Nov 3, 2015
“Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite” – Paul Gauguin
If you Google productivity hacks or tips chances are you’ll be overwhelmed with a list of apps or websites designed to track literally every part of your day. It’s often overwhelming. No matter what anyone tells you, there’s no magic solution.
As business owners, we’re always looking for a solution to make our lives easier whether it’s to free our time up to focus on other areas of business or maybe to reduce the amount of time we work in the week. This same principle applies to business pros or even the newly graduated. Our director of marketing admitted, without exaggeration, that he tried over 100 “productivity hacks” apps over the course of his college career.
The truth is that you can probably manage every second of your day effectively with a dozen or so different apps- each one designed to handle a different aspect of your life. There’s one for your diet, one for prospecting, managing your money or reading schedule, or even your vacation. The possibilities are endless.
- There’s No Silver Bullet
- Simple is almost always better- more apps don’t necessarily mean more productivity in the day
- Plan your week ahead of time – Use 5 minutes on Sunday evening or Monday morning to categorize your weekly tasks. Take another 5 minutes to write down things you need to accomplish for the week. It takes a few minutes, but you’ll see an immediate increase in productivity
- Block your schedule
- Keep a To Do list – It goes without saying that this is INCREDIBLY easy to implement, and the truth is that most of us already do this to some extent. The trick is to find something physical and mobile. I suggest a small leather notepad.
- Journal – 10 minutes each morning (reflect by asking “what would I do different from yesterday?”)
Links from Episode:
Evernote – This has been my favorite obsession as of late. It’s hugely impactful with writing and converting my thoughts into my blogs, books, podcasting topics
Franklin Planner – If you absolutely loathe technology and want to keep it old school. Here’s a link. Think of it as a Delorean. However, they do offer an app version as well…
Toggl – Time tracking software. Great to use if you’re hiring a freelancer or would like to document your own productivity. I like to use this in the beginning of a new hire to help coordinate their time effectively
GetHuman.com – Great resource for pretty much everyone. There’s an app and a website. GetHuman was a new app that I wasn’t aware of until recently, but it is incredibly functional. Working very similar to how Wikipedia operates, it relies on a community to update information that tells you how to reach a human voice within phone trees designed not to speak with you. Highly recommended
Basecamp – Site that allows transparency and easy communication on projects. Share documents. Discuss & organize multiple colleagues
Brickwork India – A personal assistant on the other side of the world. Set up your to-do's and get them completed while you sleep. What can make someone more productive than knowing that their work is getting done while in lala land?
Zamzar – (Paid) Easily convert files into any format needed. PDF, jpeg, .doc, etc...
Media.iu – (Free) Same as Zamzar except for audio files- without the limit on file sizes
Google Calendar – Easy to manage calendar of appointments and events
LastPass – Keeps record of passwords for easy reference. I also recommend creating a file with an inconspicuous name and storing your passwords there.
StayFocused – Application which limits the amount of time you spend on “time-wasting” sites like facebook, twitter, etc…
Timeline:
My very first client – 2:00
One concept I cover in almost every coaching session – 6:25
What are the productivity hacks you should be using? – 7:35
The #1 thing to do today – 12:30
The 2nd thing to do – 15:00
The exact strategy I used to write my book – 16:15
Memory loops – 17:35
The tool I’d recommend getting for managing the “To Do” list – 19:15
How journaling for a couple minutes has drastically changed my perception of my day – 21:20
People Mentioned:
David Allen “Getting Things Done”