Tip # 1

Stick to a routine. Seems simple enough right? Yet you find yourself going to bed later than on a normal workday, sleeping in, and feeling little to no motivation. So shift your mindset. The world around you might not be normal but these are still workdays. Go to bed, get up, work-out, take breaks, and start and end your work day as you did pre COVID-19. Humans crave structure; the brain is a fascinating machine that continues to find ways to be more efficient, so if you stick to your routine you'll simply be more productive because it will become automated and your brain can now focus fully on all of your day to day tasks. If you have children at home or a team, make sure they stick to their routines as well.

Tip # 2

Make your workspace as functional as possible. Whether you’re working from an office, co-working space, or from home your set-up and systems drive your productivity. Keep your clutter monster at bay; clutter leads to procrastination and stress which certainly doesn’t help you function at peak performance. If you’re working from home and don't have a home office, or you’re sharing it with your spouse and children that are also all at home, avoid working out of high traffic areas such as the living or dining room. You'll cut down on interruptions and not be easily enticed to stop working on work and start working on home life. Also keep work out of your relaxation zones so you can continue the feeling of separation.

Tip # 3

Use a timer while you're working on tasks like paper work, checking emails, or posting on social media. It has to be a timer that ticks! Seriously, this productivity hack is so ridiculously simple that it should be taught in grade school. Let's say you have an hour worth of “busy work” to do, the aforementioned items that take up so much of your day but they must get done. Set the ticking timer when you start these tasks and it will help you twofold. Firstly, your brain will subconsciously race against the clock and you'll actually get more done. And secondly, assuming you've at least once in your life gone down the rabbit hole of social media, the ticking will grab your attention as a continuous reminder to stay on task.

Tip # 4

Have a Plan B Kit for when a meeting reschedules or ends early. Make a list with prospects to call or pop in on in the area, finish outstanding billing that will drive earned revenue to your business, finish planning a sale or special and get it posted and published. Notice I’m not telling you to go grocery shopping or get your nails done. If we truly want to master our calendars we should be trading productive time for productive time and nothing else.

And don’t let your plan go stale. You don’t want to find yourself pulling out an outdated list or billing source. Once you have a plan however, you’ll no longer be making an angry face when you get a cancellation but rather find peace in knowing you’re still driving your business forward.

Tip # 5

Prioritize your To-do list. Make a written list of commitments and tasks you have in a typical week. A few things that might appear on your list are client and staff meetings, phone calls and emails, research, exercise, family gatherings, kid's events, and drive time.  Once the list is completed, group the items into categories, i.e. work, personal, kids, etc., then pick a color for each category you’ve determined and create a legend. 

Start each day with a fresh list with these categories on it and fill your to-do items into the categories for the day. Make sure you know what your daily non-negotiable tasks are! Schedule time in your calendar to complete each category based on urgency and importance and hold yourself accountable to completing those tasks during the allotted times. 

Tip # 6

Create bookends to your day. By creating a regular routine to start and end your day with, you can take control of the chaos. Before bed could include setting clothes out for the next morning, packing a lunch, reviewing your next day’s calendar and visualizing the day, unplugging and even reading a few pages of a good book. PS, research has shown that already knowing what you’ll wear for the day upon wake up eases stress and actually helps you be more productive. Who knew?

What to do with all the extra time in the morning? Create a routine for that too! I call mine the power hour.