How Productive are You?

Are you somebody that tends to be productive?

Are you someone that struggles with productivity and never feels like they’re productive enough or doing enough or can get to the completion of things?

I know a lot of people struggle with productivity. This is one of my gifts. I am a productivity machine. I have been for the majority of my adult life. Not all of it, but the majority of my adult life.

I thought we could touch on some of the things that could help you to be more productive. I’ve got five tips for you to help you to be more productive in your life … and a lot of it is staying connected to your commitments, my friend. What I mean by that is, if you agree to do something … or you want to create something … following through with your commitments is really crucial to being productive.

So, let’s talk about productivity in general. I’m going to give you five tips. I don’t even know if they’re my top five, but they’re the five that came to me when I was tuning into what helps me to be most productive right now 🙂

Number 1: first and foremost is, Have Goals.

Goals. Do you have goals? Do you write them down? Do you set up time frames for them? Do you show up for them? Do you have accountability with a community or a friend or a business partner so that you do show up and you stay consistent and committed?

That is the number one question. If you don’t have a goal, if you don’t have an intention, if you don’t have a direction, then you don’t have anything to produce.

What we know through studies is that there is only a small percentage of people who even write down their goals. And an even smaller percentage of people who actually look at their goals regularly … and then there’s an even smaller, tiny percentage of people that look at their goals and repeat them every day. And guess what? That tiny percentage are those people that are the most productive. They’re the ones that are the most successful in completing what it is that they desired to complete in the first place. So, if you don’t write down your goals, my friend, you’re not going to achieve what you want. It can be simple.

If you want to accomplish something, write it down: Goals for your week and goals for your month and goals for your year and goals for your decade. Let’s dream a little, okay? So, number one is goals.

The next one on my list is, Number 2: You Write Everything Down.

All your goals are written down … and your notes for meetings … and your notes for classes … and your notes for whatever else it is that you’re creating. Everything goes in a notebook.

Do you have more than one – or many more than one – notebooks all over your house in different places? And when you go to try to find the thing that you wanted to read again, you can’t find it because you don’t know which notebook it was in? What I’ve found working with many, many people in business and in their personal life, in helping them to expand and to grow and to heal and to become more productive and follow through and stay committed and be accountable is … most people have notebooks everywhere and they don’t know what the hell is in any of them. No clue.

So here is the thing … don’t do that!

I am a one notebook girl. My notebook contains my to-do lists … my intention for a trip that I was creating to take people to Cancun … part of my launch series for my Multi-Dimensional Oracle cards … organization notes from one of my masterminds … wholesale pricing ideas. Do you see what I’m saying? Everything I am working on is in this ONE notebook. And this one notebook goes with me everywhere. So, if I’m going to be taking some other notes, if I’m going to a meeting, if I’m traveling – anywhere I go, anything I do – this notebook goes with me.

Number 3: Use a Digital Calendar.

Start using a digital calendar that you can go to that’s on your phone … that connects to your computer, that connects to your laptop. It could be a Google calendar; it could be an Outlook calendar. I like Outlook. My team & I use it; my business is built on Outlook, but you could use any kind of calendar.

On your calendar, you’re going to write down the things that you need to do. Some of that might come from your notebook, but you’ve got to have a calendar that is blocked with the times that you need to have blocked, right? I am a big believer that if it is not on your calendar, then it is not going to get done. You have to commit to it. You’ve got to put all your stuff on it. You’ve got to put your personal stuff on it. You’ve got to put your business stuff on it. You can color code it to coordinate it and organize it. Then you know where you need to be and what you need to do. And you find yourself being more consistent. If it’s on the calendar, we create the space for it. If it’s not on the calendar, then we don’t create the space for it. Simple as that.

Number 4: Get Rid of Distractions.

Get rid of distractions. So, what does that mean? So that might mean, turn off your notifications on your phone. The only notification that I have active on my phone is text messages. And there’s not very many people that can actually connect with me via text, so the notifications don’t pop up constantly.

But if you have all these dinging things happening, and you’re trying to work on something and you find yourself checking your phone all the time, you’re redirecting your attention constantly and you can’t be focused on the thing that you need to complete, right?

When we turn off the notifications, it helps us stay focused, organized, intentional, and present with whatever project it is that we’re creating.

When we have all of these notifications on – and even my texts or calls – the phone cannot rule my life. If it does, it’s not my life, right?

If the phone rings, it doesn’t mean you have to answer it. It just means somebody is calling. If an email comes in, if a text comes in, it doesn’t mean you have to answer it. It just means somebody is reaching out. You can reach out to them in the time that is convenient for you – because your time is valuable for you. Does that make sense?

And the last thing to help you be more productive, Number 5: Blocks of time.

Block time on your calendar. What this means is that you choose what things you need to do today. I would say pick the top three most important things and you get those blocked on your calendar first and foremost.

Blocks of time are things that you are identifying are important in your day … and what you choose to do to be productive is pick those three things, go to your calendar, and you block off 50-minute time blocks in whatever order you want to tackle those throughout the day. Schedule it however you want – if you’re more of an early bird, do it early. Do it when you’re most productive. If you’re a night owl, then schedule it in according to what works for you.

You might just do them back-to-back at the top of each hour, or you might space them out. It’s up to you.

At the top of the 50 minutes, you use that remaining 10 minutes to use the restroom, get yourself a drink, move your body a little bit, and then go sit back down to get to the next set, the next process, the next whatever it is that you’re going to do.

When you are learning to be productive and it doesn’t come naturally to you, you have to start doing things that are consistent. And the creating of space and blocks of time help us to get more consistent AND it also helps us to honor our bodies … to listen to what our bodies need. And a lot of people are not good at that.

Your body needs movement. Your body needs hydration.

We don’t want dehydration. 80% of the population is dehydrated. So, filling up your drink, then keep drinking that throughout the next hour; then get up, use the restroom, move your body a little bit, fill up your drink, and keep the consistency flowing. That creates a great process that helps you to get focused, get productive, and take care of your body.

So, try these out my friend! #1, record your goals. #2, write in only one notebook. #3, get rid of the notifications and the distractions. #4, use a digital calendar. #5, create blocks of time in a calendar.

If you create blocks of time, I promise you, you will do better. No matter what type of tasks fill up your days, I would encourage you to try the blocks of time. Even if it is taking 50 minutes to work on the laundry or to make dinner or whatever … And then I’m going to take 10 minutes and I’m going to take a break and fill myself back up.

And that’s today’s 5 tips for being productive!

Now, if you are someone that has a spiritual based business and you would like some extra support … if you’re starting, building, or growing a heart-based, spirit-based business … I would love for you to come and check out the My Spiritual Biz community. I have a community I created back in September of 2020, and I help people start, build, and grow their spirit based, heart-based businesses so that they can use the tools – just like the tools I just talked about today – to help to take some of the pressure off and support you in offering your services to others. It’s a wonderful community and I would love for you to come and join us. So go check it out if that resonates with you!

Here’s to accomplishing all you set your mind to achieve! And I’d love for you to leave me a comment below if you feel drawn to try any of these productivity tips! Let me know what your experiences are with any or all of these!