5 ways to improve your work schedule and business projects.

Being efficient and effective at anything you do depends on how good you are at time management. Have you ever felt like some days simply go by without getting things done or barely scratching off one of the things on the to-do list? Well, you are not alone, we have all got those days, and they happen because we haven't set the essential habits to stay focused on our projects.

These 5 productivity tips are the ones I apply every single workday, and I believe they will be a gamechanger for you to get things done and move your business forward in a more organized way:

1. Plan your day the night before:

This productivity tip is a good start if you feel overwhelmed with the amount of work you have or the 3 million tasks you still have pending. Try to take a moment every night to review the tasks you will be doing the next day, write them down and commit to a reasonable to-do list; it doesn't feel good when our to-do list is filled out with 80 tasks, that also will cause overwhelm and will stop you from taking action. I start with a couple of things that you know you could get done; you will see a massive improvement in your productivity, and you won't have any more of those days that fly by without getting things done.

An alternative to planning your day the night before is to plan your entire week; this is very useful when working on longer projects or having multiple big projects to handle.

I personally plan my weeks ahead; generally, on Saturdays or Sundays, I take quick 30 mins to get a big picture of what I need to get done to move the needle forward on a specific project or maintain current ones.

I assign the tasks to every day of the week and review my previous week to see if there's a task that didn't get done, why, and how I can improve or assign better timing depending on the complexity of the task.

As an example: You know I run 3 Online shops, and I'm currently growing my this business, so I divide the week on things that need to get done for the shops on certain days and then the task to move my coaching business forward the rest of the week, I don't mix projects up, this allows me to stay focus and prioritize what I had previously set on my weekly planning schedule.

2. Define the non-negotiables:

Write down the 3 most important tasks you need to get done per day; these tasks are called the non-negotiables because they are the ones that move the needle forward, prioritize to get those done, and you will feel so much accomplished because you are working On your business not In your business every day.

For example, I assign these non-negotiable tasks depending on what project I'm working on that day; let's say Mondays are the designated days to work on my shops, I will then organize that day with multiple tasks specifically about the shops, but prioritize to get 3 of those tasks done first regardless on how easy or short the other tasks are.

It has been life-changing, and it makes my days way more productive when I plan the weeks ahead and get those non-negotiables tackled every day!

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3. Turn off notifications:

I know this one might be obvious, but believe me, it is easier said than done; even when I started doing this, it took me a while to stop looking at my phone, even when I didn't hear any notifications! Crazy right? But it happens to all of us; because we are so used to checking our phones and get distracted with messages, Instagram notifications, news, etc.

To implement this productivity tip and be more focused on the work that I was doing, I turned off notifications of ALL the apps. Yes, I don't have FB or IG notifications on my phone, games, restaurant/movie/hotel apps, or any of the dozens of apps we usually have installed on our phones.

I only have notifications (silent ones) from my email and calendar, and I have sound notifications for only messages and my Etsy/Shopify shops; however, I turn my phone to silent mode when I'm working.

How can this help you? You will not feel the constant need to check the notifications because you know exactly which 2 notifications are on, and when I really need to laser focus, I even turn off the phone.

It has been such a great habit because you definitely get more things done when you stop being so distracted by what's going on your phone.

I check all apps when I'm off work, let's say during breaks or lunch, or when I'm just done working and enjoying the evening.

4. Time-Blocking:

This productivity tip comes helpful once you have planned your day in advance, defined your non-negotiables, and turned off notifications.

It is now time to set some time for the tasks that you have previously written down because if you don't define a particular time for specific tasks, you will end up either multitasking or not giving 100% of your focus to that task which delays you from getting it done, and that's what we are trying to avoid.

Time blocking works by assigning, let's say, 30 mins, 1 hour or 2, (or as long as you consider necessary) to a task to get it done WITHOUT doing or thinking in any other task. You are not thinking about your entire to-do list, about what are you going to have for lunch, or the other 100 things you still need to get done, you are setting a day and a time block to that task, and if you do the same with all your tasks, you will achieve your goals/projects/tasks faster and more effectively. (Right now, I'm in a time blocking schedule specifically for blogging ;)

Some people use a time-cube (I haven't personally tried this yet, but I'm about to), some use timers on their watch (not on your phone because we want to avoid the temptation of looking at notifications 😉), and some plan on their calendar.

5. Don't work on another person's agenda!

This one is like my favorite productivity tip, as the cherry on top because you will have to learn how to say no to many things, and if you are a people-pleaser, this one is for you.

Don't jump and return the call back right away when someone calls you. If someone texts you and you are in the middle of your focused time, don't get back to that person immediately and guess what? I do this even with my customers.

I learned to set boundaries; I have specific times during the day (2 times) when I jump in to get back to customers' DMs and emails; why? Because that takes away from my focus and productivity. If I am working on a task and all of a sudden I have to worry about someone else's "urgency," then I will never get my tasks done, and that's when your day starts to fly away because it's hard to reconnect and focus again in what you were doing.

I also don't reply to my family messages right the way; it is not that I don't prioritize my family, but if it is not a life/death situation or a real emergency, I can totally reply to them when I'm done with what I'm working on on the time-block ;).

People need to also know you are working, not because you work-from-home you are just sitting on the couch watching Netflix the entire day; you are in working mode, and just like 9-5 jobs there are times to focus on your job, and there are times to call/text family or even get back to them when your shift is over.

These are 5 productivity tips that I have learned over the years of running my own business; I apply them every single day. When you start implementing them, you will see a massive increase in productivity focus, and it gives you a sense of clarity that keeps you moving forward even on the days you feel lost or unmotivated.

Try them and let me know in the comments which one is your best and how it improved your work schedule and business!