Working hard is not the same as being productive. I often work very hard on projects without being effective. How often do you spend more time than you should on tasks that don’t help you or your organization move forward?

Be honest…

I am by no means a productivity expert, but I can get a lot done in a day. Here are some of my own productivity hacks that help me stay focused and getting more stuff done:

Slay Your Dragons Early

Every day, I try to accomplish a key task. And that to me means doing something that only I can do for my business. Usually that’s one of the first, if not the very first task of the day. Once the big one is off my list, the rest seem much easier to accomplish.

And if some don’t get done, at least I know the most important task got done.

That’s the reason that I work out first thing in the morning. I’m usually at the gym by 6:30 am. When I used to workout in the afternoons, there were always distractions and “important meetings” that would take priority.

Reward Yourself Only After You Meet Deadlines

Too many times I’m tempted to stop and get a break. So I have an internal conversation that goes something like this:

Me: “I should stop and take a break and grab coffee and a protein bar.”

Smarter Me: “No, finish this post and then you can get your treat.”

Me: “Ok”

This leads me to my next hack, which has helped me so much in the past few years.

Have Social Media Notifications Turned Off

For years I was getting dozens of notifications per hour: Twitter, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, LinkedIn. It got out of control.

I found myself distracted with every comment, like or direct message that came my way. Even though I knew they were a time suck and seldom helpful.

So I turned all notifications off. Part of my reward system is to check my social media feed. If I’m not being productive, I don’t allow myself to get lost in posts, comments or TikTok fodder.

Listen to Podcasts and Watch Videos at 1.5 Speed

Stay with me on this one. I love to listen to podcasts. One day I figured out that my brain can process words faster than people can say them. I can now listen to an hour podcast in 40 minutes or watch a 2-hour training in just 80 minutes.

After years of listening and watching at a higher speeds, it pains me to listen to a recording at normal speed. My content consumption has increased without taking any more time out of my day.

Get Help from Someone Who Has Done What You Want to Accomplish

I can’t tell you how many times I have wasted time, effort and real money by not asking for help from the right people. If you want to learn how to do something, the best way I know how, is to find the people who have done it successfully and learn from them.

It’s not complicated. But often we are willing to waste real dollars, months, and our team’s confidence in our work by trying to figure something.

There you go. These are my favorite productivity hacks for the moment. If you need a website audit, just click here and schedule a call and we’ll help you.