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Want to know some of my best productivity tips? I have been an entrepreneur for over 16 years now. That means I have many tips and tricks for being more productive. There have been many times I have been called a content creation machine. I love creating, and with the length of time I’ve been on this entrepreneurial journey, I have gotten pretty quick at many things. That’s not to say that being fast is the only benefit of being more productive, but many other things can help you become more productive. It’s all about where you spend your time and energy.
So let’s explore how you can be more productive in your business. These productivity tips will help whether you are an entrepreneur with a small or medium-sized team or a solopreneur doing it all yourself.
In this episode, I dive into some of my best productivity tips, including:
- Your time and energy and where it is best spent in your business
- Content batching and repurposing for better productivity
- Setting boundaries with yourself and your clients to enhance productivity
- … and much more
Where Are You Spending Your Time and Energy in Your Business?
When it comes down to the foundations of your business and seeking ways to be more productive, it is clear that your time and energy play an essential role. Your energy and consistency with your business go hand in hand.
You may have heard that consistency requires you to be consistent in all aspects of your business and life. So I want you to begin focusing on what is most important, not just busy work.
If the work you are doing is just busy work and it doesn’t bring you joy, then doing these tasks won’t move the needle forward in your business and make an impact. The next thing you need to ask yourself is, is this something that you can cut from your weekly to-do list?
When you notice yourself getting overwhelmed, you must ask yourself these things to keep yourself from getting bogged down. If you need to get these tasks done, but it isn’t something you enjoy, you could delegate them to a current team member, or you may need more help for your business. Hiring more help and team members is a necessary growing pain.
As you continue to get more clients and your business grows, you will need to build your team to match that level of growth. It can be challenging, in the beginning, to let go of the reins. Even for those tasks that you like, you will have to let them go at a certain point.
Don’t let yourself get to the end of overwhelm as I did by holding on to tasks that you enjoy doing but could be outsourcing.
You don’t have to be the one doing every task, regardless of whether you want the task or not. Asking yourself these questions about your tasks and their order of importance is how you will move forward.
Content Batching and Repurposing For More Productivity in Your Business
Both batching and repurposing in my business have been transformational. What may work for me may not work for you in the same way. The same will apply to something like time blocking; it works for some and not others.
For a while, I tried focusing on doing themed days in my business, which I technically still do, but I am not as strict on doing anymore.
My Calendar and Project Management
When it comes to my calendar and tasks that I do weekly, I have a set process.
Every Sunday, I will open up ClickUp, my project management tool, to see what tasks I have for the week ahead. I look at what can be handed off to team members, what I need to do, and what I can push off another week.
From the tasks left for me, I will put them on the same days to batch together. I would batch similar tasks on the same day instead of having them throughout the week. Whether these tasks use the same system, same tool, or same general type of task, I will purposefully put them together to make use of my time.
Quarterly Planning
I also do quarterly project planning and monthly content planning. But, when it comes to the nitty gritty, smaller weekly tasks, I plan on Sundays for the upcoming week’s tasks to keep myself from putting too much on my plate.
Utilizing a weekly strategy for planning tasks is an excellent way to ensure that nothing will be missed as you look at those smaller tasks. It allows you to look at how you will work. This process may be trial and error, but it’s about trying different things to see what will work for you.
Enhancing Productivity By Setting Healthy Boundaries For Yourself and Clients
As a coach or service provider, but especially introverted entrepreneurs, it’s crucial that you set your boundaries. You can get burnt out quickly. Introverts must focus on managing their energy, how and where they show up, and even how often.
You want to be sustainable and consistent (whatever that will look like for you). You have to figure out what will lead to burnout and take steps to avoid it. This will be the case for all entrepreneurs, but introverts even more because your energy can get drained pretty quickly when doing certain things. So you have to be even more mindful.
When setting boundaries around your calendar management, discovery calls and client meetings can be done on specific days. You can also block out your calendar on certain days because you have the calendar rules. If your energy gets drained from these kinds of calls, even though you love working with your clients, just set those boundaries.
If you struggle with needing to prep for calls, be present, and be your best self, choose the specific days that will work best for you. Don’t worry that you will miss out on a call with a client because they couldn’t book the day they wanted to do the meeting or discovery call, don’t. Know that a client who wants to work with you will work around your schedule. It is okay to be open and accommodating for the first meeting, but make sure they know your boundaries for client meetings.
When Is YOUR Most Productive Time?
Another example of calendar management and boundaries as a night owl is that I struggle with mornings. I know that I cannot do meetings earlier than 11 am (I mean, I could, but I’d rather not!)
I enjoy a slow morning with an hour or two by myself before I get to work instead of getting straight to work. I’ve also set up one day out of my meeting days where I have evening availability.
So again, it’s really about what will work for you and figuring out when your most productive time of the day is. Most often, you’re going to have a productive time. It might be early morning, mid-morning, or afternoon, or maybe you get a lot of your creative energy in the evening as I do. It just depends on how you work the best.
Finding the Right Tech Systems For Your Productivity Style
Another aspect I want to share in terms of productivity that has been a game changer for me is finding the right systems. My productivity changed when I found tools that work for me, my productivity style, and how I like to do things. So many people struggle with tech and finding the right systems.
Zapier
I love Zapier. This fantastic tool connects any two apps in any way you want them to work together. The automations are pure magic.
ClickUp
This is my project management tool of choice. As I said, I check at the beginning of every week on Sunday evenings to plan my week. This tool has been instrumental in my productivity as it is where I house everything literally. We have automations set up along with so many templates.
We have set up many different areas of focus for the templates, but for my primary marketing method of choice, blogging, I don’t have just one task labeled blog post title. Writing, posting, sharing, and promoting a blog post will need several smaller, bite-sized tasks, which we have a template for to ensure nothing is missed.
So in ClickUp, once a new blog post idea is added as a task, it will then automatically add the template of sub-tasks to be done. What you decide to do may look different than what my team and I have set up, but map your tasks out in a template that can be automated how you see fit. It will make your life so much easier, I promise!
AirTable
I didn’t use this tool until about a year or a year and a half ago when I discovered how much I love their automations, especially for my group programs.
We also use it for my virtual summits and conferences, and everything is automated. For the first summit we did, my outstanding VA manually sent every email update or reminder to speakers, which was a lot of time, effort, and energy on her part. For the following summits, we have started implementing automations for when things are due by panelists and speakers. It’s a beautiful thing.
There are many incredible ways to use different systems, tools, and automations to bring more productivity into your business. I hope these tips and tricks help you better understand where your time and energy should go to help your business grow.
What boundary or tech system, if put into place, would help you become more productive in your business?
A Breakdown of This Episode
[1:40] Your time and energy play a significant role in how productive you are
[4:24] Using content batching and repurposing to transform your productivity
[9:23] Setting those healthy boundaries for yourself and your clients is huge for your energy and how you can show up
[14:53] Tech systems and choosing the right ones for your productivity style
If you enjoyed this episode, I invite you to drop a five-star rating + review with your biggest takeaway, so that other introverts can find this podcast for guidance and support through their introvert entrepreneur journey!
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