Ways to Improve Productivity

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Do you struggle with doing what you need to do in order to reach your dreams?

In my 2019 goals update, I mentioned my monthly writer’s group missed the January meeting due to weather, but we had hoped to get together in February to discuss our writing goals, problems we are having with our writing, and what we need help with or want to know more information about.

Thankfully the weather cooperated for us, and we were able to get together this month. We discussed what each of us is struggling with concerning our writing and tried to come up with ways to overcome these struggles to be more productive with our writing projects.

We also completed a chart created by one of the ladies in the group that forced us to think of our long-term writing dream, the steps it would take to get to that point, and obstacles that may force us further away from our ultimate writing dream.

At the end of the meeting, we came up with writing goals we would like to have accomplished before we meet again next month. This is an activity that we have been doing at the end of each meeting, which I find beneficial. It is nice to talk with other people with similar challenges who can hold each other accountable.

Maybe you don’t have writing ambitions like me, but do you have any other long-term dreams you would like to accomplish someday? Do you have someone or a group of people to hold you accountable? If not, is there someone who could help you to be productive and reach your dreams?

If you had a chance to read the limited time offer e-book I had mentioned previously entitled Make More Margin: Free up 1-2 Hours a Week for the Things You Love With These 75 Productivity Tips, you may have found some helpful tips for staying productive.

I loved Jess Stuart’s quote on page 3 that says “prioritize your schedule in line with your priorities in life.”

The book offered multiple useful productivity tips. Here are five of the tips found within the book that I have personally used and found beneficial:

1. Create to do lists
   • I create a daily to do list on a dry erase board. I make sure to complete the activities that need to be done first and then I move on to the items that are not as much of a priority. I love erasing items as I complete them because it makes me feel as though I am actually accomplishing something. There are days when I may not complete everything, but I can leave it on the board for the next day.
   • I have also found that it is beneficial for me to break large projects down into smaller manageable tasks and create lists for each of those tasks. For example, I am currently working on a course that involves over 25 different sections. If I just wrote “complete course”, that would be very overwhelming and not something that could be done in a single day. So, I divided the course into the sections, and I created lists under each section that need to be finished in order for that section to be complete. This makes it so much more manageable. I can easily see which sections are complete, which sections require more work, and what that extra work may be at a quick glance at my list.
2. Have the kids help
   • My daughters are capable of folding laundry, washing dishes, and doing other daily chores, so I do not have to do it all by myself. Working together can be more fun and get the chores completed quicker, allowing more time to write or work on other tasks. Even little ones are capable of doing simple chores!
3. Combine activities when possible
   • It is not uncommon for us to go to six or more different places on a day when I run errands because I try to accomplish as much as I can in one excursion. I make sure to plan the trip accordingly with a list (I love lists!) of the places that I am going to go in the order I am going to go so I don’t forget anything.
4. Plan meals
   • I used to plan monthly dinner menus, but that didn’t seem to work very well, so I now try to plan weekly dinner menus. With a planned menu, I can easily see what needs to be taken out of the freezer for dinner and what needs to be purchased from the grocery store (and added to the grocery list hanging on the side of the refrigerator).
5. Skim and delete unimportant emails
   • I have three emails. One for family, one for my writing adventure, and one that is a catchall for everything and everyone else.
   • It’s helpful to unsubscribe from any email lists that aren’t providing any valuable content and scan the rest of the email subjects and senders to see if the emails are necessary to read. I am signed up for mailing lists that do provide valuable content frequently, but it may not be necessary to read everything they say if it doesn’t pertain to me.
   • With that being said, I do read all of the comments on my website (which get emailed to me), emails from people specifically asking for more information about my books, and personal emails (from friends, family, etc.).

If you are looking for more ways to improve your productivity, you may be interested in the Ultimate Productivity Bundle being offered by Ultimate Bundles for a limited time only (today until Monday, February 25th).

The Ultimate Productivity Bundle is filled with a total of 5 eBooks, 14 eCourses, 1 summit, and 26 printables, planners, and workbooks that cover time management, goal setting, home management, self-care, productivity at work, and more.

If you were to buy each of the items offered within this bundle separately, it would cost over $1500, but Ultimate Bundles is offering it for only $37 until February 25th. After that, the Ultimate Productivity Bundle will no longer be available.

Please do not purchase this bundle if it is not something you truly think will help you to become more productive. Also, please don’t purchase it if you won’t take action after reading the eBooks or watching the eCourses or take advantage of the planners or printables. There is no point wasting your time (and money) with this bundle if it isn’t getting you any closer to your dreams!

If you think this bundle may be beneficial to you and will help you to be more productive and accomplish your goals, then please click here to find more information about the Ultimate Productivity Bundle. It will only be available through February 25th for $37 before it disappears.

Do you have any tips for being more productive?