I first met Behdad (Bee) Jamshidi in a private Facebook group.
I was on the hunt for a new email agency and was looking for recommendations and Bee was one of the first to reach out.
“Hey Serge, I’m a marketing broker. I’m happy to connect you with some great email marketing partners I know.”
A marketing broker? I was intrigued. Having just closed on a new house, I knew the value of a good broker. So we chatted and eventually he helped me find the right partner. We’ve been in touch ever since.
Over time, I’ve learned how much Bee loves the side quests of life. While working as a customer solution architect for a leading telecommunication company, he’s also building CJAM Marketing on the side – a marketing brokerage company where he connects businesses to the right marketing partners.
With so much going on personally and professionally, I was curious to know how he stays on top of it all. Thankfully, he was happy to share 🙏.
In this interview, you’ll learn:
- Why counselling is one of his secret weapons for productivity
- The importance of striving for your ideal day
- Why you need to make the time to connect
Here’s my (short) interview with Bee:
What does your work routine look like? Describe your typical day.
Unfortunately, for me, my days all vary because of all the different things I do. The day I strive to have 80% of the time is:
- Wake up around 7AM
- Take 10 -15 minutes to wake up and relax
- Work on CJAM from 7:15 -8:45AM
- Work full time job (9-5) with breaks for walks and anything that comes up
- The evening time goes to active rest, work, cooking, and sports
- 9-9:30PM read
- Sleep
Editor’s note: I love the concept of an ideal day. Not every day is going to be perfect. There are too many variables out of our control. But our days shouldn’t happen randomly either. Write out what you want your ideal day to be and strive to hit it 50-75% of the time and you’ll see a difference.
What’s your secret to an effective remote work setup?
We have a very small space in Vancouver, but it’s the best set up I’ve had. I need at least 2 screens, a solid chair, a sit and stand desk, a view of the outside, a vertical mouse (I use this one from Anker), and an ergonomic keyboard.
What helps you stay focused?
Finding the right balance between work and rest. Many people think these two are opposite. But they work hand in hand.
Things I do in the moment:
- Minimize distractions
- Go for walks during the day
- Take a nap when to re-energize as needed
- Remind myself not to push through mental fog
- Remember to breathe when things get busy
Things I do proactively:
- Carve out time with family and friends
- Stay physically active (gym, soccer, volleyball)
- Counselling bi-weekly (on good and bad days)
- Eat well
- Get enough sleep (I use the Oura ring to track)
- Reduce alcohol intake (maybe once a month)
- Reading and understanding the mind
What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed?
I take a deep breath and do many of the proactive stuff above, knowing that the situation will pass. I focus on what I can do now and try to make time for breaks. Otherwise, I overload my brain and by the time the day is done, I’m burned out.
“I’m constantly trying to be aware of what my body is telling me and each time trying to get better at stopping when it tells me too. It is a work in progress.” – Behdad Jamshidi
How do you prioritize your work effectively?
My top two priorities for me are my full-time job and CJAM marketing.
While my full-time job comes first, I’ve scheduled times in the day where I have time blocked off for CJAM. Even if my day gets extremely busy, I have time blocked out for the highest priority CJAM work.
From there, I use a bullet journal. It allows me to keep track of everything I need to do. At the beginning of every week, I make sure the items in my bullet journal have time blocked off in my calendar to do them.
As for Being Bee, it’s my vocation and I don’t want it to feel like a job. I do that whenever I feel like it. Though, as long as I don’t have CJAM work to catch up on, Sunday mornings are days I dedicate to Being Bee.
How do you strike the right balance between remote work and life?
I think part of this is knowing that things are not always going to be balanced. There are times when things work out perfectly and times when things have shifted too far in one direction or another.
“Part of striking the right balance is knowing how to move with the ebbs and flows of life rather than resisting it.” – Behdad Jamshidi
Simply knowing things come in phases reminds me that things will balance themselves again.
What book or podcast has helped you the most?
I have a goal of reading 60 books in 5 years. I’m in year 3 currently and I think about 44 books in. Some of the books that have stood out so far:
- The Courage to be Disliked by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi – a book about how to live a life you want, not the life others want. It’s based on Adler Philosophy.
- Make it Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – a book about how to learn more effectively.
- Chasing Daylight by Andrew Postman, Corinne O’Kelly, and Eugene O’Kelly – a story of a CEO who learns he has brain cancer and writes a book in the last 4 months he has to live.
I’ll have highlights and reviews of these books on my blog.
Editor’s note: if you’re looking for more great books to add to your reading list, check out these 50+ books for marketers and leaders.
Share one favorite productivity tool or tip.
My secret weapon for productivity is counselling. I have it pre-booked every 2 weeks and it helps me take some time to slow down and reflect.
I don’t have specific things I go to counselling for, but it helps me stay in my zone and allows me to be more effective. Having someone who can, without judgement, listen to what you are saying and ask the right questions is invaluable.
Counselling has allowed me to understand who I am, why I react in certain ways and also discover what makes me happy. Having this introspection helps me go through life more confidently and be able to deal with hardships better.
I wrote about why getting a counsellor was one of my best decisions here.
Any parting advice for remote workers?
Make the time to connect.
Humans are built to connect with others. Take the time to see friends, co-workers and family. At the end of the day, we are a collection of the people around us and when you take that away we lose a big part of who we are.
**
Thank you Bee!
You can find Bee at his blog where he aims to inspire others through growth.
✌
