My productivity and motivational hacks for your business

Me working at Patch Chelmsford - photo taken by Hiral Jethwa Photography

I think I’m a pretty efficient person. Why is that? Well I kind of have to be. I run my Strategy coaching business, an online networking membership group and our property portfolio…

And I do all this in just 2 days of work per week. Boundaries are so important to me, and my number one priority is spending time with my family and being present during this time. I love my work and with a young family I truly want my work to be fulfilling, rewarding, and also done in the most productive way.

So that’s why I’m writing this. What stuff do I do on the regular to be efficient, feel motivated and be productive?

Yes, it can be tough sometimes… I work a Tuesday and a Thursday, and sometimes when I get to my desk on a Tuesday I struggle to get my head back in the game. What was I even meant to do today?! What are my priorities? How can I make sure I’m growing my business if I’m not working 5 days a week?

So here are my business hacks for maximising your productivity and motivation…

1. Master the to do list. 

You absolutely need to have a master to do list somewhere. It is so important to have a log of your ‘big’ to do list at all times. There are constantly ideas flowing, invoices to be sent, client bookings to be done - the list goes on. So capturing all the things you need to do somewhere is key. You need to decide if you are a fan of using digital technology for this, or using a paper based system. For me, I use todoist, which I love. It’s quite similar to Trello, which I know is very popular. However the thing I love about todoist, is that it limits you in the free version to 5 lists… I’ve used troll before, and I end up making new list upon list and it ends up very messy. My todoist feels concise, focused and really helps me make sure I have clear priorities. Within my master to do list, I have subcategories, e.g. ‘things I need to follow up on next week’ and ‘potential clients to get in touch with’ and ‘longer term ideas’ - these are all things I don’t have to look at every day necessarily, but I need to keep an eye on them. Then, each day, I open my todoist list, and use a simple scrap paper and pen to write down my key tasks for that day. Some people are a fan of writing their todo lists the night before, and I think that works well if you are working full time, 5 days a week. But when I’m working 2 days a week, I like to think about what’s important to me on the morning of my workday. You do you!

2. Celebrate what you’ve achieved. 

This is something I’ve only just started, but I love it. We seem to be obsessed with to do lists (I know I am!) but what about celebrating what you’ve actually achieved? I take another piece of scrap paper and write down what I’ve actually done each day in my business. This is so powerful, because you can look back at it and reflect on whether you’ve actually had a productive day. Have you actually done anything to bring in new clients today for example? Your done list may be ‘replied to new client email’, ‘send client invoices’, ‘sent out an email to mailing list’, etc. Try it and see if you like it as much as me!

3. Plan on a quarterly basis. 

I love to plan! And I’m such  big fan of printing out a 3 month calendar (I use calendarpedia.com) and then mapping out what business commitments and plans I have. This really helps me see the bigger picture, and instead of over committing to things, I am able to see if I truly have the time for that latest diary invite or coffee. I use different colours for different commitments, e.g. client meetings, networking events, admin tasks, and this makes it really easy to see what’s going on. I also love having an annual plan for my business, which is something I work with my clients on creating.

4. Time and energy blocking.

We are creatures of habit as humans. So if you have key things you need to be doing each week, get yourself into a routine. Take a blank piece of paper and figure out your ideal week. For example, maybe you want to send an email out every Monday morning, so block out time on Friday to develop and finalise this. Or perhaps you want to finish early on a Friday and pick the kids up from school - make sure you book the last hour of your week out to plan next week. Or perhaps you need to allocate a morning a week to growing your business through networking or being out in the community. When you are clear on how you want your week to look, you can block time out in your calendar for each activity - remember to use different colours for different things, e.g. all my client meetings are in red, then I put any school runs I’m doing in orange (because it’s my daughters favourite colour!) Give it a try and have fun with it :)

5. Taking a walk. 

Something I’ve recently introduced to my work days is a lunchtime walk around the block. There is something magical that happens when we get up from our desks and walk around. I work from home a lot, and sometimes it can get lonely. Around 12 noon I like to take a break, go for a short walk (I’m talking just 10 mins) and then return to my desk or another quick spurt of work before I get my lunch. This is the time when I find creativity and ideas flow for my business and I love that.

6. Set a timer. 

One of my favourite things to do is set a timer on my phone when I need to do a focused piece of work. There is something called the pomodoro technique where you set a timer for 25 minutes - you can even download a timer from the link above that works on your computer. Personally, I find that setting a 40 minute timer works for me when I am writing up my client strategies, as 25 minutes is never enough! Try it and see if you can nail your key tasks in a certain timeframe.

7. Give yourself a reward. 

We love a bit of a treat when we’ve achieved something. So a great way to get your to do list to done, is to give yourself a reward at various milestones. Maybe there is something you really don’t want to do, or a phone call you’re dreading. Why not get that thing done, and then give yourself a reward. Maybe it's a bar of chocolate, a smoothie or your favourite cup of tea break. Whatever it is, decide before you get started and watch the motivation flow!

In Summary…

It is hard to be super productive all the time - sometimes you have to accept that you aren’t going to be ‘on it’ all the time. I would love to know any of your productivity and motvational hacks that have helped you. It can be tough when you run your own business, so if you want to have a chat you can DM me on insta or LinkedIn @jenlistercoaching or fill out the contact form on my website here.