Ep. 62: Revenue Action vs. Productive Action: Why You're Busy But Not Growing, with Laura Dionisio
You have a list. You're staring at it. And somehow, nothing is getting done. Laura is calling it out and handing you an easy productivity framework that actually works: embarrassingly simple, brutally effective.
This is a Pivot Tool episode, which means shorter, sharper, and straight to the point. Laura kicks things off by naming something she hears constantly from clients: the list never shrinks, the distractions never stop, and the default fix is always "I just need a better process." Her answer? You don't need more tools. You need to get ruthlessly clear on what actually matters, and then do one thing a day in each area that does.
Laura walks through her One Thing a Day method, which she originally developed while navigating a cross-country move in the middle of a pandemic, from a three-bedroom house she owned to a one-bedroom in New York City, with no clear plan for the house, the car, her job, or even the neighborhood. She did not white-knuckle her way through it with a color-coded spreadsheet. She just did one thing a day, kept moving, and got there.
From there, she breaks down the four daily non-negotiables she swears by for founders and entrepreneurs: a mindset or grounding practice to start the day clear instead of chaotic, some form of movement to keep your body and your energy from going stiff, a revenue-generating action (the one most people skip in favor of the tasks that feel productive but keep them safely hidden), and a productive action that supports your business without replacing the work that actually brings in clients. The distinction between revenue-generating and productive action is the sharpest insight in this episode, and Laura does not let you off the hook about which one you have been avoiding.
What You'll Hear
✔️Laura's One Thing a Day method was born from one of the most overwhelming logistical moments of her life, and it is the reason she made it to New York City.
✔️The difference between revenue-generating action and productive action is not what you think, and confusing the two is exactly why your slide deck is perfect and your workshop has no attendees.
✔️That feeling of being productive while building backend systems? Laura names it directly: sometimes it is just a way to stay hidden.
✔️ Four non-negotiables, done simply and done daily, compound over time into the results that actually move your business forward.
"You can have the most perfect slide deck, but does it matter if nobody shows up?"
-- Laura Dionisio
Ready to figure out exactly what your four non-negotiables look like for your business? Book a free 20-minute clarity call and let's map it out together.
https://www.leadintact.com/freeclaritycall
Not sure where to start? Grab the Heart-Aligned Career Transition Starter and begin there.
https://www.leadintact.com/freebies/heart-aligned-career
Links and Resources
Episode on building your weekly schedule: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5NMQmoCiD4PL7SLKQRnzNW?si=DRTBxOZdSluXk1Dh83cHBw
Pivot Point Podcast: https://www.leadintact.com/the-pivot-point-podcast
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@leadintact
Freebies: https://www.leadintact.com/freebies
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You made the move, or maybe you're about to, or maybe you're still in it, showing up, performing, delivering, while something quiet in the background keeps saying, "This is not it." Either way, something has shifted, and you can't unknow it. Here's what nobody tells you. The landing strip is a little rocky once you come down from the high of accomplishment.
There are moments of real excitement, real clarity, like, "Yes, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be." And then night comes, and the anxiety rolls in, the what ifs, the what am I actually doing? Not because you made the wrong choice, by the way, but because you're standing in the space between who you were and who you're becoming.
Done pretending this is enough, done pushing through, done ignoring the thing that keeps pulling at you. That's exactly where this podcast lives. I'm Laura Dionisio, founder of Lead Intact, and I've been exactly where [00:01:00] you are. The corporate success that stopped feeling like success, the leap that was equal parts terrifying and necessary, the messy, non-linear process of building something that actually fits, and learning to trust yourself through all of it.
This is the pivot point. Real conversations about what's actually happening beneath the surface and what it takes to build a life that feels as good as it looks. Not just the wins, the attempts, too. Because I'm not here to romanticize the journey. I'm here to show you what it's really like. Let's get into it.
Hello, and welcome to another podcast episode. Why did I say it like that? Why do I have to sound weird? Welcome to another episode of the Pivot Point Podcast with me, your host, Laura Dionisio. It is the first of the month. That means that this podcast episode is a departure [00:02:00] from the usual storytelling format, and it is what I lovingly call the pivot tool episode.
This is where I share more tactical, strategic, and these episodes tend to be shorter.
So what we're gonna talk about today is one of my favorite topics, productivity. And the reason we're gonna talk about this today and why this is important is because I was just talking to a client a couple days ago, and what she was telling me is that...
She's just like, "There's just always so many things on my list, and even when there's just two, I just can't seem to do it. I get distracted. What's wrong with me? I just need to, like, double down on a process." And listen, I love a good process. I love a good tool. And what actually gets the needle moving, so to speak, on your business, and even w- if you're in corporate, is to keep things simple.
