Resonance – Episode 45
Verbatim Transcript
Speaker: Viktoria Levenberg
How did you define productive? Most people don't have a plan that sets you up for success from
the get go. Success from the get-go. Oh dear, did I do enough? Most people don't do this and it
blows my mind.I wish for every single one of you to one day have a system that allows you — you
to feel that exact same way.
This specific planning process is actually gonna keep you honest. It's gonna avoid you wasting
your precious time and energy, which are your most valuable resources by the way.
And don't get me wrong — that's where most people fall short.
How much more free time would you have if you had the ultimate planning formula that helps
you get your work done faster without compromising on your results?
Well, in today's episode you are gonna learn about my signature nesting planning formula that is
gonna leave you feeling calm, focused, in control, and having ticked all those boxes with plenty of
time and energy to spare to do what you love.
Let's begin.
Welcome to Resonance, the podcast for high performers and entrepreneurs who want to do life,
work, and success differently.
I am your host, Viktoria Levenberg, and I'm obsessed with efficiency, productivity, and planning in
a way that harnesses your energy and your natural rhythms while keeping you in alignment and
integrity.
Because I have figured out that lasting success is not about the hustle.
It is about being in resonance.
Let's begin.
Okay, so this week's episode is really inspired by my students in Efficiency Made Easy.
We are doing the very first round. It is so amazing honestly. I am in awe of their progress. They
are like the best people I could have ever asked for to move through this very first round of
Efficiency Made Easy.
And I'm about to begin to teach them some of the really big nitty-gritty planning formulas.
And as I'm preparing the course material I thought, hey why not give you all a little bit of a sneak
peek of what's coming their way so that you too can begin to get more done in less time and
start to optimise your productivity as you move forward.
You see, the thing is that most people think that a to-do list equals a plan.
And if you are like most people, chances are that you are also feeling behind, overwhelmed, and
like you're revving your engine so, so hard but quite unclear where you're going — and perhaps
even have got the handbrake on a little bit. Let's be honest.
And by the end of this specific episode you will have the most effective strategy for creating a
great plan rather than just like a meh kind of plan, you know.
Because I don't do meh — I do great and excellent — which is through nesting.
So again, I'll get into all those details in just a little moment but basically nesting then allows you
to move forward in your life with clarity, with comfort, with trust in your plan.
There is so much alignment.
There is a red thread that truly runs through the whole thing.
And that means that you can then make meaningful progress on the goals that actually matter.
You can consciously enjoy your life, like be present for your family, your loved ones, your friends,
do the hobbies, do the retreat, whatever you wanna do, without that thought in the back of your
mind of, oh dear did I do enough?
So if this sounds like your cup of tea, let's begin.
Okay, so as we get into the nitty-gritty, you know as I've already alluded to, most people think
that a to-do list equals a plan.
And so they just write this list and they add things onto the list and all of a sudden the list is
overflowing and it feels really unmanageable.
And they're like frantically running around like a headless chicken being like, I don't even know
what to do, what's important, did I do enough, everything's important — ah.
Unproductive.
Yeah, I know.
I know.
And if you're feeling a little bit attacked, this isn't an attack.
This is just me speaking from my personal experience because that is what I went through.
And this is exactly the thoughts that were running through my own mind.
And it was really interesting because just this week I had one of my students of Efficiency Made
Easy talk about how, you know, they're feeling really unproductive.
And that's quite confronting to look at.
And my very first question straight off the bat was like, how did you define productive?
Because this is the thing.
Most people don't have a plan that sets you up for success from the get-go.
And so of course you're feeling like you didn't do enough and like you're not productive etcetera,
because you didn't even define what enough looks like.
Most people who I speak to aren't defining done.
They don't know what the end result that they're actually gonna achieve — like what does it
mean?
And this specifically applies to high performers, entrepreneurs, people in corporate, people in
these roles where, you know, it's really hard to tangibilise your work.
Where it's sort of like it's just an endless open flow of creativity, of possibility, of things to do.
And I vividly remember, you know, struggling in one of my previous relationships where my
partner at the time was in the trades.
Right, so he was a tradesperson.
It's like you show up on site, you leave the site and it's like job done.
Because what are you gonna do?
You're not gonna think about did I put the nail in the right place when you're home, right?
Like it's just different.
It's very tangible.
You can see you're creating things with your hand.
And during that time it was really challenging for me to articulate how I don't just clock off when I
end the work day.
