Listen up – the real secret of success? It comes from consistent, daily action! It’s definitely not sexy, but it’s what really works. In this episode, we’re talking about daily practices to help you be more productive as we wrap up the Productivity Powerhouse series.
Here’s the scoop from Episode #69:
Have you ever heard of the idea of greatness in the moment? We absolutely love this idea as it’s a great way to stay true to what matters to you and to keep your priorities in check. (Speaking of priorities – you’ll want to listen to Episode #66 if you haven’t already.)
Honestly, that’s how big things happen. In the tiny moments and split second decisions. But HOW on earth do we do that – sounds good, but it’s hard. Check out our suggestions for how to choosing the right action in the moment to make that happen:
Practical daily actions to be great:
Buffer time
- This the key takeaway from this episode. Take 20-30 minutes twice each day to walk away from your inbox. Yes, you can do it. You can! It will change your business life – trust us! You will be getting the work done and will feel so much better.
- This goes for your social media too. If you have problems with Facebook or Instagram for example, take them off your phone. It will save you from spending so. much. time doing useless scrolling.
Close down extra tabs – go dark!
- If you are the kind of person who has 56 tabs open (including all those online shopping tabs!), shut those down. All the social media, shopping, googling random stuff, etc.. Just keep the ones open that you are actually working on.
Eliminate context switching
- It’s a proven fact that switching contexts (jumping from task to task) confuses the brain and it takes you longer to get back in sync with whatever mindset you were in for what you were doing. Lots of wasted time.
Use daily time blocks for specific tasks
- Do this for every week. If you have regular things you need to do, block off that time in your calendar so you know a) that it is going to get done and b) you can plan your other things around them. Seriously reduces the stress! Episode 67 shares more tips on this.
Know what works for you in terms of your cycle
- Figure out when you are productive and when you aren’t and build that into your schedule. If you are a morning person, then do all your big projects in the morning. If you really check out on Fridays, then don’t leave your deep thinking for that day. Know yourself and how you work and build that into your planning.
Stop responding instantly to clients
- You don’t need to do this – you really don’t. This is HARD to know – we know that. But 98% of what they are emailing you about are not urgent. The more you respond that fast to them, you are training them to expect this. Outline your response time in your contracts and stick to it. Set up autoresponders – they will know you received the question and you will get back to them. Check out Boomerang for GMail for more on this. Also use a project management system to ensure that everyone knows the status of the project.
This wraps up our Productivity Powerhouse series. We hope you have picked up some nuggets of info that will help you with your small business success.
Links for this show:
- Check out Episode 66 if you haven’t done so for some more ideas.
- Episode 67 helps with planning for success.
- For more help on autoresponders with GMail, check out Boomerang.
- If you want to learn more about getting more productive, check out the Small Business Boss Society.
If you missed any podcasts and want to get caught up, you can click here to find all of our previous episodes on the Podcast landing page.
