July 2021 – Productivity Success Cake

“I’ll do that when things slow down” – a great way to trick yourself into believing you are not in charge.

There just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done, to finish your to-do list, to reply to all those emails and sort all the admin for the week ahead.

Wait, what?

Right. The key here is “everything.” Sure, you can become More Efficient. We will actually dive into that momentarily. In the meantime, just know this. EVERYTHING will NOT get done.

Alleluia.

Once your mind is at ease, knowing that you now have to CHOOSE, your blood pressure drops. You are the Architect of your time, your life, your business. Super cool. Now, let’s have some FUN!

1. Start with a master list – brain dump into it!

On this list add EVERYTHING you need to do. From here you can separate, organize, and prioritize. It’s ok to add, and if you find yourself adding a lot, it’s time for a new Master List. Wring out that washcloth, so to speak.

2. Plan your week.

The other day I did this with a client…we planned her week. Where did we begin? No, not “when will you do marketing?” It was: when can you spend time with your number one guy? What else is so important to you, that sings to your body, soul, and spirit? Start there.

More on time blocking, themes of days, etc, in earlier blogs, or hit reply to ask me anything.

3. Add time estimates and then double them.

When we want to be as efficient and productive as possible, we often underestimate how long tasks will take. Adding a time estimate against the task and then doubling it may mean that at the end of the day you will have time for another task OR an extra cup of tea – imagine what that would feel like. Imagine actually having blank space.

Now THAT’S powerful.

4. Allocate task to time.

Before you even get going with this, it’s critically important that you know when your high energy times are, and what you are best suited to “do” then. For more on this, check out Daniel Pink’s book, WHEN. https://www.danpink.com/books/when/

So depending on your “chronotype” as he calls it, you may find yourself trying to do your best work when you should be taking a nap. Now THAT is the opposite of Happy and Productive, right? Listen to your body and you will never go wrong.

5. Ask for Help

All too often, we take it upon ourselves to do and…it does not ned to be so. Don’t be afraid to ask. Guilt can rear its heard here. Guilt does not serve. I was once told by my former partner “I don’t’ like to LEAN ON PEOPLE.’ Well that didn’t work out. LOL. Or…perhaps you are So Involved In Doing that you can’t even breathe to evaluate. Yes? Evaluating what needs to be done by YOU and what can be done by someone else is a really valuable tool to when it comes to maximizing your time. So slow the ‘Bleep’ Down and evaluate. Your body, mind, spirit, and business will thank you.Create time efficiencies – Most people don’t want to admit that the “stuff of life” takes up time. And energy. So it’s important to (1) face that; and (2) address it as efficiently as you can.

What are some things “of life” that eat up your time? One big thing is EATING. At the base layer of the productivity success cake, healthy eating is critical. And, to do that ….planning is a must. Some questions to consider:

– Can you swap a grocery shop for a delivery?

– Can you bulk cook meals so that you aren’t cooking every day?

Making these changes might only save you a matter of minutes but at the end of the week, these minutes will start to add up.

6. Capitalize on your mental energy when considering The Task

This is one of my favorites and over the years, I’ve realized that I’ve wasted a lot of time and mental energy swapping from task to task that aren’t necessarily in the same group. For example, if my task is planning social media for the week, I make sure I start and finish that task before opening a new one. I would then move on to writing my blog for the week (as an example) because I’m already in that “frame of mind” so starting on invoicing or accounts, doesn’t really make sense, only to come back to the blog. Opening and closing tasks will also give you the sensation that you are completing tasks and you’ll gradually see the to-do list get smaller.

Although this sounds like a lot of work, it really is only a matter of an hour or so to your week in exchange for a massive saving in time, stress and is a great way of boosting productivity, leaving you feeling motivated, productive and for sure, a lot happier.

Let’s sum it up with a quote.

“It’s not always that we need to do more but rather that we need to focus on less.”

TIME: The Real Truth behind making MORE of it

You want to make it big. You want to make more. You want to be more, to do more but what does that actually mean? What is the truth behind making MORE of it?

Whether it’s your business, a project, or some super fun idea…this is for you.

Here’s the scenario. You have a big dream or vision. Hopefully you have done a little research so that you can see if it has potential to take off (if not, go do this…like…NOW.)

But you’ve got so caught up in the day-to-day and spending time IN the business or idea, you’ve forgotten to spend time ON the business, project, or dream. You’ve lost sight of where you’re going, what you were aiming for and what the true goal was here. So how do you get it back? Here are some ideas.

Assess and review – block out time in your calendar each month, whether it be a day or just a few hours, to look at what you’ve achieved in the last month, assess what you did well and what could have been done better and set yourself a goal or a target for the following month.
Make a gigantic wall poster or stick post it notes around your house, car or wherever it may be – and remind yourself of what it is you’re doing and what you want to achieve.
Shout about it from the rooftops and make yourself accountable – don’t hide away, share your visions with those around you, tell them when and why you’re doing what you’re doing and ask them to follow you up on it, make yourself accountable. A bit of social pressure can go a long way.

Okay, find your mojo but then what? How do you actually make MORE of it?

A lot of hard work and probably some sacrifices along the way. To make MORE of it, usually you have to do more or do what you do more efficiently but that certainly doesn’t come without sacrifices. If you look back in history, those who created something that no one could ever forget made huge sacrifices, whether that be in their family life or with their friends. There goes the saying “you can’t have your cake and eat it” and when it comes to making MORE of it, unfortunately this rings true. Know your limits on what you’re willing to sacrifice will be key to knowing your growth potential and understanding how much MORE you can make of it.
Make a plan, tweak it, change it but always make sure that you track it, review it and most importantly stick to it. There’s always an element of “winging it” with any project, idea or business but there has to come a time where your efforts are focused and it’s not purely just trial and error.
Find someone who shares a vision, divide, and conquer – is your own knowledge and expertise capping your growth, is it time to bring someone on who has different skill sets from you, can give everything a pair of fresh eyes and give you someone to be accountable to? Making MORE of it can be a long and hard process, so having someone there who is also living it, can make the journey seem a lot easier!
Make sure making MORE of it is actually what you want – for me, this one is the absolute jackpot and one I recently got asked. What do you want from this? There’s nothing wrong with plodding away, there’s no shame in it. Social media and the media in general have certainly influenced making us want MORE, to make it as big as possible, to have as many things as possible, to have as much money as possible but this might not be for everyone and that’s OKAY! Decide what it is you want from this and make peace with it; you’ll know when it’s the right time.

So just remember, making MORE of it doesn’t come easily for most and that life is about choices. Every choice you make, makes you.