you possibly can. Right? Well, this is a great way to show you what are those patterns of getting things done and where, you know, where do you stall out? And those things that you stall out, you have to ask yourself, are these things only I can do? And if so, then they need to start getting on this to done list.
Kimberley Borgens:If there are things that you don't have to do, then get them off of your list and put them on somebody else's list. Alright? And if you also notice that in your pattern, it's only the fun stuff that you're doing, it's only the stuff that you just really enjoy, it's not the necessary things, that's another notice for yourself. So pay attention to that because it really is important in the long term growth of your business. You know, try pairing your, you know, to don't list with your to done list each week.
Kimberley Borgens:Alright? And just know that every tiny yes that you said to yourself is a win for yourself. Now let me tell you, my husband, my business partner, okay, he is more of the to done list kinda guy. Right? A perfect example is today even.
Kimberley Borgens:It's a Saturday that I'm I'm doing this recording, and I and I had been up since, 5AM. K? He went to bed probably somewhere around 2AM. But I was up, and I stayed busy all morning long doing my household chores, knocked out some podcasts, fed dogs, and, you know, got some work done. And by the time he came downstairs ready to work, I was ready for a break.
Kimberley Borgens:I mean, seriously. Right? So he did ask. He said he well, I I wanna go get my haircut, and I gotta go to the office. And I'm like, well, could you do a few chores for me, right, before you leave?
Kimberley Borgens:And he's like, okay. And I he said, well, what do you need? And I was like, okay. In my mind, I should have known. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Like but I said, okay. How about look. If you can get these three things done, that would really support me to feel like you've got some things done around the house today. And he's like, alright. What are they?
Kimberley Borgens:And I'm like, number one, look at the stuff outside on the table. If you don't need any of that anymore, can you please throw that away? He's like, okay. Number two is can you refill the dog food bin? Like, I emptied it that morning when I fed the dogs, but he gets to lift those big bags and put it into our our bin.
Kimberley Borgens:And so he's like, okay. No problem. I could do that. And then can you plug the freezer back in correctly? Okay.
Kimberley Borgens:Again, I created the problem. Not really. We had some work happening here, and they blew I don't even know. I my brain's not even thinking about it. He they blew a circuit.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? And what happened when they blew that circuit, we have a freezer in the garage and the freezer became, you know, the no power to it. And my husband was out of state, And that is not my gifting. Okay? This is not something that I do.
Kimberley Borgens:But what I did do is I unplugged the freezer from where it is. I got an extension cord, and I plugged it into a place that I knew it would have power. That way my freezer could still keep its food and I didn't have to stress and worry about what's, you know, what power thing needed to get done with what power thing. Okay? So he's like, okay.
Kimberley Borgens:No problem. And he was like, that's easy enough. I can get that done. Then a little bit later, he came back into the house and asked if cleaning the dog water bucket was on the list. I'm like, no.
Kimberley Borgens:I didn't ask you to do that. And then I saw the twinkle in his eye. And he says, are you sure it wasn't on the list? I think it was on the list. So I said, yes, babe.
Kimberley Borgens:It's now on the list. And he said, good. Because now you can check that off because I did that too. Do you see the ta da? Like, ta da.
Kimberley Borgens:I did that too. He smugly turned around and went back outside. Then he came back a little bit later and he asked, is cleaning the pool on the list? And I responded, it is now. Great job, babe.
Kimberley Borgens:To which he re rewarded me with a kiss. Right? His to done list, for him, is much more powerful than my to do list. So you have to find what works for you, and you have to celebrate what it is that you're choosing to do. Don't get so caught up in everybody says you have to have a to do list.
Kimberley Borgens:You can have a to do list. You can have a to don't list, and you can have a ta da, it's done list. Okay? So let me give you some samples of a to don't list and a to done list, so that you have some some real life, you know, thoughts on what it could look like. So a to don't list might be no checking emails after 11AM.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Or no checking emails after 11AM until 4PM before the close of business day. Look, entrepreneurs, I get it. We're working all hours, but pick a time that works for you. I myself, I'll check email first thing in the morning, and then I check it late in the afternoon.
Kimberley Borgens:I try not to check it in the middle of the day unless I have five or ten minutes and then I go through and we'll respond to clients and then go from there. If it's friends and and family and it's not urgent, I'll respond to it later in the evening. Take care of the business stuff first and then I get to the fun stuff. Right? Use that time instead for creative work.
Kimberley Borgens:How about no scheduling meetings on Fridays? Many holidays happen on Fridays anyway, so just give yourself the space for that. No agreeing to partnership calls that don't align with your quarterly goals. Stop having one on one calls with people who aren't gonna help you reach your goals. Look.
Kimberley Borgens:I get it. I was in b and I for many years. I am in a lot of networking groups and communities, and they talk about you gotta build a relationship. You absolutely do. But don't have one on ones just to just for the sake of having one on ones.
