When you have so much to do, life can feel overwhelming. That overwhelmed can stop you from being productive. Here are some tips on what not to do and what to do to be productive. They are specially designed for busy moms who are looking for better time management and increased productivity to be the woman that they want to be.
Don’t wait for inspiration instead take action
Don’t wait for inspiration. When there is something that you need to do, don’t sit around waiting for that magical moment where you feel inspired to do it. That moment may not come. Or when that moment comes you could be so busy with other things that you’re not able to act on it. Instead plan for and take action. Keep your to do list up-to-date and and go through it. Whether you feel like it or not. This is the way to be productive. Productivity doesn’t come from inspiration it instead comes from taking action.
Don’t watch non-education TV instead watch TV that helps your learn
TV and by TV I mean Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, whatever it is that you are watching on a big screen in your home or on the tiny screen on your phone is generally not productive. Yes, you need some time to numb your brain. Yes, it’s great to laugh or experience a mystery thriller. Yet, those types of shows should not take up the bulk of your TV time. Instead use your TV time to learn something. Do you have an interest in a craft or a hobby? Watch some YouTube shows on that craft or hobby. If you have an interest in a certain part of history or something going on in science, find some documentaries and shows on those topics. Use your TV time for education. This will help you to be more productive in life. It’s also a great way to teach your kids to not simply zone out in front of the TV and rather use it as an educational tool. Productivity does not come from zoning out in front of the boob tube instead it comes from using your TV to help you learn.
Don’t Do It All instead Automate and Delegate
While it may seem counter intuitive, it is not productive for you to do it all. Doing it all means that you are actually wasting your time. There are certain things in your life that you should not waste your time doing. The reason is, your time is more valuable than those activities. Which means that your time is better spent doing other things. You need to identify what those are and make the trade off. You can then automate or delegate those tasks to others.
For example, going to the grocery store may not be the best use of your time. Cleaning your house may not be the best use of your time. If that is the case, try to automate or delegate these tasks. You can get your groceries delivered if you live in an urban area or at the very least if you are not in an urban area use a service like Walmart pick up to have your groceries ready for you at curbside so you never need to get out of your car. While it seems like an expensive thing, you can have someone clean your house even if it’s once a month to come and do the baseboards, windowsills, bathroom and the kitchen.
Those few hours while someone else is doing the deep cleaning in your house, you can use that time to do something more productive whether that is building relationships with your kids or working on your side hustle. I know that this is a luxury for some but where you can figure it out, it is worth it to let someone else do that type of a task so that you can apply your time to the things that only you can do. Things like building up your side hustle, being a mom to your kids, a wife to your husband or taking time to relax and treat yourself. Productivity does not come from doing it all. It comes from you spending time on tasks specialized to your skill set and automating or delegating as much of everything else as possible.
Don’t Be Vague About Priorities Instead Be Clear About What Matters
If everything is important, then nothing is important. Productivity does not come from working on everything. Productivity comes from working on the things that matter most. You need to prioritize everything going on in your life. Yes, some things are more important than others and you need to act like it. Take a look at everything going on in your life and prioritize it. Then spend your time doing what matters most. Once you’ve checked that off, move onto the next thing. A trick to doing this is how you set up your to-do list.
When you sign up for the Rose Gold Mama community you get access to the Rose Gold Mine. There you will find an amazing to do list set up, that helps you to put the most important thing at the beginning of your day.
Each morning, think about what you need to achieve and put the most important task at the top of your to-do list. Then, break your to-do list out into the other urgent or time bound tasks, and the things that you’re planning to do for others. Productivity does not come from doing it all instead it comes from doing the most important things first.
Don’t Be a Perfectionist With Everything Instead Complete Your Tasks
Perfection can lead to delay. Everything does not need to be perfect. Often times trying to be perfect will actually stop you from completing a task. Don’t fall into this trap. Not everything needs to be perfect. In fact perfect isn’t real. It’s not tangible. Perfect is simply an ideal. Let go of perfectionism and you’ll find yourself much more productive. As you’re completing tasks ask yourself, is this good enough to achieve my objective. For example, at work if you’re sending an email don’t worry about the email being perfect. Instead, worry about the email achieving your objective. You can ask questions like, is this professional? Are the grammar and syntax correct? Does it get my point across? Is this rude? Is it compelling? Once you have the answers to those questions just hit send. Don’t worry about nitpicking every single word in the email.
When you are making cupcakes for the school or office bake sale, don’t worry about whether or not they look like they came from professional bakery. Do they look edible? Once you have a satisfactory answer to those questions, put the lid on the container and move on. Trying to be perfect can easily lead to not completing tasks. Productivity does not come from perfection and instead comes from completing tasks and moving onto the next important thing.
Take Action
Action leads to productivity. It’s time to work these productivity tips into your daily life. Take a moment to print out the below productivity checklist and keep it in a visible place at home and at work. Look at it every day to remind yourself to take the actions that will help you to be productive in life and at work.
For more productivity ideas check out this time management tip for moms.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Rose Gold Mine, my free resource library. You’ll get free printable worksheets, workbooks, and checklists to help with goal setting, time management and self-care for busy moms.
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