Boost productivity even when you have no time

Focus on the strategy

Ask yourself why you are doing XYZ is it helping you or holding you back? So often we add tasks to our to-do list either because we feel obligated, someone else wants us to do it, or it’s something we’ve always done and we’ve just never questioned it.

But I’m here to tell you. Question everything on your to-do list. This is a big part of getting stuff done is focusing on the strategy behind all the tasks you’re doing. Sometimes you can’t exactly say no to doing the laundry but if you are filling your day with tasks that aren’t helping you get closer to building the business of your dreams. It’s time for a change.

These tasks that don’t have a strong why or lead us to growth in our business just fill your day with busy work. It’s hard. Don’t get me wrong I’m a recovering people pleaser and I want to make sure I do what everyone expects of me and then go above and beyond that. It was and still is a challenge to let go of to-do list tasks that aren’t helping me but it’s freed up so much of my time that I’m able to actually get the things that move me forward done.

Stop making blanket excuses

Now this one might ruffle some feathers because I see it all the time. And if this does trigger you it may be because you need to do a little work in this area. We’ve all got a bazillion things going on and we all have a million directions we need to go. But the difference between successful people and people who are always wishing they are successful? Excuses. Find your commitment and then prioritize and say no to things that don’t feed what your priorities are

People who find success with their online business don’t make excuses they find ways to take action. Even if it is tiny action. They are constantly moving forward and not letting the excuse of no time stop them. So the best way to combat this is to find your priorities for your life and your business. Notice I said life first, that was on purpose. I want to build a successful business but I don’t want to miss out on living my life so I always put those things first. I prioritize my to-do list and say no to things that don’t feed what my priorities are. Then I find ways to make it happen.

It may be that you have to trade off watching tv or staying in to get your work done on a Friday night. No one ever said that it would be easy and you wouldn’t have to make sacrifices you just have to choose to which sacrifices you are willing to make. And then take action.

Identify your margins

Where do you have dead time that could be more productive? One of the places I’ve identified dead time is when I’m waiting in line at the grocery store or pharmacy. I use this time to engage on social media accounts that I follow. That way I’m filling that dead time purposefully.

No, this may sound like a lot of work but I want you to identify times when you could be more productive. Take a look at your day, if you can do a whole week that’s even better. But make notes of when you start a task, when you finish it and what you were doing. And do this for the entire day every task, like showering and cooking lunch and… Facebook scrolling. All these tasks add up and when you can identify them it makes it easy to adjust so that you are either spending less time on that task or filling dead time with something productive.

Defeat overwhelm

Many times I hear from clients and online business buddies that they are overwhelmed with their list and therefore have given up on working on it. If this is you it’s time to beat the overwhelm and start getting back to productivity.

Here are two things you can do to fight overwhelm.

Put your to-do list on paper or an app and get it out of your head. I don’t know about you but for me when I’ve got a bunch of stuff in my head that I need to do I get more anxious about it. I also tend to forget something and just spend my time thinking about all the things I have to do. A long time ago I started making notes on my phone to remind myself of what I wanted to do when I got home. Then I’d transfer my list to a paper list because that’s how I worked best at the time. Now I’ve upgraded to a mobile app and love it. I can add to-do items as soon as they arise and not have to think about them again until it’s time to work on them. Yay for defeating multitasking!

Focus on action, not completion.

One thing that can keep you in overwhelm is not taking any action. That just keeps your list growing and growing and you haven’t made any forward movement. If you take away one single tidbit from this post I want it to be this. Action will always move you forward no matter how tiny it is. Getting something completely marked off your list is great but if you don’t have the time to sit down and get it completed it’s time to adjust your thinking about the actions you are taking. Say for example you have to schedule all your social media content for the week. That can

Say for example you have to schedule all your social media content for the week. That can pretty darn overwhelming… that’s a lot of content and a lot of posts. But when you break it down into its actionable steps (planning, drafting, editing, graphics, scheduling) it’s much more reasonable to get accomplished in a short amount of time. Being realistic with the time that you have available for you to work and how much you can get done in that time will help you continue to take action and mark things off your list.

Now Your Turn!

What do you have hanging out on your to-do list that you’d like to find more time to get done? Let me know in the comments!

Want more productivity goodness? Get access to my 5 steps to prioritize your day resource in my free resource library. Get access below!

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