Tips & Talk 41 – It’s About Time!

Hi there.

It's Sue.

And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.

These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and

things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.

If you'd like to submit a topic,

DME over on Instagram at gift biz,

unwrapped time is a funny thing.

Sometimes it passes quickly and other times it drags on and

on. I meet with a special group of girlfriends on Friday

nights. Sometimes we go to one of our homes and other

times we go out to a restaurant.

Each get together is slightly different,

but there have been times,

particularly in my friend Debbie's backyard where one minute it's 10

30. And I swear a second later,

it's two in the morning,

where did all that time go?

Then there are other times when I'm anxiously awaiting a test

result or anticipating a delayed flight arrival,

that's bringing home one of my children.

And in those times,

minutes pass like hours and it seems to take forever.

How can that be?

I mean,

every minute is really the same amount of time,

right? And here's another super aggravating thing.

How is it that some people get so much accomplished and

others struggle to do one simple project?

Obviously there can be extenuating circumstances like interruptions and emergencies,

or simply the lack of interest or desire to do whatever

the project is that you're laboring over,

but that doesn't erase the fact that it still needs to

get done.

This happens to me all the time,

even though one of my superpowers is productivity.

I know it's one of my strengths for real,

because I'm classified as a follow-through on the Colby personality profile.

And people recognize this in me too,

because I get asked a lot how I accomplished so much.

Now the truth is,

as my business has grown,

of course,

I'm not doing everything myself anymore.

I have an amazing team that helps me out.

Perhaps that's a topic for another tips and talk episode now

that I think of it.

But even when it was just me,

I got a lot done.

So I thought it might be helpful to share with you

my secret strategy.

It's not supposed to be secret.

In fact,

I've talked about it before in a couple of my longer

podcast episodes,

but it can easily get buried as a minor point within

a bigger conversation.

So today I thought I'd bring it front and center and

specifically highlight what I believe to be my single most valuable

method of managing through my days to get as much done

as possible.

Even the things I don't particularly enjoy,

because here's the thing it's so easy to stray off.

Course. Let me give you an example.

Let's say you're writing a newsletter and you're struggling with that

next sentence.

So as you try and figure it out your mind wanders,

then you decide to take a break and go and get

another cup of coffee.

When you get back to your desk,

it's probably time to check those emails.

What you're doing here is avoiding a painful activity and rationalizing,

putting it off by replacing the hard task with other things

that you're more comfortable doing,

then an order comes in.

And of course,

you're going to fill that afterwards.

You look at your bookshelf and decide it needs straightening.

Now, time for lunch.

After that yummy tuna sandwich,

you have a few calls to make and on and on.

Eventually it gets to the end of the day.

And that newsletter gets bumped to tomorrow,

too many days like this.

And the newsletter is completely forgotten,

substitute in whatever project you'd like,

but I bet you can admit you've done this too.

We all do.

I catch myself trying to do it every day,

but just because it's a natural human tendency,

doesn't help get the work done.

So here's the,

what's not supposed to be a secret secret tip.

The first thing I do before I start each day is

to decide the top three things I need to get done

that day.

They can't be just anything they need to be forward moving

projects. In other words,

they're significant enough to bring me a step ahead with whatever

overall goal I'm working on.

To give you an example.

If I'm trying to attract new customers projects like recording a

podcast, posting on social media or having a strategy call with

my business coach would be projects appropriate for that list.

What's not on the list.

Redesigning previously finished graphics because just maybe I'll be able to

find something I like a little better or adding new products

to my new gift biz on wrapped Mertz shops.

So that there'll be more selection that just went up by

the way,

you can see it at gift biz,

unwrapped.com forward slash shop.

Oh, the thing's not on the important task list are watering

the plants,

buying new candles for my home office or reading through all

my less important emails.

These things can still be done,

but they can also be put off for another day and

it will be fine.

However, if I delay the other important projects,

my top three list qualifying projects,

my business stays stagnant.

You see what I mean?

So once I have the three most important things,

oh, and I should say here that they don't always have

to be business either.

Like maybe there's a day when you need to schedule your

annual physical or something like that.

But for simplicity,

let me just stick with business things here.

So once you have the three things,

the trick is to stay conscious of what you're doing and

attuned to whether you're staying on task and not allow yourself

to get distracted.

When it gets hard,

I try to get my daily three done as early in

the day as possible.

Then I can move on with easier and more fun projects.

My brain is best in the morning.

You may be a night person.

So your best time for focusing could be totally different.

When I find myself going off track,

I catch it.

And I shift back to the project at hand.

Sometimes I'll set a milestone for myself,

like I'll say,

okay, Sue,

stay on this one thing until you figured it out.

Or until you've gotten two more pages written or something like

that. And then Sue,

you can go take a break or I'll dedicate 30 minutes

of uninterrupted time to getting something done.

Meaning no breaks,

no distractions,

single focus.

And guess what?

By being strict with myself and setting limits,

miraculously projects get completed.

It's such a relief to get past those barriers.

I feel accomplished and I can reward myself by moving on

to things that require less effort and are more fun for

me and my business advances at the same time,

hearing the strategy probably sounds really easy,

but in reality,

it's hard.

Try it.

You'll see that staying on task when it's something new or

uncomfortable or simply something you've been putting off is difficult.

But by applying the method I just described,

you can get it done and then guess what?

It's not hovering over you anymore.

It is off your desk.

Completed book closed.

Remember the feeling of finally handing in a term paper that

deep sigh of relief that it's over.

You can experience that weekly when you follow this productivity method,

because this has worked so well for me,

I decided to name and document how I do this.

It's called the power of purpose,

and I also turned it into a physical tool.

If you'd like to dive deeper into my process,

there's a video describing that you can watch for free at

gift biz,

unwrapped.com forward slash inspired.

And the tool I'm referencing is the inspired daily planner would,

you can read more about on that same link gift biz

on wrapped.com

forward slash inspired through the end of the year.

There's also a special on the planner.

Get 40% off when you enter the code sale.

When placing an order,

whether you're interested in checking out the video or the planner,

I encourage you to try this technique,

defining the most important three things that you should do each

day, not want to do,

but should do.

And then self checking regularly that you're staying on task and

getting them done.

This will release you from the guilt of not completing those

difficult projects.

You'll have a sense of accomplishment and pride and to see

real results because you're getting done the right work,

go for it,

accomplished great things and know I'm here supporting you all the

way. Okay?

Now that this is recorded,

I can go grab myself some coffee,

see how this works.

That's a wrap.

I'm a get to the point kind of girl.

And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream

of yours.

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