How to respond when life gets in the way
I recently came back to WA after a little absence because I am SUPERBUSY in the summer! Now, SUPERBUSY isn't my superhero alter ego but it is my well worn "go to" excuse for not keeping up with the blogging. So, realising that I need to take myself in hand, I have turned my attention to identifying productivity tips which just might help me to create great blog content even when life gets in the way.
Tip #1 - Get up a little earlier
If you get up a little earlier every day, you will be able to get a little more done. With the extra time you have, you can journal, read or learn, plan and schedule. Then you can start your day with more of an idea of where you are right now, where you are going and how you are going to get there.
Tip #2 - Use the one thing you have at hand
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
What the heck? You have time to make lemonade? No, what I am saying is this - use things to your advantage. You remember that I said at the beginning that I haven't had time to blog because I have been so busy. I need to find a way to blog and to improve my productivity - so blogging about productivity is a way to kill both birds with one stone. Most important though is to focus on ONE project. I have previously written about being a lesser spotted dabbler ... but I am not that anymore. I focus on ONE project and get far more done as a result
Tip #3 - Delegate
If you are good at growing the lemons, why do you feel you should also be in the kitchen, and then run to the restaurant and start waiting at tables? None of us are good at everything and we shouldn't try to be. A skilled gardner will be better spending time in the garden. The talented chef is most useful in the kitchen. The same applies in your business or blog. Stick to what you are good at (your ONE thing) and delegate the other stuff.
Tip #4 - Make time for your best work
Robin Sharma talks about the 90/90/1 rule. That is ... For the next 90 days, spend 90 minutes of your day on your ONE most important thing. So give your ONE thing, the thing most important to your success, time. If you focus on your ONE thing consistently, you will make progress.
Tip #5 - Set office hours
Work out when during the day you are at your best for the work you have to do - then schedule that as work time. Remember that Focus, Energy and Will Power are finite so make sure that you use the specific time you have in hand. Block time for your business and stick to it. Your daily schedule will determine your success.
Tip #6 - Fail to Plan and Plan to Fail
Create a set of goals for what you want to achieve over the next DAY / WEEK / MONTH / YEAR. Once you have a clear idea of what needs to be achieved, plan the detailed steps you need to take to acheive this. Make your plan clear on your calendar. If your goal is to make money, ensure your money making activities are scheduled first. The things which are scheduled are - generally - the things which get done. Schedule Social Media in advance (and in bulk) to free up time to work on your one big thing! Social media can suck you in and you can get lost down the labyrinth of dancing kittens if you are not careful.
Tip #7 - Eliminate Distractions
Clear your desk, switch off your phone and set to work. Focus on just one task at a time. If you suddenly have a great (but unrelated) idea, jot it down on the planning sheet to schedule in time to explore this idea tomorrow. Don't get sidetracked right now.
Tip #8 - Find your Mastermind Alliance
I have previously written about Napoleon Hill's Mastermind Alliance and I really believe it is very important for ensuring success. Like children learrning from their parents, we mirror the behaviour of those around us, so if we surround ourself with people who are highly productive, we are likely to be more productive too.
Tip #9 - Keep learning and improving
Set aside some time to improve your knowledge and understanding. The more you learn, the more new ideas you will be able to put into practice. Try to learn just one new thing every day - a new technology, a practical idea, read a blog post on a topic which fascinates you. If you keep learing and improving, you will become more productive.
Tip #10 - If you don't like lemonade, don't grow lemons
It might be that if you are avoiding doing much needed work on your website, that the subject matter just isn't important enough to you. If that is the case, change what you are doing. To succeed, you need to have passion. Without that, your work will be just that - hard work. If you are doing something your truly love, you never have to work again.
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Each one of those are priceless suggestions. Thanks for sharing them. All the best in your renewed focus. Debbie
Good evening Gillian,
You are back again with renewed energy, good.
Yes, I relegate the technical stuff to my Technical Manager, the poor man is my better half.
By the way, apart from lemons I also grow oranges, grapefruits, mandarins etc.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Good evening Gillian,
On my health site, I have a page for recipes. Recently I posted a Gluten Free Bread one with my private photo of what it looks like. On the to do list is my recipe for Orange Marmelade. When you open the jar you can smell the whole field with 100 trees.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Good evening Gillian,
As it is not well viewed to leave our links all over the place how about going to my profile page, you will find my health site listed under my posts.
All the best, Taetske
very good post, thank you. I need to work on Tip 7. I am easily distracted from what I am doing. I should be writing, writing writing and improving my sites. Not sit hours on WA to read blogs and learning new stuff. Or should I? Hmm.. difficult matter.
But I should also plan when I do WA stuff and when I do write.. and keep myself to my schedule, that's better.
Another productivity tip which helped me before was to create a START UP page so my browser always opened at a page which reminded me what my tasks for the day were supposed to be. Across the top, I have written in big letters FIND TIME TO WRITE. Think I need to get up earlier and start reusing that page as a prompt.
Thanks, Sue. I figured that if I was struggling with productivity, other people would be too. I aim to follow my own tips too :-)
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Excellent tips. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome x