“I try not to bring store-work home now, and I’m doing much better.”—Kaoru Miller
At LEADx we love to listen to our listeners! Let’s take a peek into the success story of Kaoru Miller, a LEADx listener who is advancing her business and becoming a productivity guru.
At Cha Cha Tea shop in Kingston Ontario, the expression “Not your cup of tea” doesn’t hold much (hot) water. Why? Because this warm and welcoming store where people can gather and relax has a tea for every palette. From Rooibos, to Matcha, to dark chocolate Earl Grey, the teas offered there go from traditional to inventive.
You would never know that the owner, Kaoru Miller, had never run a business before this one. Opening a tea shop was her passion and so in 2006 Cha Cha Tea was created. But of course, running your own shop comes with many challenges, “Balancing my work, family, and hobbies,” Kaoru writes, are her biggest struggles. This is certainly an issue many business owners confront, and oftentimes the lines between home life and hustle can blur. “I had wanted to open my online tea shop, but had procrastinated for a long time,” she continues, something many of us experience when we set big goals.
Then she discovered our leadership podcast shows, “I first found The Extreme Productivity podcast by chance last year, and started to subscribe [to LEADx] newsletters and following Mr. Kruse.” Suddenly her goals of becoming more productive, organized, and efficient were even more within reach. Now not only does she have a beautiful website, but you can order her high-end tea easily online. Kaoru began journaling everyday, including colorful illustrations of LEADx challenges and career tips, to continue setting her goals and stay on top.
Daily Journal Like A Rooi-BOSS
The LEADx daily newsletters took part in helping Kaoru stay on track, “I like the challenge of the day. I write it down every day in my journal. I implement it if it adds value to my day and read them often. It motivated me to finally re-new my website and open my online tea shop.” Kaoru’s journal is a thing of beauty, and as many LEADx listeners and viewers know, we are big believers in writing things down. Kaoru not only writes daily in order to stay as organized and efficient as she can, but she also takes the time to let her artistic skills shine. It’s a great reminder that becoming more productive doesn’t mean becoming more robotic, and you can find creative ways to make challenges and advice stick with you throughout your day.
Creativity And Productivity, A Matcha Made In Heaven
What’s particularly wonderful about Kaoru’s journal is she doesn’t shy away from incorporating this efficiency to make her personal life smoother as well, “I try not to bring store-work home now and I’m doing much better. I schedule house-work on my calendar, too!” she writes, “I am a little more productive than before. I process emails 3 times a day at work, set my MIT [Most Important Task] and schedule everything. Even I am not perfect on them yet, but those 3 things changed my productivity a lot.”
Like any small business owner, it can be a huge challenge to stay a step ahead of work and to create time for your family. By being consistent with her learned productivity skills and scheduling diligently, Kaoru’s work/life balance has improved, “Now I found more time to play the piano for fun, and watch TV/movies with my husband and daughters.”
Any balance achieved in life is an impressive feat, and it goes without saying that we here at LEADx are delighted with Kaoru’s achievements. When asked what piece of advice she might pass on to fellow balancers of work and life, she said “Start your day with LEADx and get 1% better everyday!”
Hard for us to disagree with that.
Are you crushing your goals and taking on the LEADx challenges? Tell us your success story! Reach out at info@leadx.org.
