Listen to the episode for a discussion of 10 fail-proof productivity tips.
Productivity Tips for Content Creators
If you’ve ever tried to sit down to get work done, only to be distracted again and again with other tasks, you know how frustrating that can be. Before you know it the whole day is gone and your most important goals still aren’t met. I’ve been there.
If you create any kind of content, whether it’s a blog, product descriptions, videos, or emails, these productivity tips for content creators are a must. I think you’ll agree.
Why Do I Need These Tips?
As an entrepreneur, it’s important to have a handful of productivity tips in your hip pocket. Not only is it important to be productive when you’re working solo, it’s important to get as much done as possible every time you put in work. When we’re efficient, we get more done faster, and when we’re working solo, we need to get through the more routine tasks so we can spend more time on the things that will actually make us money.
Posting on social media every day is certainly important to keep your followers engaged and to keep your brand out there. But if you are a realtor, for example, your time actually showing properties to clients is what will result in sales. You could have someone else post on social media or you can schedule your posts out, but if showing properties yourself is what closes the deal, you should spend most of your time doing that.
Luckily with so many products and services out there, it’s easier than ever to set yourself up for success. Let’s take a look at 10 fail-proof productivity tips for content creators to get you on the right track. In the comments below, share what tips you already implement and which ones I missed!
What is Business Productivity?
According to Market Business News, productivity is “the rate of output per unit of labor, capital or equipment (input).” What this basically means is productivity can be measured by comparing results to the amount of effort that went into bringing about those results.
In business, if we spend lots of time on a task that never gets done, we’re not doing so hot in terms of productivity. As an employee, this hurts the business but as an entrepreneur, this could hurt the business and our entire livelihood.
No matter what line of work you’re in, business productivity can be the difference between success in the near future and success way down the road. Always the optimist, failure is not an option, so we’ll leave that off the table.
Productivity for Entrepreneurs
So what does productivity for entrepreneurs look like? Is it working 14 hour days? Missing time with family? Sacrificing the daily latte to put money into automation tools the business needs? Of course, we all have our own way of running our businesses, but for me the short answer is, yes. I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “work smarter, not harder”, but I truly believe that hard work in the beginning just can’t be avoided.
Once we have a system in place and tools to make those systems run on automation, we can then scale back the routine tasks and focus on the business-driving, money-generating ones.
Productivity Tips for Entrepreneurs
This list of productivity tips for entrepreneurs is in no way exhaustive. They are a handful of tips that can help you make the most of your day. Too many tips are difficult to implement at one time but I think a list of 13 is easy enough to remember and realistically put in place right away.
Also, please keep in mind that these tips are for new and aspiring entrepreneurs who are just starting out. If you’re an established business owner with the ability to automate everything, this list may not apply to you. Chances are you may have already implemented more than a few of these tips to get to where you are. You may benefit more from this post about taking your business to the next level with digital marketing.
To help you remain productive, I’ve put these into a download for you so you can keep it near your computer or workspace. Just as a reminder when you find yourself going down the internet rabbit hole. Don’t worry, we all get hung up on catchy headlines once in a while. Just don’t let it take you off course! Without further adieu, here we go.
Wake Up Early
If you love being self-employed so you can sleep late, don’t. Getting up an hour earlier can give you time to get yourself organized and ready to go by the time you would normally just be waking up. Have you ever gotten up earlier than usual only to say “wow, I got so much more done today?” That’s because you did! Imagine what you could accomplish if you did that every day. Get to bed early, get a good night’s sleep and be ready to work earlier.
Don’t Multitask
According to Thought.co, multitasking is a myth. The brain can’t perform two high-level tasks at once. We can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time because we don’t have to think too hard about that, but drafting sales copy and emailing customers are two tasks that require the brain to continuously switch back and forth. It may seem like we’re doing both but we’re not, the brain is just switching back and forth very quickly. This prevents us from doing either well.
