3 Insanely Simple Hacks to Double (or even triple) Your Productivity

It is 4 o’clock in the afternoon and you realize that the day has passed you by and you haven’t actually accomplished much. It’s not like you’ve been slacking off or anything, but you’ve just been spinning your wheels with busy work.

You ask yourself where did the day go and why haven’t you been able to check even one thing off your to-do list?

Does this ever happen to you? Confession time; it used to happen to me more often than I’d like to admit.

As health coaches, there is a lot to juggle. It’s easy to get sidetracked and end up feeling stressed out because the important things aren’t getting done.

The hacks I’m sharing with you today are insanely easy to do – set your mind to incorporating them into your life, commit to it, and watch your productivity soar.

I promise it will make a huge difference in how much you are able to accomplish in a much shorter period of time.

Being more productive can equal making more money. And who doesn’t want that, right?

Let’s dive in to the top 3 hacks that I know will help you accomplish a lot much more in your day.

1. Keep a running to-do list

I am not joking when I say I would be lost without my to-do list! It’s what keeps me focused and on track. It also helps me feel less stressed and scattered.

I like to keep a running to-do list so I can prioritize what needs to be done in what order. Getting it all out of my head and written down somewhere really helps. You don’t have to remember everything! When you think of something that needs to get done, write it down.

I like the Evernote app for this, but you can use what works for you. Ideally, you want something that will be available to view across all of your devices. You could even keep it super simple and create a Word document and put it in Dropbox or Google docs.

I used to use paper and pen, but I was wasting time rewriting and rearranging tasks (not efficient). Using something like Evernote allows you to create your list once, then check things off (and add more) as you go. You get that feeling of accomplishment when you get to cross something off your list. Yay, sweet progress!

I like to group my to-do’s by project, then prioritize each project and task. This will help you get an objective view of what you should focus on first.

For example, if I know I have a project due by a certain date, all tasks are arranged around that due date. Non-urgent tasks have to wait until the time-sensitive tasks are done.

If you can’t decide which tasks should be more urgent, consider prioritizing them by which ones will bring in income for you the soonest.

Note: Doing one task to completion is much more time efficient than jumping from one project to the next throughout the day. No multi-tasking! If you feel like you aren’t getting anything done, look at what you are spending your time doing during the day. Are you focusing on one thing at a time? It’s not always easy to do, but doing one thing at a time to completion will make such a difference in what you get accomplished.

2. Limit your distractions.

Okay, this is a biggie!

When you think about all the distractions we have during our day it’s crazy!

Just a few distractions at any given moment include: Email notifications, Facebook messages, checking social media, push notifications from other social media platforms, texts, phone calls – it’s nuts! No wonder we find it challenging to get much done.

How many times has it happened that you’ve been working away and you see an email notification pop up, or you decide to check Facebook for “just a minute” only to find that 30-60 minutes has gone by? You were totally derailed by something completely unrelated to what you were trying to work on.

If there is ONE thing I could suggest to double your productivity each day, it’s to log out of all social media and email until your important tasks are completed!

Yup, this means NO electronic distractions for a set period of time. Panic may have just set in, I know. Place your smartphone in another room (or only respond to urgent matters). Try setting a timer and working in 45-60 minute increments, then give yourself a short stretch break. This can work well because you know there’s an end in sight – and a reward – so you tend to be more productive. After a 5-minute break, get back to work.

Here’s the deal – we are used to working more ‘re-actively’ than ‘pro-actively’ and it is having a negative impact on our lives, not just our business. We feel more stressed and overwhelmed when we are pulled in so many different directions at once. And let’s face it, we can’t do our best work when we aren’t completely focused.

Starting tomorrow, give this a try and see how much more you get done. You might just be amazed!

3. Accountability

Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely gig sometimes.

It’s easy to think you are the only one struggling in a certain area, when nothing could be further from the truth. It’s also easy to put things off until later when we have no one but ourselves to answer to.

This is where having an accountability partner or mastermind group can make a big difference.

I have a weekly mastermind Skype call with two amazing colleagues. We set goals, support each other, share ideas and provide feedback.

These two women really help me stay on track.

Find someone (or a group of individuals) that you can work with to hold each other accountable and stay focused. I have a great community support group on Facebook for certified health and wellness professionals, so be sure to connect with us for support and ideas. You can find us HERE.

There you have it – my top three hacks for keeping you business (and you life) on track. They are all insanely simple and take just a few minutes to get them really going.

For more helpful tips and tools for your business, grab your free copy of “7 Must-Have Tools Every Health Coach Needs for a Profitable Business.”

I challenge you this week to tackle one of these hacks and see what happens. Life might just get a little easier, and more productive.

What helps you to be more productive? Leave a comment below and let us know.