5 Hacks to Maximize Your Productivity
As we begin 2022, it’s time to get serious about your business goals and how you plan to achieve them. In this post, I’m sharing my top five hacks for maximizing efficiency in your wedding business.
There’s a quote that comes to mind when I think about making intentional changes professionally and personally. In his book titled Atomic Habits, James Clear says, “If you do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” I know that when I don’t set myself up for success in my business, it’s really hard for me to achieve my goals. With that, I’m sharing how to set yourself up for success in your business and maximize efficiency along the way.
Start each day with your end goal in mind.
At the beginning of any journey, you must know the destination of where you’re going. One of my biggest mistakes I made early on as an entrepreneur was starting my day off working from a massive list of to dos. Working with a long list in front of you is kind of like searching through the junk drawer in your kitchen. You are bound to get distracted. It’s inefficient to base your day around a to do list.
Instead, I recommend taking time each afternoon or evening to determine three things that must get done the next day. At that point, go ahead and block the three tasks out on your calendar. Put the tasks on your calendar like an actual appointment and set follow up time for tasks you know you’ll need to circle back on. To further maximize my time, I have certain days of the week that are designed for project type work and other days are saved for client meetings. This method sets you up for the greatest chance of reaching your three goals by the end of the day. I don’t always get everything blocked out and done. There will always be client emergencies, children that need our attention, dogs that get into trouble at the worst time, and more. We are all human so it’s ok to try again tomorrow! I urge you to give time blocking a real try before saying you aren’t good at it.
Find ways to keep yourself motivated on the hard days of entrepreneurship.
At the beginning of a new year, we’re all feeling highly motivated with a fresh mindset. I love that sense of a clean slate as well. However, life happens and setbacks are inevitable as you work towards your goals. I want you to find ways to keep your drive, your positive attitude, and more importantly your sense of humor as an entrepreneur. Here are a few ideas to keep you motivated:
Have built in motivators and cheerleaders on the good days and bad days. For me, this is a sticker on my laptop that says: The old you would be so proud of this you. Another motivator is taping your 2022 goals to your office wall to remind you why you get up and do what you do every single day. Another thing that works for me is that I have certain sayings that are meaningful to me that I write on my bathroom mirror to read every morning. One that I kept up for a year was: I give myself permission to prosper and grow. What speaks to you? Take it and run with it!
I have a sign in my office that says: Kindness matters. When I’m dealing with a difficult client, it reminds me that we’re all human and to treat others with compassion.
I have a motivation app that notifies me on my Apple watch. It sends inspirational quotes throughout the day. They’re such a treat!
Lastly, workcatons keep me motivated. I like to do one or two a year with my husband and a couple with my membership group, The Planner’s Vault. Workcations are a time to gather, share stories, talk about what’s working and what’s not in our businesses. They’re also a time to lean on my community to get energized and remember that I’m not alone. If you’ve never heard about workcations and why I recommend them, check out episode 143 of Weddings For Real where I talk all about them.
Be mindful of your time.
Our time is truly precious and it can be difficult to fit everything into a day. Here are some of my tips for time management.
Schedule your week in advance. I recommend picking three days for client-facing appointments and picking two days for admin/behind the scenes work. You’ll go into each day with a clear goal.
Begin using an online scheduler if you aren’t already. A good free version is Calendly. I personally love Acuity, and there are typically integrated schedulers in CRM systems like Honeybook, etc. These schedulers can be programmed for times you’re available and can connect to your personal online calendar.
Within your online scheduler, you can (and should) create a twenty-minute virtual coffee chat. This is perfect for networking calls with other vendors, for pick-my-brain meetings, and more. Pro tip: If you’re the one scheduling the coffee chat, send the person a Starbucks virtual gift card too! Ultimately, this twenty-minute meeting gives you back time and helps you build your network and be more cognizant of how you’re spending your day.
Let technology be your friend!
Technology can help you work smarter, not harder. Here are my top five favorite mobile apps that I use free versions of and love.
Voxer - I use this app for my team correspondence and my planner coaching follow up conversations. You can use Voxer to send documents, voice memos, and texts. It’s great because you are able to set boundaries by turning off notifications. Voxer is great to use for client access instead of giving out your cell phone number.
Evernote - I use this to keep track of my call notes. After each wedding planner meeting, I record a quick voice memo with notes for myself so I know what to follow up on and what we’ll cover during our next call. I use this quickly at the end of the day while the meetings are still fresh in my mind.
Loom - I love Loom. Loom is a video recording platform where you can record short videos while screen-sharing. I use Loom for SOPs within my team. I’m able to quickly show someone how to do something on the backend of our systems. I also use Loom for new client welcome videos. Loom is free for up to one hundred videos that are five minutes or less.
Trello - Trello is a great team collaboration tool. You can have different boards for different projects and team members. We use the free version and you can pin it to your desktop or use the app to keep everything for your projects organized and synchronized among your team members.
Cozi - Cozi is an app for organizing families. I’m able to link both my Gmail calendar and my husband’s Gmail calendar into one. My husband and I use Cozi for our Sunday night huddle where we review our appointments and responsibilities for the week. Everything is in Cozi - our grocery list, meal choices for the week, carpool and after school responsibilities, and more.
Stop wearing all the hats within your business.
The youngest self made billionaire Sara Blakely’s story is quite interesting. In the beginning, when Sara first founded Spanx, Sara was in charge of every “department.” She was responsible for the sales, human resources, sourcing, order fulfillment, and more. Does that sound familiar for your business? It’s the true definition of hustling. However, when Oprah came knocking on Sara’s door about putting Spanx on her annual favorites list, Sara knew she needed to hire help. Just like Sara did, you must figure out when it’s time to hire for the tasks you’re doing that aren’t in your zone of genius. I ask myself: What can someone on my team do for five to ten hours per week that will free up space for me to dream bigger? It can be scary to let go of control and make a financial commitment to someone. But, it’s one of the fastest ways to free up your time and brainpower for growth.
If you want to learn more about these five hacks to maximize your productivity, be sure to listen to episode 156 of Weddings For Real!