Have you ever been typing while you’re on the phone and you accidentally type what you’re saying instead of what you should be writing about? That’s why. Stick to one high-level task at a time.
Set Designated Times to Check Email/Voicemail
Responding to emails and voicemails can take a ton of time out of your day. One email asking you to do something or one voicemail that you feel requires immediate action will take you off track every time. Set aside a set amount of time, depending on how many emails and voicemails you tend to receive and the nature of them, and stick to that time.
If you set aside 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the afternoon, use that time to answer emails and voicemails and then get back to your task at hand. If they require action that will take you beyond the allotted time, wait until your schedule permits.
Set Automations
This is a big productivity tip. If you can automate any part of your workday, whether it’s sending out emails to your email list or posting on social media platforms like Facebook, do it. This will save you time because you can add time to your schedule to set all of this up and move on. Gone will be the temptation to check out what your favorite influence or celeb is up to and you reduce the risk of falling into that rabbithole.
One of my favorite ways to be productive is to set email automation sequences for my email list. I simply create an email sequence ahead of time and schedule it out so they go out automatically in succession.
Convertkit has been a great tool that helps me do this. It’s easy to use and I never have to worry whether the email went out or if a reader received it. The analytics section lets you know who opened it and who didn’t, making it easy to follow up with subscribers.
All of these things make it easier for you to provide the resources your readers want and expect. After all, they gave you their email addresses for a reason. Don’t let them down with infrequent or disjointed emails. Create sequences based on the things that matter to them and keep the emails coming!
Use this link and get a free trial with Convertkit. You need a paid plan for email marketing automations, but the free plan will allow you to send emails and you can see whether it’s right for you.
Batch Your Work
This goes part and parcel with the previous tip. If you can batch your work, do it. Things like videos, podcast episodes, editing, writing, can all be done together. Who sounds more efficient? Sally is a Youtuber who edits her own videos. She records every other day and immediately edits each one and posts them on Youtube. Ben is also a Youtuber who edits his own videos. Once a week he records, edits and schedules his videos for the upcoming week.
Ben uses one day to get it all done, while Sally spends three days doing the same thing. Batching things that you routinely do can save you lots of time.
One of my favorite ways to batch my work is when creating and posting pins to Pinterest. I use a Pinterest business account for my blogging business and because their algorithm rewards frequent pinners, I had to find another way to create and post pins in batches.
I used to create them piecemeal every day, but that was taking too much time. Tailwind helped me a ton with that. Now I create all of my pins in Canva and then schedule them in Tailwind, one day a week. If you pin on Pinterest, try Tailwind for scheduling your pins ahead of time and you’ll see how much time it saves!
Use a Schedule/Planner
Schedule out as far out as you realistically can. A monthly, weekly, and daily planner can help you stay focused. When you wake up you should know exactly what you’re doing that day. You should also be able to look ahead to know what has to be done for that week along with your goals for the month.
Even though we plan, life sometimes gets in the way and we get knocked off track. It just can’t be avoided. If you have a schedule you can rearrange things to make sure you fit whatever you missed into another day. Don’t let unplanned events throw your entire week off, just make up for it another day. It’s much easier to do that when you have a schedule and are adhering to these productivity tips.
Prioritize Tasks
When you’re creating your schedule, prioritize your day. Start with the things you have to get done. That way when life gets in the way, hopefully you were able to at least get the big things out of the way. “Big things” will be different for everyone, but if you’re a blogger who handles everything yourself, writing and adding content to your blog is paramount. If you also have to create graphics for your blog, schedule that in, but don’t put off writing in exchange for adding content. Write your blog post first, and then move on to your other tasks.
Take Breaks
For goodness sake, take a break. These tips are not meant to torture you! If you don’t have self-control to come back from a break, schedule your breaks. Give yourself time, maybe take a 15-minute walk, take an hour to prepare and eat lunch, and perhaps another 30-minute break in the afternoon to have a snack and call a friend.