You know the acronym K-I-S-S? Keep it stupid simple. No, what is it? Keep it simple stupid? That's what we're gonna be talking about [00:03:00] today because for all that there's a lot of how-tos, pro- productivity hacks, tools, little gadgets, and I love buying those things, investing, coming up with my own. When it comes down to it, you will get it done if it's very simple, and you're able to make it very simple if you're very clear about what actually matters.
All right? So specifically today, I'm gonna talk about what you're gonna be doing on a daily. I have another podcast episode that's related to coming up with your own schedule for the week. I'll link the episode below if you're interested. Today is about the daily, okay?
Because it's really like a compounding interest, so to speak. It's you're building a habit. You're... it just feels good. It's not like the sexy thing, but it is the thing that will get you to the sexy thing, .
So- Here is my favorite tool ever that I came up with first when I was [00:04:00] doing my move from Upstate New York to where I live now in New York City.
And it seemed overwhelming at the time because it was in the middle of the pandemic. I owned and lived in a three-bedroom house with a basement. Not that it was full, but still, I had a lot of stuff. I'd been living there for four years, and I wanted to move to a one-bedroom in New York City. I didn't know what I was gonna do about the house that I owned, the car that I owned, my job.
I didn't even know what neighborhood I wanted to live in. And so for a hot second, I was like, "This is really overwhelming." And then I came up with, to me, is the most brilliant tool ever, and that is the one thing a day. You just do, for me at the time, one damn thing a day towards the goal, which at the time was the move.
So one thing a day, you just keep moving, and that's what I really wanna encourage you. If anything else, that is your takeaway, is do one thing a day that's gonna move you [00:05:00] forward. So I'm gonna talk specifically for business owners, founders, and entrepreneurs
now, I don't literally mean one thing in a, a day, even though at the time, that is what I did. What I mean is in specific areas of your life, aim to do just one thing, and I'm gonna talk about four non-negotiables that I think, honestly, everyone, every business owner, founder, entrepreneur,
but these non-negotiables are essential.
So the first one is some sort of morning ritual where you are setting your mind correct for the day. This could be meditation. This could be sitting there with your first cup of coffee and just being present and enjoying it. This could be journaling.
Whatever it is. Why is this important? It's important because imagine that you are a house, [00:06:00] and you wanna do something in said house, okay? You're in a house, let's say. You wanna cook breakfast, but then your house is flooded. If you don't first take care of the flooding situation- You're not gonna be able to make breakfast, right?
Okay, grant- maybe not the best analogy because you could technically go out and buy breakfast. But the point is, you have to take care of the environment . And in this case, your mental environment. Because if you start off your day with worry, with fear, with whatnot, there's just a lot of, like, noise in your mind, and you're not gonna get that clarity.
And fear, even though it tries to be so helpful, tends to complicate things because it adds scenarios, future scenarios, maybe even past situations that have happened, and that's just not helpful in moving you forward. So pick some sort of mindset, grounding, non-negotiable for you, whatever it is. And don't be like, "Oh, yeah, maybe I should journal, and then I should meditate, and then maybe go for a walk."
Fucking just [00:07:00] pick one. One. Pick one. Maybe you have a list of things that you choose from, but your non-negotiable is to do at least one per day.
The second one is some sort of movement, okay? For me, it's the gym. Doesn't have to be the gym for you. Could be walking, could be stretching. Do something to move your body.
This doesn't necessarily have to be in the morning. I prefer that. Sometimes I actually do, like, even if it's just getting up from my desk, stretching, going to another room in my apartment. Because when you are kind of, like, just stuck sitting in the same place, first of all, you get really stiff. But also, it's not just physically you get stiff, but energetically you're also kinda stiff, right?
So movement is very important. Pick one non-negotiable movement each day. Don't aim for the sky. Like, if you've been meaning to go to the gym since 1999, okay, now's not the time to try that. I'm talking about something that you know that you're gonna do. Maybe it's just for a walk. [00:08:00] Maybe it's, like, a five-minute stretch.
I don't know. But pick something.
Okay.
Three and four are the ones that are why I said this is really more for founders and entrepreneurs. Y- you wanna take two types of action for your business each day as a non-negotiable, okay? It... You may be like, "What do you mean two types of action? Isn't just action action as long as it's towards your goal?"
This is something that my mentor mentioned to me that really blew my mind. There are two types of... I mean, obviously, there's more than two types of action, but for simplicity's sake, two types of actions when you are a founder, business owner, entrepreneur, however you see yourself. One is productive action.
We love productive action. This could look like me recording this podcast. This looks like organizing your inbox. This looks like updating your website. Th- this looks like creating your media kit that you have been putting off. This looks like researching [00:09:00] for a new assistant. You get the idea. They're productive.
They're really important, and they should be secondary to this type of action, which is revenue-producing action. When I first heard this, I was like, "But aren't those other things revenue producing, right?" Because the reason I do this podcast is because I want to of course, help people, but also hopefully convert.