Because there's like things running through my mind and the to-do list and all these things.
And now as I reflect on that time I'm like whoa.
Well like now I do clock off.
Because even when I'm in a peak season — like right now I'm in a pretty busy season of my life —
and things are really full and dynamic and there's a lot demanded from me.
And even when I get that little whisper in the back of my ear being like, did I do everything I
needed to do, did I do enough?
It's like, oh hang on.
I've got a system in place that tells me absolutely Vik.
You did more than enough.
You are done.
You can rest.
You are productive.
You are complete.
You are done.
And I wish for every single one of you to one day have a system that allows you to feel that exact
same way.
And if I'm the person that helps you build that system — amazing.
So let's get started.
One of the key ingredients that distinguishes like a meh plan from a great plan is nesting.
And I tried to find, you know, a better word for this.
I even went to thesaurus.com and interestingly, so this episode that I'm sharing with you today,
like I wrote about it a few weeks ago.
And as I was writing I was like, you know, trying to find a better word.
I'm really trying to increase my writing skills or up my writing skills, right?
And so I'm like typing nesting into thesaurus.com and it just keeps on going to dictionary.com.
And that's never happened to me.
It's like I know they're interconnected but I've never typed a word into thesaurus and had it point
me straight to the dictionary.
And like I kept trying to do it, kept trying to do it, and it was just constantly taking me to the
dictionary.
I was like okay, there's clearly something here.
And so I read the definition, which I'm gonna read to you now.
And so according to dictionary.com, nesting is the tendency to arrange one's immediate
surroundings, such as a workstation, to create a place where one feels secure, comfortable, or in
control.
And I was like —
Oh.
That's why it's not letting me find a different word for it.
Because this is the perfect word that I'm looking for.
Secure, comfortable, and in control.
Like isn't that what we're all craving?
It's like comfort and safety and that feeling of things — like having things under control.
Especially when it comes to our work life and business.
And so I was like yeah, of course it's nesting and it makes so much sense.
Like even as I think of like, you know, the little babushkas — which if you don't know, there are
these little Russian dolls where you've got a big doll and then inside that doll is another doll and
then inside that doll is another doll.
They're nested into one another.
I'm like this is the perfect word.
It's exactly what I'm looking for.
And here's the kicker.
Like you're about to learn this, but most people don't do this.
And it blows my mind.
Because of course then no wonder they're feeling anxious, insecure, and like they are this
powerful car with a lot of potential, perhaps even revving their engine pretty hard, but going
absolutely nowhere.
So look, I'm gonna preface this with a disclaimer that the detail of like how this works is a whole
curriculum inside Efficiency Made Easy, right.
Like I am literally delivering this over a multitude of weeks with my students.
So there's only so much I can pack into a podcast episode.
So if as you're listening to this you're like whoa, this sounds like my cup of tea, I really wanna dive
in, make sure that you get your name on the priority list for my next launch.
I'm gonna be limiting the seats that are available for this next cohort just as I still refine some
little bits and pieces.
So if you want to get in, be one of the first ones that are still like in this really small intimate
container — and yes still get access to it for a much better rate than what I'm going to be selling
it for when it's going out to the public — then now is the time to join that waitlist.
So anyways, you'll find all the links in the show notes.
And I'll be speaking to this at the end of the episode.
But I just wanted to preface this with a little disclaimer that like this is just starting to scratch the
surface.
There is so much more here that I have to share, and that I get to share with those of you who
decide to join me in Efficiency Made Easy.
So I love working with metaphors, and let's use the metaphor of a map — or a babushka — but I
think a map is probably more universally applicable, right?
So like, if you open Google Maps on your phone or something, you have this ability to zoom out
all the way. It’ll probably tell you your location of where you currently are, and then you can
zoom out and you’ll see your town. Then it's your country, maybe your continent, and you can
play around on the world.
So we're going to use this little metaphor as I explain nesting when it comes to planning, just to
help us really visualise this and bring some tangibility. Because I’m conscious that this is a podcast
— I'm just talking at you — and so I don’t necessarily have a little whiteboard and graphs and
visuals that I can share here, especially with my visual learner types.
So you know, with that map and this ability for you to zoom in and out, your plan works the exact
same way.
And what I’ve noticed, the more I speak to high performers and high achievers, is that most
people plan their week — maybe their day — that's it, at best.
