What happens when giving your time away actually gives something meaningful back to you?

On Volunteerism: “Have boundaries, have an exit strategy, know what you’re prepared to do, because otherwise it can become all encompassing.” Elizabeth Ducie May 2026

In this heartfelt conversation, Michelle sits down with author and volunteer leader Elizabeth Ducie to explore how volunteerism can reshape your life, your productivity, and your sense of purpose.

Despite some unexpected recording challenges during this episode, Michelle felt it was incredibly important to share Elizabeth’s story and wisdom with listeners. Sometimes in life, and in podcasting, you can only put so much time into perfecting something before you have to trust that the people who truly need the message will still find it. Michelle hopes this episode encourages you to do exactly that.

Elizabeth shares her remarkable journey from working in a male-dominated engineering industry to becoming an active volunteer, charity trustee, fundraiser, and acting CEO of a cancer support charity in southwest England. Along the way, she opens up about burnout, boundaries, intentional living, and how volunteer work can unexpectedly become one of the most meaningful parts of life.

• How volunteering can reshape your perspective on productivity and purposeful living
• Why setting boundaries and having an exit strategy is essential in volunteer work
• How burnout can develop even when you are doing meaningful work you care about
• How the 42 Minute Hour helped Elizabeth reclaim time for writing and creativity
• Why volunteering can become one of the most rewarding and intentional uses of your time

Michelle and Elizabeth also discuss the importance of recognizing when productivity is no longer about doing more, but about intentionally choosing where your energy belongs. It is a powerful reminder that giving back to others can also help you rediscover yourself.

You can learn more about Elizabeth Ducie, her cozy crime novels, and the Coombsford Chronicles series on her official website: https://elizabethducie.co.uk/

If this conversation resonated with you, please follow, share, and review Your Productivity Pulse. Join my community and receive your FREE Time Disruptor Checklist. https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/28276/163127936437716794/share

Your support helps more people discover practical and intentional ways to reclaim their time and create meaningful lives.

1. Start small
2. You do not need to commit to dozens of hours a week. Begin with one committee, one event, or one afternoon each month.
3. Identify your strengths
4. Think about what skills you already have. Organizations often need help with administration, finances, communication, technology, events, and leadership.
5. Set boundaries early
6. Before committing, decide how much time you realistically have available and communicate those limits clearly.
7. Choose something meaningful
8. Look for a cause that genuinely connects to your values or personal experiences. Purpose makes the time feel worthwhile.
9. Have an exit plan
10. Volunteer roles can grow quickly. Knowing your timeline and limits helps prevent burnout and keeps the experience positive.

The Wake-Up Call "In that moment, time stopped feeling endless — and suddenly every minute mattered." — Michelle Oucharek-Deo, Your Productivity Pulse Ep. 20

In this deeply personal episode, Michelle Oucharek-Deo shares the story of a near-death experience at 18 that quietly shaped the way she thinks about time, purpose, and productivity to this day.

While working two jobs and running on empty, early one morning Michelle found herself clinging to a toolbox on a flatbed truck as it rolled backwards down a ravine. In the seconds that followed, time did something unexpected and in that suspended moment, she caught her first real glimpse of what it means to actually live, rather than simply push through. Decades later, that moment has become a foundation of her work helping others use their time more intentionally.

In this episode Michelle explores:

• What near-death experiences teach us about time and priority and why you don't necessarily have to go through one to reset the way you are using your time.
• How creativity and nature became Michelle's first time tools for processing, healing and personal revaluation of how you can use your minutes with more meaning.
• The seeds of the Time Core Strategy System, and how they were planted in the aftermath of the accident that summer.

At the end of the episode, Michelle introduces a powerful self-reflection practice she calls the Ravine Reset Question — a simple but honest pause you can take any time, no crisis required.

Step 1: Find 10 minutes. No phone. No multitasking. No scrolling.

Ask yourself:

Step 2: Then ask:

Because sometimes transformation doesn't begin with a giant leap. Sometimes it begins with one honest question.

Listeners are invited to join Michelle's community to access the When Time Stops You in Your Tracks reflection worksheet — a ten-question guide designed to help you explore your relationship with time, purpose, burnout, and intentional living at your own pace.

👉 Join my Community: Download your free reflection guide here

https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/28276/187782348619646863/share

Grab you FREE Time Distruptor Checklist Today and join my community where you can start to redeifine what productivity means to you.

https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/28276/163127936437716794/share

What can happen when you stop trying to schedule every minute of your day?

Sometimes the most meaningful moments can arrive in the quiet spaces we leave open for surprise, reflection, and wonder. Inspired by an unexpected visit to Mile Zero in Victoria, BC, this deeply personal episode explores the power of intentional time, emotional connection, and the ripple effect one person can have on the world.

Michelle Oucharek-Deo shares a moving reflection on Terry Fox, the Marathon of Hope, and how a simple unscheduled walk became a powerful reminder 'that productivity is not only about efficiency and calendars. Sometimes productivity is devotion, courage, purpose, and choosing to dedicate our time to something larger than ourselves.'

Along the way, Michelle explores the beauty of tiny everyday surprises, emotional tears, gifts of time and the importance of creating space for meaningful experiences to find us.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, leave room for curiosity, and reconnect with what truly matters. If Terry Fox’s story inspires you, you can learn more or make a donation through the Terry Fox Foundation. https://terryfox.org/

Thank you for listening to Your Productivity Pulse. Be sure to follow, share the podcast with a friend, and download the FREE Time Disrupter Checklist.

Remember, intention plus accountability equals productivity.

Thank you Michelle