How to Increase Your Productivity

Getting Closer to Your Goals

As small business owners, we learn pretty quickly how often we need to switch out which hat we’re wearing that day.

We wear the marketing hat in the morning as we’re networking on Facebook. After a quick lunch break, our accountant hat slips on and later in the afternoon, we can volley between a sales ball cap and the mommy version of a straw sun hat.

{ at least that’s what I always picture myself wearing when I think of myself as a mom }

Some days, the hours just fly by and you ask yourself, “What just happened? Did I get anything done to keep me moving forward? Was I even productive?”

I admit, I’ve had days when my answer to those questions was NO. And that kinda sucks.

I know that it happens to all of us. Then we justify the day by telling ourselves – not every day can be a winner. Hey, I showed up and turned on my laptop, right?

Well, yeah … but is that getting you closer to your goals? Probably not.

I know this game

I know this game we play all too well. And I played it with all the grace and style of someone who found herself stuck in the same place every year.

At the end of the year, I do my year in review and wonder how I started January being proactive with so much enthusiasm and end it in December, feeling like I’m just reacting to what was going on around me.

This year is different. I can feel it. This has really been my year to make that big leap.

I made a commitment to myself that things were going to change and when I hit December, I wasn’t going to be scratching my head, wondering what happened.

What changed this for me? It all came down to understanding one big thing:

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. It’s how we choose to use them that makes the difference.

What made the difference this year?

Honestly, my thinking changed when I changed the way I organized my day.

I still breakdown my big projects into weekly lists and from there, I come up with my list of daily action items. I still use the productivity system I shared with you in the How to Get More Done post.

And I still focus on my three MITs { most important tasks } every day. The difference is that my daily MITs now fall into these three categories: Create, Produce and Promote.

When I can check off one important task in each of these three categories every day, I feel productive. My day still flies by but now I know I’m working on the stuff that I need to do to keep me moving forward.

Every time I cross another thing off my list, I know that I’m getting closer to my goals.

Let me show you how this works:

Every day, I make sure that I have at least one important task that falls under one of these three categories: Create, Produce and Promote.

Create

These are the things that you love to do every day. The stuff we create that helps us grow our business.

Here’s some of the things you can include in your Create category:

• Write blog posts
• The daily action items needed to complete your next project like an ebook or the content for an online course
• Create social media images for Pinterest, blog posts, Instagram quotes and Facebook posts

Produce

This part of my list includes all my sales stuff. I’ve learned over the years that using social media marketing to grow your business requires more than just finding out where your target audience likes to hang out.

My sales to-do list is pretty long so here’s just a few ideas that you can start adding into your Produce category:

• Make changes to your Work with Me coaching page or update your sales page content
• Update your About Me page
• Make follow up calls or emails to people who have expressed an interest in working with you

Promote

This category includes all the marketing plans I’m working on.

Yes, I do include scheduling my social posts on Facebook and creating Pinterest pins in this list but I also add in all the work that needs to generate more awareness of my company.

My Promote category includes things like this every week:

• Blocking off time to engage in my Facebook groups
• Writing emails to my list to promote my latest free workshop or workbook
• Run a recap report of my Google Analtyics to see which content is creating more site traffic

The whole process is pretty simple. It’s not about changing how you work every day. It’s more about making sure that your most important tasks are the ones that will keep your business moving forward.

Give it a try. When you sit down to plan out your week, add in one thing a day that falls under the three categories: Create, Produce and Promote.

And then see how your day goes.

Review how your week went on Friday. I know you’ll see a difference because now there’s meaning behind those most important tasks.

You’re not just doing work for the sake of work. There’s a plan in action and that plan is leading you to reach your goals.

 

Want more tips like this to be more productive?

Imagine being so productive, you’ve checked off everything on your social media marketing to-do list. You’ve increased your social presence so much that you’re connecting to new people every day who want to buy your stuff.

The Social Media Productivity Planner will introduce you to a new way of managing your social media marketing so you can get new followers, show up more consistently online and grow your social presence to get more clients.

Click here to grab your copy of the Social Media Productivity Planner!