And then even chances are that plan is pretty average. No offense, but chances are it's just a list
of a list of another list.
And that is part of the reason why it’s so average — because it completely ignores the big
picture.
So what you're doing is almost like you're moving through, if we take this metaphor of the map,
these streets and corners and going left and right, without really knowing where you're going.
Imagine trying to navigate your life or your journey street by street without even knowing where
you're going. Every time you arrive at an intersection you're like:
Do I go left?
Do I go right?
Do I go straight?
Do I turn around?
I've got no idea. I don't even know where I am on the map.
And that is the reason that so many people in their work, life, and business also find themselves
lost and going in the wrong direction, because they never stopped to zoom out in the first place.
And this is exactly why I honour my rituals every week, every month, every quarter, every year as
if my life depends on it — because it does.
Otherwise, you are literally just moving through life like this weird lost car, stopping and slowing
down in the middle of the street, looking left and right and thinking:
“I don't know, should I go here? Maybe? I guess it kind of looks better than the other street. Well
that one looks like a dead end.”
Not sustainable.
And don’t get me wrong — I am the person who will always speak on ends about being present,
being in the moment, and how important it is.
I genuinely believe that too many of us are either stuck in the past and overthinking mistakes and
things we said, or we are hyper-analysing the future and projecting all these possible scenarios.
So when I talk about planning and when I'm talking about using this nesting formula in your
planning, I'm not talking about the monkey mind hopping back and forth.
I do agree that it is incredibly important for us to be present, as present as we possibly can.
And what helps unlock that presence is when you’ve got direction and alignment with your
vision, your life, your purpose.
And this is where we start.
This is literally the first starting point where I begin to take my students through as we move into
building their operating system that's going to help them achieve their peak productivity.
We start with this ultimate “plan your dream life” process, and we zoom out all the way.
So taking it back to our metaphor of the map, we zoom out.
It’s almost like you're taking this whole worldview. You're going up into the satellite, into the
stratosphere, and you see planet Earth.
You see:
“Wow, okay. This is the big, big, big picture.”
This is the planet I want to live in.
This is the universe I want to create for myself.
These are the things that are really important to me overall.
And then as we start to traverse the stratosphere and begin coming down onto that planet a little
bit, we start to see:
“Okay. As I arrive in this place — this is my life — I see the overall vision.”
What’s the overall direction?
Where am I heading? What continent? West, east, whatever it is.
So that is the top-line life vision component of planning.
And I will hands down die on this hill and say: this is where we need to start.
Because there is no point in getting any further granular into the detail if you're not clear on that
first.
Before you even get clear on that, you need to understand some other big pieces around, as I
mentioned earlier, the planet you live on and so on.
But look — as I said — I’m keeping this high level, super pointed, and relevant to you here today.
So:
Step 1: Overall Life Vision
What do you want your life to look like?
Then Step 2 of the nesting process — so we’re opening our little babushka and getting the next
one out, or zooming the map in a little bit — is your year.
Every year I facilitate an annual planning ritual, which is a whole process.
If we take that map metaphor again, it’s basically like:
“Alright, I know the direction I'm in. Now I need to get clear on what country I'm in.”
What language do I need to speak?
What culture do I need to fit into?
What are the parameters of this specific space?
That’s what your year plan is.
It gives you a vision for the year ahead that’s not quite as zoomed out as the whole life piece —
because that's your entire lived experience — but it's already a much more contained time
container.
It feels much more achievable, attainable, and tangible for most people.
And it’s really important that this aligns with your big life vision.
Because what is your life if not just a compilation of years?
What you’re doing this year sets you up for the next year, which sets you up for the year after
that.
And this is what I mean when I say nesting — it's like this little domino effect.
So that is Step 2: the annual planning ritual.
Then we move into Step 3: your seasons or quarters.
Again, going back to our map metaphor, you're zooming the map in a little bit closer.
You already know the country you're in. Now you're zooming into the town.
So this is the specific town I'm in. It’s part of this country, and it’s going to move me along this
little road trip.
Now I’m thinking:
What landmarks do I want to see?
What restaurants do I want to visit?
You can get more specific.
That’s exactly what your seasonal or quarterly planning ritual does.
It’s already much more tangible than just the year because it's effectively a 90-day container.
You have enough time to make meaningful progress on a specific project, and it is within reach
for most people.
And this is where a lot of people fall short.
You’ll often find two types of people:
One group goes all the way into the micro — the detail of the day and week.
