One of the hardest things to do in today’s business environment is balancing the things in your business that you love to do with the things you need to do. Outsourcing the things we do not like to do or do not do well is the ideal solution; however, whether we are a solopreneur wearing all the hats, have a part time VA or a we have a whole team helping out, it can still be a juggling act. Sometimes we can be the bottleneck to things not getting done or delegated and that is because it is so easy to confuse activity with productivity. One of the questions I get asked most often is, how can we do it all and do it well?
Dividing Your Day for Peak Productivity
To make this work well, there is one question you need to ask yourself – When are you the most creative? Is it in the morning, late afternoon or early evening? The answer to this question tells you how you need to structure your day.
How To Use Your Creative Time
The time of day that you are the most creative is when you need to be working on income producing activities in your business.
- Product launches and joint venture projects
- Writing blogs, articles or your next book
- Creating images, slide decks and other types of visual content
When you are tired or not feeling very creative it can be difficult and consume way more time than necessary to work on the above type of projects. This also means it will take more time and energy which you could be spending with family or friends. Here is an infographic that discusses the best times to be creative.
Use Your Off-Peak Time for Admin Tasks
- Sending invoices, reading and replying to emails
- Reading blogs, researching and editing
- Scheduling blog posts, social media content or working on your promotional or editorial calendar
Online Tools to Keep You Organized for Peak Productivity
Two of my favorite online tools to keep me organized, no matter what time of day it is, are Basecamp and Google Drive.
- Basecamp allows me to see all of my clients in one place and track where each one is on their projects. I am able to comment when necessary. I also love getting the daily recap each morning.
- Google Drive allows me to itemize all my projects such as my speaking engagements, my promotional calendar and my editorial calendar all in one place. My VA has access and we prioritize using a color coded system and a comment section so I know where we are on every project no matter where I am and I know exactly what I need to be working on.
Using both of these tools allows me to schedule tasks during my creative or admin times like using waiting times, like being at the airport, to do some of my admin tasks and coffee time in the morning to work on my more creative tasks.
One final piece of advice –> Make sure to stay in the zone! You have heard the saying “Don’t mix business with pleasure”, well, don’t mix your creative & admin time either. Balance your schedule and increase productivity!
So, when is your most creative time? Do you have any online tools you use to keep you organized? Comment Below.
