Imagine you were a baker.
A baker needs to make cakes and pastries to sell as product.
If no product is on the cake stand or in the shop window, it’s going to be hard to sell anything.
Especially, if your ‘product idea’ is a lot of raw material all neatly stacked where it needs to be. Or maybe you’ve managed to put some of your raw materials together in readiness for launching your cake product. Maybe you’ve mixed some of the recipe but get distracted and never finish one cake before you pop across and play with another stack of raw materials. Perhaps you’ve actually got some biscuits in the oven ready to cook but forgot you had them in there.
You’re busy, but you’re just not producing anything saleable!
Sound familiar?
A lot of internet marketers are busy, They’re doing things. Just not necessarily the right things. Being productive is about producing!
When we’re involved with digital marketing, being productive is about getting the key things done so you have a saleable product that people can buy. Online business productivity is a hot topic these days.
So how to you become more productive?
- Know what your end-game is, what you’re trying to do. Example, by the end of this week I will have an operating sales funnel including sales page, email opt-in and working buy buttons in place. For that I will have produced 7 blog posts, a 12 page report and a 35 page ebook.
- Know what you have to do every day. Break up your tasks into daily activities that work toward completion. Example, today I will have drafted the sales page, outlined the ebook and report, and published one post.
- Set yourself a time to do each task. If you don’t, one task could take all day! Example, Monday 8.00-11.30 – 1st draft of salespage
- Work on one thing at a time. Women are notoriously good at multi-tasking, but guys seem to get more completed! Repeat the mantra “one thing” when you find yourself switching focus.
- Cut out the distractions. Before you start on your task, close down all reminders from email. social networks , games etc. You DO NOT want to be interrupted – it takes a long time to get your focus back. Same goes for people – put your phone on divert and close your office door so others know you’re not available.
- Group similar/same tasks. For example, I prefer to schedule a half day or one day to write all my posts for the week. That way my mind is in the zone and I can just focus on writing. It’s far more effective for getting more done than having to chop and change.
- Use tools. If I know I’m going to need tools for a task eg a word counter or some free images, I’ll have those tools open and available so I can just click and go rather than stopping to find them.
- Build in breaks. Sitting at the computer for more than an hour demands a quick stand up and stretch. Refocus your eyes by looking into the distance for a minute or two, Go get some water. In between ‘sets’ of tasks, take a 10-15 minute break and refresh yourself, have a snack or drink and get your gear ready for the next task before you start. Your body is meant to move, remember!
- Do your prep at the start of the day. Check you’ve got the supplies you need and everything is working. I hate getting into the zone and having to stop because I can’t find the software I need, or that special paper I needed to print on has been buried or the ink is out. Work out what you need ahead of the day and have it good to go.
- High five yourself! Working online is lonely at times. There’s no-one to gee you up and motivate you or to brag to. So do it to yourself! I’ll occasionally do a happy-dance when I’ve completed a big job or I’ll switch on the music and sing aloud during a break as a reward (neighbours don’t think it’s that good!). Celebrate your little and big achievements. Feeling good is productive.
Those are 10 things I work at to ensure I’m productive, not just busy, when working online.
What about you?
I love your analogy to baking – and it’s so true – when you’re dealing with virtual products, it’s very easy to convince yourself that you’re “producing” when it isn’t really stuff that is saleable! Thanks for the reminder to focus on the important stuff 🙂
Hi Mel,
What a great post! With me working a full time job, it really does get hard to focus on one thing. I have a list of things to do that seems to constantly grow.
Since I am limited in the amount of time I can devote to all the things that go into internet marketing, some just don’t get done. Currently, I’m working on an information product package, so I haven’t been blogging like I should. So when I take the time to write a blog or two and schedule them, it takes me from working on the info product.
For those still working for someone else, it’s a real juggling game to get things done.
But you’re right, there has to be some sort of plan and outline for what you’ll do and when you’ll do it. I’m sure that would help me if I’d just do it.
But one day, I will get there. 🙂
Most of my productivity will pay off eventually, but there are times when a task needs finishing and I can’t do it because something else interrupted the flow.
Such as, needing to create talking videos for my podcast product and now I’ve come down with the “bug” and lost my voice. It’s hard to finish the videos for the product when I can’t talk! 🙂
This is usually when I work on something else, in the meantime. I do realize that workflow is essential to getting things done, but it’s also important not to beat yourself up when things fall by the wayside.
True, Bonnie. That’s why it’s good to have a forward list of tasks so you can switch it up if things go pear-shaped for whatever reason. Hope your voice recovers soon!
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