Another group is really great in the macro — the vision and big picture.
But rarely do you find people who can do both.
And where most people really struggle is this middle space between the two.
Because you still need a zoomed-out view to see the whole season, while also getting granular
about the milestones, project tasks, and workstreams that will move you forward.
So that is Phase 3 of your nesting formula: the season.
Then we zoom in again.
Step 4: The Month.
Back to the map analogy:
You know the country.
You know the town.
Now you’re zooming into the neighbourhood.
You can get very specific.
A month is only four to five weeks, so things start becoming quite granular.
And this is also where the Cycles of Success come in.
They tend to run on a monthly rhythm, and this is where most people again fall short — because
they don’t plan in alignment with their energy cycles.
This is where you build a plan that harnesses your peak energy seasons while acknowledging the
lower energy periods as well.
And when you do that, you can get far more done with far less friction.
Because you’re no longer forcing productivity — you’re working with your natural rhythm.
And at the monthly level, this is where you start asking:
What specific tangible action steps do I need to take this week?
What are the big milestones or project pieces that are going to move the dial forward?
I'm a bit short for words on this, um… as you can tell. You know, it's still new to me to teach this
to others, right? So this is why the founding members launch was so special, and this is why the
second launch of Efficiency Made Easy was so intimate as well. It's like I'm still figuring out how to
best articulate it to someone else. So thank you for bearing with me as I'm, like, trying to
download everything that happens in the Vik universe down into you.
Um, okay. So that is basically Phase 4. That is your month.
Phase 5, as we nest down—we've opened up a lot of babushkas, and there's still more, ha ha—
we've got the week. So this is already where most of you will probably have done some version of
this, right?
So as we take it back to our little map metaphor, you zoom in even more on the map. Now you
can already start to see the specific streets. Okay, cool. If I wanna go down to Borough Market,
this is the street I've got to go down on. And ooh, I can see there's, like, this really beautiful café
down the road—I’ll stop there. You can already, um, sort of go to that level of detail.
And the thing that most people miss—because again, like as I alluded to earlier, there will be
groups of people who are better at the micro and the macro, and vice versa—is that you'll do
your weekly planning, but you won't have nested previously. So there's no view of how that fits
into the month, or the quarter, or the year, or your life in general.
And that's where most people fall short. And that's where most people who say they have a to-
do list that they look at week on week on week are then just moving things from one week to the
next, and then wondering why they're feeling so behind and so overwhelmed, because that list
just keeps accumulating.
Um, so this is where, yes, your weekly planning is really important. And all these previously
nested steps are so, so crucial in this process as well.
And then lastly, this gets me to your day.
So as if you've been listening to the podcast, um, for a little while, you'll know that I'm a big
advocate for weekly planning. I have tried the daily to-do lists and they don't work. You've
probably tried them as well—they don't work. They set you up for failure nine times out of ten.
That is not to say, like, there are scenarios where a daily to-do list can be helpful, or like
reminders. Obviously calendars are really necessary. Um, but when it comes to more, like, bigger
project stuff, I definitely say weekly is best. And again, I teach my students in Efficiency Made Easy
why that is.
But, um, you still obviously need to have a view of the day as well, right?
And if we take it back to that little map metaphor, that's already down to the granular level of
detail of, like, this is the specific building I am in. And I am going to—where’s the bathroom? Just
down the hall to the right, please. You know, it's like this is already super nitty-gritty. You are right
there in the present moment.
Um, and a lot of people go about their day without a lot of clarity on how to best maximise the
productivity, energy, and efficiency that is available to them in their day.
Again, this is where the Cycles of Success really come into play as well. This is where having had
that nested plan really sets you up for success.
There is an element of being able to ebb and flow with what's happening for you on that specific
day. And like my students will tell you, I'm a massive advocate for having some kind of daily
check-in. So that is like the tiniest little babushka that you will have in your little nested doll
situation.
And that is your sixth phase. That is the day.
So the most important thing between all of these phases—right from your day, to your week, to
your month, to your season, to your year, and to your overall life vision—is that they are aligned.
There needs to be a thread that runs through this entire process that keeps one connected to the
other.
It's just like the little babushka dolls, right? They are all the same, but just smaller denominations
of one another. That's literally what nesting means. And they all fit into one another as well.
That's how you make sure that you've got a connected, aligned plan that makes your success
inevitable and easy.
