Last week we talked about being kind to yourself and adjusting your schedule for more time with the kids and vacation. So today let's kick ass during the time we are actually working. Here are my 5 strategies to get more done in less time.
- Templates - If you find yourself doing anything more than once, create a template. Stop recreating the wheel every time you need to do any of these:
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- Emails: If you write the same type of email over and over create canned responses that you can copy and paste. Then all you need to do is tweak and send.
- Graphics: Creating similar graphics for social media or blog posts, create a template and then just switch out the image or change the color and text.
- Blog Posts or Show Notes - create a shell so that they look cohesive and you can just pop in the new info but the format is the same
- Spreadsheets: Any spreadsheet you make more than once
- Timers - you guys know my love of timers but in case you haven't heard here it is. I do amazing under pressure and sometimes all I need is to set a timer and I'm off to the races. I like doing 25 minutes or 45 minutes but not longer. It's important to take breaks even if you are in the flow. Trust me that is easier said than done but it's important for your brain. I set a time for work stuff like connecting on social, writing posts, responding to emails and everything in between. Timers work great for household stuff too like laundry, cleaning the kitchen or doing a speed tidy of the whole house. Something about the countdown makes me go so much faster while still getting the good quality out of me. Sounds crazy but it works...give it a try.
- Batching. That's when you schedule like tasks together. Like today, for instance, I'm batch recording podcasts episodes. I write one day and record and edit the next. This helps my brain from context switching and I get tons more done. However, you do need to keep on top of batching to work or you'll end up like me. Having everything set up for 6 episodes and then not having any content for the next week. Yep, I do that a lot and kick myself every time but I'm a work in progress. Remember I teach what I need to hear most.
- Time Blocking. Similar to batching but maybe you schedule specific timeframes for specific things. Like 10-12 is for writing. I'm not good at this but when I do it, it's amazing how much I can get done. I think I resist this because I'm a rebel at heart and don't like the restriction that I place on myself when I time block. I don't know I'm crazy.
- Batching & Time Blocking - I have talked about this before but it's always good to hear it more than once.
- The One Thing - Ok this is a book but I'm going to lay it out here. When you are pressed for time it is crucial that you pause for a minute and plan your time. Choose the one thing on your list that you can do that will make all the other items easier or irrelevant.
- IFTTT (If This Then That) - this can set up automations for digital apps and devices. It can do things like saving your new Instagram photos to Dropbox or it can sync your Alexa To Dos with your reminders and so much more.
- Zapier - is the same kind of thing. I use this for connecting web programs so they can talk to each other. Like Convertkit or LeadPages and all that kind of fun stuff.
- Automate - automation and systems are my love language. 🤣 My sister calls me the queen of automation. If it can be done I do it. Grocery shopping, Amazon subscribe and save, housekeeping, sprinklers, timers on lights, calendars to remind me, waxing, massages, and anything else I can figure out to do. Let me be real if I don't set up something in the calendar or have it automatically done it probably won't happen.
There you have it.
You'll be getting so much more done that you won't know what to do with yourself.
Have a great day!
