Melissa spent the whole day running at full speed, jumping from one task to another without a break, barely taking a moment to grab a quick lunch at her desk.
By the end of the day, she was exhausted. She looked back at her to-do list, and was dismayed to see that she hadn’t accomplished all that much, despite her frenetic pace all day.
What the…heck? She felt frustrated, and a little demotivated. And tomorrow was going to be just as busy.
Melissa sure isn’t alone. Lots of busy entrepreneurs ask themselves at the end of the day, where did the time go? I’m betting you’ve done that too.
Here’s the thing: how you get things done is ultimately as important as what you get done.
You want a great experience in your business, right? You want to enjoy it, and feel good while you’re doing what you do, not just with the results. True?
The good news is, you can have both. And it doesn’t involve growing extra limbs or cloning yourself to be able to do more. Even better news is that a great experience and getting a lot done are so interconnected.
So how do you do it?
Working with my clients and my own experience plus the research I’ve done have given me many opportunities to discover proven ways to do more with less effort. Here are 7 strategies to guide you to do the same:
1. Create space. Research shows that if you remain intensely, narrowly focused for a long time, your productivity drops. Regularly shift your focus to be more open.
Take a break between blocks of work. If you work on something for 50 minutes, take 5 minutes and do something totally different, something that you feel in your body as relaxing. The body is a great indicator – use it as your gauge.
Changing your environment also shifts your focus. Go to a meeting room, a coffee shop, or your patio, and work there for a while.
2. Plan. Making your first hour at work productive will set the tone for the day. Plan ahead the day before so you can step right in.
Find out what your most productive times of day are, and plan around them for crucial tasks. Create defined blocks of time, and work toward completing what you plan in that time. Group similar tasks to minimize the time needed to adjust to doing something else.
The biggest thing that has helped my productivity is to start each day with 20-30 minutes on my highest impact activity. What will affect your business most? Do that first.
3. Maintain practices. Find and maintain practices that support you in being present, energized, and in a good space emotionally.
These include a morning practice, like exercise/meditation/writing in a journal. A daily practice of celebrating your successes and saying what you’re grateful for are great for your confidence and motivation too.
4. Take care. Take great care of you.
Body: Exercise, a healthful diet, and rest are crucial. Rest includes enough sleep and breaks during the day.
Mind: Take time off. Being completely away from your work brings perspective and a fresh approach when you return. It’s worth it.
Compassion: Create an environment of love and care for yourself. Your productivity has its own natural ebbs and flows. Honor and respect that about yourself. No need to get the boxing gloves on to beat on yourself if you don’t get as much done on any given day as you’d hoped.
5. Get back on track. You’ll get off track. I do. We all do. When you do, change your environment. Go do something totally different for just 10 minutes.
Then come back, and return to your intention. What did I intend for this day, this task? Begin again from there.
6. Collaborate. Bring other people in to help.
Break the job down into tasks. Delegate what you can to a VA (virtual assistant) or someone else on your team.
Partner with others in a joint venture. Find out who can help you reach your goal. Want to build your email list? Find partners who are willing to help promote you to their list, and offer something in return.
7. Achieve a higher energy. This one may seem a little on the woo-woo side, but stay with me for a moment. The more you can tap into a bigger energy, the easier it will be for you to do more.
Return to your purpose, your Big Why, why you’re doing what you’re doing from a high level view.
Set an intention for each area of your work. What is your goal? Are you willing to make the decision to invest your time and energy into it?
Finally, and maybe most importantly, bring love into your work. Love has a huge energy to it. Care for and love yourself. Love your work. Bring an energy of love to work with your clients. That level of energy will carry you a long way.
Now that you have the strategies, take them and create your own more productive work world. Pick and choose which examples speak to you. Make them your own by playing with what works best for you.
Ultimately, productivity isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing more of what matters. What matters to you and your business?
Your stories are meaningful and valuable. We all get so much from hearing them. Share your experience of managing your time in the comments below!
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Here’s your Alchemy Assignment, your chance to transform what you learned in this article into awareness and action for you and your business:
Pick one of the strategies from the article that you think would work well for you. Experiment with it, playing with different aspects. Each of the examples in the article offers you a way to be more productive. Find ways to make each one your own, so it really works for you.