Hopefully, somebody listens to this and is like, "Laura seems to know what she's doing." Isn't that, like, a revenue-producing action? Maybe indirectly. But a revenue-producing action is really, i- if you think about... Let me take a step back. Think about your most successful client. How did you land them? And maybe it was through a website, maybe it was through a podcast, but likely, especially if you're starting out, and by starting out, I mean just even, like, the first two years or so, probably word of mouth, probably referral.
Maybe you were actually speaking on stages. Maybe you were a guest on somebody's podcast. Whatever that is [00:10:00] That's a revenue-generating action. So for me, my most successful sales, let's just put it that way, is not through podcasts or even when I do the workshop. It's through follow-up. It's through talking to people.
It's through going to events and introducing myself. So that means I must prioritize, my non-negotiable each day is to do a revenue-generating action such as, this is gonna sound so simple, reaching out to people via email or text message. And then when you break it down like that, it's like, "Oh, that's not too bad."
And this is where I go back to the acronym KISS, right? Keep it simple, stupid. That kind of s- sounds, like, a little mean sometimes. Maybe we don't talk to ourselves like that, so instead I, I always ask myself, "How can this be easy?" When I start to feel like I am overcomplicating something or there's, like, a lot of steps and I'm like, "Oh, but what about the backend system of this workshop I'm about to run?"
You know? Like, even [00:11:00] in that case, right? Say you want to run a workshop, and you're like, "What is the most important action?" Guess what? It's getting people to actually attend. Yes, you are gonna want, at minimum, a landing page or some way to collect their information. Okay, whatever that way is, keep it simple.
But the next step is not, "Let me now create the slides." The next step is, "Let me reach out to some people and tell them about it." And here's the thing that I want to note about the productive action versus the revenue-generating action Sometimes the productive action just feels better because you feel good.
You're, like, doing this hefty thing. And sometimes it's a way to stay hidden, 'cause sometimes it is, or it can feel really scary to reach out to people. Like, what if I get rejected? What if they say no to my event? So instead of, like, that possibility, I'm just gonna go build my slide deck. But that's the thing.
You can have the most perfect slide deck, but does it matter if nobody shows up? And if [00:12:00] the fear is, what if nobody shows up? What can you do so that that doesn't happen? You can talk about it. You can reach out to your friends. You can tell friends, "Hey, do you know someone who'd be interested in this?"
So anyway, just as a recap On the daily, what's really important is to do one thing a day in these four areas. Maybe you have more, but I suggest starting with this four. One, what is one thing you're gonna do each day in the category of mindset, grounding, setting yourself up right for the day, right? You don't wanna start off in stress or fear or worry, because the solutions coming out of that's not gonna be that great.
Think about how you wanna start your day. Probably calm, confident, clear, right? At peace. Then ask yourself, "What is one thing I can do so that I can start my day off in that mood?" Maybe it's petting your cat, I don't know. Two, what is one thing a day as a non-negotiable you're going to do for movement? Just one.
Don't [00:13:00] start a new habit now. That's not what this podcast episode is about. Be realistic. What would you actually do? And also keep it simple. Three, make sure to prioritize revenue-generating action. What's your non-negotiable? If you notice that a lot of your clients came through you going to networking events, maybe your one action each day is to either look up networking events and sign up for it, or follow up with the people that you met at the networking event, right?
Simple. And then fourth, what is a productive action you can take towards your business? Because it is important to still get certain things done for your business, right? Like, I don't think it's necessary to have a website in order to gain clients, but you probably wanna make sure there's a way to get paid, or a way to get booked in your calendar if you're a coach, or a way to purchase your products if you're selling products.
So there are certain things that still need to get done. Just remember, [00:14:00] prioritize the reve- revenue-generating action first
So that's all I got for today.
If you would like more support in really understanding what your four non-negotiables are for your business, if you're just like, "I've never heard of a revenue-producing action versus productive action," and you want to understand for your business exactly what those actions could look like, book a free 20-minute clarity call, and let's talk about it.
You can book at www.leadintact.com/claritycall. And as always, if you like this episode, please leave a review, rate me at five stars, share this to your friends, leave a comment, DM me on Instagram. And with that, as usual, proceed as if success is inevitable, because it is. I'll see you next time
If this episode hit something in you, good. That's not an accident. The discomfort you're feeling isn't a sign that something's wrong with you. It's a sign that [00:15:00] you're done. Done living in the eh, done waiting for it to magically feel better, done being really good at a life that doesn't actually fit you anymore.
And if good enough stopped being good enough a long time ago, that's exactly who I work with. I'm Laura DiNisio. I'm a coach for high achievers who are done pretending that checking the boxes is enough, and are ready to do something about it. If that's you, let's talk. Book a free clarity call at leadandtact.com/booking.
We'll figure out together what's actually going on and what your next aligned step looks like. And if you're not quite there yet, that's okay, too. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. Share this with a friend who needs to hear it. You probably already know exactly who that is. And with that, I'll see you next time