Kimberley Borgens:Make sure you're having those those connections, those meetings in a way that support your goals. Okay? Building friends is a different thing. Don't do that during business time. That's just my 2¢ worth on it.
Kimberley Borgens:And no micromanaging. Trust your team your team to handle the roles that you've given them. You've laid it out. And if you haven't, that's another topic. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:So those are your, you know, to don't list. Stop doing these things so that you can get to these things. And then the ta da list is, you know, when you get done finished proposal for a new client, delegated weekly newsletter to a marketing assistant, I outsourced payroll to the bookkeeper or accountant, cleared out my busy work meetings from my calendar, practiced saying no gracefully three times this week, right, or today. You understand what my to done list looks like now? Like, growing your business doesn't require running yourself ragged.
Kimberley Borgens:In fact, relentless hustle often leads to exhaustion, no expansion for your business. It feels hard. It creates frustration. You get burnt out. But when you can subtract the fuels, you can grow and have sustainable growth in your business.
Kimberley Borgens:So finding the things that you need to let go of and subtract so that you can do the things that are gonna help you with growth. Example, clarity. When you remove the distractions, your vision gets sharper. You get to see things more clearly. What direction do you wanna steer your business?
Kimberley Borgens:You have to know. You have to decide. You have to figure that out. What about creativity? When you free up time, that's not wasted time.
Kimberley Borgens:It it allows you to have time for fresh ideas and innovation. And if you feel guilty, then do a check-in and remind yourself that you've earned that space. You've earned the time to stop and take a deep breath and go, what else can we add here? It also builds resilience. Burnout is the enemy.
Kimberley Borgens:Protecting your energy lets you show up as your best self. We all want your best self in business and your life, so bring that person, bring her forward. And empowerment. Delegating and outsourcing builds trust and builds your leadership. You don't have to do it all by yourself.
Kimberley Borgens:You really don't. I know, Kimberley, it takes money to delegate. Yes. And look, I had kids at home. I could get them to do some things.
Kimberley Borgens:You can get interns. You can ask neighborhood kids to help you out. There's all kinds of things that you can do that doesn't have to create an employee, but can allow you to get some things done. You can get, you know, somebody who's starting out as a social media person and get them going. They can you're you're the low paying client to them.
Kimberley Borgens:Like, there's ways to do it. Connect with your resources and find out who's available to do it. And what are some practical tips for everyday superheroes? Well, use time blocking. We talked about that in in the podcast with Sarah Rife Hecking to protect your high energy hours for strategic work.
Kimberley Borgens:Create some time blocking strategies and automate the repetitive tasks with software tools. Look, even Facebook is now allowing you to, you know, put your personal, You can now schedule them out, not just on business pages, not just in groups, but you can now do it on your personal page. Right? But there's also Hootsuite. There's also Vista Social where you can get all these things and automate it so it goes out to all your social media places so that you don't have to do that.
Kimberley Borgens:Your future self will thank you when you do those things and schedule those regular check ins with yourself. Right? What needs to go on your to don't list this week? What needs to get added to your to done list? Make your to done list visible.
Kimberley Borgens:Celebrate the wins. Celebrate the wins with your team, with your family. Make it easy for yourself. Okay. This week's superhero challenge.
Kimberley Borgens:You ready? This week, pick one routine task that you usually do. Maybe it's updating spreadsheets, managing your inbox, coordinating calendars, and delegate it or outsource it. Find one thing. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Use that time that you gain to focus on something high impact. Brainstorming about your next offer, marketing out for a marketing plan, you know, mapping that out, taking a creative break where you can just like take a deep breath and just breathe in all that you've accomplished this week, this month, this quarter. And then at the end of the week, write down what you did and that you reclaimed your time into your to done list. Right? And then don't forget to tag us.
Kimberley Borgens:Hashtag superheroes and heels and share your breakthroughs. Share your story. Who knows? It could inspire another superhero to trade overwhelm for impact. I just wanna wrap this up with saying thank you for tuning in to Superheroes in Heels.
Kimberley Borgens:Remember, greatness isn't built on busy work. It's built on bold decisions, meaningful actions, and the courage to say no so that you can say yes to what matters most. Until next time, keep your heels high, your boundaries higher, and your focus exactly where it needs to be. I'm Kimberley Borgans. Thank you for joining me at Superheroes in Heels.
Outro:Thanks for tuning in to Superheroes in Heels with Kimberley Borgens. If you're walking away feeling a little braver, a little bolder, and a whole lot more powerful, mission accomplished. Be sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review. It helps us to reach more women who are ready to unleash their power and lead with confidence. And if you do leave a review, you might just hear your name in an upcoming episode.
Outro:If today's conversation lit a fire in you, share it with your network and join us inside the hive society at Kimberleyborgens. Where powerful women gather to break barriers and rise together. Until next time, keep showing up, standing strong, and heels or not, keep embracing your inner superhero.