And if you're the type of person that at this point is like, okay, I kind of—I think I get it, but like…
ah. It makes sense in theory. How do I do this in real life? How do I apply this into practice?
That's what Efficiency Made Easy is for, my friends.
Like, there's only so much I can deliver to you on this podcast—you know that. And there's
intricacies and specifics to your life and circumstances that we would get to talk through in the
coaching, etcetera.
So if this has really, like, tickled your fancy and you're like, okay, I get it but I don't know how…
then I might be your gal. And that would be an honour and a privilege.
Because if you have ever found yourself sprinting on that hamster wheel, and then pausing for a
moment and being like, whoa… I've been, like, sprinting in the completely wrong direction—
which, like, has happened to me, by the way, and I've got a whole podcast episode on my story—
this specific planning process is actually gonna keep you honest.
This specific planning process is gonna avoid that. It's gonna avoid you wasting years and months
and decades of your life chasing someone else's dream, chasing the wrong thing, wasting your
precious time and energy, which are your most valuable resources, by the way.
And instead, these specific rituals, these specific check-ins, keep you honest. They keep you
accountable to yourself. They keep you in alignment with what truly matters to you.
And then you're like a little captain just steering your ship. And you immediately notice if you
veer a degree or two off course—you can readjust and realign, because that is how well nested
this process is.
So in summary, here you have it: my signature planning formula that sets up your work, life, and
business for success straight from the get-go through nesting, having you feel secure,
comfortable, and in control.
Um, so my invitation for you this week would be to just take a moment and reflect on the last
week that's been. Because oftentimes there's a lot of wisdom in just looking back before we look
forward.
And if you're game, maybe you even look back on the last month.
And I truly encourage you, once you've done that—so you're like, okay, this was my last week,
this was my last month—take a moment and look forward and be like, wait.
Tune into me. What do I really, really want?
Like, what do I actually want?
Such a simple question that most people don't ask themselves.
Like, what do I want for myself?
What do I want for my life?
What's important to me?
Like—wait. This is my life. I get to live it my way. How do I wanna live that?
And then once you're clear on this, you get to ask yourself a little confronting question.
Has how I've been living my life for the last week or month been aligned to the vision that I have
for my life overall?
And if the answer is no… then you know where to find me.
Because when you follow this formula, you ensure your alignment no matter what.
Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode.
I don't know what that was about, but yeah—thank you so much for listening to this week's
episode. I'm so grateful that you are here.
If you are interested, if you're curious, just send me a DM. Otherwise, just get your name on the
priority list. I will be opening doors pretty soon.
Um, and I am really excited to continue to change lives and help you unlock your utmost
productivity, organisation, systematisation—but most importantly, alignment to yourself and your
purpose, your dharma.
Thanks so much. Bye for now.
How valuable would it be for you to get more done in less time while having more energy?
Imagine the things that you could achieve if you finally stopped running on empty and instead
learned to cultivate peak performance in your work, life, and business.
We did just close enrollment for my very first round of Efficiency Made Easy, but I've got you.
If you do also want to join this incredible group coaching program where I am going to be
teaching the exact systems, tools, and processes I use to run my life, make sure you get yourself
on the priority waitlist for when we open doors again—which is just a few short months away.
In case you're wondering if this is for you, well look—does any of this apply?
You might have big goals and a full schedule, but you're trying to achieve them through forced
productivity. Or you're physically exhausted, but your mind just won't stop.
Perhaps you feel a low grade of anxiety throughout your day, like even when you're trying to rest.
And maybe you spend your day reacting to pings, emails—you know, firefighting all the demands.
And then by the time you get to the end of the week, you just move the same to-do list items all
the way back over to Monday.
If any of this applies to you and you would like to join this special program, make sure that you
join the priority waitlist today.
The link is in the show notes below and at viktorialevenberg.com/success.
Can't wait to see you there.
The views and opinions expressed by guests on Resonance are their own and do not necessarily
reflect the views of me, Viktoria Levenberg, LVNHealth, or anyone working within the LVNHealth
brand.
This space welcomes a diversity of ideas, experiences, and stories, and part of Resonance is
learning to take what aligns and gently leaving the rest.
Also, while I am a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach and deeply passionate
about well-being, this podcast is intended for educational and inspirational purposes only.
Resonance does not substitute personalised medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice.
Always seek guidance from qualified professionals for any physical, emotional, or mental health
concerns.
