3 MISTAKES THAT ARE KILLING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY
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If you could have an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?
When I start working with my clients or Control Your Calendar students, this is always the first thing I want to know. Because most of the time, they tell me that if they could just wake up an extra hour earlier, they’d have an extra hour to get things done.
What they forget is that if they don’t know what they WANT to do with that extra hour, there is really no point. Their alarm will go off in the morning, and they’ll continue to hit snooze until that extra hour is *poof* gone once again.
And it’s not just waking up an hour earlier, it’s an extra hour in your day. If you don’t have a plan for it, well, it’s probably going to go to waste.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself, because that’s actually NOT one of the mistakes that is killing your productivity. Yes, it definitely happens, but I want you to find that extra hour and not make these other mistakes with your productivity.
Here are the 3 mistakes you might be making that are killing your productivity…
Mistake #1 || You're not aware of where your time is going
One of the biggest mistakes I see when it comes to being more productive is you don’t know where your time is actually going. Not just with the 24 hours in the day that you have, but with how long things are actually taking you.
This was me once upon a time – and it was a time in my life when my schedule was jam-packed from 3:45AM when I woke up to 10:30PM when I was finally closing down my laptop to go to bed. You’d think that with only getting 5-ish hours of sleep, I’d have plenty of time during my day to get things done.
Unfortunately, I probably could’ve had MORE time in my day (and more sleep) if I was actually aware of how I was spending my time.
Once I learned how much time I needed for certain tasks + activities and what things I was doing that were actually wasting my time, I suddenly had a lot more time in my day.
Want to become more time aware? Grab my FREE Productivity Planner and start by doing a Time Audit of your day. It’ll help you find the time that is getting wasted (i.e. scrolling social media) and where you actually have more time to get things done during the day.
Mistake #2 || You're not planning ahead
You’ve heard the old adage…
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
Well, go back and read that intro to this blog post again.
Want to wake up earlier to have an extra hour in your day? Well, make a plan for how you’re going to spend your hour.
Want to get more things done during the 4 hours you’re working? Plan out what you’ll do and when so that it actually takes place. (That time audit really comes in handy for this.)
Most of my clients + students come to me feeling scattered about what needs to get done in both their homes + their businesses, so we always start by looking at their schedules and figuring out what they’re going to do and when they’re going to do it.
This doesn’t mean they have to have strict work hours. It’s OK to have some flexibility in when you get things done, but knowing ahead of time how much time you need to complete it will help you actually get it done and get it crossed off your to-do list.
Mistake #3 || You don't have clear boundaries
When I quit my job to become a full-time entrepreneur, this was the BIGGEST mistake I made. I became an entrepreneur because I wanted more flexibility and freedom that teaching didn’t give me.
But, for the first year, I found myself working at all hours of the day, working through my lunch, and even taking my computer out to the bus stop with me while I was on calls. I was saying yes to everything because how else was I supposed to make money and support my family?!
Not surprisingly, after a year of having zero boundaries with my time and my clients, I was burnt out and ready to throw in the towel to go back to teaching.
It was at that time that I hired a coach to help me work through these mindset issues of feeling like if I wasn’t working, I wasn’t making money. She not only helped me realize that working all hours of the day wasn’t healthy but helped me learn how to communicate those boundaries to my clients as well.
Of course, it wasn’t easy and it’s still definitely a work in progress, but I’m happy to say that I now can close my computer at the end of the day (most days – busy seasons are a different story), and not worry about work or feel like I’m not making money.
Which is exactly why I became a coach too. I wanted to help entrepreneurs who were struggling with working long hours and having zero boundaries be able to not only get things crossed off their to-do list, but do it more effectively + efficiently so they can work fewer hours and have more time for family, fun, and free time!
I’m going to let you in on my secret to being able to say no because I know it’s NOT easy. I remind myself that if I say yes to whatever it is I’m being asked to do, what am I saying no to? Because that’s the reality. The more we take on, the less we can do otherwise. Every yes means a no somewhere else, and without clear boundaries, as I teach inside Control Your Calendar, you’re going to find yourself burnt out like I was feeling.
So, be honest with yourself. How many of these mistakes are you making that is killing your productivity?
But, here’s the good news… you’re not a lost cause because all of this can be remedied WITHOUT taking up more of your time + energy. Start with getting more aware of your time, planning out your days, weeks, and months, and start saying no to the things that aren’t serving you. And I promise you’ll start seeing your productivity skyrocket! 🚀
Want to get back an extra hour in your week without sacrificing your family, sleep, or sanity? Control Your Calendar™ will help you stop procrastinating, reduce your stress, and help you achieve your goals in both your life and business!
