#BeMoreHippo. PRODUCTIVITY ROCKS

When you're a business owner, being productive should be at the top of the things you need to be. If you're not productive, you're not giving yourself the best chance at success. When I mention success, I'm not talking millions in the bank or driving a £90k car. I'm talking the success of clearing your To-Do list on the day it's written in your diary. 

 

One of the main things that I find kills productivity is those little tasks that probably take less than half hour but are boring, disliked and get pushed back to the end of the day. You'll start to build them up in your head to be a BIG monster that's going to take over your day and the voices in your head will tell you that they're not 'that' important and to leave them. 

 

THIS is the exact point when your productivity will start to get hit. 

 

THIS is the part when we start creating loose ends. 

 

THIS is the part that's easily fixed. 

 

Let's start with the scenario that you don't have some one to outsource / delegate to. You're on your own and you are solely responsible for these tasks. 

 

It's time to man-up and pull on your big girl pants. We're about to Make It Happen... 

 

- Firstly make a list of all the shitty jobs that you don't like, don't want to do, don't have time to do. Do this over 7 days. Add to the list as you go. 

 

- Find a time. Don't kid yourself, we all have time, you can make time by not sodding about on Facebook and sacrificing 30 minutes off your lunch break. 

 

- Cut out time FIRST THING IN THE MORNING to get these loose ends tied up. It MUST be first thing or you'll start to build it up in your head and psychologically you'll make a mountain out of a molehill. 

 

- Put this time in your diary EVERY day. I have 9-10am blocked out where I get certain things out of the way. They must be done or they'll start to eat away at my productivity. I'll be subconsciously thinking about them all day and no one needs a distracted VA! Just like your clients deserve you to be on top form and not distracted by things going on in your diary! 

 

- PURGE. I've written a whole blog about this.  

 

-Set yourself up for a good week. I spend an hour on a Sunday getting everything ready for the next week. If I don't, I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up. This also isn't good for productivity. 

 

If you're at the stage where you can take on someone whether that be a new member of staff or a Virtual Assistant, then here's your way to Make It Happen... 

 

- As with the previous list, make a list, over seven days of all the stuff you don't enjoy doing or don't have 'time' for. 

 

- Start getting to know some VAs. We're not all the same and we certainly won't all click with you. It's important that not only can your new team mate do the job at hand but you must be able to get along with them. I point blank refuse to work with people these days if I don't feel we have the same vibes. It's not worth the hassle for either of us. 

 

- Give your VA the list of things you're looking to pass over. They should be able to decide from that list what is most important to get started on first. They may even be able to condense the work you do to make your whole system / process more effective. 

 

- Ensure you hand over jobs slowly. This helps for a better transition period for you and your VA. You need to give yourself time to adjust to delegate. It can be really overwhelming for some people when they start relinquishing control. Plus, if you throw 10000 tasks at a new VA, they can become overwhelmed, however good they may be. 

 

- Don't see the charge of a VA as an expense. See it as an investment in your business and the fact you're buying time and experience. 

 

Becoming less overwhelmed and more productive doesn't have to be hard. It's a really simple process that you just need to be committed to and willing to work at. Gove it a couple of weeks. You'll be hippoing like the best of us ;) 

Until next time, 

 

Dee x