Life changing productivity system!
The ever-present question on every business owner’s mind is this. Can you get it all done? Hate to break it to you but unfortunately, you can't. Not without a rock-solid system in place, that is!
In this week's video, I'm sharing how you can get organized and crush your to-do list with my proven productivity method. And trust me. It's absolutely life-changing.
We're going to start by creating a strong game plan. But in order to do this, you're going to need a few things.
Post It Notes
A Paper Planner
A Google Calendar
A Project Management System
With this system, you can create a plan for a month, three months or even six months! But for the sake of getting started with your new productivity plan, we're going to focus on just one month.
Create or Buy a Wall Calendar.
A wall calendar will allow you to see your entire month at a glance. Now you can buy a wall calendar or make one, it doesn't matter which. The most important thing is that you have it in a place of visibility and that you use it. I like to start by blocking off any day that I won't be working. Using a red post it note, I'll block off holidays, vacations or any other day that I won't be working.
Once you've blocked all of that time off, add it to your Google Calendar!
Batch Your Work
There are certain things that you have to do over and over and over again. Try to identify what those recurring tasks are so that you can group them together.
By grouping your similar tasks together, you're able to work more efficiently! Especially when you're looking at that wall calendar and seeing what days are blocked off to work.
Brain Dump Tasks
Once you've figured out how to batch those recurring tasks, it's time to talk about what other things you want to get done. This is the perfect time for a brain dump! And brain dumping isn't just for organization, it's for your own sanity as well. You'll feel so much better after you do this!
Sit down and write down everything you want to accomplish this month. It can be all work related but I even like to include personal tasks as well. This helps prevent a lot of overwhelm.
Once you're done with this step, it's time to look it over. Are you overwhelmed yet? No worries! We're going to tackle that in the next step.
Shorten the List
We have a tendency to really pile on tasks. And so often those tasks aren't actually necessary. I call those tasks "wish list tasks." In order to get the most done and make the most impact, the next step is to shorten your list to get rid of anything that isn't critical.
This is crucial. You have to be lethal here. In order to maximize your time, you need to focus on the essentials. If you finish all of your tasks with time to spare, then you can move onto the wishlist.
Categorize Similar Tasks
Once you've narrowed your list down, it's time to categorize tasks. This will make batching so much easier! For example, I like to plan days that will be my "face days." In other words, I plan around days I'll have make up on and my hair done so that I don't have to do that every day. So on "face days," I'll do calls, have live video sessions, etc!
Get Those Post Its
Once you've broken all of that down, you can start to use your post its. Decide what color post it will be what type of task. Or even what size! I use small post its for tasks that I can move around.
Because let's be honest. We have to be flexible!
Start Sticking Post Its to Your Calendar
This step is easy. Use those post it notes to really organize that wall calendar. This gives you a great visual of what your day to day will really look like. Maybe you'll see that you've filled one day to the max while leaving another day pretty open. You can then rearrange so that your day isn't so full!
Transfer to your Digital System
The wall calendar is great but you're going to need to have that handy outside of your work space. Transfer your tasks to you Google Calendar and your project management system so you can always have it available!
I use Asana to track my projects and it makes life so much easier!
Transfer to Your Paper Planner
I do this once a week. Before the start of your work week, plan out your week and stick to it. This gives you a physical list to check off and who doesn't love that?
Another thing it allows me to do is plan out EVERYTHING. I put in my daily workouts, my meals. Everything. Why? To eliminate decision fatigue.
This system is one that I've used and love for a long time. And you can totally steal it now so you can become a productivity master!
