Top Tips to be Productive AF

Blueprint

Dec 17

Productivity is not about doing more things faster, but more about finding the most important things, prioritizing those, and guarding our time.

We tend to say YES way too much! Especially as entrepreneurs. Whether it's fear of missing out or fear of where our paycheck is coming from (so we say yes to projects that don't align with our best skills), we sometimes can feel all over the place.

I like to look at productivity through the lens of what outside of my tasks is stressing me out or causing more mayhem than I like? Here are my top 3 tips to be productive AF!

Schedule Management

I believe being intentional in our own schedules is massively important, and helpful when we talk about productivity. SO many times I’ve seen business owners allow others to dictate their days. It’s more than OK for you to set the times you have calls, meetings, and work on specific tasks. Most people respect when we have boundaries and for the love of it, STOP responding outside of business hours unless that is when you have your work time. This can be hard, so be diligent because it is so worth it for you, your family, and your sanity!

Here is a great mantra for you...If it's not a Heck yes, it's a Heck NO! It’s GOOD to say no! That allows for your best yesses. So ask yourself this the next time you’re on the fence about saying yes, is it a Heck Yes? We need to learn how to create space and boundaries within our days, by only saying yes to the BEST things.

We are so busy these days, and many times are reacting to things, instead of intentionally planning where our time will go. We have 2 currencies, time and money. You can only replace one of those. 😉 I can tell you from experience, cause I've been there, a non-structured, and reactive schedule will lead to burnout!

The first step in mapping out your schedule is categorizing your tasks. We work better and more efficiently when working on the right things during the right time.

For example, I know if I need to write a blog, I can not wait until Friday, because by the end of the week I'm spent! Also, if I have a task to do in a new platform for a client, that also needs to be done earlier in the week as I have more mental bandwidth. So I save my admin tasks and fun tasks for later in the week when I need the mental break.

Take a look at all of the tasks you do and categorize them into buckets.

Once you've organized your tasks, next is to map those into your schedule, when will you work on certain things...remember this is about adding intention to our days and being proactive with our tasks, instead of reactive.

There are a TON of different methods when it comes to planning; paper planners, dot journals, google calendar, time management apps. My recommendation is to turn up your awareness of what generally works for your learning and processing style. I know I'm a paper person, I enjoy physically crossing off a list, but I also understand I can't live by paper alone. So I have a hybrid of Clickup for long-term, team-involved tasks and ongoing large projects, but then use a notebook for my current tasks. I generally only write items on my paper that will, or should, happen that week. That way I'm not re-writing stuff over and over. Personally, this keeps me organized and on track...BUT we are all different. If you live and die by your google calendar, then maybe you use that, if you love the KanBan style, maybe you try out Trello.

Whatever you decide, make sure you give it a few weeks to see if it works for you.

Mindfulness, Rest and Reward

More things faster is NOT productivity!

That path will certainly lead to burnout. True productivity is about doing the RIGHT things, at the RIGHT time, and intentionally adding in REST.

Do you feel like you need to be doing #allthethings right now?

Do you feel like you're always behind?

Do you feel like you're being pulled in 10 different directions?

That probably means you have too much on your plate, and there might be some things you need to say no to for better balance.

I want you to write down EVERYTHING you have as commitments this month, and take a good look at it. Are there things you could have said no to?

This is part of the mindfulness piece. We need to be aware of our patterns. Remember we can't make more time...so we need to guard our minutes, hours, and days for our BEST tasks!

I will spare you the list of my commitments, cause as a business owner with 4 kids (all in activities) it's a little crazy right now, and I for sure have some things on my list that I should not have on my plate!

Another tip when it comes to mindfulness is to know your strengths, weaknesses, how you process and how you learn. The best way to know these things is through personality tests!

Do I hear an unanimous 'ugh' from the crowd? Yes, they can put us in a box...if you let them. But many times they can help shed light on why we do things, why we respond how we do, and many more insights.

Some tests I've taken are:

Enneagram

Strengths Finder

Human Design

Brand Archetype

Myers Briggs

DISC Assessment

And probably more, lol.

I'm an Enneagram 1, Magician, ENFP, C with strengths; Communication, Discipline, Woo, Learner, Analytic

One last tip when it comes to mindfulness is knowing your Zone of Fierceness. The things only you can do, that you are a SUPERSTAR at and you LOVE doing. That's your zone.

I have another little activity for you. On page 3 of my Fierce Goals Workbook, I have a diagram where you can list out your zone. Along with the other areas of things that are NOT in your zone. Those tasks you might suck at and/or hate doing. The tasks outside of our zone are the ones we should be getting off our plate, whether those are the No's or things we delegate, but those don't just take our time. They also take our mental space and energy!

I think we forget the extra energy we spend on things we aren't good at or hate doing. And maybe we hate it because we're bad at it...that's something you can dive into a little.

For me, I used to hate making graphics, because I would second guess everything. Well one benefit of working with brand designers is I've learned some things. Now I'm not too bad at making decent graphics. It's still not a zone task for me, so something I generally delegate.

What tasks end up in your zone of excellence, and maybe what tasks end up in that hate and suck at zone?

Routines and Habits

When it comes to creating routines and habits to be more productive, two things that are super important are simplicity and consistency.

Let’s be honest. You can make all the plans, work your plan, focus, and create a plethora of systems but if the process is overly complicated, you’re never going to see big dreams come to fruition!

Important Note: Keep your life and business as simple as possible and create ongoing consistency. This helps you follow through on tasks and goals.

Our brains usually want us to go down the easier path, so if you create huge goals without systems or breaking them down, you’ll have a hard time completing them.

A few ways you can keep things simple is:

Keep like-items together: If you have your stuff all over the place, that can easily create chaos. Try to find designated spaces for each type of thing. This can apply to all of your spaces.
Batch work your work: I’ve mentioned this before, but if you need to follow up with a client or customer, take 30 minutes and follow up with everyone instead. Writing blog posts or emails? Do it all together! Batching can save you time and mental energy because you aren't shifting from one thing to another, over and over, in a short amount of time.
Delegate your work: This can also apply to household duties and work. Hiring help in your business can be a game-changer! Also, it's addicting. Once I started hiring help, I realized how amazing it is and now have a full team. Even if you think you can't afford it, all of my team started at really low hours. At home, give everyone jobs. My kids all have chores and help around the house, we rely on family A LOT! And if cleaning ain't your thing figure out how to afford a house cleaner. I don't have one yet, but it's on my list!
Use technology to your advantage: Unsubscribe, turn off notifications, delete old photos and documents...declutter the tech stuff! Don’t let the digital clutter derail you.
Simplify your schedule: Keep your schedule to the bare minimum. This means saying NO to a lot of things that might not work BEST for your season. If you're struggling in this area, I recommend the book Essentialism. It's a great reminder!