This fall, I am making an effort to get back into working toward my goals. I shared some mindset shifts to make that can help with a fall reset in my last post. This time, I’m going over the practical things I did in the beginning of the year to make some progress on the things I set out to do, including starting my blog and reviving my podcast. I’m hoping that the tips I give in this post can help give you some ideas about what you can do to be more productive toward your goals in the early stages of business.
Practical tips for building and maintaining productivity (what was actually working for me)
Planning the year, and the quarter in advance: During the time that I was most productive this year, I had clear focus goals and milestones for the year and each quarter. For each month in the current quarter, I had specific milestones that I was aiming for. I also had one major goal I was working toward in business, and all of my subgoals were leading up to that one major goal. This helped me stay focused and allowed me to be intentional about what I was doing. Seeing everything written out allowed me to easily connect the smaller actions I was taking back to the larger goal.
Batching tasks and planning them ahead of time: In addition to planning the quarter and months, I designated a theme for each day of the week and planned tasks for each day at the beginning of the week. I was surprised that this was working for me. I initially expected that having the flexibility to choose what I did on each would help me feel less overwhelmed. Instead, having to choose what I am going to do each day without any forethought, caused a bit of decision fatigue. Having a plan laid out already acted as a blueprint that I could use to get an idea of when certain steps in my processes would be completed. When needed, I was able to make adjustments to the plan, but I did not have to come up with something from scratch every day.
It also helped to stay focused on specific types of tasks each day, as I spent less time trying to get motivation to do a new type of thing in a short period of time.
Allowing multiple days and time slots for large tasks: It helped to give myself multiple opportunities to work on something. Sometimes time blocking can be a bit disappointing if you don’t give yourself enough time to do something and that ends in an incomplete task. To help with this, I would assign multiple blocks of time to things I thought or realized would take me longer than expected. It also helped to have another opportunity to get things done if something got in the way. Life happens, and it’s important to remain flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances.
Keeping a 12-week year tracker: I learned about this method from the book the 12-week year. It essentially encourages you to plan and execute your one-year goals as though you are looking to accomplish them in 12 weeks. I watched a video about a notion 12 week year tracking system and created one for myself. The tracker allowed me to focus on 3 goal areas, and each week has specific targets I need to check off each day or each week. It also is able to calculate a percentage based on how many of the things I checked off for the days and weeks. The video I watched suggested trying to make 85% each week, and the system was working well for me. I enjoyed checking off my tasks, and having a quantifiable result made it easier to assess my progress in each area.
Weekly reviews: I took time each week to reflect on how the week went and what I was able to accomplish and where I fell short. This helped me get a good idea of what went well and what I needed to work on moving forward. Sometimes I went out and did this at a coffee shop, and sometimes I just stayed home on a Sunday and reviewed my progress for the week. My weekly review included a productivity rating for the week, as well as some questions about mindset shift and action steps I could make going forward to ensure improvement in my results.
A simplified productivity and task management system: I love systems, but sometimes I create too many. That leads to me being overwhelmed with too many places to look for what I need to be doing. It can also get distracting looking at all the tasks I need to get done too often or at the same time. I was able to simplify the system by having my tasks and projects managed digitally and my key items for the day written in my paper planner. This may still be a little too much for others, but this system worked well for me. The key here is choosing a digital system that will allow you to easily relate each action item back to the overall goal. Keeping things in perspective and knowing why you are doing something, as well as how it affects the outcome, is key to any productivity system you choose.
Incentives for completing high impact tasks: I had set a goal for the amount of posts I wanted to make with my blog and podcast, and then I aimed for a reward. I told myself that each time I uploaded I would set aside a few dollars and then use the money in the end to buy a new gadget. Though I did have a setback, this was really motivating in the beginning. I created a tracker to check off with each upload. I think this was a bit much, as I ended up having to check off uploads in multiple spaces, so I let that go. However, the incentive of a reward and being able to put towards the reward at the moment I uploaded allowed for some instant gratification that helped me keep pushing forward.
I hope these tips give you some inspiration and help you make adjustments to your own productivity routine. Remember to be willing to adapt and take some time to review what does and does not work for you.
Adina
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