Breaks allow us to stretch, eat, relax your eyes, and maintain good mental health. Just because it’s your business doesn’t mean you can’t become overworked and burned out. If you have a slower day than expected or finish early, take the day off and listen to a podcast that will help you in your business. You can pick up with the next day’s schedule the next day.
Remove Distractions
If you work in a noisy or chaotic environment, chances are your concentration is constantly being broken. If you work at home with young children around this is undoubtedly the case. If you are able to have someone come over to help you entertain or watch the children for a few hours, do so. If you can’t, try to do the work that requires the most focus when they’re in school, napping or in bed.
If your distractions don’t involve children, set up a quiet workspace someplace where there is no television or just turn it off. Perhaps you can go to a local library to get work done there.
Make Your Commute/Waiting Time Productive
Take advantage of whatever commuting time you have. Listen to helpful podcasts or audiobooks that can help you in your business. If you have an appointment, bring your own reading material or read up on trends in your business on your smartphone.
Take headphones with you so you can listen to music or unwind. Whatever media you can consume while waiting or traveling can give you a chance to relax and take in helpful information.
Learn to Not Be a People Pleaser-Learn to Say “No”
This is easier said than done, I know. Nobody wants to be “that guy” who can never attend a function because he’s always working, especially in the beginning where your success is not apparent to anyone else. I would never suggest you be that guy either, but I will say that there will be times you will have to decline invitations in the beginning because you have an important deadline.
Just because you set the deadline yourself doesn’t make it any less valid. When people suggest you blow things off because you work for yourself, they don’t understand the importance of your work.
If you are a course creator, for example, and you have an upcoming launch date, you can’t afford to miss it because you just couldn’t say no to that family BBQ. If you have the discipline to go and stay for a little while and go back to work, that would be ideal, but if you just have too much to do, don’t feel bad saying no. Missing an important deadline in your business can ultimately hurt your brand and you don’t want that, especially when you’re trying to grow.
Play Background Music
According to Entrepreneur magazine, there are 6 types of music that help us be more productive: Classical music, nature music, cinematic music, video game music, music between 50-80 beats per minute, or your favorite music.
Classical music has been studied extensively and is said to help with productivity. This is why so many students are taught to listen to it while studying for exams. It personally helped me while studying for the bar exam so it’s the one I would recommend for you.
Try out a few and see which one works best for you. The magazine uses the Justin Timberlake song “ Mirror” as an example of one that is 50-80 beats per minute. If you like that song, try it out. This can be one of the more fun productivity tips.
Reward Yourself for Sticking With Your Schedule!
Finally, reward yourself for following your schedule. The feeling of receiving that reward is amazing. Reward yourself after each day, week, or month. Or all three! This is not only motivating but well deserved. It’s not easy to have the self-discipline to stick to a schedule when we’re not being forced into it so if you can do it, kudos!
You have what it takes to be a successful business owner and that should be recognized and applauded. You’re well on your way to growing your business into a well-oiled machine. Maybe you can make it to the family BBQ after all!
Work-Life Balance
One more thing to keep in mind is balance. Yes, we want to be successful and grow. Yes, we want to grind and hustle to get where we need to be, but no, we don’t want to run ourselves into the ground. Literally. Designate a healthy work routine. If you set Monday through Friday to work, leave the weekend to decompress. If your line of work requires you to work weekends, give yourself time during the week to allow yourself to unwind.
All work and no play don’t make Jack a dull boy like they say in the proverb, it makes Jack a sick boy. Take care of your physical and mental health by implementing a work-life balance. You want to stick around long enough to achieve and enjoy your success. If you need help striking this balance please see a mental health professional right away.
I hope these productivity tips will help you stay focused and get more done. If you take some of these and add them to your own, you’ve got a winning plan to stay focused and productive.
Just remember to unplug when it’s time to relax and unwind. Productivity and hard work are important but so is time with family and loved ones. Work hard, play hard, and don’t let yourself get burned out. You need to feel refreshed to focus tomorrow. In other words, take these productivity tips and tweak them to fit your life.
