How to get more done (my personal tips)
Do you ever feel like the day or week goes by and you haven’t accomplished as much as you’d like?
Do you often feel like you’re trying to accomplish so many different things that it is difficult to stay on track and make progress?
Having your own business means wearing many different hats. Some of which you probably never thought you’d need to wear!
You’re a coach, marketer, writer, bookkeeper – just to name a few.
Today, I’m thrilled share my personal strategies with you, so you can be even more effective in your business.
While this post is about how to get more done, I actually want to focus on how you can accomplish the most important tasks – the tasks that will ultimately result in more clients, more revenue, and greater satisfaction with the work you are doing.
1. Get clear about what to focus on
The first step towards getting more done is to be clear about what projects or tasks are most important for you to focus on to reach the next step in your business.
This comes down to getting clarity on your goals. Is your primary goal to get more private clients, enroll participants in an online group program, build your list, get corporate speaking gigs, or get systems in place for your business to run more efficiently?
Pick one primary goal to focus on each month. From there, you can determine the specific tasks you need to accomplish. When choosing your primary goal, think about what’s most important right now (vs. what can wait a month or two).
Be careful not to work on too many things at once.
2. Get clear about your schedule
As business owners, it is wonderful to have a flexible schedule that allows us to travel, pick our children up from school, or go to a yoga class in the middle of the day.
That said, in order to get more done in your business, it is very helpful to have a set work schedule. Of course this can be altered if need-be, but the point is to distinguish between your work hours and the rest of your day. Being clear about when you’re working will keep you more focused during that time.
Setting up a work schedule doesn’t mean that you need to work 40 hours per week. You may have a full time job and be starting your health coaching business on the side, working two evenings a week.
Whatever your schedule is, it is totally fine! Create a schedule that works for you and your lifestyle.
3. Start with the big rocks
Have you ever heard about the Franklin Covey theory about big rocks vs. little rocks?
The idea here is that if you take a jar and start by filling it up with little rocks, you won’t be able to fit the big rocks inside. Alternatively, if you start by putting in the big rocks, the little rocks will find space around the little rocks.
How does this apply to your business?
The lesson is to start your day by working on the “big rocks.” A big rock might be scheduling a speaking engagement, writing your newsletter, writing content for an upcoming program or speaking engagement, or reaching out to potential partners.
Little rocks would be things like replying to emails, checking social media, bookkeeping, or other smaller tasks that take your attention away from the larger, more impactful tasks.
4. Work with your natural rhythm
Observe yourself and get to know when you are most productive work-wise and create a schedule that takes advantage of that.
For example, I am most productive first thing in the morning. Knowing this, most days I start working early (right after my daughter leaves for school). I focus on the more “brain intensive” tasks, such as writing, in the morning.
5. Schedule it
As Marie Forleo says, “if it isn’t scheduled, it isn’t real.”
I have found this to be true for myself. One of the most effective ways that I keep myself on track is schedule my tasks and projects.
There are two ways that I do this…
- I use a project management system to assign myself tasks and set deadlines for those tasks. Some of the tasks are one-time projects, and others are daily, weekly, or monthly tasks.I love that I can set the tasks and “forget” about them until it gets closer to the deadline.The system I use is called Teamwork PM. There are many systems out there that are similar, and most of them offer a free account.
- I also use my google calendar to block out time to work on specific tasks, such as writing my weekly blog post. By creating space in my calendar, I set myself up for success in getting the task completed.
6. Delegate strategically
As I mentioned earlier, as a business owner, you have many roles. Some of these roles draw on your strengths and others don’t.
I recommend that you be strategic about what you delegate by focusing on tasks that:
- You don’t know how to do
- You can do, but they take you a very long time to accomplish
- Drain you
- You simply don’t have time for and are critical to helping you move forward in your business.
7. Take care of yourself
As a health coach or wellness entrepreneur, I know I am speaking to the choir here. But we all need reminders to prioritize ourselves, don’t we?
I know that I am able to stay productive by going to sleep early and eating a clean diet.
8. Know when to stop
When you work from home and have a flexible schedule, it’s easy to feel like you should always be working. I’m not going to tell you not to work at night or on the weekends because sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
That said, I encourage you to pay attention to when your body and brain say, “enough!”
When you are tired and drained you will not be productive. And if you push through it, you will get burnt out and the quality of what you produce won’t meet your expectations. In these cases, I have found that it’s better to take a break, get some rest, and come back to it later or the next day.
9. End the day with a plan
At the end of the day, make a list of what you want to accomplish the next day – putting the big rocks first.
This will set your intention and set you up for a productive, focused day.
What strategies do you use to get more done? Which one or two new strategies would you like to start implementing?
Share your thoughts below so we can support you.
