As I was looking through my most popular blog posts, I noticed that some of my most popular pieces had to do with productivity. I also noticed how many of the questions that come through my inbox are about my own personal productivity secrets.
Apparently, I give off the vibe that I get more done in a day than most people get done in a week. The more I’m in this world of online business, the more I’m realizing it’s kind of true, and I’m really grateful for this. The truth is we’re a culture obsessed with output and we think productivity secrets will help us achieve more.
The funny part is I actually work less hours than I did at my last job, but get far more done and earn more money.
Here are some of my best productivity secrets to help you get there.
A Note About Productivity Secrets: You still have to work hard.
Before we dive into productivity secrets, I need to do a little disclaimer.
NO, I’m not only working four hours a week. I still bust my behind. In fact, most of the successful business owners I know were able to obtain a level of success through busting their behinds.
There’s no replacement for hard work and grit. However, what you can do is learn how to work smarter so you don’t exhaust yourself.
With that being said, if you’re looking for productivity secrets that will help you make a million dollars in your sleep without working, then this article isn’t for you. Also, good luck figuring that out — keep me posted.
Productivity Secret #1: Know your motivation.
I’m pretty sure the key to peak productivity is to know your motivation. For most people, their motivation is one of two things: money and something more important.
Why do I say money and not passion? Because nothing will motivate you like having to pay bills or put food in people’s mouths.
On the other hand, being motivated by making money for the sake of making money won’t get you very far either. And truth be told, although I’m motivated by seeing how much I can earn (I think it’s fun), not everyone is. That’s where the something else comes in.
The reality is we don’t really want money. What we want is what money helps us to accomplish. In my case, that’s save, invest and travel. The more money I make, the more I can secure a future for myself, the more I can travel and the more I can reinvest back into my business so I can – you guessed it – earn more money.
However, there’s more to it than that. I am driven by teaching people about economic empowerment. The content I put out there – whether it’s for my own blog or for clients – helps people manage money and earn more money. That fact, in and of itself is extremely empowering and can help change the trajectory of someone’s life.
This is my true motivation. The fact that I get paid for it is icing on the already awesome cake.
Productivity Secret #2: Find the right tools to help you.
Those who get stuff done like ninjas know about one of the best productivity secrets out there: find the right tools that will help you get stuff done.
Note, this doesn’t mean overwhelm yourself with productivity hacks and time management secrets since that can actually have the opposite effect on your heart, mind — and soul. It means finding the stuff that works for you and sticking to those few things.
For example, for me, that looks like a radio made specifically for productivity. It also looks like using apps like OneTab so I don’t have a million windows open. Check out this blog for a great list of tools to help you with productivity.
Productivity Secret #3: Save time by delegating to other people.
Do you want to know why delegating is always lauded as one of the best productivity secrets? It’s because it works.
By getting stuff off my plate, I’m able to focus my time on the things that actually move the needle forward and higher. For example, I don’t have time to be on Pinterest all day long, but it’s a great traffic generator so I hired someone specifically for Pinterest.
Since my time isn’t being taken up by Pinterest, I can focus my time on client work, sales and retaining more clients. While Pinterest is a necessary part of my business because it builds my brand and therefore helps me make more money, it’s not something that truly helps me move the needle right now.
Because I’m not hanging out on Pinterest for hours, I can spend that time getting ahead on client work so I can make more revenue generating stuff on my content.
Additionally, it helps me focus on what I do best, therefore leading to more productivity because I’m focusing on the things that come easiest to me.
Productivity Secret #4: Take care of yourself.
In early 2016, I started working with a health coach and nutritionist to help me get on track. What I’ve come to notice is that many of the most productive people I know have done the same thing at some point.
And so, it would seem that one of the most effective productivity secrets is to take care of yourself through proper exercise, nutrition and rest.
Granted, this isn’t exactly a no-brainer. If we feel better, we do better. The problem is most business owners run themselves into the ground because they think they don’t have time to take care of themselves because that means work will stop and be put on the back burner.
Take it from someone who used to run themselves into the ground and sometimes still has a bad habit of doing so, that doesn’t actually help you accomplish anything extra.
Instead, I’m able to get far more done when I’m taking care of myself. I have more energy, I’m more focused and I’m able to partake in the marathon that is running a business.
Final Thoughts
Some of these productivity secrets may not seem like secrets. In fact, they probably sound like common sense. That’s because getting work done isn’t necessarily sexy. The reality is the simplest things help us get the most done.
